Happy Thanksgiving! I truly have so much to be thankful for…

DIY Pumpkin Thumbtack Table Number Tutorial

Writing Something Turquoise this past year and a half has been an absolute dream come true and I am magnificently excited for what the future might bring. I feel like all my life experiences and individual talents have come together perfectly to make me uniquely able to bring you this daily bridal inspiration blog. When dreams like this actually become a reality – there are many emotions to feel – the greatest of those being THANKFUL. There is a reason that I have this background that lends me especially capable to write ST, I have an unbelievable group of family and friends who together make my special dream team.  I could not run this website without these people and I need to publicly thank them for making my crafty dreams come true…

My handsome hubby – the reason I wake up in the morning. The man that God created just for me. He is my #1 fan and the person who supports me and ST the most. Beyond constant emotional support, he of course is the amazing photographer behind my DIY tutorials. I am so very thankful that he is a photographer and that his passion/career allows me to constantly share my crafty projects with all of you. Thankful that he puts up with crazy long days of shooting and editing girly crafts. Thankful that we have found our stride in working together and that now after over 60 tutorials we have been able to streamline our process. Thankful that he deals with the crazy mess of my ‘scrap corner’ where I keep an ever growing pile of crafting supplies. Thankful that as this site keeps growing along with my tasks, he has taken over some domestic roles so that I can work harder and longer on the site. Thankful for every long night we spend working side by side on our matching computers, laughing and drinking wine – throughly enjoying our hobbies that happen to be our careers. Thankful that before ST ever generated revenue he financially supported me buying craft supplies, FB ads, web hosting, etc, and never had an issue with it. Every single DIY Friday I am truly thankful for all this because without him, my tutorials wouldn’t be possible – ST wouldn’t be possible. Thankful cannot even describe the gratitude I feel for him. Thank you boo, you are the greatest and I love you more than anything.

She is the reason I am crafty and creative. Since I can remember I have had glue, paper and scissors in my hands. If you’ve seen my about page, then you know that I got my first sewing machine when I was three – because I wanted to sew just like her. I remember being like 6 years old and using a hot glue gun – well I might add. Who let’s their little girl use a dangerous tool? She did. She taught me and trusted me with the hot glue gun and many other tools, because of that I am the crafter I am today. At a young age she had my crafts published in magazines – showing me how fabulous and valuable crafting could be. She always supported my crafting projects by constantly having me in classes and taking me all over town to buy any crafting supplies I asked for. I was probably the only high schooler ever to repeatedly beg for money to spend on crafts, and she always gave me what she could afford. My whole life I have been a crafter, because she did everything possible to cultivate my passion – the creativity that you find here on ST is a product of her pure devotion to me. Thank you momma for letting me run with scissors – I love you so very much.

I am my fathers daughter. I am an exact copy of him. He gave me patience, self esteem, and the confidence to do whatever I wanted in life. His unique part of this puzzle is his zest for technology. We always had the latest and greatest tech gear at home; which means I’ve been bugging out on a computer since I was in 5th grade – which is nothing compared to kids now, but back then it was a big deal. Not only did we always have a terrific computer at home, but he taught me about computers and showed me how they worked until I understood. Instead of doing things for me, he always taught me how to do things. Which in turn made me feel like I could do anything. When I was young, I was always next to him, learning and absorbing as much of his knowledge as I could. When I describe my tutorials is detail – I feel like him. It is because of him that I am technologically savvy enough to write and run this blog. He is a constant source of support for me – talking to him is like talking to myself – only better. Dad, thank you for being you – I love you.

There are so many amazing people I need to mention – so many talents that deserve acknowledgement! Starting with my creative designer Jared of Chaos to Beauty – he has designed my playground – what I look at everyday, all day – I am so very thankful that he seems to always be able to read my mind. Ryan of Tech Studio is my out of this world web programer – who is so talented at what he does, his intelligence is unfair. Then we have the completely fabulous fashion diva Brittany Hart of The Fashion Drug who consistently bestows her amazing bridal fashion advice on us – I am constantly in awe of her beautiful personality and eye for style. As if I wasn’t blessed enough, the extremely talented florist Jacki of Floral Design by Jacqueline Ahne just happened to move in next door to my amazing parents – and is generous enough to regularly contribute floral advice and beauty to ST. Thank you to Vivienne Wagner for always pushing me to be better, encouraging me to dig deep into the internet community, and giving me valuable blogging advice that she has worked hard to learn – you are a rockstar. This year I was able to begin a dream partnership with BrideClick and my lovely concierge, Angelica has been an integral part of the financial growth of the site – thank you for all your painstaking work and your fabulous emails. To all my sponsors – you are truly making my dream a reality and I promise to always publish classy content to make you look good!  Thanks to Two Bright Lights for streamlining the editorial submission process and making my dream job even easier. Thank you to all those wonderful bloggers out there who think my work is valuable enough to share and send me trackbacks – I love it! And of course, thank you Martha Stewart for consistently inspiring me – I have looked up to you my whole entire life and cannot believe that in the past year I have been the recipient of your praise.

Without the beauty of your work – wedding blogs in general wouldn’t be possible. I love how the shift from film to digital photography has allowed this amazing new trend of being ‘published’ on blogs to absolutely thrive. I sincerely appreciate all of you and your devotion to your craft. Thank you to all the amazing photographers that shared their work with me in the beginning when ST was nothing but a speck in the sky – and to all the amazing photographers that I will feature in the future, you are the heart and soul of ST. I will always try my hardest to provide a special space for your work to exist.

Last but not least – my wonderful, wonderful readers. I am so very grateful for each and every one of you. My goal is to consistently share top-notch wedding advice, information and inspiration with you so that your wedding planning journey will be easier and more enjoyable. I hope that you are always able to find unique and usable bridal inspiration here at Something Turquoise. I appreciate your comments and I’m thankful that you trust in my opinion.

Thank you all, from the bottom of my heart for reading SomethingTurquoise.com.