I love little touches that make something a little more special.  R and I co-hosted a jewelry party.  She did a beautiful job of preparing the food- scones, a cheese platter, beverages- and I provided the treat bags for the guests to take home.

Projects like this are so much fun because I can play on the computer, play with the sewing machine, play with paper and layers.

Continuing obsessions: sewing detail, chevron design

Correspondence Basket

I put together a "Correspondence Basket" for our church basket auction in September.  I wanted to include some watercolor pieces, but I have sold out of those cards- so I printed off some copies at home and added a little stitching detail.

Current obsession: striped bakers twine.  Rather than spend the money at a scrapbook store, I found a package of twelve colors at TJ Maxx.

I've been fairly absent on here- with my hands in a few freelance and personal projects, I haven't had time to post.  That just means that I've got a stockpile of pictures to share!

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Turning to a wedding invitation for inspiration can be helpful when making a card- mostly when choosing colors or fonts.  If the look of an invitation sets the mood for the rest of the celebration, shouldn't the card reflect that as well?

Although I love perusing Archiver's and Hobby Lobby for fun papers and decorative elements- I can many times feel just as creative utilizing what I already have on hand at home.

Oh and I appreciate any opportunity to dip into my washi/decorative tape collection!

Behind the Display: Entrance

photograph by Jason Harms of Harms Studio

Simplicity and Consistency (with other displays) were key for this display, which wedding guests saw before they were escorted to their seats.

1. Decorative Letters
2. Picture
3. Jars

• Vintage jars from MOB's (mother of the bride) collection
• Other canning jars from family and friends
  

photograph by Jason Harms of Harms Studio

More on the letters: they were inspired by the One Single Photo. While I came up with other lighter options for the "LOVE" display, the A & C letters were what I had in mind from the start.

My co-worker became engaged shortly before Amanda, and I shared the inspirational photo with her. She is a creative person and I knew she would love the idea. She and her fiance were gracious enough to cut the A & C letters out of wood they had on hand.

I wrapped the lace on a roll around the letters, and the ampersand was covered in blue gradient yarn. The lace was easy, though time-consuming (the fabric was pretty wide and would catch on the unfinished wood. The yarn took much longer than I expected. I had to hot-glue gun more often than on the lace. I did end up with a few battle scars from burning myself, as the hot glue came through both the lace and yarn quite easily.

The textures of the lace and yarn and colors of cream and blue- all against the texture and color and of the hay and grass- added some romance, intrigue, and comfort to the ceremony.

Behind the Display: Memorial

photograph by Jason Harms of Harms Studio

The other big display for the ceremony site was a memorial for Amanda's grandmother. The elements included:

1. Photograph of Amanda and her grandma
2. Flowers the father of the bride picked out
3. Some of Grandma Schultz's favorite books (she and the bride shared a love of reading)
4. Vintage milk bottles/carrier belonging to Amanda's mom
5. Window - garage sale find by the bride
6. "Love" hoop:

• I found the lace by the roll in the ribbon section at Hobby Lobby
• We used the lace throughout the tables, food tables, displays
• The background was bridesmaid dress fabric
• Embroidery hoop also from Hobby Lobby
• I sewed the letters (made of other wedding materials) with my trusty craft sewing machine
• The bride gave this as a gift to her honorary bridesmaid, who was out of the country and unable to make it to the ceremony
  

I like the top display picture by the photographer because of the picket fence in the background, but this one - also by the photographer- has a little less glare.

Behind the Display: "LOVE"

photograph by Jason Harms of Harms Studio

The “Love” display stemmed from a few ideas: 


1. Incorporating other family wedding photographs (parents, grandparents, etc)

2. Tying in the color red and bridesmaid fabric

3. One inspiration photo

I shared the inspiration photo with a co-worker who was planning her own wedding. She decided her fiancee would be able to cut the letters out of wood. While they were gracious and generous enough to make letters for another display (I'll spotlight the Entrance display later) I thought larger letters for "Love" would be more dramatic.


I bought thin wood at Michael's and used wood glue to assemble three of the letters. The glue dried for awhile as I worked on other sewing projects.

We had initially looked at grapevine decorative balls at Hobby Lobby, so the grapevine wreath was perfect for the "O." To dress it up a bit, and bring in the red, I made little rosettes from scraps. The cloth included bridesmaid fabric, a variation/inverse of the bridesmaid fabric, and a few other patterns we used throughout the ceremony site. Everything tied together.

Because good ideas can be used more than once OR Back to the wedding

I know there appears to be a theme for the homemade gifts, but it was not intentional. I am not planning to create door wreaths for all of the gifts. Homemade Gift: 2 was crafted to provide a gift for a new homeowner, and the grapevine wreath was appropriate for the giraffe theme.

The first wreath was fitting for its recipient because I used the grapevine and cloth combination in the "Love" display, so it was a nod to the wedding.

photograph by Jason Harms of Harms Studio

I suppose I still I have quite a few wedding subjects to touch on, including the larger displays at the ceremony site. Each display was meaningful to the bride and groom for certain reasons.

No, I'm not just being lazy

Three weeks of no blogging? I've surprised myself. I'm going to interrupt my wedding/invitation series to post something!

I am so grateful for the last weeks where I have been busy with both photography and graphic design freelance work. Here is one of the seniors:



Now that James has the pictures, I will hopefully post a few more on my Facebook Page soon.

More of Fall...it's not Winter yet!

Here is my "Organic" punchbowl and two of the cups. I made these a few years ago, and in September they were in a show featuring work of current students and alumni of Midland. I was unable to see them on display, along with my glass "Freezeframe" sculptures--but now the ceramic pieces help decorate our living room. They fit with the earthy, natural tones of the living room and, of course, Fall!

Time for comfort food

Ugh. It is supposed to snow tonight/tomorrow. Good thing I have new recipes to try out for the crock pot! I took a last minute photo on my lunch break with my purse camera:


Pumpkin bisque--it smelled so delicious when I came home from work! It needs a little bit of a kick, though. A co-worker suggested rotisserie chicken, and I think I might add some chili powder or peppers to give it some more flavor next time.

More fall elements

I know several people who have set up their Christmas trees already, but I do have a few fall decorations I want to enjoy first. Most of them are decorate our dining room. I love rich browns, reds and other deep colors; they also happen to be perfect colors for fall!

The first turkey and the pumpkin element were part of the "loot" I found at our last trip to Tender Heart Treasures.

I stocked up on tea last week, when I thought I was getting sick. I love having all different flavors for whatever mood I am in. Sipping hot tea during dreary and snowy weather can make for a cozier fall/winter.