Wedded Bliss

My blessing abound daily.  I am blessed with a wonderful, handsome, caring, funny and generous husband.  On the day of our wedding I wore the gown of my dreams.  As I saw it hanging in my closet this afternoon I thought it would be a pretty thing to blog about, and when I started shooting pictures of it I realized that my "style" hasn't changed much.  I still like pretty, frilly, old fashioned things.

Dave and I were engaged six weeks after we met and we set a date for December which meant we had about 4 months to do everything, including find a dress.  Mom and I hit the bridal shops together one Saturday and at store #3 there it was.  BUT...it was the wrong color (beige) and too expensive.  Once again, the blessings came upon me.  My mother is a seamstress extraordinaire.  When she realized how much I loved the style of the dress she suggested we find a similar pattern at the fabric store and shop for various laces.  Being the seamstress she is, she knows all the best stores to find things like lace, and she pulled the pattern out of the package and proceeded to fold, draw, cut and pin, until we were able to match what we had seen.

Since our wedding was during the Christmas season we incorporated tiny silk burgundy roses and poinsettias in to the dress.

There are, I believe, 9 different kinds of lace on the dress, some of which we could only find in white-white.  We died it with tea so that the dress had the proper Ivory coloring.  We shopped just about every fabric store in the Phoenix metropolitan area to find the perfect fit.

More of the burgundy coloring was added with this satin lace up in the front of the dress.

I love the pretty, puffy lace sleeves.

And the pointed hem-line. 

Mom also included a built in slip, again finished in another type of lace.

If I were to get married today, or maybe just renew my vows with my sweet, giant teddy bear, I would wear this same dress.  I hope that all brides are blessed with the same feeling after taking a walk down memory lane.

Thanks for sharing those memories with me.

You Bought A What?

$8.  That's what this beauty cost me.  Eight lousy bucks that the other guy wouldn't fork out.  The seller told me they were originally asking twice that but they had dropped the price because it was getting late in the day.  (There are advantages to sleeping in sometimes)  Well, it was one of those moments.  "What the heck am I going to do with a Korean War Cluster Bomb Box?"  There was no reason to buy it, and no suggestion in my head that said this was some great antique.  But I HAD to have it.

Check out the cool lettering.

 You know the feeling.  That little voice that just tugs at you and says "Buy it! Buy it!".  

...and the awesome paint drops.

Do you like my "antique" photo effect?

I keep some of my potential projects here until I need them.

The details are amazing.

So, none of my friends have a Korean War Cluster Bomb Box.  No one in my family has a bomb box.  Nonetheless, I found out when I got home that it was, in fact, a great purchase because my 21 year old son said "Coooo-ooooool".  That's all one needs to hear when ones actions make them start to think that they have early onset dementia.

There is so much great stuff out there.  And if you sleep in and think it's too late to hit the yard/garage/rummage sales on a Saturday, maybe it's not.  I'm just glad I could help those folks out by taking this crazy thing off their hands.

Throw Something!

That's right.  Throw things all you want.  Why not throw cheap things.  Then you can throw things and not feel guilty.  Of course, with this kind of throwing you won't feel bad anyway. 

Most of our furniture is either hand-me-down, yard sale, or thrift store purchased.  With all this mix and match one might think they can't have a nicely coordinated decor.  Ha!  If you have recycled furniture of any type, try throwing it. 



A Pretty New Corner



Two Goodwill blankets dressed this ugly recliner up so much that even my husband, who looks at furniture only as a means to watch football, made a positive comment after I had fancified it.  Each throw cost $3.  The pillow is a Christmas pillow that my mother made that I turned around after the holiday.  About 15 minutes after I very carefully put this little corner together, our cat, Booger, jumped up and initiated the "new" chair with a nap.



This is what the ugly chair really looks like.

So why not rethink buying new or coordinated furniture.  Pick up a few blankets and give your old junk a whole new look.

Post Script 1/17/10 
Um, some one needs to tell my cats it's the same stupid chair we have alway had.  They are fighting over it now.

Post Script 1/21/10
It has also become a play platform for Bryndal & Booger

Wedding, Tea, Birthday Party Centerpiece - A New Idea

Here I go again.  Someone just needs to take these stupid books away from me.  I guess I am just feeling sorry for the poor things.  With the introduction of electronic readers these paper books are going to go the way of the VCR and the home telephone line.  There are so many books out there someone has to plan for their inevitable demise and find a new use for them.

