Basic Invite: Your Go-To for Wedding Invites, Graduations Invites and Stationary

Customizable Cards by Basic Invite | Ft. Graduation Invites, Wedding Invitations, & Stationary

While it is super easy to send digital cards and invites these days, I still love getting mail especially for important things like college graduation party invitations etc. I recently discovered Basic Invite which is a site that lets you design your own invites and cards. The first time I ever ordered invites was back in college when I did my graduation invites though, at the time, I didn’t know about Basic Invite. Using the site now, it is helpful that you can upload your own image such as a photo or logo or they have a ton of pre-made templates to select from. Once you select a design or template, you can still make changes like changing the colors and moving around the text. When you make a change, it updates it instantly so you can see what the new version looks like in real time.

Another thing I loved about Basic Invite is that you can actually order a sample of your card. When purchasing them, the minimum order is at least 25 which can be a lot of money and cards to receive just to see if you like how it turned out. For a big event such as wedding invites or graduation invites, you definitely want a chance to see a sample in person before spending money on a bulk order and sending them out. The sample orders are only $2.99 and a great way to sample a few designs or colors in person before submitting a large order.

Even if you are not getting married or graduating, there are other options on their site. For example I decided to customize some stationary since I am not in need of thank you notes for graduation gifts or anything else like that. The exact template I went with was the Marble Ink Business Stationary that I added my name to. While you could use stationary for a wide range of purposes, I figured it would be perfect for a quick thank you since it is kind of like a post card! The other great thing is that all cards come with envelopes so that isn't an additional fee you have to worry about. They have over 40 colors of envelopes and the seals are adhesive which is a plus if you don't like the taste when licking envelopes!

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Whether you have a wedding coming up, graduation or you are like me and just wanted some stationary to use throughout the year, I would recommend checking Basic Invite out! You can also visit their Instagram for ideas here.

Plan Your Instagram

I always get really excited about a new planner and I am happy to introduce the Instagram Planner by Lovet Agency. This planner is great for all my fellow creatives who use Instagram as part of their business. In addition to Velvet and Sequins, I work an office job for 40 hours a week. The time I have outside of work is limited so it is necessary to plan out my content in order to make the most of my time and the dry weather (it rains a ton here in Portland)! I personally have a hard time keeping track of all my due dates and then counting backward to plan when to create all of my content. Visually seeing things written out really helps me and I love that this planner offers the option to mark if I will be posting content or creating content for each day.

At the beginning of the planner, you can write out your Instagram handle, profile photo, biography etc. which is a great way to brainstorm if you are just starting your Instagram account. There is also a section for each month where you can write down your monthly goals, hashtags and the theme you are focusing on for that month. For the month of December, I have my themes of the month as "Holidays," "Christmas," and the "New Year/New Decade." There is also a section to write down challenges and improvements. You can either use this to focus on improvements you want to make from the month prior or go back and reflect on the past month you just had.

View the video of the inside of the planner that I shared on my instagram here

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Check out my post on the Weekly Planner here

I wrote a post a few months ago about the general Weekly Planner as well. All of their planners are super affordable at only $25 and can be started at any time during the year. In addition to the Weekly Planner and Instagram Planner, they also offer planners that focus on Youtube, your website and more! Check out all Lovet Agency has to offer by heading over to their website.

Specialized Planners for Small Businesses and Creatives from Lovet Agency

I am super excited to partner with Lovet Agency to share the newest organization tool I have been using to keep track of all my expenses and collaborations. Starting in about middle school, I have been using a planner to keep track of everything I have going on. Back when I was in school, my planners were mostly filled with assignment due dates and extracurricular activities. As I’ve gotten older and am no longer on a school schedule, I have used planners to remember plans with friends, appointments and reminders for my blog and Instagram.

When I first started blogging, I would keep track of all my due dates and collaborations just using my memory. As my blog has grown though, I’ve found writing everything out to be super helpful especially when it comes to tracking expenses and planning out content. This past tax season, I realized how important it is to be tracking all my income and expenses that way I can report it for the next tax year. I’ve been looking for a way to keep track of all this information and was super excited to come across all of the planner options that Lovet Agency provides. All of their planners are marketed towards Content Creators, Influencers and Small Businesses making it really easy to keep everything organized versus a generalized design.

The planner I picked was the Lovet Weekly Planner however they also have an Instagram Planner, Project Planner, Youtube Planner and Website Planner. Inside the planner, each month is set up with a spot to write down your mantra, top goals, financial goals and then a spot to reflect at the end of the month and note down 10 great things that happened. There is also a page for tracking down all your income and expenses which helps me keep track of items I purchased for collaborations or shoots. Then there are the weekly overviews which have a “Do,” “Call” and a “Go” section for each day. If you are a blogger, influencer, content creator etc. I definitely recommend checking out Lovet Agency planners to help keep track of everything! They are super affordable and you can view their full website here

Make sure to also check out my post focusing on their Instagram planner and how I use it to plan out my content.

