Hearts, Dia de Los Muertos ... what's there not to love?!

A big shout-out goes to Danielle who was married yesterday at the Palace Resorts in the Riviera Maya! Her request was simple - something pretty and festive! Danielle sent us three photos .... her STDS, her wedding cake toppers and a picture which inspired her color theme ....

Danielle's STDS

Wedding Cake Toppers

Inspiring Photo

Of course, me being me thought "Well, why don't we just combine all of that?" and I must admit I LOVE what Omar came-up with for the maracas and I just tied the "shake me tags" into it!

This week we should have the reveal photos for Mindi & Morgan's wedding design decor, this past Oct 23rd ... so stay tuned!

Become a Fan - Win Maracas - WINWIN!

The Scoop

Here's how this whole idea started ...

I said, "You know, it would be cool to do some sort of 'give away' to say thank you to our fans."

Omar said, "We could give away some maracas."

I said, "That's a great idea ... so, how to do it?"

And back and forth blah blah blah and here it is --- what will hopefully be a yearly tradition, the first ever "WinWin" drawing!

GRAND PRIZE: 20 of our simple, two-tone maracas! Like these pictured below (you do not have to choose one of these examples - we CAN design something based on your invites, your dreams, your doodlings)!

*Note: the awesome red and white maraca photo in the middle is from Elizabeth Medina's website!
RUNNER-UP: Your choice of either 20 "shake me" tags OR fork place cards (if you are not a bride, you do have an option of winning an original hand-painted fan!)!!

HOW TO ENTER

1. You become one of our fans on our facebook page

2. You send me a message - either comment on facebook or to my email. Let me know that you would like to enter your name in our "WinWin" drawing

3. If you're already a fan of our facebook page, just send me a message (or leave a comment on the facebook page) and let me know you would like to enter the drawing

HOW TO ENTER MORE THAN ONCE!

We thought it would make things more fun if you could enter your name more than once - so, you could have the possibility of winning both the maracas AND the tags! Here's how to do that!

1. Every friend, relative or stranger you grab on the street who becomes one of our fans on facebook only needs to send us a comment via facebook or a message to my email and let me know the bride OR the name of the person they are entering for.

It's just that simple!

We will draw names and announce the winners January 15, 2010!

THE FINE PRINT

1. You MUST be a fan of our facbook page at the time of the drawing but you CAN withdraw from being a fan right after the drawing

2. You are responsible for shipping charges, if you are outside of the Puerto Vallarta area

3. We must have 2 weeks to complete the order

4. You CAN add a fancier design, name/date/location, etc. for additional charges

5. You CAN order more maracas, tags/place cards, if you need more

6. If you've already ordered maracas and you are the grand prize winner, you can substitute hand-painted fans for maracas.

7. The maracas and/or the tags/place cards prize(s) can be claimed up until May 31, 2010. If you have not claimed the prize before that date, the prize(s) will be forfeit.

Before and After Video for Mindi & Morgan ... on Facebook!

I have a lot of goodies coming these next few weeks, my dear brides and one is a competition you ARE NOT going to want to miss! But, for now, what I have is Mindi & Morgan's Candlelit Wedding - a Before and After video ... just to tide you over until I get the photos back from Soco and Paulina!

And, speaking of Facebook, we now have a page all to our own self (Mishka Designs - From the Inside Out) and you may want to become a fan - as there will be more videos of events, how to videos, before and after photos, insight into getting married in Vallarta and oodles more! I told you we were in for a ride this wedding season!

Cabos, starfish, eggplant purple and some lacy romance...

A huge shout-out goes to Brea who was married yesterday in Cabo San Lucas! Brea came to us with these simple, yet chic starfish wedding invites but she had fallen-in love with our very popular "lacy romance" maracas.

Brea's Invites

We tried combining the two but, in the end, lacy-romance won. Her colors were eggplant purple and orange and this is what Omar's end result was:

We had some cute tags but, unfortunately, no photos were taken!

Next is Mindi and Morgan's Candlelit Wedding - it's promising to be even more than I had hoped it would be when I orginally designed it, so you'll have to tune back-in next week and see!!

Black Accents....

Well, September has come and gone and we're into October and you know what that means? It's the new season! Before I start inundating you with our own special orders and wedding designs, I thought I would share real quick a little research I did on black accents .... everywhere I went I was reading that "black is the new brown" ;).