So here is my latest idea.  Use old hardcover books to create a centerpiece for a wedding table.  Perhaps the same idea could be used for a tea with the ladies or even a girls birthday party.  This was my first rough draft using thrift store lace & flowers, yard sale beads and some card stock paper.  I threw in part of an old bracelet for a little punch.

 

Of course you can decorate this with all sorts of colors, or themes but I thought it would be quite unique.  For stability I used an old hair crimper to bulk up the books pages to ensure it remains open and standing no matter what impact might befall the table.

Here are a few progress photos.

 

I cut the book with a jigsaw.  My hope is to find a cheap scroll saw on Craigslist.  This will give me the options to try some other ideas I have for these poor dead trees.

Use a thinner book.  It's easier to cut.  I suggest leaving the bottom of the "skirt" as wide as possible for strength and stability.

I added plain card stock paper to the center binding, and printed card stock paper to the front and back of the dress.  Stay away from the thin scrapbook paper on all of these projects.  It wrinkles and tears too easliy.

I sprayed glued the larger pieces of lace on.  I didn't want to cake it with layer upon layer of Modge Podge.

I trimmed the lace back.  Next time I think I will wrap it instead.

I found that the best way to add bulk and keep a nice appearance what to crimp at the lower end of one page of the skirt and the upper end of the next page.  It was faster than trying to crimp everything and leaving part of each page straight kept the crimping from gathering together.

If anyone has theme suggestions, or if you create your own, please share here.  New ideas are always welcome.

Happy Crafting.

Just Sharing Some Photos I Took Today

At the Whitney Alderson benefit shoot with the Arizona Mounted Cowboy Shooters event today out in North Phoenix, my nephew and I took some wonderful photographs.  I know I'll be using some of these as reference material for future artwork. 

So take a step outside of the usual creative realm on my blog and enjoy these great action shots.  These are fun events to watch and those involved are some of the nicest people I have ever met.

My friend, Dawn, introduced me to the sport and there I found...

my cousin.

If your so inclined to do something a little different some weekend do a browser search for a Mounted Cowboy Shooters Association in your area.  Find an event and take your kids.

  They put on a fun, family event.

The Best Goodwill Stores In The Phoenix Metropolitan Area

My Favorite Thrift Stores

Just a short post today sharing with you my list of the best Goodwill stores in my area.  Please comment and add to the list, no matter where you are.

Rural Rd. & Guadalupe

Tempe, Arizona

This is a great store for floral products and silk plants.

McKellips & Center St.

Mesa, Arizona

This is a fairly new store, it's large, and has a good selection of trinkets and craft bags.  I've also found some really nice fabric there.

I17 & Happy Valley Rd.

Phoenix, Arizona

I stopped in this store one day because I was in the area.  They're prices are lower than other Goodwill stores and they were steadily filling the shelves as I was shopping.

Please feel free to comment with your favorite thrift stores and where you are located.  Your pick's will be shared on Twitter.  Thanks.



New Year - New Arrangement

If you ask my husband or my kids they will tell you that I am kind of obsessed with re-arranging furniture.  So, keeping with tradition I have moved a few things around making my electric fireplace the focal point of my living room.  Now, I know what you are thinking...  "Electric fireplace?! Ha ha, ho ho.  What is an electric fireplace?"

When you live in an area where it's usually not very cold, and the EPA likes to apply New Jersey or Iowa particulates standards to the dustiest terrain in the country, an old fashioned wood fireplace doesn't get used much.

When they say "NO BURN, you evil heathen!!!" I say "HA.  Take that you wicked desert alien!"  An electric fireplace offers ambiance and warmth and let's you say "pooh, pooh" to the fireplace police here in Arizona.

 

The small table on the left was a Goodwill find.  I will be blogging later when I re-do this little table.  The "drawer" is actual not, it's hinged and all of my remote's are hidden inside.  I threw some of my art work on the wall and the clock that was my birthday gift from Uncle Jack (I wonder if my hubby realizes that I reclaimed it).  On the right of my fireplace is my recycled lamp Candleabra.  I'll be looking for the perfect chairs for either side of the fireplace.

The room feels more comfortable now, and the fireplace is at the center of it all.  Can you say "Cozy"?

Bryndal, sweetie, do you want to watch the Dog Whisperer?