A Birthday Filled with Glitter!

After have a huge test at school last night, it felt so good to walk out of that classroom, with the test under my belt, knowing that now I can completely focus on my birthday festivities!

I'm going to Charleston tomorrow with four of my best friends! Why wouldn't I be freaking out?!

As soon as I got home, the ideas started flowing! I mentioned in this post that I put a pink champagne glass in each of my birthday invites, but with a good amount left over, I knew I could have a little more fun with them! Gold glitter initials did just the trick!

Are they not fabulous?!

Interested in doing this for your birthday or themed party? Here's how! 

Supplies:
Paint Brush
Clear Elmer's Glue
Glitter in the color of your choice
Champagne/wine/martini glasses
4-6 Q-Tips

First, line the hard surface that you're using with some type of cover. I used notebook paper,but newspaper works just as well! This will cut down on your clean up time at the end.


Take the champagne glasses one by one, and use a paint brush to paint on the clear glue. You don't need a lot, just enough to cover the surface.

After painting a layer of glue onto the base of the glass, shake the gold glitter onto the base. Don't worry if you miss a spot, you can always apply a little more glue and shake again!

Make sure that the entire base of the glass is covered with glitter, so that no plastic is showing. After about a minute, shake off the excess glitter, so that you can put the extra back in your shaker.

To add a little more personalization, I used a Q-tip to draw letters onto the larger part of the glass. Simply stick the Q-tip into the clear glue and then shake on the glitter to add whatever type of design you would like.

I used the first letter of the girl's names that will be celebrating with me this weekend, then on mine, I put a 23!

They turned out fabulously, and were such an easy craft! I can't wait for everyone to use them!

I also used the exact same supplies to make some glitter birthday candles!

These white candles were just over $1.00 at Target.

You can paint these with the same clear Elmer's glue used above, then just add glitter. Once one side is covered, wait a few minutes to give them time to dry, and then rotate the candles in order to get all sides.

The glitter birthday candles and champagne glasses were both a big success! I've also made my own glitter wine glasses, you can see those here!

We have had the best time partying in my office today, and I can't wait to have dinner with my family tonight!

 

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My 23rd Birthday Invitations!

With my 23rd birthday just around the corner, I've had all kinds of super fun birthday crafts and projects in the works! One of them happens to be my birthday invitations, which ended up being more like birthday packages!

I have always loved buying invitations, so this year was no different. After seeing these cute bridesmaids boxes on Pinterest, I couldn't help but use them as inspiration. With the unofficial theme of my birthday weekend in Charleston being "Champagne & Shopping," I knew a variation of this package would be absolutely perfect!

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First, I needed an actual invitation! 

I searched high and low for the perfect invites, but ended up going to one of my favorite websites, Etsy! I love that Etsy offers one of a kind products to fit any event or celebration. When I couldn't make up my mind, my Mom (with her fabulous taste) came to the rescue, and picked out the perfect ones!

Let me introduce you to the Etsy shop, Birdie Says Caw Caw and its owner, Sharon!

I fell in love with Sharon's Lilly Pulitzer You Gotta Regatta inspired invitations, but wanted to make it a little more me! With my favorite Lilly print being Pop, why not use that on my birthday invitations?!

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I immediately messaged Sharon to see if she was up for the challenge, and heard back from her that day! We worked together until the invitation was absolutely perfect and ready to print.

I am in love with how they turned out!

 

Our course, the real version won't have that pink box in the center. This invitation is the perfect mix of preppy and party, and that monogram is to-die for! The next morning, we were off to Staples to have them printed.

Next, I needed something to put in my packages! 

After getting the invitations, Mama & I headed to Winston for a little birthday guest shopping spree. My favorite stop was the local wine store for mini champagne bottles! Though I was swooning over these cute little pink ones, at $22/bottle, we went for a more affordable option.

I also grabbed pink champagne glasses and some pink and white pinstriped straws from HomeGoods! 

I found these cute pink and purple containers at Michael's for $1.00 each. They were a little too plain, so I bought pink stickers and jewels to dress them up a bit.

I decided to put each girl's monogram on the outside of their container.

Everything fit perfectly inside, and gave my invitations that extra "something" they were needing!

On Monday night after my grad school class, I delivered these cuties to Danielle, Katy, and Kaitlyn! I hope they loved their invite packages as much as I loved putting them together. My friend Alex lives in Charleston, so I'll be bringing hers down when we go!

