Ever since I was little, I have always loved lettering. I would doodle in my diary (back when the "cool ones" had a little lock and key), scrap paper, and anything that I could find. Little did I know that my love of hand lettering would come in handy years down the road.

Hand lettering works right along with chalkboard lettering except that you use chalk or chalk markers and you of course write on chalkboards! Two of my favorite brands to use are VersaChalk and CraftyCroc. The chalk in flows well and always is seamless in my designs. I love using them on all of my chalkboard projects like the ones below. A few other items that I always have on hand when working on my chalkboards are a ruler, regular chalk, a pencil sharpener with 2 holes, Q-tips (for cleaning up or fixing small areas), a hand towel (with one corner partially damp), and my creativity! Then, using my regular chalk, I always "prime" my boards first. This is where you take your regular chalk, turn it on its side, and rub the chalk on the chalkboards entire surface, sort of breaking it in before you start drawing. I then measure my boards and get a good 1/2 to 1 inch border marked on all sides. I then mark the center of the board and well as the center on each side of the chalkboard, so as to keep my designs symmetrical and straight. I then lightly draw guide lines to help map out where my words are going to go; and lightly write in my works with the chalk. Last is the fun part! I trace over my chalk writing with my chalk markers, then once the chalk is dry, I lightly wipe the board to clean off the excess chalk from my sketching, and do any touch ups needed.

And there you have it! See some of my designs for a wedding I am working on below! (You'll also see my little Sophie laying on her blanket "helping me out.")

Besides my planning business, I dabble in a little floral fun every now and then. Learning to compose various arrangements is a trying, yet very rewarding thing.

One of the girls that is teaching me has been doing floral for 20+ years and she always tells me "it took me years to get to where I am. You've gotta start somewhere." I try to remember that as I arrange each bouquet, centerpiece, and tablescape. Sometimes I want to give up, but I keep layering until I get it where I want it. This is very hard, being that I am a perfectionist.

So a a few things that I've learned in my short time doing floral:

1. Designers are SENSITIVE! Be careful when judging others work... if you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all. Tread lightly y'all!

2. There are so many different names for the colors of a rose! One of my absolute favorites is MOVIESTAR and ORANGE CRUSH (these are bright and coral/orange colored). Least favorite is FRIENDSHIP (a red tipped rose with a white base).

3. The names of flowers/greenery can be hard to remember, and quite honestly is very daunting. Don't even get me started on how to spell them...

All in all, I absolutely love floral and am excited to learn more. I love getting my creative juices flowing, and it's rewarding to see my work displayed for all to see!

I'm hoping to add floral to my line of services soon. Just gotta keep practicing!