August Tablescape - A bit (more like a lot) late!

Better late than never - here is our August Tablescape. Betcha can't guess what the theme is!!! Drum roll please ... pinwheels, but of course! The above whimsical centerpiece and tablescape would actually be perfect for an outdoor kid's birthday party as the pinwheels integrated into the decor can serve as party favors and they'll actually spin in the outdoor breezes!

I've taken a plain ol' glass cookie jar and filled it to the brim with pinwheels ...

tons of brightly colored mini pinwheels. So many that each child will find the particular design that they'll just fall-in love with. And these mini ones are just perfect for small hands.

In addition to sticking the pinwheels in the cookie jars, I've also propped a few into clear glass jars and vases.

And for seating cards I've attached one of our clothespin pinwheels to the rim of the place setting where I've just neatly slid both a place card (made of a plain old tag) and napkin under the pinwheel (great for a windy day as neither the place card or napkin will try to take flight!)

I've also stuck some of our mini pinwheels into wheat grass growing in baskets. A very unique way to display these cuties. (Even works great at larger events - just stick trays of wheat grass on your seating card tables and prop pinwheels, with the seating card flags, into the wheatgrass!)

All of the pinwheels pictured are available for purchase at both our esty shop and our website. We are also able to work with clients on finding the perfect paper to match their party theme. In addition to having papers in stock, for smaller orders, we can also order in paper, or custom design paper to match an event perfectly!

October Fall Tablescape

Just in time for the first day of Fall, it's our October Tablescape! It features the wonderful colors of fall and of course ...

our very own pinwheels (available at both our etsy shop and web shop) - in a fall theme!

And our pretty fall pinwheels that serve as both a party favor and a place card.

We are now offering place card flag attachments that can easily be slid on and off the pinwheel stick which makes for easy calligraphing (pinwheel won't get in the way) and also more fun since the pinwheel is just a pinwheel after the card is slid off after the event.

One of my favorite fall pieces - wheat tied together with a pretty ribbon and stuck into a chocolate colored urn filled with coffee beans. A pinwheel has also been neatly tucked into the ribbon for an extra-special touch of fun.

The above is a great way of propping pinwheels in a table centerpiece. Just take a ball jar, fill with coffee beans and voila the pinwheel sticks will stay perfectly upright. For a bit more fun just tie a bit of ribbon around the jars.

It's kind of hard to tell from this picture but the above is a pumpkin propped into a pretty fall basket and encircled with fall garland. And once again I couldn't help but add a couple of pinwheel accents. (Yes, I'm addicted.)

I usually have a candle propped into this super mini pitcher but for this display I've filled with coffee beans, once again, and stuck in some of my mini cupcake topper sized pinwheels - one with a leaf pattern the other with fall colored stripes.

This tablescape would be perfect for an event that has both adult and children attendees - the actual centerpiece is adult oriented but with the addition of fun pinwheel embellishments the kids will also enjoy!

September Tablescape

Yep - I realize that September is well over half-way over but I'm just now getting around to creating and posting my September Tablescape. (Don't tell anyone but I still haven't posted my August tablescape yet - although I am going to pat myself on the back because I was out this morning creating not one, not two, but three tablescapes. I even completed October already! And yet another pat because I was doing this with a head cold and sore throat. Not sure where I got this this sickness because I know absolutely no one who is sick - I swear Roger is a carrier as he works around high school kids all day and brings their illnesses back to me - although he doesn't seem to get sick himself!:))

Anyway, I digress. My September tablescape features hydrangeas, a rustic lantern, and basket and some pretty creative place cards.


I adore the above lantern and it's rustic appearance. It's actually a left-over from my brother-in-laws rehearsal dinner in July. Charlotte, my mom-in-law, was nice enough to let me take one home. (She actually offered more - I think she has 8 or 9- but I had to decline - not because I wouldn't like a ton more but because I have no space as it is. )

This lovely piece has semi-permanently made it's home on my dining room table for the late summer and fall.

And can you believe it? These hydrangeas are out of my very own garden! Freshly picked today. I heart how the blooms turn a greenish brown burgundy color during the autumn. These blooms are now 'drying' out on my dining room table. I've never tried to dry hydrangeas before so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they don't just shrivel and die and look all pathetic. :-)

And the above is one of my newest event products available at my esty shop and web shop. Chalkboard stake place cards. I have some similar stakes that I use in my herb garden (bought them years ago but the company stopped making them a couple of years ago). I shed a few tears when I learned that I could no longer buy them but I've recently started making my own. They are available in the above style with the plant marker area completely covered in chalkboard paint. Or the below ...

with a more ornate design. Both plant markers are on a stake that can be perfectly stuck into a spray of flowers or small potted plant in either the center of a place setting (as a placecard) or into plants, etc. on the seating card or escort table. (Martha did a feature several years ago where similar stakes were placed into wheat grass on the escort tables. It looked way too cool!)

