Archives: June 2011

Etsy artist, Kozue, is amazing! If you send her a photo, she'll turn it into a drawing. After you approve the drawing, she'll hand carve the image and turn it into a stamp. They are perfect for wedding announcements, invitations, and thank you cards!

We swoon over wedding details like this. How will you personalize your wedding?

xo,
Ruche

Melissa, Jana, and Joanna (fabulous Ruche fans) have an amazing fashion sense, and we adore their outfits. ♥ Here are some of our favorite Ruche styles!

xo,
Ruche

Here's a quick little tutorial for adding/changing the color of your photos.

Step 1
Select the photo you want manipulate and open it in Photoshop. Make a new Layer.
Find the small black and white circle icon at the bottom of the toolbar.
Select the Photo Filter option.

Step 2
From the drop-down menu, select the color you want use.
Using the density slider adjust your photo until you're satisfied.

Step 3
Save and enjoy!

                      Final Version               Original Version

Describe your perfectly serene moment, and tell us how you would style your favorite Sunlit Serenity piece for your perfectly serene day. ♥ The winner will be chosen randomly for a $75 Ruche gift card. Please limit your entry to 75 words or less. Contest ends on Friday, June 10th at 12 pm PST. Please check back to see if you won!

CONGRATULATIONS, GIOVANNA! Giovanna said:

xo,
Ruche

 via Love and Lavender

...we would look like this. ♥ Have a lovely Monday!

xo,
Ruche

In South Korea, the stigma for unwed mothers is severe and saving face is sometimes the most important thing. For my young birthmother of 14 years old, letting her pride go and giving me to a new family us the best way she could show me how much she loves me.

When I was little, I would write letters to my birthmother and dream of meeting her. I patiently awaited my high school graduation because my parents told me they would take me to Korea as a gift. When it came close to that time and my family began looking into a Korean adoptee travel program, we received a letter about Korean birthmothers. In Korea, reputation is everything and if a married woman is found that she had a child out of wedlock, it is social suicide. Her husband will divorce her and she will loose her family. I cried as my adoptive mother read me this letter and realized wanting to meet my birthmother was selfish. Just as my birthmother showed her love for me by giving me up for adoption and a better life, I wanted to show my love for my birthmother by protecting her the best way I could: turning down my trip to Korea and putting my search for her on hold.

Four years after reading this letter and 22 years of life, I still think of my birthmother everyday. In the last four years, I have learned more about Korean culture and the language. I have learned the name of my birthparents through accessing my adoption records. I have placed a letter in my adoption file for my birthmother to read if she ever chooses to do so. I have done everything possible to achieve the dream of teaching English in Korea by graduating from college and securing a job in Korea starting in mid-June. Even though I will be in Korea and closer to my birthmother than ever, I will never know if I get the chance to tell her how much I love her in person. Instead, I’ve chosen to show her how much I love her by learning about my culture, living my dreams, and praying for her everyday that her life is filled with nothing but happiness. It’s true when they say that sometimes love is letting someone go. To my birthmother - thank you for loving me selflessly enough to give me up to a mother who shows me how selflessly she loves me everyday. Any girl would be lucky to have two amazing mothers like I have.

--Caitlin Saylor

See the first Love Stories entry here! If you would like to submit your story, please send an e-mail to lovestories@shopruche.com. You may attach up to 5 photos, and we welcome creativity! Please try to keep your stories to a 1200 word limit. You will receive an e-mail when your story is selected.

Remember Tieka? We love her sense of style. ♥

Make sure you stop by her blog for more!

xo,
Ruche

* Make your favorite cupcake batter recipe. Then spray your cupcake pan thoroughly with cooking spray - don't use your liners so you'll have a nice fit in the jars once your cupcakes are complete! Fill each hole about 2/3 with the batter.

* After your cupcakes have completely cooled on a wire rack, bag them in freezer Ziploc bags and freeze overnight.

* Slice frozen cupcakes in half. Place the bottom half in a jar, pipe with frosting, add the top half, and pipe the top.

* Seal the lids (add your favorite scrapbook paper or a photo of the person of honor on each   lid ahead of time.)

* Tie spoons to the side of each jar with twine.

* Refrigerate until party time! Yum!!!