{Designer Challenge} The Results & keeping it real.

Hello everyone . . I don't know about you but WOW what a week this has been!!! I will NEVER forget this week. It will forever go down as a monumental week to remember & here's why.

This week I celebrated my ONE YEAR blog anniversary. The place which gives me the privilege of sharing about what I love with all of you & I was pretty excited already about that because that meant I HAD kept up with it as best as I could. But then the most WONDERFUL thing happened!

I found out I WON the "Designers Challenge" - me . . I won! I won.
What a memory I will have to cherish.
I am still riding on my high from this WIN!

Ebony from Sparkling Events & Design, invited 12 different designers to accept the challenge of designing something fabulous for 4-6 people, dessert table, activity, AND on a $100 budget! 

The talent pool of this group of women, I was in this with, was crazy RIDIC!! They are some of the most popular party girls around & I adore them all!!

To check out what everyone did with the budget, take a peek here

Curious what I did? 

I will give you a few peeks at what I did as I am planning on writing up a full blog post so you can get more details about it all! 

I just want to THANK everyone again that VOTED for me. I am very humbled by this experience & it is something that will always be a cherished memory in the history books of Eye Candy Event Details. 

To me, I feel like I won a million dollars. To some that may seem silly. But when you LOVE what you do as much I do & then something like this happens, it makes you feel GOOD!

{Because it justifies all the times you didn't feel like you were good enough . . . all the times when you doubted the talent you have . . . all the times when you thought you would never get anywhere . . . all the days you cried from frustration because nothing was going the way you needed . . . all the days that make you wonder if anyone is listening to the ramblings you post}

 . . .well this week I had my DAY & it felt good.

I was having a 'rough' week (mentally) and so it came at the PERFECT time. The post that read 
"the results are in". 

I took a deep breathe & opened the post . . and then 

I saw MY name . . . 

I won for "Best Interpretation of Theme" {YAY}

and then I saw my name AGAIN . . .

I was in a 4-way tie for "Best Use of Budget" {sa-weet}

and so I scrolled down one . . . more . . . time . . 

and there it was:

"OVERALL WINNER"  
{seriously- no way. Am I reading this correctly? Are my eyes playing tricks? I totally thought I misread it - I even closed & re-opened the post to make sure!}

and then right BELOW that 
{is when my jaw literally hit my desk}

it read . . .

"FAN FAVORITE"  
{say . . what? Am I being 'punked' right now? Really?
THAT meant more to me than anything because YOU the fans voted
& that is something I will always hold dear to me - THANK YOU}

So I will take this feeling from this WIN & I am gonna try to bottle it up as much as I can, hold onto it tight, & remember that I AM where I am supposed to be. And on those 'bad' days, I will take a little from this bottle &  I will keep trying my best to create what I love & hope others love it too.

Thanks for letting me get real with you all today. 

Thanks for being here.

But most importantly THANKS for voting for me in that challenge.

I needed that win to keep me where I need to be & I am so grateful.

THANK YOU!!!!

{Halloween TREATS} How to make Witch hat cookies & marshmallow purses

hello there . . .if any of you have kids . . . young kids, if they are anything like mine - they can be a TRIP! I had mentioned on my Facebook page yesterday that I had to make something for a 'snack' for my daughter's Brownie meeting yesterday, as it was our turn. My daughter is eight. She is a girly girl. She "expects" certain things when you do party design for a living. 

Meet our "design" of THE snack for her friends at her Brownie meeting yesterday . . . 

What is it you ask? Kinda looks like those marshmallows purses I saw in the "Designers Challenge" you were in but different. And is it hanging on an ice cream cone? Yes & YUP! 

We took a plain Becky Crocker sugar cookie mix & baked those, iced them (thick) & then placed an inverted sugar cone in it. Then took every "girly" icing tube we could find to decorate them around the edges (where it meets the cookie) to keep it 'glued' in place. We were going for a witches hat but I didn't REALIZE she would want to decorate then sooooo COLORFUL! 

 And she really liked the purses I made for my photo shoot for my entry in the Designers Challenge that I did - remember these little guys? The marshmallow purses is just something I thought up to try (when doing the photo shoot for my 'G.R.E.E.N. Swap Party' & it worked! Just take a marshmallow, pick a colored fruit roll-up slice for the handle (cut to desired length), roll it until it looks like a rope, poke holes in the marshmallow & insert handle, then decorate with gel icing & a sprinkle or two. Super easy & super cute!

 so we added some more colors to have them match the "witches hats" & hung them from the tips of the hats.

