Billboard-lovesparklepretty

It's been a while since I've done Mani Monday which is probably because I have a difficult time trying to keep them "smudge-free" with a 1 1/2 year old. None the less, I successfully painted my little tips and I had fun doing it.
Since it's Spring time, I wanted a pop of color and pink is one of my go-to shades of polish. I wanted to play with 3 different shades so I chose a light pink, a coral and a hot pink.
I call this combo {Berry Sorbet}.

(excuse the ugly cuticles. lol)

I used Feeling Great and Easy Going both in Sinful Colors. I also used a Wet N' Wild shade called Tropicalia.

I know the trend with painting the ring finger a different color than the rest is really big right now but I put a little extra spin on it and used 3 different shades instead of two. I really like how it turned out too! This just may be my new signature style when it comes to my finger tips. :)

What are your favorite colored polishes this season?

This week in Floral Design class, we created a very colorful all around arrangement. We used irises, daffodils, carnations, daisies, goldenrod, eucalyptus leaves and ming fern.
I really loved this arrangement and was so excited to work with different flowers than we had the previous weeks. I have noticed that it's also getting easier to place flowers and we have been getting out of class on time lately. Whoop!

Here's this weeks arrangement.

By the way, I was dying to work with Eucalyptus leaves and I was ecstatic when I found out that this past week we had them for this design. I just LOVE the way they photograph and cascade out of arrangements. I can't wait to create a bouquet with these leaves in it!

As far as the Wedding and Event Planning course goes, I am finishing up Unit 1 with "Ceremonies" where I have learned a bit more in depth of the different types that take place among different religions and cultures. Also, in the audio portion of this lesson, they talk about different ways to go about a ceremony if the couple doesn't want any type of religious mention or vice versa. They also go over ideas if the bride is a part of one culture and the groom is another, how to go about blending the two.
It's a good way to end the first Unit and I am now moving on to Unit 2!

Have a beautiful weekend my friends!

At the end of this month, I will be working with Aurora Vilchis on a bridal shoot and releasing some new hairpieces for the shop! I am sooo excited to be creating new pieces for brides to love and I can't wait until they are all complete.
I have been working late into the wee hours to finish some of these pretties and I have big plans for those I haven't started just yet.
Here's a {tiny} peek into a new bridal line.

What are your favorite bridal hairpiece styles?

This past week, I created a few new pieces that were shipped out recently. Most were custom pieces which are always fun because creating something new allows me to experiment a bit and add items to my portfolio.

This wedding piece was a custom take on the Tiffany hairpiece from the shop. The bride wanted to add some ivory burlap to match the rustic feel of her wedding and I love how the burlap did just that!

 I am sponsoring the Elevate Blog Conference that I am attending next month and I sent out these pretty little items to be entered in a raffle drawing. This necklace and earring combo is a limited edition set that will be available in the shop soon. I also added the vintage gold and white ring from Love Sparkle Pretty.

This dainty rosette necklace was sent out to Wisconsin. It is a perfect little necklace created with champagne and ivory lace and topped off with 2 small pearls.

I can't wait to share the new bridal collection I will be working on this week! Each piece will have a bit of "Spring" detail to it that is just lovely and swoon worthy.

Have you completed any recent projects that you are proud of?

I guess we can start with Thursday where instead of women's bible study (we go back in another week), we got together and all the babies went hunting for eggs + candy. I didn't even think Levi would care so much about finding eggs but he was SO excited and kept picking them up and putting them in the cup. He had so much fun with this game!
He also toted around a balloon just about the whole time. This kid is OBSESSED balloons! It helped to find him among the crowd of kids though. lol

Friday, my husband and I took a spontaneous trip to Huntington Beach where we walked the pier and had some good grub on Main St.

 Saturday, I created a brainstorming map with my friend Tara for our craft show in June. I'm not sure I will get everything done that I would like to but hey, at least I started on a plan!

