March 31, 2010

Diva'Licious Parties~

Looking for a great party theme for your girly girls next birthday? Our Diva'Licious party decor will be sure to please. We offer Diva'Licious party packages as well as Diva'Licious Spa Parties. From our floor length table linens, custom animal print overlays, ostrich feather centerpieces and all the glitter and glam any girly girl would love, our Diva inspired parties are one of a kind FABULOUS!

March 30, 2010

Getting Things Done~

I just love this book and it was a godsend last December! As a small business owner my life can often be overwhelming with so much to remember on so many different levels. I had been trying to figure out what other technical tool I needed to buy to make all my other technical tools work together better, and was having no luck. I had even reminisced back to my days as a legal secretary and the old school tickler system, but couldn't find anything like it out there either. I knew that I was missing something but couldn't figure out what it was. After the completely hectic business of holiday decorating I was overwhelmed, frustrated and just wore out. I had let a few personal responsibilities fall through the cracks and was just at my wits end with myself and my systems. How was I going to grow my business when I was struggling where I was at currently?

On a visit with my brother commiserating about all the problems of owning your own business and all the responsibilities I had told him that I felt like my head was going to explode. I used to take pride in the fact that I could remember EVERYTHING but not any more, there was just too much too remember. He started to tell me about the book/system Getting Things Done, I was hooked and definitely interested, I made a note on a piece of paper because I knew my head could not take another thing and vowed to buy it the next day. But then the sweetest gesture was given to me, after my brother left he went to a book store, bought the book and brought it back to me. I was so surprised and grateful, so I began reading it that night and never stopped until I was finished. I must say I am notorious for purchasing self help things and picking through them to find the parts that I like, but this book I made the effort to read it from front to back, because I knew I was at my wits end and had to find something that would make sense. Well it did, I read the book implemented the system and am now able to relax, really relax and be in the moment of everything. I can even have a day off and not be worrying about what I'm not doing because I know it is where it should be. I see the whole picture and am not constantly being sideswiped by last minute things that I should have remembered. I have the open mind to creatively think about how I want to expand my business and what direction I want to move forward in in all aspects of my life.

I am now reading Ready For Anything, and love it too. David Allen does a great job of helping you clear the decks of your mind so that you can operate from a place of knowing and seeing the big picture no matter what type of business you run or job you have. I am a devout fan and am singing the praises of the system constantly. I wish I had known about the system and books sooner, but I was just too busy being busy, how ironic.

If you are feeling the same way or feel like you could just use some free space in your mind I highly suggest his books. Read them, implement them and move forward with your dreams because everything else is where it should be!!

{FYI all you need is a lot of index cards and hanging file folders in your file cabinet, a label maker and a real calendar and you are good to go! Book=Free, Supplies=$30.00, Reward=Priceless }

March 26, 2010

Ceiling Decor~

Ahhhhh Ceiling Decor, I love it! Anytime you can decorate above an event the better, it just adds a whole new dimension to the space. However, it comes with its own set of difficulties. Now that party season is warming up I get a lot of calls for ceiling decor and people asking for a basic price quote. Which there is no such thing. Ceilings involve so many different requirements, but the most important requirement is how long do you have the space for. We require a minimum of 4 hrs. before any other vendor sets up in the space to install the decor. Which in most venues means committing to paying for the space longer than your event time. If your venue tells you that having the venue earlier should be no problem, GET IT IN WRITING, we require it.

Make sure when you are hiring a company that they have the insurance coverage required to work at the venue and are able to provide proof to your venue and list them as an additional insured. Don't make the mistake of thinking that because they have a business they have the proper insurance coverage. Not only is business insurance required but also workers comp insurance at most venues. You would hate to find out that on the day of installation out of the blue they were required to show proof and were unable to do so.

Ceiling decor is a great use of the space but can also be costly, but it is important that you use a company that is experienced in installing ceiling decor, will do a great job and most of all install it safely, because after all it is going above your guest's heads.


March 24, 2010

Above & Beyond!~

Still going through holiday photos while working on the new website design, sheesh its beginning to feel like deja vu this whole website thing. But it is getting there and I am quite happy with how its turning out.

Looking at these photos makes me smile, I remember the fun times and how great my staff are that they go above and beyond to get the job done! They are the BEST!!!!

March 21, 2010

Holiday Cheer~

We are finally getting through all our holiday decorating photos and since I'm playing blog catch up I thought I'd share some of my holiday favorites with you. This was Commerce Casino for the 2009 holiday season, if I must say so myself it turned out fabulous this year. It is always great when the vision is only exceeded by the end result.

We spent the 5 days before Thanksgiving executing this installation. We decorated 15 large Christmas trees, 1,000's of feet of garland, 45 large wreaths, centerpieces and lets not forget all the packages that were wrapped so beautifully. It doesn't seem like much if you say it fast, except for the fact that every ornament, ribbon and flower is wired on; that's a lot of wiring.

We also time lapsed the installation of a large tree and I'm hoping that I will have it back to share with you, I can't wait to see it.

I hope you have a great Monday and a wonderful week.

