{Surprise Giveaway Winner} Eclectic Whatnot Camera Strap....

Thanks to Eclectic Whatnot for sponsoring such an awesome giveaway!  And the winner is.....

#2 - Nia said...

I am a fan on yours on FB

Email me at info{at}mysparkingevent.com for instructions on how to claim your prize! 

Quick update - The Online Labels.com Giveaway has been postponed temporarily - since loosing my hard, I'm having some hard time finding my contact.  

Thanks! 

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Dare to Dream!

{Real Invitations} Pink & White Floral Graduation Invitations

I was so delighted when I was asked to create these lovely graduation invitations for an upcoming college graduation.  The proud mother of the graduate wanted something beautiful and elegant. This is what we came up with and I think that they are quite beautiful. They were mailed in a lovely ivory shimmer envelope.

These are 5x7 inches printed on white shimmer cardstock.

{The Design}

{Print}

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    Dare to Dream!

Last Minute Thanksgiving Inspiration

Happy Thanksgiving!

I have a little last minute Thanksgiving inspiration for you today.  I know everyone is super busy preparing for Thanksgiving feast but if you still need some ideas to finish off your tables and decorations, here they are! 

Colored glasses and accent plates add such a beautiful warm hue to any table.  

Simple and elegant!  

{all photos courtesy of hgtv.com}

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    Dare to Dream!

{Surprise Giveaway} Free Designer Camera Strap from Eclectic Whatnot

Happy Monday!

The holiday season is upon us and it is my most favorite time of the year. I'm so thankful for all of the many blessings that I receive EACH and EVERY day! I love being surrounded by friends and family. Most importantly I love the giving spirit that takes over everyone during the time.

So, I have a Surprise Giveaway today! Do you have one of the fancy DSLR camera's? Are you a self proclaimed photographer? Would you love to personalize your camera and be even more sophisticated? I do, I am, I WOULD. I ordered this funky cute camera strap from Eclectic Whatnot for my girlfriend who just got hooked up with a fabulous Canon EOS Rebel T2i bundle for her birthday. She called me and LOVED her camera strap! So I ordered one too for my Nikon! Eclectic Whatnot is giving one of my lucky fans their own free camera strap from her collection! A $38 dollar value! How cute are they! What a cute way to personalize and jazz up your DSLR camera. This would make a fantastic Christmas gift for someone with a fancy DSLR camera!

In addition, Eclectic Whatnot will be having an awesome Black Friday discount of 25% from Friday, November 26th - 28th, by using the code BLACKFRIDAY25.  So enter the giveaway but also go ahead and buy gifts for all of your friends with this awesome discount! Tell them The Sparkle Spot sent you!

GIVE AWAY DETAILS!

1. Become a Sparkling Events & Designs, LLC. LIKE IT Fan on Facebook! If you are one, post letting us know that you are!

2. Become a Eclectic Whatnot LIKE IT FAN on Facebook!If you are one, post letting us know that you are!

3. Share this giveaway on Facebook and post back here that you did!

4. Visit Eclectic Whatnot on ETSY and tell us which camera strap you would love to have!

Deadline to Enter: November 27th 11:00PM EST. Only valid to US addresses. Winner announced on CYBER Monday! That's only one week to enter so don't delay! 

Please leave an extra comment for each entry and your E-Mail address. Winner will be chosen by True Random Number Generator.
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Dare to Dream !

My Motherboard My Self - Time to ReStart!

The past two days have been an extremely difficult over in my neck of the woods. This will be an extremely personal post and a little bit of a departure from my typical posts but it's my blog and I'll share if I want to. :)  On Tuesday night I shut down my beloved Macbook because it was locking up.  Well that would be the last time that it would boot. .  I tried to restart my computer but it would only make it to the gray Apple screen.  I was frantic to say the least.  My Macbook is only one year old coming up on the 28th of November.  My husband just told me to relax and come back to it tomorrow.  I was beside myself.  Just a few days before I left for Napa I reminded myself that I needed to do a backup when I returned, well when I returned would be too late!  Why does it always happen that way? 


After spending 2 hours at the "Genius Bar" in the Apple store fighting back tears, I left my Macbook at the Apple hospital hoping and praying that my data would be able to be recovered.  Soon the call would come....  we've replaced your hard drive but we couldn't move any of your data over!  The bomb dropped!  Why oh why hadn't I backed up my data!  I have a years worth of SED data including business documents, designs, portfolio pictures... EVERYTHING.  In addition to that, all of the software needs to be reinstalled.  GREAT..NOT!!!  What about all of those design elements and fonts that I have purchased?   I felt like the carpet had been pulled from underneath me.  Everything that I have poured my heart into this past year was gone! Just when I thought I was getting into a routine....BAM!  The sadness was immeasurable of how much I feel like I've lost.  One day I will share the story of how and when I started SED, it may then make sense.  I thought about the episode of Sex and the City when Carrie's motherboard dies and she feels as though "her life" was on that machine.  UGH!  Why oh why hadn't I backed up! 


So in tears my husband wraps his arms around me and tells me not to worry, it will be ok.  I call my sister and she says, "Ebony, you know what,  everything you lost YOU created! Not anyone else. YOU!  You are talented, you created those things and you can do them AGAIN. Don't be discouraged! You are amazing! So let's turn this into a wonderful opportunity!"  Of course that made me cry MORE but I thought,  she's right! Those designs came from MY head, I put ink to paper and made them come to creation and I know that I can do it again.  Sometimes you just have to restart and come back bigger and better!  Thank goodness I had already closed my books for the rest of the year (silver lining).  So, that's my goal....to be bigger and BETTER!  It's a tough pill to swallow but who knows what is in store for me, I truly believe that everything happens for a reason.  There is still a chance that the files can be recovered from a disk saving company but in the meantime  I'm focused on making Sparkling Events & Designs, LLC. even better!  So watch out! 


Just remember, sometimes it's ok to restart!  and....I'll be backing up EVERY week from here on out! :) 
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   Dare to Dream!