Fun Friday!

We are celebrating one of the last few Friday's before school starts again. Although our girls are not in school yet, my youngest sister will be a senior in high school this year! *sniffles*

What about celebrating with your kids? I am loving this low budget back to school DIY project from Spaceships and Lazar Beams.  Keeping the decor cost low, invite over a few friends and make some apple shaped sandwiches for lunch with a cookie cutter.

What you will need:
* Paper plates
* Green felt
* Hot glue gun
* Really awesome kids with some really awesome friends

Directions:
* Play around with your apple leaf shapes by trying them out on some paper or card stock first. Trying to figure out the size and shape might take some practice. Once you have something that you like, trace your apple leave stencil on your felt. Using a thin tip marker will show up best.
* Cut out your leaves and double them up with a hot glue gun so that they are nice and stiff.
* Glue your finished product onto your paper plates and viola!

Hydrangea Inspiration...Part 3

We have all seen the peacock thing... But, peacock feathers usually tent to give off a very modern feel. I just fell in love with the subtle nature of the peacock feather with the blue hydrangeas in this centerpiece. It gives the whole tablescape and decor a more relaxed, yet elegant feeling.

Hope that you enjoy this centerpiece as much as I do!

Hydrangea Inspiration.....Part 2

Many people are afraid of using only one color to decorate with. If your color is used correctly and you incorporate textures and patterns, one color can be very striking.
When you look at this tablescape, it shows you how to use the same color, in different patterns and textures to help break up the monotony of the blue.

I am in love with this tablescape! This would be perfect for Easter, a Bridesmaids luncheon, a bridal shower or even a baby boy shower.

Hydrangea Inspiration... Part 1

I was so inspired by the gorgeous blue hydrangea's that grow so beautifully in everyones gardens in North Carolina. If they weren't so sensitive to our Florida heat, I would have a whole hydrangea collection in my back yard! 

I love this beautiful, yet simplistic nautical feel that this arrangement gives off. It's so elegant and understated but makes a statement itself.

 

Picture curtsey of inspiredlivinghome.blogspot.com

DIY Chalk Board!

I was privileged to do my 3rd consecutive photo shoot for the Family Times Magazine. Click here for images from the photo shoot!

I am even more excited that some of my DIY projects were featured in the photo shoot!

I bought this really scary old man from Goodwill.... for $10.

I bought some white, semi gloss spray paint from a local craft store and used my 40% off coupon for a bigger discount.

At home, I wiped the dust off of the old frame with a damp cloth and also wiped the surface of the frame. I waited for it to dry before I sealed off the entire old man with none other than Press and Seal saran wrap!

I worked in a well ventilated area and began to spray paint the white paint all around the frame. The press and seal protected the surface of the frame so that my chalk board paint would go on smoothly and evenly.

I left the spray paint to dry and repeated several coats until I was happy with the overall look of the frame.

I made sure everything was dry before I took off the Press and Seal.

I followed the directions on the chalk board paint and began to paint over my scary old man! I also added a few extra coats just in case after the first coat was dry.

Hope that you love this cheap, easy and fun DIY project as much as I did!

I just love how this frame was transformed!
You can use your chalk board as a menu display, decor display, message board, decorative grocery list, in your office or wherever your heart so pleases!

Family Times Magazine: LOCO for TACO's!

Once again, I was privileged to do another tablescape setup for the Family Times Magazine! The amazing editor, Rose, was thinking something along the lines of "taco time" but didn't want to have the traditional Mexican color palette.

Without using traditional Mexican colors, I still wanted to compliment the tacos. I thought that bringing in some edgy black and white stripes and accenting the table with bold yellow's would do the trick!

Fresh pineapples added a bold, modern, yet comfortable feeling to the table and complimented the taco theme perfectly.

I added some fun yellow flowers.... Billy Balls, Spider Mums and Snapdragons.

I also created the super amazing and easy white chalk board frame! For a complete tutorial, click here.