On Easter morning, we went to church and had a wonderful worship, watched a neat skit the teenagers and kids put on, listened to a great service, played a game of people hunt and find the eggs!
Remember the real reason we celebrate Easter day my friends! :)
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him." John 3:16-17
My super adorable god babies and wonderful friend Megan.

After church, I visited my great aunt and uncle along with the rest of the family where we had YUMMY food and good laughs!

 During this past weekend, I also worked on lots of orders and new items which I will soon share with you guys. Here's a peek.

How was your Easter weekend?

This past week was full of fun facts and pretty spring blossoms!
Since Easter is tomorrow, we created our first all around arrangement within a colorful Easter basket for Floral Design class this week. We used daisies, carnations (which have been in all of our designs so far), alstroemeria, ming fern, and wax flower.
I really enjoyed creating this arrangement and guess what? We even got out of class on time! This never happens by the way, but hopefully we can keep this momentum up. For the bow, we were supposed to place one on each side but I cheated and just plopped it on top. Ha!
Here's the arrangement from this week.

A fun fact I learned in floral class this week was that you can put a bit of clear lemon lime soda in a vase of flowers to help expand their life. The sugar in the soda will help nourish the flowers and the carbonation will help keep the vase clean. Cool right?

I also completed lesson 3 of my first unit of Wedding and Event Planning. This lesson was my favorite so far because of all the interesting customs and traditions of weddings within several different cultures.

Here are some fun facts I learned about the traditions we still carry out today in weddings:
*The tradition of a bridal bouquet originated in ancient Rome with the belief that fragrant florals and herbs would ward off evil spirits.
*The wedding cake originally symbolized fertility. Same with the tossing of rice.
*The kiss at the end of the ceremony symbolizes an exchange of spirits, uniting the couple in both body and spirit.
*The reason why we have bridesmaids started within some cultures that the idea of hiding the bride among similarly dressed women would confuse any evil spirits. This also applied to groomsmen.
*Having the groom stand on the bride's right side started in ancient times when men armed themselves with swords. If any danger came to the couple, the groom would easily be able to draw his weapon with his right hand. This is the same reason why we place a knife to the right of our dinner plate when we set a table.

I also learned of some pretty interesting customs from many other countries including:
*In the Chinese culture, the bride and groom will have a drink with each table as they visit the guests. (I can imagine the photos by the end of the night!)
*In the German culture, on the night before the wedding, it is tradition for the guests to break pottery and play pranks on the bride and groom. Also, during a German ceremony, the groom will kneel on the hem of the bride's dress to symbolize his control over her and the bride will rise and step on the groom's foot to assert her power within the marriage.
*In the Scottish culture, when a couple first decides to wed, they will notify the baker who will create a dense wedding cake for them. Then, brandy is poured over it once a week up until the wedding day.
*Russian newlyweds will tie a doll on their wedding "getaway car" if they want their first born to be a girl or tie a bear to the car if they want to have a boy.

There was SO much more that I learned and as you can see, it was a lot of fun! I love how ancient custom still plays a role in why we do things today during weddings. Whether or not they still have the same meaning, there is a reason why each tradition started in the first place and it's quite fascinating! Even for the most "non-traditional" bride, there is always something that companies a wedding which rooted from ancient meaning.

Are there any intriguing wedding traditions or customs that you've learned about?

I just received my new business cards in the mail and I just adore them! I was so nervous that something would go wrong when I had sent them to print but they are exactly the way I wanted them. I'm so excited to  package these with my new orders and send them off with the ladies at Elevate in May.

More exciting news? My new website is now up and running! I officially own my own domain name and have a landing page with all the good stuff. :) I still have a bit of work to do with it but for now, it's good enough.

{Enjoy}

Also, I am offering a special discount on a new custom necklace and earring set that will be arriving to the shop soon. For $12 + shipping, you can have your very own custom set in the colors you choose! Send me your Paypal email below or email me at kaylanicole0317[at]aol.com. This offer is for my blog and FB followers because I love you guys! It's only for a limited time so don't wait too long.

Have a beautiful week!