While you are waiting: decorative pins for special events

Hi guys!
I have been pretty busy over here but I hope you are doing well.
Some of the things that have kept me occupied are shopping at Michaels (teeheehee) and creative some awesome things for the many upcoming events. 10 babyshowers, idk must be something in the water lol, birthday parties graduation parties and the list goes on.
So I wanted to share some of these creations with you all.
With the stress from work and life, it's been very theraputic for me to complete these projects. I hope you like what you see. Please comment and share your thoughts.
What's your natural reACTion??? Have a blessed day. Until next time

Through Pinterest I chose pretty paper  

and created  these   pin wheels

http://pinterest.com/pin/165648092514567272/

 It may be hard to see, but I then added  blue

string looped  around the pinwheel in a circular 

shape.

Next I added some yellow tulle , secured by 

hot glue. Playing off the  themed colors:

blue green and yellow

 once that dried. I found some ribbon that

matched  the theme.  I made the different 

sizes work and arranged them accordingly

 I then glued them in that order on the back

from the center. I cut out a  small circle to

cover the glued ribbon. and to  later attach

the pin.

 On photoshop, I created the sign.

which reads, "Mommy to be" or "Grandma to be"

I added little blue baby feet and a hand print to 

give it a little life.

 This shows the back of the pin and the front. I hope you enjoyed the view. Thanks for  reading. 

Talk it out: Colors

So many things change when you become an egaged couple, so much so that it can become very overwhelming.  Ray and I consistently would tell interested people that we weren't planning yet and that we were enjoying eachother during this time. He had a term that he called it, similar to a vacation but it has left our memory. If it comes back to me, I will surely let you know.
At the time of the engagement, I was room mates with two of my college friends, lydia and d'ani. They were a few of the first people to hear the news and were so excited to hear about it.
My lydia (lah lizzle) was so excited and couldn't wait to get her "shoes" for our wedding day. Lol she would say that a lot through out the yrs and now it was finally time to really get those shoes. D'ani (D'nah), our little organizer, was so excited to ask about some logistics. Those things that are little but big at the same time. Like what colors do you want? Or who's gonna be in your party and when do you want to have the wedding?
It seems annoying coming from a random acquaitances but coming from a close friend, seems different and it gets you thinking. So we started talking about it.
Colors:
I love green now and my favorite color was blue before college. Ray loves the color blue. Since I'm a march baby, my stone is aquamarine, so I thought, why not something similar to that color. Its a mixture of our favorite colors so it has to work. There were times that I didn't like what stores offered for the march stone. But I did alittle research and came up with the color choice of teal or jade (depending on the material). It had to be the perfect mix of blue and green.
D'ani was so excited to hear this and suggested an accent of a shimmery gold with a sort of peacock feather theme/feel.
Yes, this is it!! Now only to convince the groom to be......dundundun!

Bump Smitten: DIY Tutorial: Mini Twine Pom Poms

Bump Smitten: DIY Tutorial: Mini Twine Pom Poms: I came across this fun tutorial from the lovely  Bakers Twine  and am so excited to share it with you. Easy-to-follow steps shown in the pho...

How cool is this. I know I'm not the only one excited about this unique creation. I just pinned a tutorial on yarn pom poms, and it seem a bit more invovled. But this! I sooo can do, quicker and much easier!

can't wait to find a reason to. Will you be my next victim? bwaahahahahahaaaa!!!

Enjoy.

Follow me on Pinterest SheeshaJae

Where do we begin

Once he popped the question, we heard the most popular question thereafter: "when's the big day?". Let me tell you, we barely got a chance to breathe our "fiancé air" for a day before we heard this question. Oh, but that's not the only one we heard repeatedly.
More FAQ of the newly engaged:
What are your colors?
Who's gonna be in your party?
Are you gonna have a destination wedding?
Did you set a date?
You have your dress?
**I'm gonna get an invite right???!!!****
I'm gonna plan your wedding right???
You know I'm a wedding planner now!?
What type of food are you gonna have?
What's your date???
How many guests are you havin?
Did you get a caterer?- you know I just started my catering business on the side.
When will my invite come?
I hope you're gonna have line dancing.
When I get my invite, can I bring my co-worker TeeTee? (I don't even KNOW where you work rather then who TeeTee is.)
Last but not least: I know I'm invited, RIGHT??? ( LONG stare waiting for a yes..........)
If you have any bizarre questions please post and comment below.
Our answer to many of these questions was this:
smile, laugh with them and say, " we're just enjoying our engagement".
Face it we had no answers. We knew very little about the process. So to you I say, it can be very overwhelming hearing all these questions. Don't panic, it will happen when it should. Just take a deep breath and try to enjoy the engagement and eachother as you begin to start this process. Remember, your not only planning one of the most special days of your lives, b/c its just one day. You are planning for a lifetime together, so make it count.
Prayer is key to both having sanity. :-)

Friends with Benefits

Look at you, what do you think this post will be about??? lol..


