New Products

 

I typically don't blog about beauty products but I thought I would show y'all what I picked up tonight.   

• Laura Mercier compact to keep in my purse - I love this mineral pressed powder for easy touch ups on the go
• Lancome liquid eyeliner in ice black- not too dark and just the right amount of shimmer
• Clinique lip color in Lovely Honey - my mom loves the color Black Honey so I saw they came out with new colors and picked up another shade to try out
• Laura Mercier lip glace in bare pink - the perfect pale pink to layer on top of a darker lip shade
• Murad Environmental Shield cleanser and rapid age spot and pigment lightening serum - I'm trying out these two in hopes that it will help to even out spots on different areas of my face

Like any girl I always love getting new products to use! Feel free to share any of your favorites for Spring!

Secret Talent

I have a secret (maybe not so secret) talent.  It's obvious that I love to craft but when I get in the mood I also love to paint.  Art has always been one of my strong points and I took a few years of it in high school.  Other than that, it has always been a hobby of mine.  

I've learned that I work best when I have a picture, idea, or image in front of me.  Over the years, I have been able to create a few pieces of artwork that I am really proud of.  Several are displayed throughout my parents' house and a few special others have found homes with close friends and family!

With that said, I thought I would show you all a few of my favorites that I have done!

 This one I painted for my sweet friend's little girl that I got to babysit when she was little! Mommy showed me an inspiration painting that we both loved and I recreated it here! We could not have been any happier with the outcome. I'm in love with this sweet, girly canvas and it looks precious in her room!

Here is another snapshot without the bow and tag!

 This is a huge 48"x48" canvas that is hanging in our living room at home.  I love this one because it is adds a bold pop of artwork into the large space but it is subtle and abstract enough that it isn't distracting.  The colors are soft and soothing and I'm really pleased with the finished result.  This canvas is unique because I added an epoxy resin to the top of the painting.  This clear, thick finish adds a protective coat and a professional shiny look to the artwork. 

Ignore the wall color and dark trim (it has since been changed to a taupy gray and white woodwork)...but this photo gives you an idea of how large the piece is and how it works in the space. 

 I painted this one for my brother (an avid duck hunter).  I was inspired by a much more expensive piece by a local artist.  Since I obviously couldn't afford it as a house warming gift, I decided to recreate it for his new home a few years ago and I think he really loves it.  It is another large canvas and measures at least 2 ft. by 3 ft. if not bigger.  Notice my brother's has a chocolate lab beside the hunter....

I painted one just like it for Michael...except I lightened up the sky per his request and added a pointer dog instead of a lab.  This canvas currently resides over his bed in the apartment but I'm thinking it will have to be packed up once the nuptials come around and we have our new bed.  It is definitely more suited for a bachelor pad. 

This is a simple and sweet oblong canvas I painted for my bathroom.  It is simply a field of cotton and I really love it for the space it is in.  

This is the photographer that inspired my next painting.  My soon-to-be father-in-law loves barns and snapped this photo one day of one of his favorites he has seen locally.  He then commissioned me to paint it for him.  Talk about being nervous....I looked at the photo and really wasn't sure if I was going to be able to do it justice and make it look nice to actually hang in their house (particularly right over their bed).  

I used a large 36"x48" canvas and got to work.  Here are some photos that show the progression of the painting. 

 Up close of the barn...

 Started adding in the trees...

 And the finished product...

I'm proud of this one because it was challenging and allowed me to really discover how realistic I could make a painting.  I love the finished product and am so happy every time I see it hanging in their master bedroom!

And this is the latest and smaller fun canvas I created for my office space at work. It does it's job and adds a fun splash of color!

Hope you enjoyed a little sneak peek of more of my hobbies! I'm excited to be able to create some more custom pieces once we become a married couple and have our own home! 

What I'm Loving

I thought to mark the middle of the week I'd try out a What I'm Loving Wednesday post!

I'm loving that 4 months from tomorrow I get to marry my love!! Bring on the countdown! :)

I'm loving my bridesmaid dresses! They turned out to be exactly what I envisioned and are the perfect color! 

I'm loving my monthly printables from Jones Design Company.  I am signed up for a monthly plan and for $7.99 I get all sorts of fun printables for the month including monthly and weekly calendars (shown in the pictures at my desk), chore charts, dinner charts, shopping lists, note cards, mailing labels, an art print and more!

