My Blog

Big Lots=Big NOT- my wedding shopping adventure

03/20/2011 01:37:00

When I am in wedding mode (which I was the other day) I first stopped at big lots in a plaza, because even just a few years ago, you could REALLY rack up some deals!!!

Now? They are like a cheap, junky mish mash version of TJ Max (except TJ max has designer items)!!!

But remember, I'm in my wedding mode- so it does not fit the bill for budgets!

Next I head down to jo ann fabrics. The silk florals there are quite nice.....but I still will never understand why a hydrangea stem is $7. Next I saw a simple but SUPER pretty heart wreath made from grapevine, with red berry sprays and a red ribbon with a loop for hanging. It was GORGEOUS!!!!!! Until I saw the price tag- $39.99. WHAT?!!!!!!!

At that moment I was determined to make it cheaper.....I examined it for a good 10 minutes.

This is something I am going to add to my website......THEIRS VS MINE! This will be for all you girls out there....you fall in love with something and then you get sticker shock. I'm determined to find the 'oh I wish I could afford that' to I can do this myself!

I love going to dollar tree and family dollar. ESPECIALLY now that i'm experimenting with flowers, you can get a CHEAP bush of crappy fake flowers for $1.

Back to the grapevine wreath......Benjamin Franklin (a craft store here) is going out of business. After marveling at the gorgeous ribbons and picking up some super cheap wedding items to play with....what did I see? A HUGE BOX FULL OF CURLED UP GRAPEVINE! Normally, full price is 2.49 for a small roll. But the owner had tied 6 rolls together, for the same price! CHA CHING!

So I can't wait until I have the time to play with my grapevine and get some more DIY projects for you all!!!

What I learned today....

03/15/2011 00:15:00

So I was having fun playing with centerpieces, and I had these little tiny crystals in one of my vases........of course it got knocked over! Those tiny beads were impossible to pick up, vaccum up, and they somehow got treaded in every room in the house!

So......when making centerpieces, make sure and do it on a sheet of painters plastic or in the kitchen.

If you need some great centerpiece inspiration by color or theme....checkout the website www.projectwedding.com Thousands of pictures and ideas are there for you to check out in your color scheme!

Ebay WHOAS

03/08/2011 16:47:00

I was just on ebay a few minutes ago, curious as to what wedding dresses cost...new AND old. Many used ones were more than $500 and shipping was $99. This particular dress WAS preserved, but she removed it. She had stains ALL over it and still wanted $350 from it!

Then of course there are the chinese selling their gowns. To them, you are just another number. But of course 99% turn out just fine. But it's nail biting when you have no idea if they followed your measurements, color, and to make a zipper back instead of a lace up. Plus you have NO CLUE how well the stitching is put together.

That is why I am SOOOOO thankful to have my own seamstress, serena, who doubles and triple checks, we keep in contact, which means I have contact to you, the buyer...making sure everthing ok going well.

So all in all, you have the best of the best and are in GOOD hands!

My New Store

03/05/2011 11:26:00

It's official, I'm getting ride of the store on my website because whoever created it was not thinking to clearly!!!!

If you lick on my store, there wil either be a link, or a new browser with my store will

open for you, like magic!

I apologize for SUCH a delay and lack of products thus far....I'm trying to keep up with.....my life!

On a super happy note, my third dress may be ordered soon, and I got invited to a wedding! Thanks Carol and Ashley!!!!!!

Be a jewelry expert- Part 1

02/23/2011 01:53:00

Ok so I have 4 parts to these next 4 posts, that will make you a

Jewely Genius!!!!

This part is all about a girls best friend! DIAMONDS!!!!

First I would like to note a few things on diamonds. First you see an average Jane with a GIGANTIC 5 carat ring...more than likely it is cubic zirconia. Yes, it COULD be a fashion ring,,,,but a white diamond ring on the engagement finger is not, and it also looks like it would knock someone out! IMO, that is a tad bit over the top! BUT it could be real?!

Second: If you have a ring that only has sidestones in it, but needs a topper, don't be afraid to look at 'lab created' or 'simulated' stones. Because if you know.....diamonds take thousands of years to make in nature. In this lab ( I believe it is in Russia), they take pieces of carbon, put them in a chamber for at least a week using extreme heat and pressure, add water to make it steam, and all sorts of crazy stuff!!!! When the super pressed carbon is chipped away, TA DA!!!! DIAMONDS!!!!! SO ok, they are still 'man made' but is exactly like nature in hyper speed!!!! (Maybe I'll try this and take it in for a diamond quality analysis)!!!!!!

Introduction to Diamonds

Diamonds burn brightly as symbols of love. For centuries, they have conquered hearts, launched romances, marked anniversaries. Kings and queens covet them. Movie stars flash them. Some of the planet's hottest and coldest spots produce them. In story and song, the desire for diamonds is as enduring as diamonds themselves. Sifting mountains of rock, in the harshest of climates, produces rough diamonds. A ton of diamond-bearing rock may yield half a carat. If it is earth's ability to squeeze carbon into the hardest substance known, it is the hand of man that coaxes out its luminous personality

Slip a diamond on your finger and you wear a piece of geological history. Though diamonds are cut to rigorous standards, nature endows each with its own identity. Tiny quirks, most invisible to the naked eye, exist in the form of specks, bubbles and feather-like lines. Among the millions of carats mined each year, truly flawless diamonds number in the hundreds. These rarest of beauties are the costliest.