Ray proposed to me on Thursday, November 4th, 2010 :-) *He had the ring in August of that year by the way. that little slickster*

On Saturday, November 6th, 2010, I had my first set of engagement photos. We titled them, our Pre-Engagement Photos. they weren't taken by someone's phone, or a 8 mega pixel digital camera. No, this was the real deal. All because I know some awesomely talented people that God has truly gifted.  Those talented friends just so happen to benefit me in so many ways. As there were so many that were excited to hear that were finally engaged. There was one long time friend that was so excited she had to document the moment as if it had just happened.


TG Anderson, a fabulous photographer, owner and creator of the great photography company Ubaraphoto (www.UBARAphoto.com), was responsible for the wonderful photos taken two days after our engagement. She helped us figure out our look, I suggested a park near my job and we just drove to make it happen.


The leaves were still falling off the trees and they also covered  and colored the ground; it was the perfect look of fall. Our inspiration was each other. The pictures were so believable because it was real. We just naturally loved each other remained our silly selves...and below you will see the results. :-)


http://www.flickr.com/photos/ubara/sets/72157625202722543/

The picture above deserves a review and description for your pleasure of course.

TG would give us directions and we would just flow from there. You also have to pause a lot when taking still pics, to ensure you don't lose the shot. Which means sometimes you freeze in a strange position and talk through your teeth like a ventriloquist. You barely want to move your eyes. 

 In this particular picture, she had the camera at her eye and pressed up against her face. I remember hearing, "ok good, now caress his teeth"........????? ooooohhh kaaayy...As I went to caress his teeth, I raised my eyebrows, spoke through my teeth and said, "Caress his TEETH???" lol. Through his teeth, ray said, "she said CHEEK" ...lol we busted out in laughter!!! and still held our position. So that's me going in to give his teeth some tlc hahaha!!!! He let me know, I was gonna let you do it too! lol

Lesson: You must know a lot of talented people. I know this because, God is just good like that. Start thinking of who your photographer will be. You'll need them through your planning experience.

Start looking now, if your friend, associate list doesn't include photography. if you are in the philadelphia area, please consider UBARAphoto.com. If not, its always wedding season to someone. look for referrals.

Inspirations: starting looking for your inspiration for your photoshoot. What's special to you and your love? your home town? sports? your favorite restaurant? your culture? this can go on. 

Google it. look on PINterest, tumblr, instagram, etc. 

You can do this!

later loves. stay tuned for more planning tips. 

Proposal with Class

So, I know you are expecting to see more words to describe how he popped the question.....


Well, sorry to disappoint. Hopefully you will settle for hearing the basics..........


bwaahahahaaa. ok, just kidding. I figured that I would just link our wedding page for you all to read the story.


here it is.
http://jeremiahandbynes.ourwedding.com/view/4949247361088707/22332232


feel free to enjoy the site. and even sign our guest book. :-) all are welcome.


Thanks for reading.


More to come. stop back soon..


later loves

Chosen

I started receiving strange calls from unfamiliar numbers. I don't answer those types of numbers, it could be those pesky loan people. don't get me started on that.


When I checked my voice mail, I realized that I was a winner for one of the "Enter to Win" opportunities from the bridal show. But Wait, I'M NOT ENGAGED at this point lol... My heart started pounding, and NOW, I'm nervous. I decided to call my linesister, Joy Joy. I remembered that she had received the same call/win.


After we laughed at the irony. She told me to calm down and go for it. She explained that the company will offer you a free trip to a Caribbean Island, savings on groceries and a chance to buy cook ware. ...*pumpbrakes*
??????? lol
Yes, they will try to sell you cookware. but its ok, you don't have to feel pressured to buy. If you do win, my advice to you is as follows.


Accept the offer. Once you do that, they will give you two time slots for a special appointment.
Set your appointment and drag your fiance, fiance to be, etc. and experience it together.
Don't have a ring? who cares??? they won't. ( I tried to think of the greatest lie and it wasn't even the focus)
Pick a random wedding date, although this doesn't matter either.
Enjoy the short presentation
and win your free trip and coupons lol



and allll of this could be yours.....beautiful get away right???
Did we actually win our trip, well yea. Did we go? well, see, what had happened was.....lol
Well that last thing you are to do when you win this trip is call a special number, pick a date, pay for the flight........yea there are catches and responsibilities that you must take care of. If you have the patience for this, please go for it! It will save you a lot of money.