INSPIRATION

I drew my inspiration from several different black/color combinations. I think there is something very powerful about black - so powerful, in fact, that, if not used wisely, I think the design starts to look too heavy and, thus, takes away the "romance factor." There were two color combinations that I just couldn't find good examples of - that was purple and black and orange and black. I just couldn't get away from images of Halloween .... although I do think an eggplant with black and white or the peach inspiration board I found with black and white would work.

Top Row: Loved the black plate and the bling bling on the pink napkin - just really love black/white/pink combinations, really. Something very retro about it :). {Wedding Wire} Speaking of retro, I love these dresses as bridesmaid dresses - would love to see an edgy/50's combined with Spanish flair wedding - Puerto Vallarta West Side Story, so to speak ;). {You and Your Wedding}

Middle Row: Of course, when thinking black accent, damask is everywhere. I love the combination with this olive green ribbon. {Monterey Wedding} Also love the ocean blue with black/white combination and these invites are divine. {Wed Printing} I also like a silver/black/white combination and I think these invites are perfect for the bride who loves handmade, stylish invites. {ScrappyKy at Etsy}

Bottom Row: Bottom we have two fab cakes - the first black/white/red cake I love for the leaf design. {Sedona Wedding Cakes} The second cake is a great floral design with wonderful pink floral accents - yum! {Bridal Inquirer} At bottom we have some great white/black accent wedding shoes. {Meg Belanger} I adore this simple, yet elegant centerpiece (and I think Gerbers are a little tricky to make elegant, but they really pulled this off!) {Stellina Events} Up top, we have an Asian inspired invite - really great ribbon touch. {Formal Invitations} And lastly, this is just a heart heart place setting with the black design plates and the dark pink flowers. {Pacific Weddings}

Touches of Red

I'll start with one of the trickiest combinations - because black and red are such dark colors, it takes a sleight of hand to ensure that neither one of these colors overpowers the whole setting. I was just thinking about this when I realized we have a black/white/red combination coming in November, so stay tuned ;).

I started with this picture because it was just too fabulous and deserved it's very own mention. Heart heart the dresses, love the bouquet - just fab {Brides}

This next design board is luscious and a perfect example of being just over-the-top awesome without going that just a bit more into the not-so-awesome. My heart goes pitty-pat with those bridesmaid dresses/wedding dress/bouquet combo. *sigh* {Vow Weddings}

I absolutely adore when someone can take something that could come-off cheesy and turns it into something that's worth kisses and hugs and that would go to this next design board. For those of you who think hearts and love are "oh so whatever", I dare you not to like this one! {Green Wedding Shoes}

Touches of Pink

One shade over and we have the pink/black/white wedding - I think silhouettes, given a touch of Mexican flair, could be a great touch. {Totally Tabletops}

A Touch of Peach

Tricky but doable is what I say about this color combo. I'm not completely sold, but this design board did make me stop and say "maybe....it could be done...." {Banquet Event}

A Shout of Yellow
I mean, could yellow be anything else?! Wowzers, there it is! I mean, a color that takes after the sun is a color to get your attention. I personally think there is a bit too much damask in this table setting but, over-all, this is a great presentation. {Bride CA}

This is just a great design board. I absolutely heart heart both the cake and the centerpieces! {Prima Dona Bride}

Touch of Green

I love using green accents - I don't know why exactly, other than it's just a great color and there are so many options that go along with it. This is a triple heart design board - I'm not sure which is better - the bouquets and bouts with black and white feathers or that amazing invite, the birdcage, the cake.... {Prima Donna Bride}

Just a touch of damask really makes this design board stand-out. I was surprised to find that the invite in this design board is the same invite design as my black/white/red wedding in November - I checked - it's not their name on the invite ;). {Life Love Lipstick}

A Touch of Blue

A very simple, yet remarkably powerful design board. Creative, artistic, whimsical... {Style Me Pretty - Of course!}

We have a month chock-full of maracas, shake me tags, and, of course, Mindi & Morgan's Candlelit Wedding design/decor which we have been working on for about a year! I also have some surprises in store for you this wedding season that we've been working on during the summer - so, hop on and let's ride this wedding season wave together!