Each Monday I take my big blue Ikea re-useable bag to work and ship off box after box. I have not had a chance to post my usual weekend updates.

Here are a few photos of the past couple of weeks.

Top: A start of a great set of bouquets. This is the bride bouquet and it has black, pewter grey and white satin. It is dark yet very elegant.
Bottom, L to R: 1. Fall colored Felt Boutonnieres, we had a lot of fall colors to work with this year!
2. A custom set of button cuff links. A very neutral color combination for every day wear, and a super sweet anniversary gift!
3. Another felt fall order. This had fun pops of purple, skulls, leaves and so much more.

Top: 1. I have had a lot of orders for pillows lately. They are a lot of fun to make. This specific one has a mix of purple ribbon and felt flowers.
2. Pink Pink Pink! We are continuing to make pink items for October Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This bouquet has been re-created a lot and still a favorite.
3. A fun set of bouquets for a Vegas wedding on Halloween. The colors are so bright and fun
Bottom: Red, black and ivory bouquets. Very classic yet dark and mysterious.

Don’t forget to check out the giveaway that is taking place until November 1st. There are many ways to get extra entries. Make sure to spread the word.

In 2009 alone, the Dallas County affilliate raised more than $2.4 million! The Dallas group is very active in their fundraising and doing their part; it is  very inspiring!

Here is the breakdown of how the money is used:

A minimum of 25% is used for the support of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation Award and Research Grand Program. This is the portion that goes to the research that will hopefully one day lead to a cure.

While 25% seems small, it is a large amount of money that is definitely working toward a common goal. The remaining 75% goes to educational and service efforts. I really think this is the most important part of the foundation and what ends up being the most beneficial thing they can do. Over the past few years I have seen more and more posters, commercials, events, etc that are educating people and truly making them aware of breast cancer. I keep hearing a radio advert that states 1 in 7 women will end up getting breast cancer. This has definitely stuck in my head. If you hear 1 in 100 that may not hit as hard but 1 in 7!! Wow, we really need to keep working to find a cure.

While educating women about breast cancer is a big part of the 75% of the raised funs, it also goes to fund screenings and treatment for individuals in the Dallas area who would otherwise not be able to afford it. Rock on Dallas for keeping it local and helping out people close to home that need it!

Will you do your part to help?

Along with our donation this year (40% of pink/specially marked item sales in the shop), we are hosting a GIVEAWAY!

We will be giving away some great pink items. The winner will receive the following:

12 Stem Button Bouquet arrangement, great for your desk or table centerpiece.

1 Set of Pink Button Bobby Pins

1 Satin and Button Hair Clip, in Pink of course

1 Set of Button Magnets

It will definitely be a goodie box of pink-button-awesomeness!!!!!

How to enter? Read below!
(Make sure you correctly fill out your email address and name on each entry. This is the only way I have to get in touch with the winner!!)

1. Leave a comment below with ways you plan on supporting Breast Cancer Awareness Month. (Maybe you are planning to donate on your own, participate in a race, spread awareness or even buying something pink from RBK! This doesn’t have to be monetary support, sometimes telling someone to go get a screening is all it takes to save a life!)

Want Extra Entries?!?!?! Here are a few ways to get more entries (Leave an additional comment for each entry)

1. Become a Fan on Facebook

2. Become a Follower on Twitter

3. Purchase a Pink Item from the shop! 

If you already follow us on twitter, or you already are a Facebook fan, Excellent and Thank you!! Just leave a comment saying that you are.

The value of the box of pink-button-awesomeness is $54.00

Enter to win until 12:00 Noon CST November 1, 2010. The winner will be announced by 5pm CST on Nov. 1st. The winner has 48 hours to reply to the email sent to them. If they do not respond, a new winner will be drawn. Good Luck and thank you for your help in supporting such a great cause!

I absolutely love this wedding that I have to show you today. This post is a little delayed but I have had the hardest time picking the photos to share with you. We worked with the bride to create a lot of items for their beach wedding. And I loved that in almost every photo there was some type of button element. A few of the elements were even new to us. It was completely customized.

Even with picking just a few, this will be a very picture heavy post. I spoke with Holly, the bride, and she explains some of the different things that went in to planning her perfect wedding!

Holly and Charles’ wedding was in sunny Key West at the Key West Beachside Marriott in early June. The wedding took place around sunset. They were able to get some great photos before the ceremony took place. All photos were taken by J. Hunter Photography.

I worked with Holly for about 2 months. I got to know her pretty well as we created the different pieces for her big day. It was great to work closely on each element. I was able to get a sense of her personality and the overall feel she wanted. This photo above really shows how much fun the whole group was!