My hubby and I just got lazy and had a ton to do that didn't allow us to take advantage of the opportunity.


In short, do it Do It, DO IT!!!! lol


later loves

Pre Game Show: My first Bridal Show Event

I promised you in an earlier post that I would tell you about my Bridal show event. I was soooo nervous, because at this point I was NOT engaged yet. lol. You should have seen me planning and preparing for the questions that I figured "vendors" would ask. For my future brides, pay attention to the newer terms for your planning experience. Vendors are the different companies that you will use and pay for services on your special day. To clarify: A photographer, Videographer, Florist, baker, lighting, etc are all considered vendors. Cool? :-)

 Let me tell you all, I am very dramatic so, don't laugh at me, but My imagination can get crazy at times. So with that said, I just knew that when I entered this event, I would be grabbed and thrown in a dark corner with a BRIGHT light shining in my face. At that point the "really are you engaged? investigators" would interrogate me until I broke down in sweat and tears to confess that, " OKaaaaaay okay!!! I'm not really engaged!! and I'm sorry please don't lock me uuuupppp!!!" don't worry ladies, its so not that deep.

Bridal Shows usually happened on Sundays from 12:30-about 3:30. So be prepared to be slightly inconvenienced if you have a Sunday routine in place. My line-sister and I met downtown, found parking spaces and walked in to the country club that hosted the event. When we arrived, it was rather pleasant. They gave us gift bags and asked us to fill out some info for David's bridal. I was still very nervous, why??? b/c the form we were completing asked for a wedding date, duhn Duhn DUHHNNNN!! lol...once again not that deep. just pick a date and keep it moving.

WE were slightly late, while they were in the middle of a fashion show. They were modeling wedding gowns, flower girl dress, and bridemaids dresses. It was nice to see this. It definitely got my brain thinking about what I might want for My day, wink wink.

Once the fashion show was over, we got a chance to walk around the place. We saw feathers and center pieces, and more. There were even vendors that throw ladies night parties, which would explain the feathers. We tasted cake and hor de'vours (how the heck do you spell that lol), we received cards, and packets of information. So much to take in, but very enlightening. 

The high light of the event, was the dessert of the day. Trece Leche, (spanish/italian) It consisted of three types of milk and cake. You guyyyysssss!!! I am dreaming of it now. SO GOOD!!! wish I could get some now.


mmmmm heres a picture of this delicious dessert.

If you have any questions about bridal shows. please ask away.  They are basically opportunities for us to be exposed to ALL the services that wedding needs to be complete, you could use them all or just one or two. its just a matter of what's best for you. (yes that rhymed) tahahaha. So go! get your information and keep it organized.

Later loves! talk to you soon

First come love, then comes.....

So here I am, at 26, a God mother of a beautiful, talented, happy, energetic handsome intelligent little boy, Logan. I became a Supervisor at my job and as a young black female enjoying what life had to offer, with a Bachelors Degree in Comm Media, a minor in dance and a Master of Arts in Adult Ed. What more could a girl need, I had my family all in good health, for a while we actually got along for the most part. Life was taking its course as God had intended.


As My love and I began to re-establish our relationship, I was roomies with my friends from college D'ani and Lydia. I was the oldest of the girl bunch, and they would NOT let me forget that lol.. Of course as females we would always talk about having kids, which is natural. We express how many we want, when we want them, what there names could be, and all that curious stuff. The one thing we all had in common wass that starting that family was not much of an option with out being married first. That's how it works in OUR minds. not saying anything about anyone who did it differently, I just know that if I had it my way, that's how it would be.


So after those conversations, of course you then talk about: ".....first comes love, then comes marriage...." A few friends of ours were engaged and planning weddings around us in the philly area. It hit home when I realized that friends my age were planning their wedding. Whoa, that is a big step, a scary step, but felt like the next step. I could tell he was ready for THAT next step as well..


In the early part of 2010, we went into a local, corny mall not to be named lol, and walked into a random jewelry store. Yes we walked right to the engagement section, ooooooh haha! It felt sooo strange yet exciting. He encouraged me to look and try on something. Side note: we have known each others ring size for years and always quoted it for the other to remember.


well to my suprise, the Jewelry girl and guy were familiar with him already. He requested the ring he was looking at previously. I was like, oh really??? you were looking for rings??? Things that make you go hmmmmm. The girl pulled out the ring and slid it on my finger. All this time I thought I wanted a princess cut solitaire ring, pwah!! This was very different from what I had imagined, and guess what??? I loved it! This Marquise cut ring was what looked RIGHT for my finger. It was truly designed for me, I was sold.


