lady in red.

holy moly. red has never looked so good (in my opinion). 

love the coordination of the shoes & bags with the dresses. so classic don't you think?

 I am swooning over lesley's wedding dress. love the short dress trend right now. so flirty and fun!

{all photos by katlyn myrvold} 

thanks again for sharing my dear!! hope married life is wonderful.

xx- mckay

simple fall wreath tutorial

you guys! I'm so excited about this wreath I made that I'm going to attempt a tutorial so that you can  make one for your door too. seriously. I'm always on the look out for a good wreath but unwilling (read: too frugal) to shell out the $$$ the ones I actually want cost.

want a peek at my favorite? this beauty of pinecones and faux antlers is the jam!!! I've determined my next wreath attempt will be something like this for christmas. my dad always has a ton of pinecones set away from cleaning the yard so this one might even be cheaper to make than the one I did today.

{source: pottery barn}

but in the meantime, I headed over to pinterest to see what people have been loving this fall and found a few pics of the little number below.  I loved the idea of the burlap and fall blooms so when I was at joann's today I wandered over to the floral aisle to see if anything caught my eye.

{source: high heeled hostess}

all the autumn florals were 50% off. lucky me! I had a roll of burlap ribbon at home left over from who knows what and two wreath hangers that have been sitting in my holiday bin just waiting for the right one to come along.  so I picked out a few florals and two 16 inch styrofoam wreaths and headed out hoping for the best. 

for those of you who don't already know- joann's takes all sorts of coupons, so besides having their handy app on my iphone (right now they have a 40% off and 50% off coupon) I print out hancock fabrics, hobby lobby, michaels & ac moore coupons that I find online everytime before I go.  there is absolutely no reason to buy anything full price when you make a trip- seriously.  let me know if you want more tips about coupons- that could be a post in itself. :)

so here's my attempt at a super easy tutorial. like I mentioned earlier- I made two wreaths since I have a double front door, so you can halve the amount of items needed if you're only making one.

supplies:

- 2 16 inch styrofoam wreaths 

- roll of burlap ribbon (perfect amount for two wreaths)

- fake flowers of your choice- 3 large blooms worked perfectly for each wreath

- wreath hanger like this 

- glue gun

- cute dog to keep you company (optional)

it was SUPER simple to make these and took maybe 1/2 hour to finish both. 

*******

start by hot gluing the end of the burlap ribbon to the back of your wreath form. then begin to wrap the burlap tightly around the wreath, using hot glue every now and then, until you’ve covered the entire thing. hot glue the end to the back of the form and cut off the excess.  
(I forgot to take pictures of this step but it's pretty self explanatory)

 next, take your flowers and remove from the stems. place them on the wreath in a combination that you like and then take hot glue to secure them down.  they will have a little bit of a 'stem' on the back of the bloom- you can press this into the styrofoam for added stability.  if you want to use some of the leaves off the stems, go for it! I used a couple to add a little bit of green to mine and saved the rest in case I want to make more.

simple, right? now hang your wreath holder up on the front/side/back door and admire your creation.  share pictures with me if you make one! I'd love to see the floral combinations you use. :)

now I just need to add a spider web and a few fake insects so that they fit in with our other 'spooky' halloween decor. :) 

happy fall, y'all!

winner!!

YAY!! CONGRATULATIONS TO MEG {HENNINGLOVE}!!  you are the lucky winner. email me at hello@oatmeallacedesign.com with your address and I'll get the bag shipped out to you shortly. :)

hosting a giveaway was fun, you guys! thanks to everyone for helping spread the word about our bags and for entering!  I've decided to extend the 20% off deal through this weekend so if you're still looking for a gift nows the time to buy. 

code is YAYFALL. 

{handy little site I used to help pick the winner}

happy 95th birthday, mamama!

today is mamama's 95th birthday. saturday we were lucky enough to celebrate with her and our extended family over in winter park.  for those of you who didn't know, she's the inspiration behind my company. 

(see my about me over to the right -->) 

mamama's two sisters were also in attendance. aren't they the cutest trio? 

I'm like a giant next to them all even without heels. :) 

beckett got to meet his cousins and was quite taken with ella (see below).

it was such a great day and I'm so thankful we live close enough that we were able to spend time with her on this momentous occasion. a big thank you goes out to aunt sandra (on the right) for hosting such a great party.  

we love you mamama! 

aimee's hawaiian wedding.

I so love the brides that I'm lucky enough to work with.  it's such a pleasure to create one of a kind bags for their wedding day and then when I get an email from them letting me know they had the BEST wedding and want to share photos I'm ecstatic.  I'm not going to lie- I love when they send me pictures of my bags in action but I love it even more when I get to see the rest of the day. you know - the photos of their first look, dancing with their dad, laughing with their friends, hugging family - I love seeing the love and joy on their faces that only a wedding can bring.  it brings me back to my own wedding, which was the best day of my life (besides the day beckett was born). 

aimee was sweet enough to send me a few images that she had taken with the bags I made her and her bridal party. don't they all look beautiful? 

she is one of those brides who shared a few extra photos from the wedding and I'm so glad she did. please take a look at her photographers website and check out the joy and happiness that radiate from her smile. gorgeous! I'm so happy for you aimee and I hope married life is treating you wonderfully.

ps- I am in love with your glitter manicure!! taking the photo next time I go to get my nails done. :)

xx- mckay

{all images by helmut walker photography}

happy fall, y'all!

it's the start of my favorite season even though it doesn't feel very 'fall' like in florida right now (humid, hot and rainy...gross).  fall brings pumpkin spice coffee, cardigans, dry-er air (hallelujah!), boots and bonfires with s'mores. yum. 

so, to celebrate the season and the start of the holidays we're going to have a little contest!  help spread the word about our bags and you'll be entered to win the fun little number shown above.  there are three ways to win : share our shop or a picture of your favorite oatmeal lace clutch on pinterest, twitter or facebook.  just make sure you leave a note here letting us know you did and you could be the winner!

we'll announce the lucky person next wednesday! 

and for a little additional fun, use code YAYFALL for 20% off your order through October 10th.  just an fyi for those of you looking to order more than five bags - this discount is in addition to the bulk discount already offered so take advantage! 

xx- mckay

lovely jordana.

happy october everyone! as promised, I'm finally getting some of the awesome weddings up on the blog that my sweet readers have sent in.  first up, jordana's napa valley affair.  isn't she beautiful??? 

 

ps- I'm obsessed with her dress!!

 a bride after my own heart, she was all about the diy details. so here's a little from jordana herself: 

We were married on October 1st, 2011, in Napa Valley, CA at the Historic Napa Valley Country Club. Though the location had everything we needed, I insisted on a DIY wedding...staying up into the wee hours the week before the big day, finishing the guest's name cards by hand, finalizing my vows and creating photo booth signs.

With my handmade Oatmeal Lace clutches, giving bridesmaid's gifts was really easy (and unique). My dad made each girl her own one-of-a-kind pair of earrings to wear with their yellow dresses, and I bought a gray lace or white polka dot scarf for each girl. I wrapped the earring boxes in yellow and white polka dot paper (from Paper Source) and placed all the contents neatly into the bags. Presenting the gifts at our rehearsal dinner inside the clutches brought everything come together - and made each girl feel so special.

a dad who handmakes jewelry? LOVE!

 thank you so much for sharing some of your wedding day with me, jordana. hope married life is treating you wonderfully and happy first anniversary! :)

xx- mckay

{all photos courtesy of dana harrell photography}