Personalized Insta Photo Posters with Squared One

You know what they say, a picture is worth a thousand words so a photo poster must be priceless!

Sharing my review of Squared One, the online photo lab where you can print and decorate your space with your own Instagram photos.

I had been admiring Squared One for about a year now and was really excited to finally work with them! They are an online company offering many ways to print and display your images from Instagram or just digital images you have. On their website you can select from the following categories: Retro Prints, Wall Art, Photo Books or Photo Magnets. I have been looking to get some more personalize wall decor so I was immediately drawn to their Insta Photo Poster which is one of the Wall Art options. All Insta Photo Posters are 19 3/4” by 27 1/2” or 50cm by 70cm and can feature either 35 or 70 images.

I was able to create two beautiful posters and decided to make one dedicated to my bunny Riley and the other one is a collection of my travels throughout Europe. In order to make the photos cohesive, I first selected the ones I wanted, cropped them all into squares and then used Lightroom to edit them with a similar preset. On Squared One, you first need to add all of the photos you would like to use and then it will show you a preview with them randomized. I then went through and rearranged the photos. For my Europe poster I tried to split up the colors so I did not have too many blue photos next to each other etc. For Riley’s poster I rearranged the images so that there was a good mixture of close-ups and zoomed out photos on each row and that she was not leaning the same direction in two photos that were placed next to each other.

The posters ended up being the same exact dimensions as my Mapiful poster so I used the same IKEA frame for all 3. I never realized how hard it is to find a frame with these dimensions so to save you all the hassle, here is the link to the one I purchased for under $15 each.

Overall I was extremely pleased with how these turned out! The photos are crisp, colorful and high quality! Right now I have them hanging up around my apartment and got a TON of compliments on them from everyone who visits. The posters are my personal favorite however I did ordered some wall squares as an anniversary gift to my parents which looked great as well (Sorry I do not have any photos of these as my parents would probably be so mad if they knew their photos were floating around the Internet haha).

Everything from Squared One would make a great gift or decoration for your place. The posters by themselves could be great to display images of a kid, pet, loved one or a trip. If you have any questions about the process, please let me know!! Also if you do order something, tag me so I can see what you got!

{If you want to know more about my bunny model Riley, check out this blog post I wrote about her here}

FAQ for a Bunny Mom

Owning a Bunny - Everything I’ve learned through the past 4 years of “Winging It”

Since getting my Miniature Lop named Riley, I have had tons of questions about what she is like and what it is like to be a bunny mom. Without a doubt, owning a rabbit is way less common than owning a cat or dog! Strangely enough, in the past few years it seems like owning bunnies have become more popular. This could be due to more people realizing what awesome pets they make or it could be the fact that I am more aware of fellow bunny owners. Who knows!

When I bought my rabbit, I was 20 years old and had just started my Junior year of College. For some reason, I had spent the summer wanting a bunny despite the fact that I thought they seemed kind of mean! During the fall of 2014, I spent many hours hunched over my laptop scanning my College’s Free & For Sale page looking at cute bunnies for sale. I even got as far as dragging my roommates to a random apartment to look at a bunny that I was contemplating getting. I ended up finding a pet store in my local College town that had a pen full of baby rabbits. I found a cute, grey one that I liked and drove various friends over to the pet store to tell me what they thought. After my third visit, I skipped my lecture class and drove over to pick up my bunny! Looking back, I should have purchased a bunny from a Humane Society but as awful as it sounds (especially because I've been volunteering at Humane Societies for a few years now), I have never adopted a pet in that way before.

The responsible, adult thing to do would have been to discuss this situation with my parents and do a lot of research beforehand. I am a somewhat impulsive person so instead, I spontaneously bought a bunny and literally bought all of the supplies the day before. Also, I don’t remember doing any research ahead of time and didn’t even start out with a bunny cage (it was some used dog crate/cage I found for free online). Since getting Riley, I have a learned a LOT through trial and error and a lot of online research. For those of you who have asked or are curious, here are a lot of the things I learned about having a bunny that would have been helpful to know beforehand! I’ve also included some frequently asked questions further down in this post. Thank you again to everyone who responded to my Instagram Story with all of their bunny questions!

1. Getting them spayed or neutered is EXPENSIVE! It cost me $495 to get Riley fixed and at the time, I had to borrow the money from my mom (I was a broke College student at the time but don’t worry, I paid her back with my first tax return!). Although pricey, getting your rabbit fixed is important so they can live a long and healthy life.