Every mall/jewelry store visit consisted of me finding THAT ring, my proclaimed Dream Ring. Everytime, it was there calling my name. At this point, I was so anxious to get it. Yes I was ready for him to pop that simple yet very DEEP question.......


stay tuned...because there's more :-)


continue to be blessed.

tick tick tick

When i was younger, I just KNEW I was gonna be married at 21, starting my family RIGHT after that and living this "Cosby" life. HAHAHA...I laugh when I think about it, and you're probably letting out a little chuckle too. But don't laugh too hard. mmmm hmm. I know. It's not  a secret, I know that you had the same dreams. If not you, I know one of your friends did right?

Well anyway, I am sure that I was not alone in thinking that life and love worked that way. Here I was at 25, not even close to being ready for marriage. I couldn't even imagine being married 3 or 4 years prior. Yeah Right, Right? Since Ray and I had been together for years, we definitely got the "when are you getting married?" question, while at IUP. I remember reACTing to that question with a expression of marriage being out of site out of mind. Married?? That's BIG....what do I know about being someones wife? I'm young, I still have time to LIIIIVE :-)

Years later after a maturity, a break up, a love rekindle, etc. My mindset changed tremendously. I was now a god parent of a handsome little boy, Logan Jamal Bristol, I was older, and my parents were older; I felt like it was time for me to start a family in my "old age" haha. When I say family I mean a husband, wife and children.

As all the engagements had been begun with the people in my "generation", so did the comments from my female friends,"I wanna be married." Not Just my female friends, I was a culprit too. For some reason when you hit a certain age, as a female, if we say "I wanna get married" it has a whole different meaning this time. We mean business and are on a true mission in our hearts. We start realizing what we want in a husband, a father, a LIFETIME companion. All those things are important in our husband to be, wouldn't you agree ladies??

I knew what ring I wanted, I had friends that were planning their wedding, so I started my process. :-) lol I wanted to be ready :-) I started thinking about photography, videography, wedding websites, guest lists, wedding songs lol.....Oh yea, I was doing ONE thing as the hip folks say now-a-days.

Before my linesister got engaged in june, she attended two or three bridal shows. ( I'll talk about them in a separate post) After attending one show, she won a drawing for a trip to a tropical island. She was so nervous because she wasn't really engaged yet. This same linesister invited me to a bridal show so that I could see what its all about. :-) It took place in downtown philly the best thing there was this dessert: Trece Leche, mmmmm it was soooooo good!

A few days after attending the bridal show, I was called by several venders. One of which was the same trip to a exotic, tropical island. Now I was nervous! What was I going to do if they ask me when I got engaged??? or When my wedding date was??? Exhale, because it wasn't that bad, and if it happens to you, you'll be fine. Just message me for details if you have questions.

tootles for for now loves..Thanks for reading...stay tuned

We got History and Herstory

This is us, my sunshine and I. This is truly one of my favorite shots of us. Beautiful weather, beautiful people, beautiful smiles, just beautiful.


*We were going on a trip to the mall that day. We love to eye shop together..hahaa..I'm so serious though.


So now you know that we were college loves and like any couple, we had no choice but to learn from our experiences. After we both graduated with our BA's in 2007, he went home and I stayed to get my master's degree. So we tried the long distance thing. During that  time, he continued to do the sweetest things. For our anniversary that year, he couldn't travel up, so he had 5 ..."friends"..each bring me a soft pink rose and a card. one for each year that we were together. :-) it was so sweet. he is so thoughtful.


Although we were together all those years, "we seemed" to have grown apart from each other. In fewer words, We broke up, people. It is what it is.
Question of the blog


What do you get when you have the following equation:
   x +a(ka(Ψ))+ iup+philly=..........lol...you get UUUUUS.


We had our time apart, but as I said in my earlier post, Remained inseparable. We had similar friends, close relationships with family members lol. and those family members always asked about the other one. There was no getting away if we wanted to :-) We got a chance to start over while continuing our love like it never paused. :-)


The rest is history or in this case; herstory :-)


to be continued...

Pre-Engagement- "we got History"

You guys are such a cute couple!
When ya'll getting married???
You guys look like brother and sister! (lol haters)
Ya'll been together forever!!