Only 8 more days until we're Charleston bound! 

Do you send birthday invitations?!

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Five on Friday: Birthday Edition!

Happy Friday Y'all! It's unreal how happy I am to see the weekend. With school, work, Convocation, and everything in between, I'm feeling lucky to have made it through these last few days! Today, I'm linking up with a four lovely ladies for Five on Friday!

[ONE]
As of today, we are exactly two weeks away from my 23rd birthday! That means there's only 14 days standing between me and a trip to beautiful Charleston, South Carolina. I've bee to Charleston twice, but never really had time to explore and enjoy the city.

[TWO]
With a birthday comes all types of fun craft projects! Below are the cute personalized buckets that I made for the four girls that will be joining me in Charleston for my birthday weekend. Normally, I give out paper invitations, but this year, I wanted to try something a little more special. Each container will hold a birthday invitation, as well as some other cute items that I picked up for the weekend.

 

[THREE]

Last night, I had Sweet Frog with Marcia & Don (my second family,) and received my very first birthday present! Yes, two weeks early! They were so excited to give it to me that they couldn't stand to wait! I have been lusting over this Lilly Pulitzer Pop bangle, ever since it came out last spring. To be honest, I'd never seen one in person until last night! It will go perfectly with my other Pop items!

 

[FOUR]

While I'm at home this weekend, my cousin Courtney and I are having a birthday-themed photo shoot! Not only am I excited to get dressed up and pose with cupcakes and candles, but later I get to use them in a fabulous birthday post on Sweet Like a Song. Courtney is also the person that took my Fourth of July outfit post photos, and did an absolutely fabulous job. I can't wait to work with her again!

 [FIVE]
Recently, I've been buying quite a few things on Etsy. I love how Etsy always has items that are different, unique and something you probably weren't expecting to ever find! Here are two of my most-recent Etsy purchases, that I can't wait to get!

J.CREW Inspired Color Mix Statement Necklace

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Handmade Gold Tinsel Stir Sticks

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It's going to be a great mail day, when I come home to find these two cuties! I also picked up my birthday invitations on Etsy this year!

 

Have five things you'd like to share? Link-up and let us know!

 

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As always, Have a Sweet Day!

Finding a Balance

Something that I've been struggling with lately is finding a balance. 

A balance between work and school, between reading, studying and having a social life.

Graduate school is difficult, much more difficult than I thought it would be. It's not so much the work that caught me off guard, but the simple fact that I spend eight hours a day at my full-time job before I even enter the mindset of being a student again. Two days a week, I drive straight from work to a class that happens to be three hours long.

When I'm not at work or in class, I'm either sleeping or studying. Usually studying leads to sleeping because I can't stay awake through the numerous reading selections that my professors tend to assign. 

This experience has definitely been a learning one.

Forty-five minutes into my three-hour class last night, my professor decided to let us go home. To an exhausted, overwhelmed and stressed out graduate student, this was the answer to my prayers!

I went straight home. I washed dishes, did laundry and got work done for both my GS classes. I already feel a sense of relief, after just those two hours. 

Tonight, I found my "balance" in having that little bit of extra time. Whether Dr. Howe knew it or not, he changed my whole mindset by letting us go early. I know that working toward my masters degree is something that I will always treasure, I've just got to remember to find the balance that's right for me.

I apologize for my lack of posting lately. Hopefully pretty soon, I'll figure out my routine, and get back to blogging regularly! Do you ever feel like you're being pulled in ten different directions?

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Sweet Like a Song is Turning Two!

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I can't believe that my little blog is two years old today! 

It seems like just yesterday that I was sitting in my apartment debating trying something that I'd never done before, something that I'd thought about for so long. I, like many others, read blogs long before I ever had my own. I was fascinated by reading about other people lives, the things they liked and disliked, their fun fashion finds, and craft ideas. I loved it all, and I knew it was something that I wanted to be a part of! 

I've tried many things over the years, but blogging is one thing that seemed to come naturally to me. Once the words started to flow, they didn't want to stop. Even though my posts may be a little less frequent, I'm still here sharing what I'm doing and the things I love. One of my favorite parts of blogging is looking back at past posts, remembering how I felt and what I was going through. Today, I get to live the dreams that I started blogging about two years ago. How amazing is that?