These would also make clever party favors as guests can just wipe off the chalk after an event and stick these into their very own garden. (Hint: They now make paint pens that are just the coolest things - I use these in my garden to write on the plant name so that when the rain comes down the chalk isn't washed off - and the best part, you can't even tell that you've not written in chalk!)

That's it - I know, very basic but sometimes I think the more basic the better.

I'll have to keep everyone informed of how the hydrangea drying progresses. :)

Whimsical Flowers

Now how cute is the above? Tracy Park from Affordable Elegance, a Michigan Floral Designer, recently utilized my pinwheels in some of her floral designs. (She is great to work with as she literally likes to work outside the box - and even with a box sometimes!) She attached some of my mini pinwheels to her floral blume boxes and what a great accent they made. I think these boxes are too darn cute to begin with but the pinwheels made these boxes even more fun and festive and turned out to be unexpected accents to her already beauty-ess arrangement. I'll have to certainly keep this idea in mind for future uses. :)

And Tracy even stuck one of my handheld pinwheels into the actual arrangement itself - just look at the cute little thing peaking out of the top! Didn't she do a great job of matching the florals to the pinwheels colors?

Above is another of her arrangements. This time she integrated both the mini and handheld pinwheels. Once again - adorable.

Now I do realize that pinwheels shouldn't be utilized in all flower arrangements but I'm thinking that they would be perfect for any whimsical event or party - especially spring or summer outdoor arrangements. I'd also love to see a bride utilize them in her floral bouquet someday. (One can dream, can't they?)

I also can't wait to work with Tracy on future projects - including an upcoming wedding where she is putting together a candy buffet (we both agree that pinwheels and candy buffets go together nicely!) and future floral shows.
For those of you interested in viewing some very cool bouquets, please pop by her blog. And if you are in the Battle Creek Michigan area (sadly I'm not) she is now booking her 2009 events!

Winter's Approaching

Although I realize we are still a couple of months from winter (as fall hasn't even officially arrived!), I've come to the realization that before we know it winter will be upon us again. For me, one of the first official signs of impending winter is when I must begin wearing closed-toe shoes again - and guess what I'm wearing today? Yep, you guessed it. My piggly wigglies are enclosed (and feeling mighty claustrophobic today - especially since I also had to put on knee highs) for the first time in months. It's cloudy and chilly here in Indiana and from the looks outside it doesn't look like winter is too far from arriving.

In honor of this, and the fact that I recently added some winter products to my shop, I thought I'd post a little winter wedding inspiration blog. I'm getting chills just thinking of it - and not chills of excitement but chills because I literally shiver all winter. :)

I love winter weddings that utilize the color scheme of blue and white. (Probably why I chose these colors for my own winter wedding.) I recently found the above invites in Etsy and thought that they would work perfectly for a winter wedding affair. I love scroll and damask patterns and this one is fun yet very elegant at the same time and I'm really into rounded corners on stationery these days. And doesn't the front and back of the envelope just scream 'Open me now?'!!!

During my own winter wedding I also utilized feathers. I wish I had found this bouquet idea (available at another Etsy shop) before my wedding. The feathers fanned around the flowers are just too beautiful and the satin wrap is also way too gorgeous.

Now, the above is actually a photo from my wedding. When my parents were married (over 3o years ago) they also had a winter wedding. My mom had her bridesmaids carry muffs instead of flowers so I decided to carry this over into my wedding. My mom handmade each of the muffs for my sisters/bridesmaids. I also had the florist attach a little arrangement of flowers to each of the muffs. Thought this was an original yet beautiful way to stray from the typical bouquets. (Plus I still put mine out each Christmas - minus the flowers, of course.)

Wouldn't the above make very cool boutonnieres. Now I'm usually not a huge fan of faux flowers but this winter boutonniere utilizes dried flowers and feathers, and it's catching my eye.

And, isn't this purse just fabulous? The attached little broach is also too cute.

And this ring pillow - yep, it's to die for too. Yet another Etsy shop. (Seriously wish I had known about Etsy before my own winter nuptials).

What winter wedding would be complete without a shawl or cape? The above is a capette so it's a bit shorter than a cape but a bit larger than a shawl. Of course it's also in the feather theme.

What a wonderful way for a bride to make a dramatic statement. Isn't this headpiece just too feathery and fabulous? I picture it matching a very basic, and slender, bridal gown perfectly.

The above is another picture from my winter wedding. Before I'd even chosen my wedding colors or theme I was doing research online and learned that birds were a symbol of love and that they are considered messengers of good things to come. With this being said, I knew that I wanted to integrate birds into my wedding. I happened to find the above hand blown bird ornaments in blue and white and thus I decided to choose blue and white as my colors and integrate feathers into my theme.

