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Ashton Events Wedding with Rad Red Creative
Hello everyone!!! Praying each one of you had an awesome summer. I can’t believe I have a first and second grader! Time goes back way to quickly. Although I cherished the summer camps-pools-parks-popsicle-bicycle days, it feels good to get back into a good routine! Riiiiiiight, moms???
Okay, so finally had a moment to go through images from before summer started and wanted to stop an share a wedding we had the pleasure of working with Laura Helm of Ashton Events. Laura is a wonderful planner that I’ve known for a few years and it’s been so great to see her business grow leaps and bounds! This wedding took place with an amazingly gorgeous couple at The Junior League of Greater Lakeland’s Sorosis Building.
This was the first time we did a dessert table there and I loved everything about this venue and it was also great because the space gives you a clean canvas to really create something unique. In this case, vintage, timeless touches were everywhere along with blushes, pinks and accents of peacock hues…royal blues, deep purples…if you know me, there is nothing I love more than a couple that is open to a unique color palette!
Extra thanks go to my friends over at Rad Red Creative. Besides being fantastic artists, they are absolutely the cutest team. Ever.
Enjoy friends! And best of luck to all the teachers, schools and families out there!
IMAGE CREDIT: RAD RED CREATIVE
And we got to style these lovely cupcakes from Sweetie’s Cakes!
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Hello my friends…it’s been awhile….
Hello my friends! The beginning of MAY. How did that happen??? Although in my mind I’ve intended to blog more, sometimes things just don’t pan out as I would like and that is A-OK with me! One of my more personal goals, is to be really present with my family, with my boys, their unending energy and the biggest lesson of all has been to define was true success means to me. Not so long ago, I was spent…exhausted…and feeling like if I wasn’t that crazy-busy, I wasn’t really making it.
Now that I’ve gone through my big rebrand not that long ago, made changes to my business structure and to our core, I’ve learned to recite a phrase often my head…
I’m busy enough for me.
I’m busy enough to keep my head afloat and my heart happy. Busy enough to still take that 1-2 days off work, and hang out with Preston or volunteer at my boys’ school. Busy enough that when my husband comes home I can carry a conversation without being distracted about work…the million things I still have on my every growing to-do list. And don’t get me wrong. Not every day is perfect and there may be some periods where I let myself sink into the old habits again, but then I go back to what really matters to me and it’s always the big wake up call I need.
So before I take this blog post all over the place, I would love to share part one, of our Spring season which is winding down for us. From weddings to snippets of corporate events, we did it all! Thanks as always to my husband Steve (always the man-behind-the-scenes), and to Karina, my assistant designer, we were non stop! Enjoy my friends! And I hope 2014 has started off great for all of you!
Bridal Showcase: Perfect Wedding Guide. We only do a sprinkle of bridal shows a year, and Perfect Wedding Guide is one of them! I always use the shows as my excuse to do whatever my sweet ole’ heart desires. Ha!
Gold and Black Vintage Dessert Table: This was our first wedding of the season. Carolyn our bride, is an amazing person and client. I was sort of obsessed with the venue, our first time at the Casa Monica in St. Augustine. And I loved the fact that Carolyn made sure to connect her vintage style and the color palette to the room and it really worked it so well. Also thanks to my cupcake girl, Crystal the owner of Cuppy Cakes for always bringing it with her delicious cupcakes which were a hit.
Photography Credit: Melissa Enid Photography
PS–Um…could Carolyn be more stunning?
And one picture from me…
Ashley Brooke Designs/West Elm Pop Up Shop Event: And one of my favorite partnerships from this Spring, we partnered up with Ashley Brooke Designs and their pop up shop at the West Elm in Orlando. Ashley is a force to be reckon with, with impeccable sense of style that translates through her design work. If you are looking for any unique gifts, stationary…she is your girl.
Neiman Marcus Spring Trends Event: One of my favorite corporate clients, Neiman Marcus. We’ve worked with them for a few years and we love to provide our tables as a way to launch their Spring season. Hmmm…can you guess what color trends are happening this year???
I’m going to wrap up our Spring season round up in two blog posts, so stay tuned next week for a few more updates and pictures.
And….before I forget, Mother’s Day is right around the corner!!! If you are looking for any last minute ideas, we have some great options in our online shop! Shop link on our home page. Have a great week friends!!!
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And we have a Winner for our Valentine’s Day Giveaway!
YAY! Quickly I want to announce the winner for the Valentine’s Day Giveaway. Thank you so much for everyone that entered–you have no idea how much I enjoyed reading everyone’s Valentine Day plans and favorite memories!!! If you didn’t win this time–don’t worry! We definitely have plans to do another one SOON! Have a great weekend everyone!
The lucky duck is…..Jessica Hurtado! Jessica be on the look out for an email from Chic Sweets. Congrats!!!
My favorite valentine memory will forever be the day my daughter Julianna was born. February 14th 2011! We had a great 1st pregnancy just lots of fatigue. Delivery went smooth just some cramps. She was a week late and I just knew she was going to come on Valentines. She always gets two gifts, a valentine and a birthday gift and her sister gets one too. I always try and make it special for the both of them and my husband as well.
The winner was determined via drawing on Random.org. Thanks to B is for Bonnie Design and Ashley Brooke Designs for teaming up with us!
XOXO-Natalie
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New Products added to our Shop and a Special Valentine’s Day Giveaway!