It's funny, when planning the snack, I asked her what she wanted me to make, I said "cookies or something" to which she replied, "NOT just cookies but something GOOD because ya know, you're a PARTY mom!" 

PARTY mom? Hmmmm  . . PARTY mom . . . I can live with that!! I suppose when we have a creative job then we may get 'labels' from our kids & ya know what? I am fine with that.

Want to know why? When we set all these out at snack time during the Brownie meeting, the look of "pride" on my daughter's face when all the girls were LOVING the treats & asking how I made them, was all I needed to be HAPPY with THIS label. I can live with PARTY mom. I will OWN it. I AM party mom.

DECOR :: Glam Halloween Mantel

hello everyone! . . . I wanted to share my Glam Halloween mantel decor with you today and show you some photos of how I used the FREE Halloween Chevron Subway Art I posted a few weeks back, on my OWN mantel! 

I decided to utilize some fun decor items I had with glitter on them to 'glam' up the place a bit! It's not too overdone but I am loving the feel it gives to the whole overall mantel look! It adds some POPS of glittered goodness to the whole Halloween vibe and who doesn't love glitter!?

Here's a shot of the whole mantel! 

I wanted to do something a little different this year so I went ahead & "recycled" some of these pom buntings from a previous photo shoot that I had. Coincidentally, it matched my {already} green, that is the "accent" color in my black n' white living room! Love when things work out like that! 

Would LOVE for you all to send me pics of what or where you are using my FREE printable that is pictured here! Maybe I will even do a blog post IF I get enough pics from you all!

If you missed out on the FREE Halloween Chevron Subway Art, you can download here

All I ask in return, is leave me a comment here on my blog, I'd love to hear from you. 

Have a great week & don't forget to send me pics of your subway art.

Are you loving the "eye candy" here? 
 

Then join me over on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter & Instagram so you never miss out on an exclusive deal or any behind the scenes photos!

Check out my designs, artwork & decor in my Etsy shop! 

Looking forward to seeing you again! :)

I linked up this post at http://tidymom.net/tag/im-lovin-it/ http://www.homestoriesatoz.com/2011/10/halloween-mantel-linky-party-2.html

{NEW COLLECTION} Chevron Cupcake Happy Birthday 1 Day Deal

hello there my friends!

So I just wanted to THANK YOU all for all the sweet words during 

Eye Candy Event Details's 1st birthday party this past week & hope you enjoyed all the guest bloggers I had lined up for you & the goodies they brought with them.

I tried to think of a way to "end" the party & have it all tie in together, so I thought what better way then to give YOU  - my faithful blog followers here - a really GOOD deal on a collection I designed special for this week!

So I present to you the Chevron Cupcake Happy Birthday collection!

Once I sat down to design this, I couldn't STOP adding items to this collection for you! So it is LOADED with 12 separate pieces to pull off the most amazing CHEVRON birthday party! This is my BIGGEST jam-packed collection to date!

It contains:

1. Party Toppers
2. Labels
3. Nugget Wraps
4. Thank you Cards
5. Happy Birthday Banner - pendant style 
6. Napkin Wraps
7. Drink / Straw Flags
8. Paper Pack
9. Subway Art - 8.5 x 11
10.Goodie / Favor Bag Toppers
11. Cupcake Wrappers
12. Umbrellas 

Here is a sampling of some of the files that will be sent to you with purchase.

Plus I have a {SEPARATE} listing as well for the invite to match that you can have customized with your info!

I really hope you love it as it was a FUN collection to design & will always remind me of being in business for ONE YEAR!

OK . . .onto the DEAL-io!

So I have decided to offer you all this collection (not the invite) for a ridiculously GREAT DEAL  . . . TODAY ONLY! This is to say THANK YOU again for following me & to give back to YOU!

The collection is listed in my shop for $25 regular price & today YOU can get it for 70% OFF! Just enter this code: BDAY70 to have the price reflect 70% OFF when you check out.

This deal is ONLY valid TODAY & ONLY on this collection (not the invite) until 9pm (E.S.T.) 9.23.11

Hope you LOVE the collection & choose to get it as this price to have on hand when you need a quick & simple but FUN collection.

