Dear Monday Please Inspire Me: Sparkle On

We all sparkle somehow - some of us more on the inside and some are a little more glittery on the outside. No matter what it is in life, if you’re doing it well there will always be someone trying to dull your sparkle. Make your glitter resilient I say, mod podge it on a little stronger and realise that you deserve to sparkle. It is your right, but it’s a choice whether you let others dull it or not, so sparkle on I say - and have a Happy Monday 

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Dear Monday Please Inspire Me: Getting What You Want

Getting what you want out of your business or life is a challenge for most of us, but when you cant pinpoint what it is that you want or where you want to go, I like to start with the list of what you don't want which tends to make the end goal a little clearer. 

I knew exactly what I wanted in the months leading up to this baby being born (only 7 weeks to go!) - 'time'. Time to catch my breath, time for some creative projects of my own which are often pushed behind a long list of orders, time to catch up on that long list of orders, time to nest and spring clean and most of all time to relish and enjoy as many minutes and moments whilst its only Miss E & me for the most part of each day. 

In order to achieve that though it meant saying 'no', because my normal capacity of saying yes to everyone and everything see's me working at the early hours of each morning and long into the following days early hours too; not so achievable with this growing bump. 

But getting rid of what you don't want is rarely easy and easily questioned, but the courageous decision to get what you want is always worth it in the end - regardless of anyone else's opinions, sometimes you just need a little reminder. 

Happy Monday x 

'Little Gentleman' Party Favours

I love when a client comes to me with an idea for a custom design that is so similar to something I've had in the back of my mind and on the never ending 'creative-to-try' list for a while - its like a match made in creative heaven right from the start! 

So when I was contacted by a lovely mum earlier this year who was having a 'Little Gentleman' party for her son and wanted to create something to give to each of her guests upon arrival, these paper bow ties for little men and corsages for little ladies came to life. 

 I love the idea of a party favour that can be given to guests upon arrival rather than when they are leaving too, what a great way to continue your theme by 'dressing up' your guests without a costume in sight! 

All That Glitters - Queensland Brides Magazine Feature

The Spring edition of Queensland Brides Magazine (and blog post here) features this ‘All That Glitters is Gold’ wedding shoot styled by Beautiful Weddings & Crumbs of Comfort Cake Design.

I have a huge soft spot in my ‘colour love’ for gold, so when I was asked by the lovely Gillian of Crumbs of Comfort Cake Design to create a set of our gold glitter jars for this opulent ‘All that glitter is gold’ wedding, I couldn’t wait to see the end result.  Gold is so often used as a highlight colour in small doses amongst a colour palette, but this set up shows that by using varying shades of gold against the simplicity of white it shines bright and beautiful as a feature colour.

When you use a bold 2 colour palette I love the addition of a highlight colour which is used with a lot of restraint such as the emerald green in the paper butterflys and the floral foliage here. Highlight colours add depth and strengthen your feature colours, but remember restraint is the key!

Photography by Chantilly Lace Photography

Styling by Beautiful Weddings Australia and Crumbs of ComfortCake Design

The Countdown Begins

With only 8 weeks to go until our baby boy is due, I feel like I can officially begin to countdown! I may have been secretly counting down inside for a while, never one to wish away time, but there will be a lot of joy and relief when this baby-growing-business is over! So whilst the past few months have been a little manic at Dunne with Style, I’ve finally caught up to a ‘manageable’ level of work and found a little time to start our babies nursery and ‘decluttering’ our home. As a self confessed ‘collector’ (it’s a vogue word for hoarder) I thought this quote was fairly fitting - the problem is I believe in a lot of beauty!

So what's the balance in your house - the useful or the 'because its beautiful'?

So (hopefully!) the next 8 weeks in amongst the nursery painting and prep, the house de-cluttering/nesting and the expected anxiety attacks over the fact that I’ll have both a toddler and a baby to run rings around me I’ll be able to share a backload of projects I’ve worked on over the past few months, a few DIY’s for you to try and a good dose of what’s inspiring me right now

For now, its Happy Monday x 

Confetti Fair Wrap Up

It may be a little belated, but my Confetti Fair wrap up is finally here - what a whirlwind it was and has been ever since! Confetti Fair was the first time I had exhibited any of Dunne with Style on a platform that isn’t ‘online’ so whilst it came with a little apprehension of how it would be received I was also full of excitement for people to be able to see and experience our products in ‘real life’.

It was such a buzz to be able to meet and greet and finally put some faces to names and online ‘personalities’ that I have met, but never in person over the past 12 months. Whilst I love the online platform that I work from, there is something a little more humbling and touching about seeing peoples reactions and hearing your kind comments when you could come and pick a bunch of blooms for yourself. So the biggest thanks goes to you - my new and my old loyal readers/followers/supporters, to everyone that stopped by to say hi, that introduced themselves, that ooh-ed and ahh-ed and left with arms full of boxes of poms.

I owe a huge thank you to some of my favourite talents in the industry, particularly my dear friend Debbi from Studio Cake who provided the gorgeous ruffle cake and cupcake for our stall (of which people loved so much, the poms by the end of the day were literally sold off the cake!) and to Simon & Melissa from Ashdown & Bee who created the gorgeous pennant signs. I have been in love with Simon’s signwriting for so long and was buzzing when I got the chance to incorporate their work to Dunne with Style

Of course, whilst the majority of the time Dunne with Style is a one woman show, I am supported by the most amazing family which without my stall would not have even begun to exist. My patient patient husband took on board the task of constructing my ‘shelving unit’ and spent weeks fossicking through our local treasure troves for the perfect painters ladder. My Dad was my set up and pack down assistant helping me cart up 2 car loads and an F250 truck load of props and products, and my dream team Mum & sister didn’t stop packing those poms all day long. So to everyone that says to me ‘I don’t know how you do it sometimes’ - their support is how.

So whilst the whirlwind is over and I creep into the last 12 weeks before we welcome a new baby boy into the Dunne with Style family there are still a few exciting projects I’m working on and look forward to sharing with you including some beautiful summer weddings. I will be stocking the online store with some ready to ship items (starting with our rosettes  in the store now - see here) and working on a different kind of styling project - a second nursery!

Whilst this beautiful blog has been a little neglected over the past few months in the coming weeks I hope to have the time to share a little more of my loves and inspiration and start to share with you some new ventures and directions I have planned for 2014. 

Dunne with Style at Confetti Fair

This weekend see's Confetti Fair come to Melbourne at the gorgeous Abbotsford Convent and I'll be there sharing a little splash of Dunne with Style. 

If you've just joined us at Dunne with Style via Confetti Fair - Welcome! 

Our online store is currently closed as we have been focusing on stocking our Confetti Fair shelves, but make sure your join our social side via Instagram & Facebook to keep up to date with our store news. In the mean time have a looksie through our portfolio (here) for a little Dunne with Style inspiration