Missing you from down low

By now, MM should have finally left Canada and is who knows how many feet up in the air, flying towards his new desert home. This means I won't be able to talk to him for a few days, as he settles into his desert cubby. :-/

What better way to distract my wistful self than some retail therapy, you say? I agree! Here are some today's finds from mTs' fave site, Etsy.

Spring is in the air here in Ontario. I feel it, despite today's dark and cloudy aspect. So I'm thinking about t-shirts and loving the idea of a few screen printed numbers. And I heart anything with trees on it. Like this one from Ellembee:



I also start thinking purses in the spring. School ends for me this week (barring a bit of grading) so I start thinking about ditching my backpack and snagging a few bright and girly purses. This one from Chicago Fine Threads isn't bright, but it is girly.


It could even work as my wedding day purse, hmmm....

And finally, I've been thinking of an original way to send out Save the Date cards. it will happen too early to have nailed down our actual wedding invite look, so I was thinking of sending out photo style cards. But that seemed a bit narcissistic to me. Then I found Unless' illustration shop on Etsy that makes custom line drawing portraits from your photos. Check it!



Now THAT would make for an original and memorable Save the Date card hmm? Love love this idea!

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Let it be chocolate and vanilla

Quick post from me today, on the eve of a big day tomorrow. MM ships out tomorrow, so we are spending the evening hanging out and doing everything possible to distract ourselves. Not sure how it happened, but web browsing and wedding stuff ensued.

And once again he surprises me by falling head over heels for something.

In this case it is cake. Specifically, the cakes from a small Ottawa vendor, The Girl with the Most Cake.



"those are awesome! Can we have one of those?"

When I reminded him of the cost of a fancy cool cake, he just shrugged and said...

"Ok guess we'll have to use cheaper liquor to make up for it."

That's my man. I love you and will miss you these next six months.

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Fortunate Fool

To all of you still partying ...


HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!!

The four leaf clover is a wonderful thing. With a little help from .: Sampleireland.com :. here are some facts ...

The four leaf clover has long been considered lucky. Many say this belief originated in Celtic cultures - with Wales being identified in particular. This would not surprise as the landscape of the British Isles is abundant in clovers of all shapes and sizes.

Today the Clover and Shamrock are both seen as lucky symbols in the US, Ireland and much of Europe, Australia and the rest of the world.

The origins of this belief are lost in time, but it's likely to come from the fact that the nutritional values of clover are high and domesticated animals fed on a diet rich in clover grow fat and produce good milk. From this perhaps, the plant took on the power to do good things.

The rarity of the four leaf clover has meant it is highly valued.

Another reason for the leafs power lies with the druids of long ago.

They used the clover in spells and the belief was the four leaves represent the four elements of alchemy - earth, water, fire and air - and also the four seasons.

St Patrick is said to have used the shamrock to explain the Trinity - of Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Three separate parts, but intrinsically one entity.

The fourth leaf then represented God's grace.

In more modern times, special powers are granted to owners of four leafed clovers. These powers include being able to detect witches and evil spirits, and to see fairies. Cows are protected from witches by clover.

So maybe that all helps to explain the luck of the Irish..

Aparently the chances of finding one are a million to one - as there are 1,000,000 3 leafed clovers to every four leaf clover..

But they are out there, so get yourself out into a paddock and don't stop til you have your very own four leafed clover.

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Pretty Plum Posies

We are in full swing here at Periwinkle, meeting with brides for summer and fall weddings this year. Something new we are doing is putting together “mood” boards for our brides to help them visualize the colour combinations, as it can certainly be overwhelming during the planning process and when I say purple and yellow that might not look the same in your head as it does in mine! As an example, here is the board I created for one of my most recent brides to be. She is getting married in June this year and has chosen a lovely plum colour for the bridesmaids. We discussed a few different colour combos, starting with the more obvious one of mixing in pinks, but this bride is a little more adventurous and wanted to do something fresher- here’s where we picked up the idea of a soft creamy yellow as a highlight to the plums, purples and blues.

I love it! And it works so well for this bride as she herself is a light blond with pale skin. I can’t wait to work on this one!

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Getting Your Ears Pierced?

Makeup In Motion's Tips & Tricks

Adornment worn on the ears dates far, far back. In many cultures, for religious or traditional reasons, it was customary to pierce the ears of a newborn girl.

Today, people have their ears pierced (or other body parts pierced) for a variety of reasons. The main one being that piercings are an expression of ourselves, our personalities and the message we want to convey.

Whether you opt for single or multiple ear piercing, or whether you're considering having your baby or child pierced, here are some tips that may make the journey a little easier.