Those are the statements you hear often when you are a college couple. At least that's what my Husband and I heard through out our relationship during and after college. We met at IUP my freshman year in 2002, we started as friends, danced in a Christian dance group together and sang in a Gospel choir together. As I understood college life more, and loosened up....By loosen up I mean, I was able to walk around campus with out feeling like someone from home had eyes watching me. I was so sheltered. and felt so trapped, and although I was a few hundred miles away from home, it took me awhile to feel free to explore what life had to offer.


In my sophmore year, Ray and I exchanged numbers, he stalked me (tee hee hee), and eventually, Feb 14, 2004 we became a couple. We had a typical young love; talked on the phone till dawn, never wanted to hang up the phone till one would fall asleep. Even then the other would listen to the other sleep as if it were music to their ears. We ate together and studied together. We started little silly traditions together that brings smiles to our faces when thought about today. An example: Before every choir trip, he used to by a 10 piece of hot wings from KFC. (we had to work on a college budget, $0) lol...It was such a sweet moment to look into each others eyes and share spicy wing dings as we traveled to a ministry engagement. Romantic right??
He is a gentleman of  Kappa Alpha Psi, Inc. fa 02, and during our relationship I became a Sophisticated Lady of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Inc, Spr 06. (Don't nobody know). He was a great support during and after. He was always my number one fan.


We had many ups and many downs, but through all of it we still remained inseparable. We disagreed on things as anyone could imagine, but we still remained inseparable. We did a lot together. He was my introduction to many things in my adult life. I have learned so much from him, whether he likes it or not ;-)


Together, we: Danced as members of No Bounds at IUP ( our friend nef takes pride in introducing us)
                      Sang together as Alto and Tenor in Voices of Joy the gospel choir of IUP
                      Modeled in multiple Fashion shows together: Ebony and Ivory, VCA, etc.
                      Party walked together: Pretty boys love pretty girls
                      Acted together: The Lord will make a way some how by Myra 2003?4?
                      Cried together: RIP Roderick Jackson and Johnie Colson 
                      Ran for Homecoming King and Queen together :-) what a story to share
                      Laughed together: two silly people, what do you expect
                      Argued, got angry, and grew together: College sweet hearts.....yea
                      Prayed together....
I mean...I could go on...but what more can I say but, We got History. 




to be continued

Enchante'

Hello out there. Thanks for stopping by my blog. My name is....well I have many names that family and  friends call me, its just a matter of which name to give you. I will go with the most popular of the bunch. Many call me Sheesha ( She-Shah). This name was given to me by one of my dear nephews, Byron Scott, who is now 14 years old. I don't even want to talk about how old that makes me feel :-) , so of course, we won't lol.


I have a lot of plans for this blog. If you ask my close friends about me, they will tell you that I am something like a Jake of all trades. I like to say, Jane of Many trades, master of some, well, one day. I love: the Lord, Expressive arts: ACTING :-), dancing, singing, I love to use my hands and create crafty things, I love to do natural hair, my own locs, cook, bake. The list could go on.


What sparked my interest to start this blog??? Well, since you asked, I might as well share my inspiration right?? tee hee hee. ok since you insist. :-)


I am a newly wed. Yup, we're THREE months in!! On Sunday, October 9th, 2011, I became Mrs. R.E. Bynes. I was what they call a DIY (do it yourself) bride and was able to plan the whole wedding, with the help from hubby and friends. Every wedding experience has successes, failures,shoulda-coulda-woulda's, etc. I learned a lot from planning a wedding about myself, about friends, family and more. I learned that stuff will get REAL in these planning streets, lol....YES I did just get "hood" on you.


On a serious note, there were things that happened during my planning process and actual wedding day that I wanted to share with other bride's-to-be. Things that could have been avoided if I followed my womanly instincts.I don't want to scare you by making you think that it will be a terrible experience. Of course there are things to share that can be repeated for the bride that runs out of ideas :-). Trust it CAN happen.


A bride-to-be plans and plans, calls and emails, glues and tapes, cuts and trims and.....well you get the point. There are msgs that I want ALL FUTURE Brides, Maids and Matrons of honor, Bridesmaids, Best Men and Grooms Men, Guests, and all others to know. I shared with a friend that I wanted to write a book, a manual of some sort to better prepare wedding participants. The day comes and goes by so fast that people tend to forget the real reason of their attendance. My friend said suggested I start a blog with my thoughts. After reading my words and NATURAL reACTions, hopefully people will be ready to play their part the best way possible for their loved ones, one of the BEST DAYS OF THEIR LIFE!




Bridal stories to be continued....


Thanks for reading, come back again. don't forget to follow!


love always,


Natural reACTress