March 18, 2010

Winter Themed Memorial Dinner~

Last month we had the pleasure of creating winter themed decor for a memorial dinner. We used manzanita trees for the table centerpieces. They were spray painted silver and we added glittered snowflakes and jewels to hang from the branches. For the base we added the most beautiful Kito white roses with greenery, snowflakes and jewels. They really made quite the statement.

On top of creating these wonderful manzanita trees the client requested sugared fruit trays, something I had never done before but was up for a challenge (or so I thought). The photos of the fruit did not come out so good, but let me tell you it was not an easy task. We sugared over 600 pieces of whole fruit from pineapples to limes and everything in between. They were placed on platters along the center of the main table. They looked fabulous but again what a job. We coated each piece of fruit in egg white and then sugared it with white sugar, they then had to dry, but you can only do it no more than 2 days before the event otherwise the sugar will begin to crack and fall off since it was whole fruit. Then you have to transport it there and put it on the platters all the while crossing your fingers that all the sugar doesn't crack off. So my tip of the day to all you creative people is~ If someone, family, friends, client asks you to sugar fruit, run like heck the other way LOL!

March 17, 2010

March 16, 2010

Sweet 16 Party Ceiling Decor~


A few months ago we had the pleasure of creating a pink and white ceiling swags for Ashley's Sweet 16 birthday party. The client was using a large space and needed something over the dance floor to pop and to also cohesively bring the two sides of the room together, she opted for a ceiling swag with crystals. I think it was just what the room needed and matched the other decor wonderfully.

For more great photos visit the photo gallery.

March 15, 2010

Moments Like These~



Moments like these is why I love what I do! I love making my clients happy, I love seeing the end result, but most of all I love moments like these! This is why I love owning my own business, I get to work with my family and have moments like this. This is me and my daughter at an event between set up and party start time sharing a moment. I don't remember what we were laughing about, but seeing these photos makes me smile and on a Monday that smile is priceless.

I hope you have a great week and take time to enjoy the moments, or if nothing else I hope there is a photographer around to take photos of those moments for you to look back on.

March 12, 2010

Royal Princess Party~

Just before the holiday season began for us we had the pleasure of creating a Royal Princess & Knight party for Princess Camilla. What began as a small intimate party turned into a larger party 150 guests to be exact and it was a huge push to get it all in the space, but we managed it by the skin of our teeth. This was tricky because it was a party with a lot of special needs guests and we needed to make sure there was room for strollers and wheelchairs. One of my favorite things was the footmen sign, so simple but so sweet. This was necessary since there were stairs up to the main party spot and guests would need assistance.

The Client didn't want a "Disney" princess party but something that was sweet and classic looking. I opted for ivory, pink, chocolate brown and gold accents. This color scheme was perfect for the large mix of adults and children and created a very nice background for the party. We created a large fabric canopy with custom pennant flags to cover the craft area to provide shade and a large burst of color to the yard. This is where we hosted the craft station for the children.

The Client was a huge fan of wishes and really wanted each child to read off the wishes themselves we knew it was going to be a logistical nightmare. So what we chose to do was a wish tree, the children filled out wishes and hung them on a gold manzanita tree, when it was time for the wishes we read them to Princess Camilla. The craft station was a hit as always and we had two hours worth of craft activities for the children to make and take home.

This party was non-stop activities, from games, crafts, wonderful catering by The Kitchen for Exploring Foods, the yummy cupcake station and sweet refreshing drinks. It was another job well done and we look forward to Princess Camilla's party this year.

March 11, 2010

Fancy Nancy Centerpieces~

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of creating custom Fancy Nancy Centerpieces. I had been wanting to play around with these types of centerpieces and now I had the chance, I love when that happens. The Client liked the idea of them all being different, since everything Fancy Nancy does is different. I used topiary ball forms, spray painted terracotta pots gold and added jewels to the pots and inserted the topiary form, which fit nice and tight and then began layering on the fun stuff. I was able to use lots of jewels, butterflies, tiaras, ribbons and of course feather boas. The styrofoam topiary forms work great since all you have to use to attach everything with is U hooks. Not only were they great for the party, but 10 little girls took home a decoration for their room. They were adorable and a big hit, I just wish we were able to get better photos but there were just too many darn windows in the room.

March 9, 2010

Just a Little Behind~

Wow you know you have been really busy when you finally get back to your blog only to realize that you have not blogged since New Years! I must say in my own defense that it was not for lack of work to be blogging about, but more like time. So needless to say I am a little behind. I can't even remember sharing my new logo, which I am absolutely thrilled about. (not really new, we had it finished in October of last year so that we could get it on our new t-shirts before holiday decorating), but by now you have seen it since we have re-done the blog and are in the process of re-doing the websites with the same clean look.

This is the problem with being behind and catching up............where do you start??? Do I move onto holiday decorating photos or start with the latest event and move backwards to catch up????

The photos always seem to be the hardest for me to get together. But now that I have my daughter working in the office 3 days a week plus the weekends (silent scream of YEAHHH!!!) and have set her up with photoshop and corel I am hoping to be able to get photos together sooner rather than later. I am always in awe of the amazing photos and collages I see on other Blogs so I'm hoping with more technology and an extra set of hands I can attain that level of photography images to share with you.

So for now I will start again on my blogging journey, which I have missed.