Wednesday 22 July 2015

Wedding Series: Wedding Cards


Hi bloggers, today's post is the final in the Wedding Series on the blog and it's all about Wedding greeting cards. I've got two different styles of cards to show you both using the same stamp set which is called 'Carried Away' by a brand called Taylored Expressions. 

This beautiful stamp set includes several stamp designs that evolve around a bunch of balloons. A metal die is also included to die cut the balloon shapes.

The first card example is a simple A6 card design which also uses a metal die called 'Bistro Lights', by Taylored Expressions. 


The combination of these dies and stamps creates a lovely scene of a young couple in love kissing underneath a scenery of hanging bistro lights. The stamp set also includes several sentiments, of which I chose:-

"May love lift you up today & always"


The second card example is one of my favourite card designs, which is a box card. These cards create so much dimension and it can get quite addictive to keep adding multiple layers. In this example we have kept each layer quite simple to create a simplistic Paris scene.



This card features the same kissing couple as before but this time they are in Paris! This card is actually quite fitting with the occasion as they got engaged in Paris right by the Eiffel tower and as you may have noticed the card also includes a tiny rat on the right side of the fence as these were also present at the time Ben got down on one knee! The sentiment stamp is from a Chalkboard Stamp Set by Anna Griffin.

 
 So there you have it, a series of posts to get you inspired to get crafting for your wedding. Making your own invitations, decorations etc can really help keep the budget down and also helps set you apart from the same old same old. Mix it up and make your wedding unique!
 
 
 

Monday 13 July 2015

Wedding Series: Thank You Cards


Hi bloggers, today is the penultimate post in our Wedding Series and it's all about the thank you cards.

Even after the wedding is all over and done with there are still a few loose ends to tie up. Of course the main thing being getting those precious photos developed or waiting to see a preview of the photos from the photographer. Next thing to think about is the thank you cards so you can thank all those close friends and family for being a part of your special day.


In keeping with the vintage theme of the wedding I decided to design a postcard style for my sister's thank you cards with a photo of the happy couple on the front of the card. A photo thank you card is an excellent way of sending a photo memento to guests so as to avoid the many emails asking for a picture of the bride and groom!


The back of the postcard featured a vintage postcard design including the thank you message from the bride and groom. The right side of the postcard was left blank so that it could either be addressed and sent in the post as a postcard or they could choose to simply write the recipient's names and place the card in an envelope.

 So only one more post left in the Wedding Series which will provide you with two wedding card examples to use as inspiration if you fancy making a handmade card for an upcoming wedding.


Thursday 9 July 2015

Wedding Series: Wedding Cupcakes


Hi bloggers, today's wedding post is all about the cake - one of the main food features of the wedding! Now we have to admit that we can not take credit for this wonderful display of cake and cupcakes as the responsibility of the wedding cake fell on the groom's mother, Jen and I think we can definitely say that she did an amazing job! 


 This design of cake is perfect if you don't want several huge tiers of cake, you can just build up the tiers with cupcakes. And it makes for easy serving as you can simply give each guest a cupcake which they can either scoff at the table or preserve and take it home for later.


Jen did a fabulous job with the buttercream icing, decorated with edible pearls and encased in beautiful cake cases.


My sister sourced the beautiful cake topper from an ebay seller in America who had 'Mr & Mrs Howick' die cut from a wood veneer. Again this is a perfect memento from the day that you could use to decorate future cakes at anniversaries or maybe even place in a pot plant!
 It was the perfect finishing touch to a wonderful display of cakes!

Only two more wedding posts left in our Wedding series so make sure you stay tuned!




Wednesday 8 July 2015

Altered Hanging Book Workshop


Hi bloggers, today we are launching a new workshop, 'Altered Hanging Book'. A fantastic project for displaying your photos in a slightly unusual way. Makes a great display piece to replace those boring photo frames. All the details about the workshop can be found on our workshops page, so head on over there now for booking details.

The rest of this post will show you a closer look at the book I've created as an example for this workshop.... 






If you didn't want to hang your book you could also display it on a book stand.

We hope many of you that live locally are able to make the day and look forward to seeing you soon!







Saturday 4 July 2015

Wedding Series: Bouquets & Buttonholes


Hi bloggers, today we are back to the Wedding series and this post is all about the bouquets and buttonholes. My very talented mother made these beautiful bouquets and also the buttonholes - for the whole wedding party I may just add. So she definitely had her work cut out for her but it was definitely worth it all in the end.

So let's start with the bride's bouquet......

 These bouquets were made using a faux stem bouquet, therefore making them look like real flowers at a glance with the stems sticking out at the bottom. Mum used silk ribbon to form each flower, using bead stamens to fill each one and then pinning them into the polysterene ball at the top of the bouquet. The stems were wrapped with burlap and burlap was also added as padding underneath the flowers. Finally a bit of fine millinery netting was added for extra sophistication.


A few special details were also attached to the bride's bouquet....



A picture of our dad was placed in this beautiful vintage locket and attached to the bouquet to signify his presence in spirit on the day. This is such a sentimental detail to add and is a beautiful idea to include loved ones that couldn't be there on the day.


The other side of the bouquet featured the laced up detail and also the bride's 'something borrowed' and 'something old' using my mum's wishbone charm.


To keep with the Parisian theme, my mum added three Eiffel Tower charms to the bouquet.


When we arrived at the Wedding venue the bouquets were placed in these kilner jars that were decorated with burlap and a doily to match the other table center pieces.

So let's have a look at the bridesmaids bouquet (mine).....



My bouquet featured the same style flowers with some pink ones mixed in to match my dress.


Making your own bouquets definitely has its advantages, one of the main ones being that you can keep it forever as a memento from the wedding day. Obviously it comes down to personal preference but if you can make flowers that look as realistic as this you on to a winner!

Now onto the buttonholes......


The buttonholes were made using the same style flower as the bouquets with an added silk leaf, using silk ribbon to wrap round the pin acting as a stem for the flower.


As I mentioned above, everyone who attended the wedding were given a buttonhole which is a beautiful way to include everyone and is also a lovely memento for them to take home with them as a reminder of the wedding day.

Mum also made a few bracelets using the same flowers which my mum and the groom's mum wore to the wedding instead of the buttonhole.....



To finish, I will leave you with a picture of the wedding guests wearing their buttonholes proudly!


 Only a few more posts left to go in the Wedding Series so make sure you stay tuned for the cake design, thank you cards and also inspiration for making a wedding card if you're attending a wedding anytime soon.