DIY wooden bead necklace

I am sharing a DIY necklace tutorial over at LaBelleMadeleine. Cute wooden bead necklace right? Go see the easy tutorial I created for you gals here!

A cute scalloped necklace + a glimpse into a busy future

I have some pretty creative friends! It's nice to share ideas with someone who just "gets" what you love to do and feed off of inspiration from one another. My friend Tara from Laila's Charming Pieces is one of those friends. See this super cute scalloped necklace? She crocheted this little baby and I adore it! She will be giving some of these away too! "Like" her Facebook page for all the details of her giveaways (a few are happening NOW) + other items she has available in her shop!

Want to know what else I adore? 2013! It's treating me pretty great I must say. I pulled out my calendar and I have some exciting events that I am attending including:

*a bridal show next month (more details soon to come)
*my first blog conference in May (Elevate!)
*planning a friend's baby shower at the end of May
*a craft show in Long Beach in June (Patchwork here I come!)
*a June wedding that I am helping to plan
*I'm planning and styling an event in August for a teen spokeswomen event
*My husband and I, along with some friends of ours, are planning for an Oregon trip around September
*& I'm praying that I can see NY by the end of the year

I also have some classes and courses that will be finished this year along with lots of new pretty items that I am happy to share soon!

I'm looking forward to many events and meeting new people these coming months! It's a great journey ahead!

How has 2013 been for you? Any exciting events this year?

My first pattern COMPLETE...after about a month and a half!!

About a month and a half ago, I took my first sewing class. I have sewn several things but it has always been "free hand sewing." No patterns. No manuals. Just trial and error. I was in need of some actual sewing knowledge though so I signed up for class at Joanns to create a clutch.

I was supposed to create this little bag within 3 hours but with my instructor who is very detail oriented when it comes to sewing, I had to actually reschedule for another time to come back and finish. After about 5 1/2 hours of total "class time," I still hadn't finished my bag. Mind you, this was my first pattern I had ever attempted and again, my instructor (although VERY sweet) was a perfectionist and liked to explain things quite a bit which added even more time. I decided to just take the bag home and finish it on my own. Since it was just the flap and some hand stitching to be done, I thought I would finish it in no time! Well, I just so happened to finish it a few days ago after I made myself put everything else aside to complete this project. Let me tell you, I am soo happy I did!

Here's my little clutch I made. I am so proud of myself for actually completing my first pattern, although it was a little more difficult to read than I thought. Whew!

What are some of your projects you are proud of lately?

Exciting NEWS!

My career choices have really taken a sharp turn! From taking a HUGE leap of faith by leaving nursing school to now wedding and event planning as well as running my little etsy shop full of pretty things. :) I certainly love it though and I'm pretty excited about my new journey ahead. So far, I have been quite content where the Lord is leading me and I have learned so much more since taking myself away from the stress and all-nighters.

Today, I enrolled in the Wedding and Event Planning program with Sheffield School based out of NY. I am able to put in as much time as I can whenever possible which is great because being a wife, a mommy, keeping up with my shop, being a part of 2 bible studies, taking a floral design class and amongst every day life, it's hard to really fit more schooling into a "schedule." Instead, I am able to work on this whenever possible but I am hoping to get it done within a year. :)

Well, that's all the exciting news for now. As far as everything else goes,

*I still haven't had actual class time with my floral design class since the first day was pretty much cancelled and this past week, it snowed pretty good which lead to another cancelled class. Hopefully this week though, I will have a little flower creation to show you guys. :)

*Last night, I sent a little note to a friend that I've missed and I'm happy I did because things were said that were held in for too long. Although some friendships may be for a season, don't let feelings or words go unsaid because life is too short and regret creates a heavy heart.

*Today, my wonderful husband did some more cleaning and organizing around the house. I wish I had that "gift" but unless I'm in a weird cleaning mood, I'm not the best at it.

*Tonight, a great friend of mine came by for a visit. We watched our sons play together and yet still manage to hurt one another. What is up with little boys and their "rough-housing"? Can't they just read a book to each other and hug it out? Why the throwing of toys, climbing on tables and wrestling until one screams?

*Currently, the little man is rubbing his eyes. Tired much?

*In a few minutes, another friend of mine and her daughter are coming over for a little sleep over. I predict glasses of Dr. Pepper will be enjoyed, nails will be painted (or attempt to be), and the movie Julie & Julia will be watched.

What are your plans this Friday night?

New Hairpieces + DIY Chalkboard + Flowers at a Tea Party

I feel like last week I blew up the "blog feed" with a post almost every day. Lately though, I have been a bit absent from the feed but that doesn't mean I was necessarily taking a break. Lately, I have been getting orders done, I lead a very humbling mission by sharing God's love with the homeless, and even worked on a few things for a gorgeous photo shoot with Vilchis Squared. Not to mention, I even did some yard work! :)

Here are a couple orders that went in the mail recently.

This piece was made to be worn for a bridal shower. It's a smaller version of this piece from my shop. It was created using ivory magnolia petals, lace, chiffon, pearls, a skeleton leaf, an ivory marabou feather, some french veiling and a crystal brooch for the center. I just adore this hairpiece!

These fun sparkle bows were also completed for a few sorority sisters who belong to Delta Delta Delta. We came up with the idea to attach 3 triangle swarovski crystals to the center of each (since the Greek letter for delta is a triangle shape).

