Well, even though summer doesn't officially start for another month, I thought it would be fun to kick off the season with a summer sale! Come on over to Eclectic Orchid and pick up some great new accessories for summer! Flower pins, necklaces, earrings, jewelry, headbands- something for everyone! Just type in the code summer15 at checkout and receive 15% off your entire purchase (excludes shipping, can not be combined with any other offers, not applicable to custom orders)! Happy shopping!

A Day on the Farm- Engagement Photos with Aerin & Ben

Well, when you think of a farm you may not think of balloons, but I can assure you that on this particular day on the farm there were indeed balloons. I'll get back to that later! When my cousin Aerin called me last week to see if I wouldn't mind taking some engagement pictures of her and husband-to-be Ben, I was of course so excited! Where did they want to take pictures you ask? On the farm belonging to Ben's family. Okay, now I was ecstatic! Thomson Farm (aka Blue Lake Farm) encompasses over 1200 acres of land, which meant so many idyllic settings for dreamy, romantic pictures. It also meant a day of riding on four wheelers through green pastures, forests and fields of wildflowers (and also the occasional cow patty, but let's just focus on the pretty things, okay?). I mean, just look at this place...

Did I mention they raise beef cattle? I was a bit worried about a stampede but was assured I would remain trample free...

Some of the land borders the Broad River. So pretty!

So, here is a little sampling of the photo shoot. While I am no means a professional portrait photographer, it was so much fun to capture these special moments and I am pretty happy with the results! Have a look...

Ben is a volunteer at the local fire department...

Remember the balloons? They have a lot of old farm buildings spread throughout the property and I thought the brightness of the balloons against the old wood would be fun. Besides, balloons put a smile on anyone's face. Pure colorful happiness...

Hay bales anyone?

Aerin is a romantic at heart and a big fan of Pride & Prejudice. I think we captured a bit of that in this picture...

One of my favorites in a beautiful field of tall yellow wildflowers...

Aerin wore my For Whom the Heart Exists necklace for the shoot. I hand stamped it with a "B". Thought it was fitting for the occasion... You can see this necklace and more romantic styles over at Eclectic Orchid.

Thanks so much to Aerin and Ben for letting me capture this special time in your lives. It was so much fun and I am truly honored! Lots of love to you guys and best wishes for the future!

Also thanks to the Thomson family for allowing me to photograph some of their beautiful land. Truly a magical place!

Have a wonderful day all!

Much Love!

Good Morning Copycats

This morning I headed over to one of my favorite blogs, Violet Bella's World, and found this great little flyer. Her post this morning is interactive and she encourages everyone who agrees with this sentiment to repost on their own blog. In Laura's words, " Lets spread the word in a fun and creative way that its not so cool to be a copycat." Couldn't have said it better myself! So, head on over to Violet Bella's World and help show those copycats that we won't let them get us down!

Neglected and Sad

It's true, I've neglected you, made you sad, poor little blog! Life has gotten so busy and you have been tossed aside like a dirty dish rag. I'll try to do better sweet friend!

Lots of new lovelies are slowly making their way into the shop for the spring! Here are a few...

Head on over to Eclectic Orchid to see more of the new spring collection!

And I'll soon be introducing my Ring Around the Rosey custom fabric flower necklaces in gorgeous, vibrant colors. Below is a sneak peak at a spring photo shoot by local photographer Lindsay Hess who was kind enough to use my new necklace (shown here in teal blue). How gorgeous is this photo? See more of this lovely photo shoot over at Lindsay's Facebook page!

Last, but not at all least, I am one of the sponsors over at Violet Bella's World blog for the month of April! It is a gorgeous blog with dreamy images, inspiring reads, and lots of heart. Take the time to visit if you haven't already- it's totally worth it, I promise! Have a look around her Etsy shop, Violet Bella, as well. Oh my- its lovely!

This weekend is supposed to be a beauty so I am hoping to get my fill of nature- sprucing up the flower beds and planting a vegetable garden. Hope your weekend is wonderful as well!

Lots of Love~

Bellawonderella is open!

I've been neglectful of my blog as of late. Life has just been so terribly busy! Where do the days go? When I find out, I'll be sure to let you in on the secret!

Just wanted to let you all know that my Etsy photography shop, Bellawonderella, is now open! I am so super excited about this. Photography has always been such a great passion of mine and I am beyond thrilled that I am getting the opportunity to share that passion with others through my fine art prints. I'll leave you with a few of the images available for sale in my shop, but feel free to stop in at Bellawonderella and see some of them for yourself!

Have a lovely day!

Message from a Bride

A little over a year ago I received a message through Etsy from lovely bride-to-be Jenni. She was so happy to have found my Bows, Pearls, and Girly Things Necklace in bright tangerine and knew it would be perfect for her bridemaids to wear on her wedding day. Of course, I was thrilled to make them for her, and couldn't believe she was ordering them a year in advance! Can't get more on the ball than that!

To my surprise, I recently received another message from now lovely bride Jenni. A year later and now she is married and once again thanked me for the necklaces. To my delight she even shared some pictures of her beautiful wedding and her bridesmaids wearing the necklaces! Take a look at these amazing photos! Such a lovely wedding!

OOPSIE!

Well, it seems the pics have disappeared, but a great big THANK YOU to Jenni nonetheless for letting me add a little bit of beauty to your special day! Congrats to you and best wishes!

If you are a bride in need of unique jewelry or accessories for your wedding, please visit my Etsy shop and contact me! I love to hear from brides-to-be and will work to create something perfect just for you!

Wishing you lots of love and a simply wonderful day!

A Taste of What's to Come

Well, it's been a while. I have had a wonderful summer spending time with my family. It's a beautiful thing and we have made so many wonderful memories this summer. I am finally getting to work on the shop again. New packaging- adorable pale pink boxes with ribbons and a dainty flower.

I ordered some mini moo cards today. They are amazing tiny business cards with some of my original photography on them. They also make great little bookmarks. I'm hoping they will be a nice surprise for customers and a great addition to the new packaging.

I'll be getting the shop stocked soon with lots of new fall lovelies! Chains, flower pins in fall colors, and oh yeah! Rhinestones! Did I mention there will be rhinestones? Here's a little taste of what's to come!

Post Earring Sets

Hearts

Flowers, Crystals & Rhinestones

Have a beautiful day!