Mixbook Wedding Book

Wedding Book Inspired by Blooms

As many of you know, we debuted our first Casetify collection last fall. Then, come spring, we came out with another new collection, Bloom. This one featured all things floral, and I thought the floral motifs couldn’t be a more perfect fit for my Mixbook wedding book. After all, my love affair with flowers is no secret. I especially love poppies, and Garet, our designer, did a beautiful job on the poppy design featured in our Bloom collection. 

My Mixbook Wedding Book

It was so fun to design this wedding book template with my team! Using our Bloom collection as a reference, we created a floral-inspired template with beautiful, painterly floral stickers and backgrounds. The best part about it is that it is fully customizable! Mix and match those floral stickers and backgrounds to your heart’s content. 

Discount Code for Lars Readers

Mixbook is also generous enough to offer a temporary discount code on their photo books to Lars readers! Use the code SOCIAL50 for 50% off your first photo book. The code expires on September 15, 2022, so get compiling your photos together!

Our Wedding and Engagement Photos

Then there were the wedding photos. Going back through all those old photos brought back so much nostalgia! If it’s been a minute since you’ve looked through your old wedding photos, you’ll know the feeling. Are you curious? Okay, fine, since you asked, here are some never before seen wedding photos. 

This was from our engagement session. I don’t think I’ve shared any from that session with Rachel Thurston at all! Maybe I’ll share more for our anniversary next month.

Ok, now these are from our actual wedding ceremony in Newport Beach, California. We got married at the LDS temple. It’s so fun to see our friends there!

These photos were taken by my cousin, Ali DeGraff. It was one of her first weddings and she absolutely nailed it. I still love them so much! 

My sister, Caitlin.

My sister painted us some signs that we held and had for navigating at the reception.

Really wish I hadn’t made that face.

My mom had the idea to do all bundt cakes. Really wish we had gotten to try them. Ha! Anyone else not get to taste the food?

I can’t believe so much time has passed. And I’m so happy to have a book in which to preserve those memories. 

Now I want to hear from you: Did you make a wedding book already? And what’s your favorite wedding memory? 

More Inspiration

Looking for more photo book inspiration? It turns out we’ve done more than a few projects with Mixbook in the past. Last Christmas we used Mixbook to make these team Christmas cards, and these ones from a few years ago. Also see these floral wedding invitations, our year in review, our Denmark trip documentation, and a compilation post of our Mixbook projects.

Our New Casetify Collection: BLOOM

Our History with Casetify

If you’ve been following along, you’ll know all about our debut Casetify collection, which launched last fall. Since then, we haven’t been able to get enough! We painted mini pumpkins inspired by the collection, which was such a fun DIY twist on the phone cases. The retro florals featured in that collection also snuck its way into our new spring tablescape! After some time passed and we became familiar with our new phone cases, we also released a Casetify honest review, which you can read here.

horizontal casetify full shot

Our New Casetify Collection: BLOOM

We couldn’t help but give you a little teaser along the way to get you excited about our launch. Remember those nesting Easter eggs? Well keep those in mind as you scroll through the phone case options–a few of them just might look familiar. Here’s the link to our full collection of brand new phone cases!

My Bloom Magazine Inspiration

This new collection leans fully into spring and the myriad of beautiful flowers in bloom. Hence the name, Bloom. But the name wasn’t only inspired by beautiful blooming flowers. When I was a kid, I made a magazine called Bloom! Can you believe it?! It’s like I knew what would follow, so many years before phone cases were even on the brain. This magazine was thorough, too–it included ads, recipes, advice, the whole nine yards.

Here are some highlights of the magazine, because they’re too good not to share:

If you couldn’t read that, it says “the claw. A softener, a loosener, an everything.” Amazing.

Needless to say, I’ve been thinking about flowers and gardens long enough that it was about time for a phone collection featuring them.

Garet’s Inspiration Behind the Collection

Garet, our designer, worked night and day to design this magnificent flower garden of a collection. Her connection to painting and, specifically, flowers, goes way back as well. She’s named after her grandmother, Margaret. At Margaret’s funeral, they had peonies in honor of her since she loved them so much. Hence, this jaw-droppingly lovely peony was born.

The story goes on. Garet’s aunt, who took care of Margaret before she died, taught Garet to paint–especially flowers. Garet’s aunt instilled a love of painting flowers in Garet from the time she was young and it has, shall we say bloomed? Ever since.

Some of our Favorites

Here are some of our favorite cases:

Look familiar? You may be thinking of the Easter dress we made out of the secret garden print!

But florals aren’t the only options in this versatile collection. We also have some bold, geometric prints that are lovely as well.