How diamonds are cut affects their brilliance. Traditional cuts radiate an almost incandescent spark of light. A modern version called the Ideal cut is said to trigger a rainbow of fire-like color. Debate over "light" and "fire" rages on. Which to buy is in the eye of the beholder. Both can be dazzling.

Here what the main shapes of diamond cuts look like:

Certification: Your Guarantee of Value

The certificate is like your passport: it identifies and attests to the specific characteristics of your diamond. Apart from a diagram of your diamond's special quirks or inclusions, the certificate details its measurements and grades such characteristics as color, clarity and cut. The certificate assures that your diamond is what it claims to be.

While there are other shapes, these are the most popular. Round brilliant diamonds are by far the favorites, accounting for four of every five diamonds purchased.

Cut: The Source of The Sparkle

How a diamond is cut--so that all of its facets work in harmony to spark the greatest brilliance--is an art as much as it is a science. Among the 4C's of diamond value, including clarity, color and carat weight, cut is considered the most critical. Cut is what unleashes a diamond's singular beauty.

A number of special terms are used to describe the quality of a cut. It is enough to know that very good diamonds reflect up to 90% of the light entering from above. Good diamonds are equally well proportioned, but their reflective powers are less than their more highly graded relations. At the low end of reflectivity, fair and poor diamonds may reflect no more than 40% of the entering light.

Proportion plays a key role. A shallow cut diamond, where the bottom half lacks a certain depth, reflects light downward from its base. A diamond cut too deeply will emit light from the side of its base. Ideally cut diamonds, and therefore more perfectly proportioned stones, reflect most of their light through their table or top surface. This quality is the most prized and costly.

Color: Why a "D" Rating is Desired

Rarely does the absence of something add value. Not so for diamonds, where the absence of color is nearly always the mark of value. Diamonds purest in brilliance have no colors--reds, blues and violets--to conflict with their sparkle. The exception: Fancy colored diamonds that are extremely rare and prized for their deep hues. "Fancies" have brought at auction nearly a million dollars a carat.

Diamonds are graded on the basis of color. The Gemological Institute of America uses the letters "D" through "Z" to rank diamond color. Blue white diamonds, considered absolutely colorless, carry a top rating of "D". At bottom, diamonds with a yellowish caste carry a "Z" rating. To the untrained eye, variations among the leading grades are almost impossible to detect. "D"-rated diamonds cost more than those lower on the scale.

Judging color in the day-to-day world is often subjective. In the world of diamonds, determining color is an extremely objective and precise process. You would not mix "D"-rated diamonds in the same necklace with "H"-rated gems, even though they looked similar. Nor would you want to pay "F"-level prices for "J"-ranked stones. That's why a certificate from the Gemological Institute is so important when buying a diamond.

Clarity: Defining the Inner Beauty:

Among the four "Cs" of diamond value, "clarity" embraces the inner appearance of diamonds. In keeping with the precise nature of determining diamond value, clarity has its own scale of measurement.

Nearly all diamonds have inclusions. Bubbles, specks and lines are inclusions that give each diamond its own inner signature. The clarity scale accounts for these microscopic imperfections. Gems with the fewest inclusions are the rarest and costliest. So minute are many inclusions that they can be seen only under 10-power magnification. That means your diamond may contain inclusions undetectable to the naked eye. A certificate from the Gemological Institute of America shows their location.

Carats: Unrivaled for the Weight

Whether the word carat comes from an African word meaning seed or from a Greek word meaning bean kernel is unknown. What is clear is that diamonds are measured in carats. One fifth of a gram equals one carat. If 454 grams equal a pound, or a thousand carats, then your weight in diamonds is worth a king's ransom indeed.

Larger diamonds, always rarer than smaller ones, are not simply priced proportionately more. Owing to its rarity, a two-carat diamond will cost more than two one-carat stones of equal quality. Small diamonds are weighed in "points" equal to 1/100 of a carat and priced accordingly.

A diamond's width increases with the number of carats. Though a five carat diamond is only less than twice the width of a one carat stone, its rarity and weight will command a price out of all proportion to the weight and price of the one carat gem.

Hey everyone!

02/18/2011 17:46:00

I finally have a blog, YAY! But the most fun part is that I can interact with you girls! Feel free to ask any questions at anytime and join in on the conversation! I'm always excited to share new ideas and such, and answer any questions you might have :)

I get on my site usually once or twice a day to tweek things here and there.....

Currently I'm trying my hand in HTML coding. WOW my blondness comes through on that one! It's like trying to speak french and all you know how to say is

'copy and paste' lol.

Well anyways, I just wanted to officially introduce myself! Always feel free to ask any questions, and I will probably have questions for all of you!!!

-erika :)