2. They are the sweetest creatures! There is something very calming and wise about rabbits that is unlike any other animal I have owned

3. Bunnies can be very affectionate and they are social animals! Although they do not always want to be cuddled and touched (like humans?), Riley has times where she wants to cuddle and receive nose pets. She also loves giving bunny kisses to the extent where I have to lock her up in her cage sometimes because the licking gets soooo annoying!

4. Bunny-proof everything! I have never had a baby but I would assume it is pretty similar. Objects that Riley has destroyed include: multiple computer and phone charges, shoes, handbags, books, carpet and even my box spring for my bed etc.

5. Carrots are actually not that great for bunnies. Similar to the belief that milk is good for cats, carrots are not that great for rabbits. Although they LOVE them and will love you for giving them a carrot, carrots are very sweet and should only be given in small pieces as an occasional treat

6. Bunnies are very active in the evenings and mornings. There was a 2 week period over this past summer where Riley woke me up every morning at 4:30am much to my dismay though just in time to watch the sun rise

7. They are hella smart! Not only is Riley litter box trained, I also bought her a logic game meant for dogs and she totally mastered it. She has also learned her name though, unlike a cat or dog, she does not come with called but instead will perk up an ear.

8. Cage necessities should include a water bottle, a litter box with a metal cover, some toys, timothy hay, dry food and a bed/mat so they can give their feet a break from the harsh metal wiring. Some owners don’t do a litter box with a cover but I had to because otherwise Riley likes to dig and kick all of her litter EVERYWHERE

9. They are not a good pet for children! For some reason many parents think it is a great idea to buy a cute bunny rabbit for their child as a present. Honestly having a bunny is way more work than owning a cat and in some ways, owning a dog. You constantly need to clean their litter box and cage and let them out to run around and play. Bunnies also will bite and nip which could be a traumatic experience for a child.

Frequently Asked Questions:

How much do they cost? In general they are pretty affordable! Every 8 weeks I order Riley’s food, litter and treats from Chewy for under $50. Once a year I also take her to the vet which is about $57. Starting next year I will be taking her to the vet twice a year as advised for rabbits over 5 years of age. The most expensive thing was getting her fixed but if you buy them from a Humane Society, they should already have been neutered or spayed

Where does Riley live/sleep? Riley has always lived in my room! She recently got an upgrade and now lives in a two bedroom outdoor hutch that I keep inside. Often I will leave her door and her ramp open so she can come and go as she pleases! In one of the rooms in the hutch, I bought her a sherpa dog bed which is where she will usually sleep

Both Riley and I love this hutch because it gives her a lot of room and it matches my bedroom furniture. It also gives her more privacy depending on if she wants to be in her bedroom or out in the main space. For reference, I got the largest size but it comes smaller as well! You can shop it below!

How often do you feed her? I feed her dry food every morning and evening and then make sure she has hay all the time. As a treat I will give her some fresh lettuce and occasionally a few bites of banana which is her favorite

Do they get sick easily? So far Riley has never been sick! It did take her a few days to recover from her surgery when she got spayed but after a few days she was back to normal. Keeping her inside definitely helps but unlike cats and dogs, they do not need regular flea medicine or anything like that.

Is it possible to own a bunny and still work full time? Yes! I work full time and also am busy with blog stuff but still have time for Riley. The great thing about bunnies is they are pretty good at taking care of themselves. Whenever possible, I will leave her cage open so she can get exercise and I play with her every evening. I do think she gets bored sometimes without another bunny to talk and play with

How do you know what she is saying? The super weird thing for me is that they do not talk! If you hear a bunny make a vocal noise, it is probably because it is dying or terrified. Bunny body language is also very different from other animals so it took me a lot of research to understand what Riley was doing and how to try to communicate with her.

Where do I get one? Like any type of pet there is always the option to go to a breeder. If you are just looking for a fYou can also often find bunnies at pet stores which is how I got Riley. My biggest recommendation would be to go to a Humane Society though! I paid about $25 for Riley but at the local Humane Society in Oregon, you can get a bunny for $15 and they come fixed and usually trained. This way you give a bunny a home and save about $500!

What kind of bunny do you have and how old is she? Her birthday is in August so she is almost 5 years old this summer. At first we did not know if she was a holland lop or miniature lop (holland lops are smaller) but based on her recent vet visit, we are now pretty sure she is a miniature lop. If they are a lop, they will have the cute, floppy ears!

I would love to hear what you all thought of this blog post especially since it is a bit different from my usual posts! If there are any other bunny mom’s out there, give me a shoutout! I always love exchanging bunny stories! Also, if you thinking about getting a bunny or just have more questions about my experience with Riley, please let me know!

If you think Riley is the cutest and want to follow her on Instagram, you can do so here