Hello Everyone!!! Hope all of you are having a great January! This is one of my favorite times of year–time to regroup, set new goals with pretty new planners, prioritize…a nice, clean slate. It has been on my to-do list to do a much longer post running through all my goals for this year since when I put everything down in writing it holds me so much more accountable. BUT before I get to that post, I’m taking a moment to announce new products that have been added to our shop AND a giveaway! YIPPEE!
Color has always been a huge part of my design work so when it came to adding cake pops to our online shop I really wanted to do something that stood out and felt different. I’ve taken some of my all time favorite color palettes and created selected sets which I LOVE. Corals….blacks…mint…reds….oh my! On top of the select sets, we’ve also added glitter cake pops which are just about the prettiest things you will ever see. Below are a few glimpses into our sets. Of course, as always, Shay Cochrane is our girl for all of our product photography. Every time she works, she really just blows me away.
A few behind the scenes from our photoshoot…hey…we got some great lighting in that garage!
And now for some amazing images from Shay…
All together now…it’s great…to be…a Florida Gator…(chomp, chomp)
Now for the fun part–I’m a sucker for a great giveaway and collaborating with some of my favorite people only makes me more HAPPY! You have until Thursday, February 6 at 12:00 p.m. (EST) to enter! *US residents only and winner will be determined via drawing on random.org.
I’m giving away a dozen Valentine’s Day cake pops plus a few of these other wonderful goodies!
1: A set of 10 Ice Cream Valentine Note Cards from Ashley Brooke Designs. LOVE HER and her blog is amazing mix of lifestyle tips and fashion–a must follow.
2: Essie Nailpolish in forever yummy and watermelon. Two of the best colors. Ever.
3 and 4: “Love Others Well” gold foil print and a set of six Choose Joy pencil Set from B is for Bonnie Design. How gorgeous is this print??
5: Red Velvet Cupcake scented candle from Target. It’s sitting right next to me and I’ve opened it up several times while typing this post. Just to inhale it. Sooooo good.
6: A dozen Valentine’s Day cake pops from yours truly! YAY! Makes the perfect gift!!!!
All you have to do is leave a comment on this post with your most favorite Valentine’s Day memory! OR if you even want to share what you are thinking about for this upcoming Valentine’s Day, that is fine as well!
If you would like additional entries…
- Tweet about the giveaway mentioning @ChicSweets and #CHICSWEETSSHOP
- Facebook about the giveaway linking to our Facebook Page. (you must like the page first, so you can tag properly!)
- Repost the Giveaway picture (above) on Instagram and follow @chicsweets21 and these amazing two shops @ashleybrookedesigns AND @bonniejoymarie. Tag #CHICSWEETSSHOP
Very, very important!!!! Don’t forget to please leave a separate comment for each entry!
Okay, Ready…Set…and GO!!!!!!!!!!!
XO-Natalie Clamp
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Wrapping my Head Around 2013…
Hello everyone!!! How is your 2014 starting off? This is my first week back to work, after spending some much needed time with Steve and my boys. This past fall wedding season was unbelievable and the best so far for Chic Sweets which always leaves my heart in awe of how much we’ve grown these past few years. One of my biggest words for this year is: PRESENT. Chic Sweets can definitely soak up a lot of time from me, which is why when I’m home with the boys, work urgent matters handled, I’m trying to be PRESENT. Don’t get me wrong…it’s very hard at times. I’m tired…maybe cranky…I find myself glancing at my Facebook or Instagram feed more times than I’m willing to admit, but I’m trying and it’s something I’m constantly working on. And so these past few months I’ve found myself blogging less than ever before. I used to beat myself up about it because I really do enjoy writing and putting my thoughts on “virtual paper”, but taking the pressure off has helped me breathe a bit, focus, and finally, excited to blog..when I’m able to.
So I do have a mega-post I plan on sharing of things that worked/didn’t work for me in 2013, basically my way of looking back at the year and what I need to do personally, and professionally to continue making what matters happen. BUT before I do that, I’ve been dying to share so many glimpses into the past few months–a few of our dessert tables, candy projects and some behind the scenes outtakes. I typically hold off on posting these pictures to my site’s gallery because they are from my I-phone and sometimes taken when I’ve lacked quite a few hours of sleep. HAHA! So sit back, grab a cup of coffee, and take a peek at what we’ve been up to!
Happy New Year everyone!
Chevron inspired dessert table with Julie Perez from Chic Designs and Fabulous Events. It was a “surprise gift” for the bride and groom, courtesy of Julie. Love this!
LOVED the branded candy boxes we did for our Chic Sweets (online shop). One of my favorite parts of this year.
And speaking the our Chic Sweets’ shop, we have big plans to add cake pops this month, something that I’ve held off for sometime. Thanks to Shay Cochrane for the fab photos!
Halloween time and at Tech Data over in Clearwater they kept us busy! From over 300 candy filled pumpkins to cauldrons…our hands were cramping! 🙂
Road trip to Chapel Hill…why not? One of my favorite tables we’ve EVER sponsored for the ladies of Southern Weddings. I’m hoping to share a bit more about this soon!
Moroccan inspired dessert table with Brooke Palmer of RSBP Events. Camel included. Seriously. I can’t make this stuff up.
Gold glitter dusted cake pops for NACE Tampa Holiday Party at the Floridan in downtown Tampa. Great times with my cohorts. And one of our last big orders before we took off for the holidays.
And finally, words can’t describe how much I love this picture. More the thought that all my Dad wanted to do was help and I can’t help but wonder what Steve is thinking here….hmmmmmm….
