What an unbelievable year it’s been! I’m so grateful to amazing clients who have given me the privilege to come into their precious homes and transform their spaces. Thank you for all the referrals! My business would be nonexistent if it wasn’t for the word of mouth advertising from friends, family, and pleased past clients. Thanks for understanding the much needed time off as I recovered from a divorce. Thank you for the busyness and purpose Stay Awhile has brought back into my life! This gig has gone from a hobby to a side hustle and now into a full blown J-O-B! It is the biggest blessing and I can’t wait to see all the things this new year brings. Stay Awhile is growing and changing and committed to breathing new life into the Clear Lake area. This community is everything to me and I hope it is to you too. Thanks for letting me make it beautiful again so we can all put down some roots and Stay Awhile. xo – Rachel
Party Planning
Step Right Up!
Come one come all…it’s PARTY TIME! Oh did I have fun with the hot glue gun for this circus shingdig! Once again, I was honored to be asked to decorate for UBC’s Welcome to Children’s Ministry Luncheon! The goal is to incite curiosity, wonder and excitement for the incoming kindergarten and first graders as they Step Right Up to all the fun that awaits them in Children’s Ministry.
The chapel is a large room with incredibly high ceilings. It’s always a challenge to make the space seem intimate and inviting. Without careful planning, a room of that size can easily eat up your decor and all your hard work will go unnoticed.
In order to avoid the dreaded space-eating-decor scenario, I swagged colorful pennant bunting across the room in a random pattern and instantly brought the focus down to where I wanted it. I welcomed all who passed with giant popcorn cups filled with yellow and white balloons and each table was set with a one of a kind circus themed centerpiece. (I’m still picking off hot glue strings and glitter from my hair.) With a church event and a conservative budget, crafting and good ‘ol fashioned sweat equity is always the best bang for the buck. Thanks again UBC, for getting me away from the tile and drywall dust for some fun with glitter and glue and a chance to Step Right Up for some seriously cute fun.
Mood Boards
One of the tools I often use when starting a project with a client is to create a mood board. I do this for interior design and also party planning. So many people have a hard time visualizing their space or their event with just words to paint a picture. I’ve found that mood boards help a ton with this. It gives the client something to see and allows my idea to come across more clearly. Here are a few that I’ve done and used with my favorite mood board app “Morpholio Board.”
Parties, Parties, Parties
I’ve had the opportunity to do some partying, I mean event planning, these last couple months. It’s been a blast and also a ton of work getting prepared. Lots of spray paint and zip ties and heavy heavy lifting. We actually did a little advertising for one of the events and did the filming at my house! It was a super cool experience. Enjoy the photos from “The Grass is Greener Where You Water It” marriage event.
The Bitter Sweet Kind
There were books (not for reading, just for gazing), photo booths, speeches, laughs, and a few of those really great tears (you know, the bitter sweet kind). And I’m pretty sure that’s how you measure a great high school graduation party. This one’s a wrap. Thanks for letting me help out, University Baptist. I loved every minute of decorating for The Next Chapter.
The Next Chapter
I’ve been known to get, er…swept away in a good project…but THIS one has got me in deep! I’ve been asked to decorate a senior graduation event and the theme is, yep, you guessed it…”The Next Chapter.” Books, books, books as far as my eyes can see! I’ve scavenged garage sales and discount stores and I’ve begged for donations from friends. At this point in the prep stage, I’m ripping off paperback covers and spray painting hard covers and seriously getting lost in all the beautiful and weird titles. I have to stop myself from flipping through and reading a paragraph here and there. But mostly, I’m finding myself pouring over the dedications. Some are simple. Some are long. Some to editors or friends or a sister. But my favorite one is this…
See what I mean…I’m in deep and oh how I love this job.
Stay Awhile Designs 