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.

One single photo

I perused many, many blogs daily to find inspiration for outdoor and DIY (do it yourself) weddings. Because of the fairly short engagement (January to September) I was simultaneously searching for bridal shower decorations and theme execution.

One of my favorite blogs during this time of research was Hostess with the Mostess. This single photo inspired the ideas of “displays” for the ceremony site, and I will mention it again in the other display posts.

photo from Hostess with the Mostess blog found here

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.

Homemade Gift: 1

I typically avoid "reposts" and "share this status" ploys on Facebook. But I saw this on the page of a Midland alum who does crocheting, and I thought it would be fun to break away from my normal jobs. Plus I have a whole year! Haha, yes, I know this could possibly end up biting me (I still have to attempt Andrew's 2012 blog dare), but I have two gifts completed and delivered, so I am on track!


I made this door wreath for a Fremont friend; through the magic of Facebook, we have stayed in touch over the last few years. Facebook has this amazing ability to make us think that we see each other more often than we really do. I have watched her grand kids grow through pictures, and she has provided encouragement through comments. I saw her occasionally about a year ago, and she offered support as I traveled back and forth to Fremont while Grandma was in the hospital and nursing home.

I had not seen my friend since September for Amanda's wedding. She and her husband were one of the host couples- so I thought it would be fitting to use some fabric scraps to create something to remind them of their friendship with Amanda and involvement in that day.

Ahhh much better

I am not a bad blogger....I am not a bad blogger. Here is a little something to tide myself over. I have posts in my head, and pictures to go along with them. But for now this will do.

Welcome to the Wedding Weekend

I have to admit this is one project that almost got the best of me. After a smooth start, I encountered a couple of tension issues (ones that I could now solve much quicker, after much more experience with this little craft sewing machine!), plus a few logistical problems that slowed me down. Yes, there was some cursing. I had my doubts I could complete it without throwing the machine and/or the project against a wall.



But I just kept going, "30 Rock" on in the background and coffee by my side. The banner is not perfect, but I was so proud to see it finished, considering my little experience with machine sewing. I love the imperfections and the texture of the thread binding the different fabric letters with the canvas. I love the ribbon ties that I added and reinforced the very last minute before heading out the door for the wedding weekend. Oh, and, yes, I love the reaction I got from the Bride, who had no idea what it would look like.

Totally worth it

Most of the time I do not get to see a client receive the final project. Typically photography clients receive a disc in the mail. Brochures, postcards, etc. for design clients are generally delivered via the mail as well.

In this instance, however, I was able to see the Bride's initial reaction to one of my projects. (No, this is not staged! Love it!) I'll post what she's looking at next time.

All my little pretties

Working on library book invitations for a client. Love the rich colors!

Invitation- Assembly

I still have more elements of the library book invitations that I want to touch on, but I feel like I've been yabbering on- we need a picture break!

Invitation- THEIR tree

After the seeing the Cherry Blossom invitation and discussing the inspiring Winnie-the-Pooh illustrations, we just had to have a tree in the library book invitations. I knew exactly where it would go. BUT I couldn't draw just any old tree.

The bride and groom visited the wedding weekend location, and the Maid of Honor and I joined them. They were tackling the logistics of the ceremony and reception, and I took photos and contemplated the design aspects.

The path the bridal party changed- so the the bride and groom would be meeting the pastor (the bride's uncle) in front of this little grove of trees:

Invitation- bringing everything together

I was ecstatic to develop the remaining elements for the invitation. Next up- how to assemble the invitations.

I had taped a piece of ribbon in between the "pages" to emulate a bookmark; I also taped decorative scrapbook paper to the outside of the "cover" for the binding. I thought about all of the tape we would have to purchase; how many pieces of tape we would need to cut and place; and I was also thinking about how time-consuming and disastrous the process could turn out to be.

Considering I was designing the piece, I wanted the execution to go smoothly and, quite honestly, I wanted the invitations to be as perfect as possible.

Before my ah-ha! moment, I had been doing research online to find inspiration for a unique invitation design. I loved the idea of fabric and stitching...and the idea stayed in my mind when I realized the library book was a go. As much as fabric would have been fun, I knew the scrapbook paper would be much simpler and faster, and would provide enough detail- especially if we stitched the paper together.

Hours of research and pondering later (I found a blog post about sewing with a craft machine that generated over 200 comments!) I decided on the Janome Sew Mini. I was able to pick up my new investment at Hancock Fabrics just five minutes from my house.

