It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas...

We have 4 days until Christmas and I am just now putting the finishing touches on my pad. I had great plans about decorating every room and having at least 3 beautiful Christmas trees {1 large ones and 2 small ones}. Well, I did not get around to putting up the 2 smaller trees this year... My ornament business accounted for every.spare.moment of my life. For the past month I have been operating off five hours {if I am lucky} of sleep. Today, I am thrilled to announce that 200 ornaments and 175 gifts later.... I have completed and delivered all of my orders just in time for the holidays!

I am beyond tired.... To be completely honest... It is 3:27 p.m. and I am falling asleep in between each sentence.... I hope that what I have written thus far is coherent...

It's not the best idea to write a post while your sleepy...but I am not sure which is worse... Writing a post in between naps or napping under a dryer that has the potential to topple over every time I lean forward...

You guessed it.... That's why I am typing away....

Well, back to my initial statement.... It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here... even if I have a few more days to enjoy it ;}. Come on in.... and I will take you on a quick tour...

First off....the Christmas tree....

Okay, I am such a tease... Here's the real thing...

What some daytime shots with gifts under the tree?

{I changed the netting at the bottom to pink upon Mr. Falsetto's Request}

Let's do a close up of the gift wrapping... I am believer that it is all about the "present"ation!

The wreath....
And finally my table scape...

There you have it.... Christmas with M'shonta is all wrapped up....

Up next... Christmas with the Turner's and other Holiday festivities...

Until next time...

Hope, Joy and Peace Themed Christmas Tree

My mother has had a very challenging year... She was severed from her job after 25 years of service. So before after our family Thanksgiving dinner; I decorated her home for her---knowing that it would help to lift her spirits... This year's tree is called Hope, Joy and Peace. Here are a few snapshots of her Christmas decor...

I loved these ornamenets! The pewter ornaments and the word ornments were purchased from Wal-Mart.

May hope, joy and peace fill the rooms of her house this holiday season and for the season's to come...

Tap...Tap...Hello Is This Thing On?

Good morning!

TGIF! Can you say it with me? TGIF!!!!! I know that I have been kind of absent around these parts, but I have very good reason... In my last post I announced the launching of my new business Custom Creations by M'Shonta! I must admit that it has been a blessing.... My cup runneth over and I thank God for everyone second of it.

I am not sure when I will be able to start blogging on a regular basis again, but I promise that whenever I get the opportunity to come up for air that I will stop in to say hello. Here are a few bullet points on what I have been up to:

• In addition to my ornament and gift business... The party planning has been very steady as well... I have an event planned for every week throughout the month of December! Wow! I am just in awe at God!


• I have managed to put up my large Christmas tree and wrap a few presents... I need to put up two small ones and decorate my dining room table. Please send me some inspiration photos for Christmas tablescapes! I like....really need them!


• Business is booming so I had to hire two people to help me :)! Have I mentioned how good God is? Just in case I didn't...GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME!!!!!


• I have lost over 10 pounds and I am still MAINTAINING! I think that it is partially because of all of the hard work! LOL!


• I am still on track for completing my bible for the year of 2010! The word of God is good!!!


• Got some reallly exciting news about some reallly exciting opportunities! More on that later...


• I am almost done Christmas shopping... LOL! Almost!


• I adopted a Christmas tree angel this year and I have enjoyed shopping for her more than I could ever enjoy shopping for myself! I just love it and I hope that she loves it as well!


• I have some cookies to bake this Christmas... just wondering if I will have the time...


• I had a blast at home this year for Thanksgiving... Our family prayer breakfast was exceptional! I love my family!


• Hobby Lobby has become my second home...Everyone there knows me!


• I feel like the man with ten talents and the more that I use them; the more God multiplies them! I love it!

Overall life is great...business and creativity and flowing... and my destiny has been awakened! Question: Are you still reading...just curious? Leave me a comment and let me know...

Custom Christmas Creations by M'Shonta

I guess that this is the season for witty inventions and new ideas for the Believers. My blogger bud Jessica over at From Marriage to Motherhood announced the grand opening her new Etsy Shop Morgan Lane, which specializes in handcrafted fabric hand accessories. I encourage you all to take a peek at all of the beautiful pieces that she has created!

And today............................................................DRUM ROLL PLEASE................................................... I announced the opening of my seasonal shop, Custom Christmas Creations by M'Shonta on my facebook page.

Below are some images of the ornaments that I have created recently. I also have custom picture frames and wine glasses that will be added to the batch, but I must put on the finishing touches before I upload :)! I had just as much fun naming them as I had creating them! So much love and attention was poured into every ornament!

A Traditional Christmas

Ask Yourself
Dotted for Me!
A Different {Type of} Love

Totally Blessed to Have You in My Life

A Burst of Joy

Kaptured with Kuteness

The Rose of Sharon

Jammin' with Jaydin

Butterfly Kisses

A Walk on the Wild Side

Tiffany accented with brown and bling

Any of my creations would make for a great gift for those individuals in your life with who would like to express your “genuine” love and compassion! All these gifts are reasonably priced at just $5 each and I promise that you will not be disappointed with the elaborate embellishments that are worked into every creation! Let your comment for a chance to win a Cusotmized Creation!

Fall in is the the Heir...