Just like on my one year blogoversary, I thought I'd share some of my favorite posts over the past year:

My 22nd Birthday Celebrations: One, Two & Three

New Year's Eve 2013

My Ever-changing Life Plan

The Experience that is Commencement

Paisley Ann Turns One!

I'm a Half-Marathoner!

And just because it started it all, you can read my very first post here!

Thank you so much for your continued support for Sweet Like a Song! Though blogging is a lifestyle for me (once you blog, you don't go back,) it would be nothing without my amazing readers. I feel so lucky to share a little bit of my life with each and every one of you. 

Happy 2nd Blogoversary, Sweet Like a Song! 

Cheers to many more years (and posts) to come!

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My 23rd Birthday Wish List!

It's hard to believe that it's already September, and my 23rd birthday is just around the corner! It seems like just yesterday that I was turning 21 and then 22 years old. Something tells me that 23 is going to be a fabulous year!

A birthday wish list is one of my favorite things to put together each year. Though the types of items you're lusting over may change, the idea of making a list of things you'd like to have is still the same. I started making birthday wish lists a few years ago, when my family let me know that I was a tad difficult to buy for, and continue to do it now!

My 23rd Birthday Wish List!

Kate Spade Call to Action Tote

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A wish list of mine wouldn't be complete without something from Kate Spade. I have a bit of an obsession, and my birthday is the perfect time to add to my growing KS collection! When I saw this tote, it was love at first sight! Since it was a bit pricey at nearly $200, I decided to wait to buy it. Now that the bag has made its way from Kate Spade to Ebay, the price tag is much more reasonable. If I don't receive this for my birthday, I'll probably buy it for myself, because it's just that fabulous!

Anything in the Lilly Pulitzer "Pop" Print

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I have mentioned time and again how much I love this Lilly Print. Its mix of pastel colors, balloons, and pretty dresses, makes it my favorite print of all. Though I already own a few Pop items, I would love to add the Murfee scarf or bangle to my collection!

Garmin Forerunner 10 GPS Running Watch

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This is a watch that I've been looking into for a while, and think I would really enjoy. With the amount of races that I participate in, and the running that I do on my own, having something like this to measure how far I've gone would be so so nice. It comes in a variety of bright, fun colors, and I love them all!

Surprise me!

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If one of the three things above don't fit your fancy, I have a lot of trips planned in the next few months, and I'd love to have something that I can use on one of those, funds or otherwise!

Since I will be spending my 23rd birthday in Charleston this year (cue confetti and cheering,) I'm even more excited than normal! I can't wait for a weekend of shopping and champagne because I'm sure there will a lot of both! My friends and I will be using the hashtag #melodyscharlestonbirthday, so you can follow along with all of the birthday shenanigans on Instagram and Twitter!

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Oh, How I Love Kate Spade!

Recently, I have been on a bit of a Kate Spade kick. Their incredibly cute and stylish products, combined with amazing customer service really hits it out of the park for me. 

In the past few weeks, I've purchased two new Kate Spade items, that I'm absolutely in love with! If you follow me on Instagram, you've probably already seen them, but I can't help but spread the word on my blog as well!

"Eat Cake for Breakfast" Gia

I saw this cute clutch during the Kate Spade 75% off surprise sale, and scooped it right up. I have had my eye on this collection of KS Call to Action products, and this was the perfect opportunity to buy my first piece. I'm using it for the first time at church this morning, and I can't wait to hear what people think!

Millionaire Quote iPhone5 Case

I'm not someone that buys phone cases very often, so when I do, it's one that I really love! To be honest, I haven't purchased one since the very first Emily Ley case that I got a year ago. When I saw this particular case, I knew it was time for a change! Though I wish it was pink and wrapped in diamond studs (to fit the quote of course,) I love the bright orange, eye-catching color that is SO Kate Spade.

While we're on the subject of Kate Spade...Have you seen their new arrivals?! The only way to accurately describe it is pure gorgeousness with a side of sass! 

Here are just a few items that I love!

2 Park Avenue Beau Bag - $998.00

 Multi Glitter Carousel Watch - $250.00

Fancy Meeting You Here Hinged Idiom Bangle - $98.00

If there's anything that I've learned from shopping at Kate Spade over the years, it's that if you see something you love, buy it! Items become unavailable and out of stock way too quick for comfort, and I always regret not buying something that I absolutely loved! The gia I purchased was part of a 3-day only surprise sale, while the iPhone case was in the Sale section, but is no longer in stock.

What Kate Spade items are you eyeing?

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