When I asked Holly to explain the overall feel/theme of her wedding, this is what she had to say, “It seemed very hard at first to find a central theme, so finally I just started thinking of my favorite things, trying to think tropical. I have always loved sea turtles. I came to find out that baby sea turtles meant ‘new beginning’, which was perfect for us. The colors were a mix of tropical colors: blues, greens and ivory. We really just wanted a relaxed destination beach wedding!”

In this photo you can see the pomanders on the chairs. I loved making these. They were a labor of love! It was a great way to incorporate the colors of the wedding while keeping it flowing and light. I also asked Holly what her favorite part of planning her wedding. She was kind enough to say, “My favorite part was waiting to see how all the different decorations/flowers turned out for our wedding. I was always getting pictures from Ariela, even at midnight!” What can I say, we work pretty late at night here at RBK Creations! It always seems like I get to emailing/updating customers around midnight or later, especially on weekends.

Some of the items we provided for Holly and Charles are: The Bride had a button bouquet with custom buttons. I think the name we ended up for the bouquet was the Sea Daisy! The groom had a matching button boutonniere. The Matron of Honor and the Best Man had organza pieces. She let her Matron of Honor pick and that is what she went with. It was truly a mixture of the types of pieces we create here at RBK Creations. The bridesmaid bouquets were felt, as were the groomsmen boutonnieres. Each bridesmaid also received a few pins for clutches and fun, flow-y organza hair clips. The parents and grandparents also had matching pieces! The organza pomanders I mentioned above were a lot of fun. They turned out to be huge but it ended up lining the aisle pretty well! There were baby versions on the arch as well.

The tables at the reception had either a button bouquet, felt bouquet or an organza bouquet. There were also buttons scattered as an extra pop of color (as seen above). I made a couple of wine charms for the wine drinkers, also seen above. Each guest was given a little embroidered felt magnet. A lot of the items from the ceremony were reused for the reception! Multi-purpose items are great. Each item also had a great mix of buttons including shells, turtles, dolphins, and so on!

“My favorite item would have to be my bridal bouquet, the head table arrangements were a close second though!” The head table arrangements were a mix of buttons, felt and organza poof stems. They were a lot of fun!

Part of what I was able to learn while working with Holly is how she met Charles. “We are both air traffic controllers, and have really messed up schedules! Out of 300 controllers, in five years we never talked until we had the same schedule last year. (Of Wednesday and Thursday off, with Tuesday being a midnight shift.) His first text message to me was, ‘I have a PB&J and a Ham & Cheese, what should I eat” (This was at 3am!!). and I said, “Depends on what you have to drink…” and well, the rest is history.” How cute is that!

I always like to hear how brides find RBK Creations. It is fun to hear the different ways plus it helps me plan different ways to reach customers! For Holly, she was just searching the Internet and came across out site. “I was searching for ‘blue wedding flowers’ on the Internet. I came across a million different things! Most were very expensive. I was thinking fresh flowers, and then I found some DIY stuff at JoAnns and was so excited! Silk flowers were the way to go. I spent HOURS looking, trying to make the flowers come together…and I just couldn’t do it. It was too hard to match, find enough of the same flowers…UGH! It was so frustrating. Finally, I found some photos of a button bouquet online and a link to RBK Creations. I remember emailing Ariela and Brenda…so late and so excited, hoping they had an open slot! AND THEY DID! And the price was so very appropriate, and I believe their work is completely priceless. I can’t beging to tell everyone how perfect these flowers are. They last forever, create conversation and are absolutely gorgeous.”

The flower girl was Holly’s adorable little girl. We made her a flower ribbon wand and customized a little basket for her. We included some shells and daisies for her to toss as she walked down the aisle. Holly shared the cutest story. She walked down the aisle, all smiles, but would not toss the shells and flowers because she wanted to keep them all. Kids can be so funny!

Told you it would be a lot of photos! And it is only half of what I uploaded. I thought 10 was enough for this post anyway! The photos will be in a photo set on Facebook here in the next few weeks for your viewing!

Holly, Thank you so much for being such a joy to work with. You made our job very easy! It was fun chatting about all of the different elements in your wedding and helping you pick out things like vases and clutches. I really hope we can keep in touch! We also wish you, Charles and little Norah the best!

JHunter Photography, Thank you for taking such great photos! The colors just pop! You were able to capture everything so well!

Key West Beachside Marriott, what an amazing venue! A perfect location for the bride looking for a relaxed, tropical feel!

Thank you all for looking!