I especially love the tumbling blocks! The best part is all of the customizable options Casetify offers. I can’t get enough of that neon yellow with the pink and red tumbling block!

Casetify Discount Code

For followers of The House that Lars Built, Casetify is offering a 15% discount at checkout with code THTLB15. 

If you get one of our cell phone cases, tag us with #Larsforcasetify. We would love to see them! 

 

Living By Design Virtual Showhouse Feature

The Living By Design Virtual Showhouse

Well, the first Living By Design virtual showhouse has officially launched! This is a unique opportunity to tour the Living By Design showhouse completely virtually, from the comfort of your couch. I love that on the tour, you can actively click on links to the elements of each room and get inspiration for your own home. And is it any surprise that I designed the craft room? So I’m particularly excited about that. All you have to do to access the tour is visit this link and peruse the rooms to your heart’s content.

The Craft Room

Be sure to check out that craft room! There are a lot of elements in there that I’m particularly jazzed about, like the wallpaper, art, and that amazing crafting island. Minted was my go-to for the art, and I have to say they made the decision-process difficult. So many lovely options that complimented the space so well! And those dreamy velvet curtains? You have Calico to thank for those.

But what really had me excited was all that amazing storage and furniture, thanks to California Closets! You know how important craft room storage is to me. I mean, it’s essential to have a functional space that’s easy to keep organized when you’re an avid crafter. I love how it all came together for the craft room!

Architecture and 3D Visualization

I can’t talk about the craft room without giving a nod to the amazing architecture by Brandon Architects. It’s always more enjoyable to design a space when the architecture really lends itself to the design. And since this is a fully virtual experience, I should also mention the impeccable 3D visualization by YouSee.

Special Thanks

I’d like to also give a special shout out to all of the tour’s sponsors: California Closets, Carrier, Minted, and Monrovia. It goes without saying that this Living by Design virtual showhouse tour wouldn’t have been possible without them.

Also, thanks to Martha Stewart Living, the showhouse national media partner. And we can’t forget the amazing producer/production team Embello.

More Inspiration

Did you love the Living By Design virtual showhouse, and especially that craft room? You might also be interested in this post where we talk about how we organized our craft room!

Lars Approved Brand Alert: Marimekko

Many of us are sprucing up our homes and planning to decorate for spring. Our Marimekko roundup highlights many home decor items that are perfect for new additions and finishing touches. You may even consider replacing some items like the old dish towels and oven mitts hanging sadly in the kitchen!

Marimekko for Your Kitchen and Dining

While we’re on the topic of oven mitts, choose from this oven mitt or this pot holder for pops of bright flowers in the kitchen. Or maybe you need a new set of dishtowels. The deep magenta and orange hues add a pleasant statement anywhere they hang.

Switch your current placemats to these bold prints. Add these plates or these and some glass tumblers or mugs to complete the table setting. The magic of Marimekko design is that there is no wrong combination of prints and colors! You can mix and match any design and surprise yourself in seeing that they somehow complement each other.

If you’re heading out for a picnic or plan to throw a party at home, make a theme out of Marimekko and use these paper napkins (1, 2, 3) as the source of your inspiration.

 

For Your Bedroom

Simple additions like wallpaper and new bedding create an entirely new atmosphere to a room. And we love a great accent wall! Use this striped wallpaper or floral mural to create a vibrant mood. Moreover, add these striped sheets on this comforter set and you will have encapsulated our Marimekko spirit.

 

Marimekko for the Minimalists

For those not so inclined to bold colors, Marimekko also offers neutral pieces that add the perfect amounts of pattern. There are cream colored hand towels or a chestnut colored polka dotted one, a beige polka dotted bath towel, an off-white and beige throw, a black and white floral bed sheet set, and these subtle pink vases (1, 2). Patterns and textures provide subtle accents in neutral pieces.

 

For the Everyday

Maybe you can’t make such dramatic changes at the moment. There are still ways to make big impacts with small changes. Switch up your bath towels for some red florals or red and pink stripes. You’ll feel like you rolled into Candyland! Or you can add these fun slippers to your everyday loungewear and carry a colorful tote bag on your weekly trips to the market. Switch up your makeup bag or create a smaller one for everyday use. Although we may have less reasons to go out these days, when the occasion arises, carry a chic clutch instead of a big purse.

Marimekko Dresses and Fashion

Embrace your inner Marimekko spirit and create your very own wonderland of vibrant colors and prints.

Marimekko Fabrics

One of my favorite parts of this bold Finnish brand is they also sell fabrics! This way you can give your home decor a fresh DIY makeover in full Marimekko style.