I love this lady and her online design shop.  I have several of her art prints scattered throughout my house and always love catching up with her latest project.  If you've never seen her stuff you should really check it out.  I love my monthly printables...they add the perfect touch to my office space and help to make everyday tasks that much prettier. 

I'm loving the new car that Michael got the other night! He is one of the most impulsive buyers I have ever met! haha Although it's going to be REALLY weird not seeing him in Wally (what I named his truck), it is so nice to know that he loves the new car.  It will be perfect for this time in our lives when we have to travel to see each other and gas is not cheap.  

I'm loving my Emi Jay hair ties.  They are all I use to put my hair up with.  I find them to hold my hair well without damaging it and plus they look super cute!  Just another simple thing that can make a ponytail look more cute :)

I'm loving my first swimsuit purchase of the year! I thought this was both fun and unique! The bows on either side are what absolutely did it for me.  I love the bright colors and think it will look great on the beaches of Jamaica in June!

Finally, I'm loving this man.  I love the smirks he makes and I love the way he makes me smile.  I love that he knows just how to melt my heart with his words. 

Have I mentioned how excited I am to marry him in 121 (almost) days?!

I hope you all are having a great week! It's nice to sometimes sit back and think about what we love in our lives no matter how big or small :)

You can't always get what you want....

Don't you hate it when you order something and it's not what you thought it was going to be?

I'm stuck in that dilemma.  I thought I found the perfect earrings for my bridesmaids and they were a great sale on Kate Spade's website but they are not the right color :( boo

The earrings are beautiful, don't get me wrong...but I don't need 5 crystal earrings when I was expecting an opaque white.  Sooo....if you are in need of some pretty earrings please let me know and I will be happy to sell them to you for the same great price I got them for! 

This is the picture that made the earrings look opaque and white.  Which is more of what I wanted.

And this is the earrings when they arrived today. Definitely crystal and not white. haha 

Oh well! You live and you learn.  If you really are interested in buying any or all of them ask me for more details! I hate the hassle of eBay so thought I would post on the blog about them first. They were a final sale item is why I cannot return them. 

My week in review

First off I want to say hello and thanks to all of my new followers I have received this past week!  Thanks to my sweet friend and fellow bride-to-be, Whitney at That's Influence, for the shout out earlier this week! Makes me happy to know my blog is slowly but surely catching on and it motivates me to post more :)

I thought I would give a little recap of my past week and some fun projects and things that have been going on! 

Last weekend I spruced up our house for Valentine's Day! Though some view this as a silly holiday I find it to be a sweet one; not only because the colors are great, but because it's fun to celebrate "Love"!

"And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love.  But the greatest of these is love." 

1 Corinthians 13:13

Our decorations start at the front door! 

I was inspired to make these wreaths after I saw this pin on Pinterest....

Absolutely too cute not to try out! I had to search online to find the berry garland in red and pink and bought my wreath forms at my local Michael's and Hobby Lobby.  Mine aren't quite as vivid but I'm overall happy with the result and love the welcoming and festive touch it adds to the front of the house.  

These are our heart burlees that we hang on our french doors into the back yard.  They always add a fun and festive touch to our living area.  

And here is the mantel with my love collage.  I think my favorite part about this whole display is the small hanging ornament on the right side of the picture that says "Be Mine."  We found this last year lying on a shelf at Marshalls for $2 and I couldn't pass it up.  It's enclosed in glass on either side and framed in metal.  The backside shows cupid with his arrow.  Such a small and fun touch! Not to mention the jar full of pink, red and white M&M's...yumm!

Last weekend I also worked on a canvas to hang in my cubicle at work! Yes, I'm that girl...I have to have a cute workspace no matter where it is.  The grey walls of my cubicle were not cutting it so I had to add some color.

This is what I came up with.  I didn't want anything too detailed just something whimsical that would add color to the drab space.  I love the colors I used and added in hints of pearlescent white so that it would add a special luster and catch the light.  

Here's the finished project hung up at my desk.  It definitely helps to brighten my day when things get busy and hectic.  As you can also see I have a picture of me and my sweetie and a jar of those cute M&M's.  :) This is only one portion of my desk space.  I'll have to share the rest of the space with you another day!

On Thursday night my mom & I hosted a Stella & Dot jewelry party! I love the chic, stylish, and unique pieces that they have and we had so much fun hosting.  The simple and stylish displays for their home parties accent their jewelry pieces so well! Here are a few of my favorite pieces on my wish list...

All of these are great pieces to transition into the upcoming spring and summer months! Not to mention they would like great with some of my honeymoon outfits that I am anxious to start planning! 