Choose an experienced establishment....one that practices the utmost in hygiene and personal care. And if a baby or child is having a piercing, make sure the provider is experienced with children.
Choose a good quality white or yellow gold earring as there is less likelihood of an allergy. Avoid plated products and make sure the earring itself has a dome-shaped backing that prevents discomfort while sleeping.
Be committed to having those earrings in for at least 8 weeks for a proper formation and healing of the hole. And when you do take them out, get another pair in asap and keep wearing earrings daily.


Cleanse the new piercing 2 - 3 times daily during the 8 week healing period. Use a gentle product specifically for piercings that will disinfect the area but not damage the earrings or dry out the skin. Don't use rubbing alcohol or hydrogen peroxide.
If pain is not your thing, talk to your local pharmacist about a numbing cream that you can apply an hour before the piercing. This item is amazing, especially for children or those wanting a painless experience.
And finally, if one of your new earrings happens to come out (not likely but can occur) during the 8- week healing process, find it and get it back in immediately. Holes can close almost immediately during your healing, especially with young children.

If you want to learn more about earpiercing, visit our website to view video of an actual piercing. I promise, no blood, guts or gore, just some great information. This will be available for viewing on April 1. Or you can see the segment on Lifestyles With Rita Nave which airs Tuesday March 31 on Channel 12 CHEX TV Durham at 5:30pm.

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Dude...where's my backdrop? 7 questions for your wedding decorator

Lately I've been receiving a number of brides who have come to me after dealing with what I call "bootleg" decorators. The ones who promise the world, but then come up so short on their wedding day, it's really kinda sad. Here are some questions you should really ask your decorator

Do you have free consultations?

Most of us offer free consults. be respectful of time. Try and get all the basic info such as pricing and availability by email or by phone first, that way, you know what you're getting into when booking an appointment.

if you have an idea of what you want, great! you can help us best serve you by having a few ideas outlined with picture examples. We can't help you if you don't know what you want and you don't like what we show you. We assume that you like our work which is why we're meeting in the first place!

If you have a budget in mind, let the decorator know! But you also have to be realistic with what you have in mind. You can't expect your decor to look like $5,000 if you only have $500.

How long have you been doing decor?

This is a great question. We all had to start somewhere! However, your decorator should be honest with you.

For instance, I started in 2005 when my older sister's wedding decor was a disaster! I vowed never to let another bride have grass green substitute sage green in decor because she couldn't afford a backdrop that costs $5k. I started doing weddings here and there for friends and then turned it into a business in late 2006.

Ask them for testimonials/referrals from past clients.


Are the pictures on your website/portfolio yours?

I know it sounds like a crazy question to ask, but ASK! You'd might be surprised at the answer you get.

I know of a few companies have been known to "borrow" pictures from other decorators and pass them off as theirs to unsuspecting brides!

When you're going through a potential vendor's portfolio, it's normal to see a gradual evolution in style, colours, fabric etc.

However, if you see pictures where one job looks like it came out of a bridal magazine and on the next few pages you see tons of sloppy swagging, badly mismatched colours, a case of 'not-enough-fabric' on the head table backdrop or even people in the picture, I would question it.

in a professional decorator's portfolios, 9 times out of 10, you won't see people in their pictures at the reception hall (unless the decorator is also a florist and the people are brides posing with flowers OR they are professional pictures from a photographer).

why? we are normally LOOOOOOONG gone before any of your guests arrive. If you do see people, they should be in uniform - aka banquet staff! so there's no real reason to see the BP at the head table or half eaten cake on the cake table. If they have people in their pictures, ask them how they got them!

I'd also be suspicious if their portfolio included:

- too many blurry pictures and an extraordinary amount of camera phone pictures. This is a bad case of "I went to a hall on a Saturday afternoon and took pictures of a already decorated hall"

- only one picture of a setup. most decorators take MANY pictures of their work, so at least 2 or 3 will end up in a portfolio.


Are you going to decorate my wedding?

Most of the decorators (if not all) on this board do the weddings they book. There are some companies, similar to dj companies, where you speak with one person, but another person does your decor. Nothing wrong with this type of arrangement, just be aware that this may be the case.


Do you have special promotions/specials

ask us! you never know what we might have! Free money boxes/rentals, free receiving tables, free upgrades for off season. If we have a new product we'd like to get out there, we may use your wedding as the example and you can get discounted or complimentary add ons!


What does your pricing include?

don't just base your decision on cheap pricing! Ask to see a sample of what you're getting for $200! If chair covers are being advertised for $1.00 installed or head tables and cake tables for $200, unless you're getting married in your parent's basement, it's probably too good to be true.

Ask to see examples of their $200 work! If you ask, any reputable decorator may allow you to come and see them on-site during a setup so you can see what you'd be getting for your hard-earned $200. If they won't allow you to see their work on-site, save your $$ for a decorator that will!