Seating (and thank you) cards were attached and they were clipped into a white flocked lit Christmas tree. I loved this idea as the ornaments were something that I knew that guests would actually use (and not just toss after the wedding) and that they would also think of us for years to come when they hung these pretty little ornaments on their tree.

The only problem with my thinking was that I fell in love with the birds above at a retail shop (Parisian) and they ran out in my local area (I visited every shop) before I had enough for my guests. I luckily found some similar birds (but only in white) at another local retailer and guess what? They didn't have enough either. So I ended up going to every single one of these stores within an hour and a half radius (one here and two there, etc.) until I had enough. Luckily I had a small wedding or I would have been out of luck.

If I had thought about it then, I would have saved myself a lot of time by purchasing them all online in one fail swoop. (Yes, I am now offering similar handblown glass bird ornaments in my online shop. I am also able to attach seating and thank you cards.)

Yet another wedding photo - our little bird themed cake. It utilized crystallized twigs, craft birds, edible shimmery snow and glitter, and a tree trunk as a cake stand.

Isn't the above tablecloth just too beautiful for a winter wedding. Love the texture and pearls - kind of like snow, okay - not really but it it would be perfect for a wintry white wedding.

Hopefully you enjoyed my winter wedding inspiration and that I haven't made you too depressed that summer, and warm weather, is almost officially over. :(

Pretty Pinwheel Pictures

Many of my regular visitors will remember my blog about Lemiga Event's Soiree from several weeks ago. I'm excited to announce that the pictures from that event are now complete. Michelle is posting the best of the best shots on our blog all week. Today's feature was the Catering Room from her event, where my pinwheel cupcake toppers were also featured. Above is a sneak peek of one of the pretty pinwheel photos that was snapped. Michelle always has the most brilliant ideas - she topped wheat grass flats with scattered cupcake towers. Very, very cute. For more photos of this room, and others please visit her blog. My personal favorite item from her event thus far were chocolates topped with her logo. Too fun.

I also fell in love with the above photo from the event. Love the shadowed foreground mixed with the blurred sunshine background. Altmix Photography provided the photography services for the event and they did such a wonderful job. Some photographers are great at capturing the 'people' details of the event and not so great at capturing the actual event details but they seems to do an awesome job at both! And if you visit their blog, you'll find out what a cute and fun couple they are!

That's about it for now ... I'm in the process of adding some new event related products to my site including chalkboard stake seating cards and bird ornament seating cards. Feel free to check-out these today as well as other new additions later.

Pretty Penned Pinwheels

I just can't hold in my excitement over the photos featured in this blog. (Believe it or not, I just received them literally minutes ago and here I am already blogging about them!) I recently connected with Lisa from Pen & Ink Calligraphy through Etsy. She was looking for clever ways to feature her beautiful calligraphy on her website and I've been looking for a recommended calligrapher so the match was perfect.

I recently sent her some samples of my pinwheel work so she could use them as a photo op for her site. Her site is really beautiful so I knew that she'd do a terrific job, but I'll have to admit that I was blown away by the final photos she sent my way. Amazing!!! Yes, I almost cried (and I'm not even hormonal this week)! Taking photos of my products has never been something I've excelled at - I'm usually rushing around at the last minute so the results are always a bit off par, and sometimes just plain terrible. In most instances, I don't think they do my products justice. But these photos - wow! They really make me want to buy these pretty pinwheels, especially seeing them with the hand calligraphied cards. What I've always imagined in my head is now a complete package and I have Lisa to thank for making my vision a reality for everyone else to see.

I love how she inked the seating card attachments in the perfect pink from the pinwheel.

And what beautiful lettering - this is her Laura style.

And I adore how she hung her calligraphied seating cards from these clothespin pinwheels. I can just picture these pinwheels hanging from a clothesline at an outdoor garden wedding. (Makes me want to get married all over again just so I can have my guests exclaming over these cards.)

Many of the brides who've purchased these seating card pinwheels in the past have placed my cupcake topper sized pinwheels in wheat grass on their seating card tables, but Lisa came up with her own creative idea. How cute do these pinwheels look placed into mini tin watering cans?! Once again these would look too cute at an eclectic bride's wedding.

Not only does Lisa do a wonderful job, she is even more wonderful to work with. Please hop on over to her site and blog for more wonderful sites and even more calligraphy lettering styles. And for those brides who are looking to utilize some of the ideas above, I will work with you on creating your own custom pinwheels and I'll even send the seating cards along to Lisa for you so she can do her magic.

After seeing these photos, it really makes me want to do a major overhaul on my present website. If only I had about 10 more hours in the day. :-)