Have a great weekend!

{GIVEAWAY GUEST BLOGGER} Superchick in da house!

** this giveaway is now CLOSED!

(please join us in the morning for the new GIVEAWAY for the day!) 

We have a WINNER! 

Donna O'Neil

 

* Winner will have 2 days to reply in an email to me at laura@eyecandyeventdetails.com

 

 

THANKS to everyone who entered & took the time over the last week to participate in all these giveaways! 

 

Stay tuned TODAY as I have a few more surprises left! {wink}

Welcome to Day #8 of 

Eye Candy Event Details's BIRTHDAY WEEK!

Today is the 7th person & {final} in my series of GUEST BLOGGERS 
& I am super STOKED to introduce you to her because she is one of 
my friends & she just ROCKS!
She's SUPER . . .she's UNIQUE . . . she needs NO introduction . . . she IS

SUPERCHICK!!

 

Happy day sweet superchicks!  Hope this post finds you happy, healthy and ready to party!  I for one am TOTALLY thrilled to be here!

I’ve been CRAZY crushing on this awesome NEW trend and I’m dying to gush!!!  I’ve decided to share my recent obsession with YOU! HERE! TODAY!  (In this incredibly funtastic, engaging guest post!!!)  lol 

Ready?!  {Insert drumroll please!}

I have a new FAVE “party accessory”…  The COCKTAIL HAT!!!

These funky, explosive little hats get my creative juices flowing like nobody’s biz!

I’m thinking every little girl needs to sport one of these mini hats on their birthday!   They’re SO COOL!

Check it!  These make me want to sing and dance!  lol

Source:  The Chica Boutique

 

More! More!! More!!!

Source:  {pic 1 and 3} chic pretties {pic 2} posh and whimsy {pic 4} luna bella

 

SIDEBAR!

Themed party hats and tiaras are FABULOUS too!  I design and sell both… so not slammin’m!  But truth be told… I’m a SUPERCHICK and I prefer DIFFERENT!

 Source: Superchick Studios

That said, since this awesome new trend is SO “SUPERCHICK APPROVED” I just HAD to give it a go & design my own “Kocktail Krown”!!!

 

“Kocktail Krown” designed by Superchick Studios

Photography: urban bent studio

One lucky winner will receive this one of a kind “Kocktail Krown”!  ($35.00)

Good luck superchicks!

THANK YOU so much Genevieve for being here! 

Isn't she just SUPER?

So who wants the goods? 

The RULES are simple & easy to follow:

PREREQUISITE - 

MUST already be a fan of Eye Candy Event Details on FB

(if NOT click here)  - this does NOT count as an entry!

  

TO ENTER:  

~ become a fan of Superchick Studios on FB & leave her some lovin 

(if NOT click here)

AND 

~ SHARE this giveaway on FB, Twitter or on your blog & 

let me know here what you said
**but make sure you tag me in the post so I can verify

(on FB, use the @ sign before my name to tag
ex. TODAY ONLY! Enter the @eye candy event details BIRTHDAY week GIVEAWAYS & 

ENTER to win an awesome prize package from SUPERCHICK STUDIOS! )

(on Twitter - use @eyecandydetails)

ADDITIONAL CHANCES:

~ visit Superchick's shop & leave a 

comment here with your FAV item

~ follow Suprchick on Twitter

~ follow me on my blog

~ follow me on Twitter

 

Remember EACH one is worth 1 CHANCE = 1 ENTRY! 

  YOU CAN DO ALL OF THEM BUT JUST LEAVE A SEPARATE COMMENT 

FOR EACH ONE YOU DO!!

This giveaway closes at 11:00 pm (PT) on Wednesday Sept. 21.

** Winners will be announced here on the blog on Thursday morning - Sept. 22! 

* Winner will have 1 day to reply in an email to me at laura@eyecandyeventdetails.com

with their info or another person will be picked!

   Winners will be chosen by using random.org.

Special THANKS again to Genevieve for being here & 

bringing it- you just ROCK! Thanks for empowering woman everywhere to be a SUPERCHICK - just like YOU! 

And THANK YOU for being here today. 
Join me tomorrow morning for the  
LAST SURPRISE that I have for you  
as the BIRTHDAY GIVEAWAY week party comes to an end!