Invitation- We have a winner!

I don't know why I was so nervous about showing the book prototype. I created the cover and inside pages with text, including the font and layout I wanted, just copying and pasting info from the bride's wedding website.

Spending the time on the piece was well worth it, because it gave her a good idea of what I was going for. And really, not many changes had to be made on the inside after that. I knew I wanted the binding, but I needed to do more research to decide how to approach it. We found the library pockets that same day on Etsy, and everything was falling into place. What a relief to know we had made a decision, and what excitement to know the final details were in the works!

Invitation- aha! moment aka "duh"

Amanda is an avid reader and the Winnie-the-Pooh book elements were just so fitting to her and what she wanted for the wedding- comfortable, familiar, simplistic, idyllic. I decided to create an invitation that looked like a page out of a book, and started working on a layout in Photoshop.

But there were so many aspects of a book that I wanted to include. How could I fit all the aspects of a book onto the front and back of a single piece of paper? It finally hit me- I had to create an actual book with multiple pages, so we could include all the necessary components (aka the layouts, design, wording, etc that make a "book" a book!). Plus, having multiple pages would allow all of the actual wedding information to be organized for the "reader" aka wedding guests.

This thought hit me and I couldn't stop working, I was too excited. I needed to create a prototype right then to satisfy my creative jitters!

Invitation- great minds think alike

After Amanda showed me the Cherry Blossom design, I started sketching. Blue ballpoint ink on computer paper. Black pigment ink on watercolor paper. I loved the idea of quick drawings- I could still incorporate my initial ideas of simplicity (versus computer/graphic design) and intimacy.

As I doodled and scratched, my mind went immediately to Winnie-the-Pooh. I played a couple of days without showing anything to the Bride...and then she e-mailed me. She mentioned that her copy of Winnie-the-Pooh was inspiring her a bit. WHAT? I couldn't believe my eyes. I wrote back right away and told her that the drawings were in the back of mind too. She lent me her book so I could look at the pictures.

We had been discussing the theme of Fall before, and now the Cherry Blossom invitation inspired trees, as did the Pooh Bear book. I pictured a tree with a banner...pendants, probably (they are very popular right now for DIY showers and weddings). Light watercolor accents on sepia background.

Invitation- turning point

What I love about my freelance work is that I am always, always challenged.

I found it to be so ironic how long the process for developing Amanda's invitations took. Because I knew my "client" so well personally and we chatted so much about ideas and inspiration, I figured the process, while overwhelming, would move at a much faster pace. How could I be stumped?

We went back and forth with sketches, themes, descriptive words. Finally an e-mail with some visuals from the bride added new energy:


We discussed her favorite images, found at minted.com, via e-mail and on the phone. While I was excited at the inspiration, the images conflicted. We figured out what she liked about each invitation, including colors, fonts, layout.

We both shared the most love for this invitation:


That's when the brainstorming began again.

Invitation- initial inspiration

Even before the engagement, the bride had talked about a fall wedding, and possibly incorporating a leaf theme.


The engagement ring itself had a bit of a leaf motif in the band, and I wanted to replicate the simplistic shape to bring extra meaning to the invitations.


The idea of Fall, leaves, nature--I planned on earthen tones and creating texture in Photoshop. The Bride was not as enamored as I hoped when I showed her the first draft...so back to the Drawing Board.

I drew ink leaves and later added some watercolor for dimension and played with a different layout.

Finally!

I am so excited that I can finally post some photos that have been restless just sitting on my computer. Now that the wedding is over, I can show some behind-the-scenes pictures of preparation.

After much searching online and in stores for bridesmaid dresses, the Bride was inspired by multiple etsy sites--and suggested we all have our dresses made to fit us. She found a print she loved, and we were allowed to pick out our own patterns.

Irma made my dress pretty much in one day. She and I met up and cut out the pieces. My MIL came over after work and the two of them sewed and sewed! I helped by ironing and cutting out the fabric for the pockets- yes, I had pockets!


I know my own grandma would have loved to be here to help. She was ecstatic to hear Amanda and Chris were engaged, and each time we visited she wanted to know more details about the dresses, decor, everything. While I am sad she couldn't be here, I can also be grateful and thankful for the family that did help so much! I would have had to find a seamstress to make my dress, and would have missed out on the fun and learning experience with family.