I asked one of our local restaurants to donate some of their highly sought after fish taco's for the shoot and was able to steal the recipe as well! THANK YOU Rondo Fernandez and the Mojo Grill and Catering Co for your generous contribution and the famous recipe!

Remember to grab your very own copy of the Family Times Magazine at your local Publix or Sweetbay Supermarkets today!

Thanks to Wayne and Lucy Smith from Foxtale Photography for shooting the tablescape.

New logo, new look!

It's been so much fun working on updating my blog over the last few weeks! I want to say a HUGE thank you to Jennifer with Marley Mae Designs for the amazing new logo that you designed for me! I love the fun, clean and spunky new look!

I have also done some minor blog updates. You can now sign up for direct email updates to your inbox instead of checking the blog every day to see what awesome new things have been posted.

I also have a fun new signature to close the end of each blog post. I changed out the background color of the blog and changed some of the link colors.

Feel free to leave a fabulous comment and tell me what you think of the new look!

Freebie: Popsicle Invite!

I am so excited about celebrating the 4th of July this year.
My grandmother is visiting from South Africa and this will be her first time celebrating the 4th with us.

We are headed to one of our favorite spots with crystal clear springs and amazing fireworks!

Since we are headed to the water, I thought that these FREE summer Popsicle invitations would be perfect for our friends and family. Click on the link above to download yours today!
Cut out the Popsicle stick on your printed copy, or for a fun twist, glue a real Popsicle stick in between the front and back of your invitation! Find real Popsicle sticks at your local craft store.

You can also use these for your own summer party, pool party, slip and slide splash or any variation thereof.

Love to all my readers!

Invitations courtesy of Nicole's Classes.

Ahoy! It's a Boy! Sail boat babyshower.

This was such a fun baby shower that I did for a client of mine.
She was looking for something that incorporated some blues, greens and whites.

I spent some time looking for inspiration and I ran across beautiful blue and white seersucker fabric.
I had some custom made table runners made that I placed atop white tablecloths.

I added a fun white shutter atop the runner and placed an extra wide, shallow glass bowl on the shutter. It's was playfully accentuated with blue stones and a little floating sail boat.

My clients table was unusually long, so I added visual interest to the table to balance out the centerpiece by adding three bunches of flowers in mason jars on each side of the shutter.

I found some amazing paper plates and napkins that complimented the shower to a tee!

I set up the shower the day before the event, due to some traveling plans so I wasn't able to capture the completed look with the mason jars and cupcake toppers. My client set out the cupcakes and toppers on the day of the event to make sure that they stayed fresh.

The invitations, cupcake toppers, cupcake wrappers, banner and drink flags were custom made for this shower.

For more pictures, follow me on Facebook.

Be back soon :)

I apologize to all of my readers for being lackadaisical over the past few weeks in updating blog posts. 

I've been blessed by staying busy! 

Amongst all of my projects, I've also been hired as an event planner at a local catering company here in town! Mojo Grill and Catering has a new member on their team and I'm super excited to see where this will take me and my career! 

I've been keeping busy with having a website designed for me. 

Take a look: 

www.MGEvents.co 

I've also finished working on a Crossfit competition event here in Ocala. 

I attended a beautiful bridal show at Jumbolair, in Ocala. It was great seeing some familiar brides and other faces. 

I've been working on a baby shower for a little boy. I can't wait to share pictures! 

Some new projects that I'm working on, include designing another tablescape for the Family Times Magazine! I am so honored to be asked to do something for the third time in a row! 

I have a first birthday that I will start planning once we come back from our beach vacation in the next few weeks. I am also starting to gather some fun materials for a wine glass painting class that I will be co-teaching with Sheila Ramos from Artist Hub of Ocala! 

For more frequent updates, follow me on Facebook. 

www.Facebook.com/MelissaGallowayEvents

I will be back I'm full swing with Fun Friday posts and many projects updates in August! 

Happy Summer!!! 

Xoxo! 

Melissa