In the deep south, we are blessed to have good fall weather until Decemeber in most cases... The leaves are changing colors and the wind is a little breezy... so I guess that it is safe to say that fall is in the heir...

Yes, heir and not air... This coming Saturday, November 13th @ 11:00 a.m. I am hosting a Miss and Master Fall Festival Pageant at the Underwood Petersville Center in Florence. I am soo excited and can not wait to see will be the next heirs to the throne!

I founded a series of pageants to serve as fundraisers that will aid in advancing the various learning enrichment opportunities in the area of the arts for the NBM Praise Dance Ministry. In every community, young girls are left to find their own recreation and companionship in the streets. An increasing number of children are at home with no adult care or supervision. Young people need to know that someone cares about them.

The NBM Praise Dance Ministry offers just that and much more. Group programs and services promote and enhance the development of young girls by instilling a sense of competence, usefulness, belonging and influence. It also teaches them the importance of giving back to the community through volunteering their time and participating at various outreaches in the community, nursing homes, schools and churches. We embrace the countless opportunities and possibilities that lie ahead.

All proceeds from the pageant are donated to the NBM Praise Dance Ministry; which is a non-profit organization. As a nonprofit organization, your donations are tax deductible.Please feel free to email me at mshontasmith@hotmail.com for information on how to enter the upcoming Fall Festival pageant or how to make a contribution to this wonderful cause. Help us to equip these young ladies with the tools that they need as they dance into their destinies!

Taking it Personally...

This holiday season, I have decided to have a personal take on gift giving! I have always loved personalized gifts and in my opinion, you can NEVER go wrong with a personalized gift!

So, earlier this week I took a trip to my local Hobby Lobby to purchase these:


So that I can make these...






I will also purchase some wine glasses from the Dollar Tree soon so that I can make these as favors for my {Girlfriend} Holiday Bash:


Cute huh? I thought so too! So, there you have it! It is not always bad to make it personal!


Happy Holiday Hunting!


M'Shonta

An Array of Tablescapes

Oh my; it's November! My blogging has been so sporadic and my life has been sooo jammed packed.

Today, I am going to share with you an array of tablescapes that I created for several events during the month of October. I will spare the words and share the pictures.....

Fall Festival.....

An Elegant Winter

I had so much fun creating these tablescapes... While uploading my photos, I realized that I failed to take pictures of two of the tablescapes :(! I am sure that my friend captured them so I am off to call her now to see if I can obtain them.

Enjoy your day!

Until next time,

M'Shonta

Corisha's 30th Cirque De Fete

Inspired by the Cirque de Bebe baby shower on Hostess with the Mostess; I decided to do a Cirque De Fete themed party for Corisha's 30th Birthday Celebration. I had a blast! I think that Mr. Falsetto was absolutely right when he stated that I had as much fun planning the party than the guest had at the party :)! Planning is a party that I can have all by.my.self {that's me posing for the photographer as she worked on her lighting; I grew tired after 4 shots}!

Let's take it from the top shall we? For the invites we decided to do a large poster. A huge shout out to my girl Printable Bride for setting the stage for the party with the smashing poster invite seen below.

Corisha has a huge clientele base and we wanted to ensure that everybody was invited. We hung the poster in the fourier of her business and provided a feathery pen and a flashy guestbook for her guest to RSVP. {I had the pen on hand and purchased the guestbook from Hallmark; I embellished them both with bling, ribbon and feathers; can you say a Fete with a little Feathery Flair}?
The walls of the room in which the party would take place were painted lime green and purple! Ideas begin to instantly race through my mind about how I could incorporate those colors and still create a fabulous party for an emerging business leader turning 30!

So I did what I do best and took a field trip to Hobby Lobby. With the photos from the Cirque Bebe in mind; I suddenly found myself traveling down the feather aisle. And then it happened... I laid eyes on package of lime green and magenta pink speckled feathers. The light bulb went off, the sirens sounded and the bells rang! Magenta pink, lime green, purple, black and zebra print. I know it sounds like a lot, but I assure you that there was an instant love affair between the theme for party, the colors and me! I can't wait to show you how it all came together!

First off the cake! I surfed the web and found about five inspiration photogs to carry to the cake designer. The first photo is of my original inspiration and the second one is of the actual cake. I must admit that I liked ours much, much more :)!

Secondly, the cake stand! I wanted the cake presentation to WOW the guest! So, I solicited the help of a great friend {thanks Jana} to help me cover two large square boxes... I was sooooo happy with the outcome of the stand! Did I mention that I had bling EVERYWHERE?

I love all of the new connected birthday banners that are being created using scrapbook paper, ribbon and the Cricut! I decided to try my hand at creating one for this birthday bash. I was really pleased with the outcome! I think I found another hidden talent!

I hung this banner over the magenta photo backdrop that I ordered online for $4.99! It showed up really well.

For the centerpieces I alternated between ballons and feathered glass centerpieces seen below... I used a little bling and floating candles in the glass centerpieces. They were absolutely adorable with the lights out!!!!

I was very pleased with the overall outcome of this event and the guest were double-ly impressed! I just thank God for the gift of creativity and the ability to make it all come together... Give me your vison and I will make it your reality at Visuality Planning and Events!

I will leave you with some bonus pics.... enjoy!

The gift that keeps on giving...

The welcome table...

And that all folks!

Until next time,

M'Shonta