Such an awesome brand that I love!!

And this weekend I traveled to Alabama to visit my sweet fiance.  Being separated right now is hard but makes our time together so special.  Saturday morning I assembled the new coffee table I found for us! (It was an awesome deal and was exactly the style I had been searching for!) Silly me forgot to take a picture of the table in it's new space.  However here is what it looks like...

Decorating is one of my passions and I can't wait to have a house to decorate from head to toe.  I'm loving being able to pick up special pieces that we love here and there so that when we do get in a house we will already have several pieces that we love to decorate with.  

And here are my two rotten cuties! They sure do love each other. During the week they only have each other so as you can tell they have bonded very well.  Macy loves her daddy.  I love being able to capture moments like this one :) makes my heart happy.  I love these two and miss them already.  

So that is my week in review! All over the place and full of fun! 

Good news...my bridesmaid dresses are in and I'm going with two of my bridesmaids tomorrow to check them out! I absolutely can't wait to see how they turned out! I also have another DIY project for the wedding that I'm going to try and complete this week so I'll be back with updates on that! Hope you all have rested up this weekend and are ready for another week! :)

Save-the-Date

Save-the-Dates are officially in the mail! 

Making these bad boys was definitely a process! It took a me a good couple of weeks to get everything done.  I worked in stages and created every bit of the save-the-date myself.  

I was inspired by a save-the-date example I had seen on ohsobeautifulpaper.com.  The example was very simple compared to my creation but it gave me a foundation of something unique and I knew I could add my own touch to it!  

I began by ordering our custom save-the-date stamp from Antiquaria.  It was an awesome investment and worked flawlessly on each card.  I ordered my kraft paper and matching envelopes from papersource.  The seafoam chevron strip at the bottom was a paper pdf file I bought and printed out onto white cardstock.  I used a tool to put the small eyelets at the top of each card and strung my pink twine through it.

The fun part about the stamp is that I embossed each one! Embossing is one of my new favorite things (thanks to my friend Meghann for teaching me how!).  It makes the product look more finished and fancy but was still easy and cheap.  I love the finished result! I had to cut each card down to the tag shape as well as cut each chevron strip.  Like I said...definitely a process! I had nice little assembly lines going and paced myself by completing separate steps each night. 

I went one step further by adding on to the back! I began by placing a small wallet size picture onto the center of the tag and held it down with gold photo corners.  I also placed a small pink circle on the center of the chevron strip and embossed a gold 'm' in the center.  Of course the 'M' represents my soon-to-be last name!

Adding the picture and these extra touches made our save-the-date that much more personal and unique!

And here are my finished stacks of cards! Lots and lots of work right there! 

Though it took a lot of work, I am so glad I was able to create these all on my own.  They reflect me as a bride and I am so excited for my guests to be receiving them in the next couple of days!

But...I didn't stop there.  After putting that much work and creativity into the actual save-the-date, they had to be delivered in an equally crafty envelope.  

Here is my stack of stuffed envelopes ready to go to the post office!

I bought matching kraft paper envelopes and chose to print out my own wrap address labels onto pale pink label sheets.  It was such an easy process and was so much better than writing out each individual guest name.  I love that the envelope coordinates with the invite on the inside!

Here is the front of the envelope (address blurred)...

...and the back where the address label wraps. 

Clean and simple but still have a unique and creative touch! 

I dropped them off at the post office today so they are on their way! 

This was a big project that I'm excited to check off my to-do list.  

I also got some other tasks completed this weekend! I took my dress to get altered and can I just say...I think I love it more and more each time I see it.  Trying it on again Saturday was so much fun! I can't wait until it is actually fitted to my size! 

And...we picked out Michael's wedding band! I love what we chose together.  He is not a big fan of jewelry and had a hard time adjusting to the realization that he will in fact have to wear a ring on his finger every day! haha

There is no doubt that things are really coming together! 

 Hope you all had a wonderful weekend like I did!

Wedding Website

Our Wedding Website is complete! 

I started working on it a couple of months ago and haven't gotten around to adding all the details to it.  I was lucky enough to find a site that offered free wedding websites but offered more unique and cute designs than the typical ones.  The design I chose fits perfectly with our wedding theme and colors and I love it!

Head on over to the site and take a look! You can read both mine and Michael's versions of our story, view pictures, and find info about the ceremony, reception, wedding party, and honeymoon!

http://www.mywedding.com/candacemichael/

Enjoy!