Pricing may not include delivery, setup, same night take down, mileage etc.

How does booking/payment work?

if a company makes you feel uncomfortable or pressured into signing on the dotted line, i wouldn't recommend booking with them.

however, most decorators do not hold dates without deposits. if we held dates for every bride that said they wanted to book, we wouldn't get any business done!

For us, peak wedding season is from Easter to Thanksgiving. If you've done all your research and feel that they are the right company for you, contact them ASAP to book! Dates book quickly!



I hope this was useful! Happy Wedding Planning!!!

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May You Build A Ladder To The Stars

Blogging becomes difficult when you're up to your arms in paper, ribbon, tape, etc. Oh, and when you're doing taxes in your 'spare' time, too.

Things are a bit easier at the moment though with Shelley's invitation complete. She came to pick things up yesterday afternoon and seemed very happy with the result! I'd love to share a few pictures of her creation with you ...


Shelley wanted a soft look on top so we placed vellum on the first layer.


At the bottom of the front you can see the peek of her special order blue she asked to have incorporated.


A quick overview of the first layer of text.


She also had a special verse compliments of Bob Dylan she wanted included on the main invitation. Looks great!


Shelley put together a great little map and with a little Moments That Shine magic, we refined it and popped it into the Hotel & Map page.

It was a great time working with this lovely lady! Shelley had a vision off what she wanted and I'm very happy to have been a part of the creative process in her wedding. As I mentioned above, this was her creation ... that's a statement I like to echo with all clients. I'll help them along with whatever they need but generally I bring their ideas to life. No two invitations are ever the same when they leave this office!

Contact me if there's ever anything you would like and remember we can work within any budget!

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And In The Bravest Moments I Watch You

Contest Alert!

My friend Larissa Issler over at .: Ambient Studios :. is having a great contest right now that I'd love to pass along to you. In her own words ...



All they have to do is visit the blog at
http://www.ambientstudios.ca/blog and add their idea for a shoot. It
could be a great location, something meaningful to them as a couple or
unique to their relationship. Out of all the entries we will pick
the top ideas and put it to a public vote on the blog. The winner
will have their idea turned into a reality for FREE, receive a DVD of
all the high resolution files, an online gallery of the images and
their choice of a Fine Art Guest book or framed 11x14 print for
display at the wedding.

So get your thinking caps on and take advantage of this spectacular offer! I've worked with Larissa before and can't say enough good things about her work as well as her personality. Contest ends on Monday so enter now!!!

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I Love Him

It's about time we focused on what the groom should wear on his feet, no? Men generally have it easy in the attire department but there is absolutely no reason why some thought shouldn't go into things. And why not show a little bit of that great personality with shoes?



I love a nice, classic brown shoe like the three below ...


This is actually a photo I found off of Etsy by .: landonhowell :. but I love those colours.


This shot courtesy .: Leigh Miller Photography :.


Photo by .: Erwin Darmaili :.

You can also go the ankle boot route ...


These are by .: WolandandMoon :. and you can find them on Etsy.

How about a twist of colour on classic loafers?


Bright whites by .: Stacy Adams :. and can be purchased at a reasonable price.


Bling for the boy! I found these online at .: Groom ... to have and to hire :.

And now, have some run with running shoes!


Photo by .: Studio Heart :.


Runners with a leaf motif by .: mayahayuk :.


And I love this idea! Bright green and blue shoes with a little custom labeling. Picture by .: Picture That Photography :.

Whatever the mood of the wedding, have fun with the shoes! If anything, it could make for some great photos ;)

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And I Think It's Gonna Be A Long Long Time

I'm back! Playing catch-up like mad so blogging is taking a back seat for now. I had to get this post out though ...

Since I find myself in need of a new bag, I thought I'd share some awesome ones off of Etsy with you!

This tasty treat is compliments of .: minus :.


This makes me long for warmer days and flowers blooming! .: daphnenen :. is the creator.


.: breagha :. brings this splash of colour to an otherwise dreary day!


How much fun is this?! This wristlet is made by .: meringueshop :. and comes all the way from Australia.


How about a little linen and lace? This fabulous pouch is by .: accessoriesbysarah :.


.: DahliaHandbags :. has pulled together big and bold material for this purse.


.: BandamyBoutique :. has the perfect solution for a bag with a winter look!


.: daphnenen :. is also the creator of these fun circles!


Travel to Singapore by way of Etsy and you can find gems like this fun bag by .: littleoddforest :.


This wristlet is courtesy of .: cuada :.

And now my two favourites ...


Absolutely divine!!! Love this simple clutch by .: FIAZCO :.


That's right. A purse made out of a tree. I'm so all over this birch creation by .: lynncyrart :.

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