Archives for December 2011

Choosing colors for your beach wedding or beach themed event is a piece of cake! You do not have to correspond colors with a photo of a wreath, bouquet, or socks. Look to nature for your palette. Natural hues, only nature can create. Take a few moments to notice the clouds, the sky color, the sunrise, and sunset right in front of you. Be grateful, for today is another gift. Another day full of delight.

Have a SPARKLING day full of color and inspiration my friend.

We thought sending save the date cards with flip flops was such a great idea, we designed it TEN YEARS AGO! Yes, in 2001.

What a creative and truly unique way to give your guests a taste of your tropical beach wedding!

Today, this is a super easy D.I.Y. project! Yes, trust me YOU CAN DO IT! Because, as we know, everyone can buy flip flops and tie a bow!  As we suggested on our website in 2006, you can find them at Old Navy or Target. Of course now-a-days you can go online to buy them. Piece of cake.

To create your own save the dates with REAL flip flops: Just layout and print out a tag on your home computer, tear the edging for a beachy look. Hole punch the corner with 2 holes using an 1/8″ hole punch and attach to the flip flops with wraphia. Insert your flip flops into a bubble envelope and mail to your guest! THEN wait for the phone calls regarding how creative YOU are!

Have fun!

How to make a party perfect!

At our annual lakeside July 4th party our neighbor/friend broke out his guitar and started playing and singing. What a surprise! And our guests just sat in awe of his talent. Smiling. Enjoying. No matter the size of your party or event, live music is a must. Even if you have a smaller budget, you can find a lovely acoustic guitarist and set an amazing mood for your celebration! If you are having a Christmas open house have the guitarist seated at your entrance on the right side for a WOW factor! You will set the mood and your guests will be thrilled and truly impressed.

I asked our friends on Facebook what they thought made a perfect party. Here’s the list and can you guess what topped it?

1. Wonderful friends.
2. Background music.
3. Delicious food. Creative dishes to start conversations.
4. Gorgeous flowers.
5. A party planner to make the party fabulous!
6. Good wine.
7. A “token” gift / favor for your guests, as they leave.
8. Cocktail hour at the start.
9. Lovely dinner.
10. Candles.

I would love to add “custom invitations“, “a theme” and “entertainment” to this list.

Years ago, I threw what people said was the BEST party they have ever been to. A Hawaiian Luau. They still talk about the Luau today!! Several keep their Bottle Invitations displayed in their homes as a reminder of the fun they had. The highlight of the party was the entertainment. I had professional Hawaiian Luau hula dancers and an amazing fire dancer! Not only did they dance. They inspired our guests to learn the hula and dance as well!!

I *HIGHLY* recommend them to EVERYONE who wants to share the very best Hawaiian entertainment for their guests. Visit their website now HAWAIIAN SHOWS / ENTERTAINMENT or watch a small sample of them in action…

Tuika Faumuina and his dancers are truly amazing.

Enjoy and have fun!!!

This weekend I painted on a large canvas for 4 hours in public. I have not painted on such a large scale for 20 years! {cough} Yes, I said 20. And my how the paint has changed. It dries so much faster than before. But still slower than my go to watercolor paint. I still prefer painting smaller watercolor paintings. AND watercolor is STILL my number one medium.

When I started the acrylic painting, I did remember you must lay a base of color. Very similar to how you would start a watercolor painting. This is where {Progress, Not Perfection} comes to my mind. This part is the hardest for me. I blame my (60%) left-brained dominance. I want perfect, I want the blossoms to be defined and POP.

“Flowers are restful to look at. They have neither emotions nor conflicts.” ~ Sigmund Freud

After 4 hours of painting and 7ish layers of paint applied to the upper right corner the “cherry blossoms” start to take shape.

A close up. Looks a bit abstract to me, but I’ll let is slide for now. I may or may not add the tiny veins to the petals.

We shall see next Sunday when I paint again in public, as I promised I’d be there. Due to my schedule of commissioned artworks and custom invitation / stationery designs, painting on large canvases will have to wait. I’m guessing about 5-7 years.

Remember friends, things in life take time. We may not always get to finish what we start. Or we may not always have all of the answers to our life’s questions. Time will tell. Hang in there and remember… {Progress, Not Perfection}

Have the most lovely Monday!

UPDATE: Due to an injury from August flaring up, and all of my current deadlines, I will not be painting in public at Fieldcrest.

5/31/12 UPDATE!!!: After 5 months of healing, I was able to complete my acrylic painting at 12:54 AM this morning. I already have the next painting lined up to begin. I can not wait. xo

Effervescence

Cherry Blossoms. 24″ square. Acrylic.

One of the clients I’ve been working with is Nicole. She fell in love with our TULIP wedding invitation design and wanted to change the flower color to red. She wanted to see the opal metallic and black card layer backings to make her final decision. Which one do you think she went with?

And the winner is! … The elegant black background layered card. Great choice Nicole!

If you find one of my artworks you love but would LOVE even more if it was a different color, just ask! We love to customize our designs for you.

P.S. ~ If you are wondering WHY the name on the card doesn’t match my client’s name, I NEVER post my client’s REAL wedding details for the public to see. We truly respect our clients’ privacy. xo