I also hung a new little piece of decor in my craft room. I got this cute DIY chalkboard from our Valentine Tea hosted by our women's bible study. This was made by sweet Lindsay. :)

I took some pictures for a dear friend of mine. She wanted new photos for her blog and since she is super talented and created new pieces for her shop, we covered those too.

Isn't her daughter Laila just adorable? :)

Here's one of her new crochet clutches with removable flower clip.
Get it from her shop Laila's Charming Pieces.

I also started my floral design class. So far though, I have only read the syllabus since our instructor wasn't there the first day of class. It was the day before Valentine's day which means BUSY for florists.

Speaking of flowers, I created a few different floral arrangements for a friend's photo shoot a couple nights ago.

Here's a sneak peek of the shoot! Photography + styling credit goes to {ever so talented} Aurora from Vilchis Squared. Can't wait to see the rest of the photos!


I hope your week is going well! Any fun plans? I'd love to hear about them!

{Vintage Dreams} photo shoot featuring a bridal headpiece by {Love Sparkle Pretty}

Recently, I was so fortunate to be able to work with Desiree from Desiree Shuey Photography! She contacted me to create a headpiece that would match her vision of this {Vintage Dreams} bridal photo shoot she had planned. I was so excited to get to work on something completely new for me! I created a bridal cap using delicate lace, pearls and gold detail. I completely love how this piece turned out and love even more how it coordinated with the gorgeous dress Desiree used for the shoot (which was her moms wedding gown)! The ever so lovely Mindy modeled it beautifully along with hair and makeup done by Vanessa of MUAH by Vanessa Irizarry. LOVE!
Colette of Brier Rose created all of the florals for this shoot. I am in AWE of her work! Swoon worthy right?!
 Here is a peak at this gorgeous shoot!

 

See more of this shoot by the ever so talented Desiree Shuey right here.
Florals: Brier Rose
Hair + Makeup: MUAH by Vanessa Irizarry
Lace Headpiece: Love Sparkle Pretty

Want to know why else Desiree is so awesome?
Look at this super cute "glitter love globe" she made me for Valentine's day! SO SWEET!!

Hope your Valentine's day is as wonderful as mine!
After a morning "Valentine Tea" with women's bible study, it's now time to spend the day with the husband at the theater and grab some lunch! :)
{Have a beautiful Day!}

My goodies from a {Valentine Mug Swap}!

A while back, I joined a Valentine Mug Swap which was hosted by Sew Caroline and Rags to Stiches. I have done a few swaps and each time I have so much fun with it and I love meeting new people. This time, I had the pleasure to meet Diana from In the Clouds. She is oh. so. sweet. and certainly spoiled me with the package she sent me!
Here are my lovely gifts that she sent me:
An ever so lovely mug which she customized for my with my initials.
{LOTS} of my favorite chocolates-Riesens!
A gift card to Starbucks {I will love her forever}
A bunch of yummy hot chocolate packages also from Starbucks
& an adorable V-Day card that she made.

I feel so loved! Thank You SO much Diana and Thank You Alissa and Caroline for hosting this fun swap! :)

Go see Diana's mug swap post to see what I sent her!

Today. {A post about a mug, a new blog design + 2 giveaways!}

Today. *I received my V-day package in the mail today from a mug swap I joined! I certainly feel loved! Thank you Diana! (A whole post about this ever so lovely gift will come later this week.)

*I also started on a new blog design. I'm not completely done with it but what do you guys think?
It may change again once I get my new website up...hopefully within the next couple months.

*I went to the post office again today to send off a few more orders. I'm pretty sure the people that work there are thinking that I'm there more than they are! I really need to get a scale so I get send off all my packages from my house!

*I read another "day" in my Nehemiah devotion for women's bible study. It's really quite amazing what you can learn when you actually take time out to read God's word!

*My 14 month old son threw mac n' cheese at me today...what's new?

*My husband gave me a bit of "mommy time" to go to Joann's for a wee bit. This trip had a purpose though, I didn't allow myself to wander.

*Finally, I am able to "reply" to everyone's comments! Sorry for not getting back to you guys sooner. I don't know why it wasn't allowing me to respond to your sweet remarks, but it is now and I'm thankful for that!

*Currently, I am sipping some pumpkin spice coffee with Lilo and Stitch on the T.V. while my son is dancing to his piano and my husband is sound asleep since he has to work in a few hours! {Run-on sentence?} lol

What do your Monday nights consist of?
~*~*~*~*~*~
Don't forget about these awesome giveaways that I am a part of!

Head on over to Going with the Flow to enter to win the gold chain headpiece from my shop.

Want to win the aqua blooming headband from my shop? Head on over to A Life Worth Living to enter!

{Have a beautiful night!}

A Cozy Cold Photo Session

It snowed yesterday! It was so pretty! My first instinct was to grab my camera and start snapping away. Practice, practice, practice-not that I'm in any way trying to be a photographer but it's fun to take pictures! :)
On a pretty snowy day, I went over to my mother's house, decorated the fireplace and photographed my brother and his girlfriend for a cozy cold photo session. They are my first couple that I have really photographed so I was really excited! I still have lots to learn but here are some of the shots.
{enjoy}