For The Graduate

   

     We were invited to attend a graduation party for a special young man who graduated from Law School! Can I just say WOW!!! This is my daughter Amy's brother in law. He is so quiet and humble, not at all what you would look at as a lawyer.
     Anyone who follows me regularly knows I have been on a nautical theme lately, lol. I have done the wedding invitations, and some projects for my spare bedroom that I haven't even shared yet. ( Almost done with that one, wait 'til you see!)
     I had this stamp from Hero Arts and thought it was great for the guys around me. I had planned to use it for male birthday cards but thought it would also work for graduation. ( My husband wasn't so sure. What does he know, lol).
     I also wanted to keep up with what I have learned about the Copic markers so I dug them out and started coloring. The image was stamped with tuxedo black by Momento ink. The following is a list of the colors I used.
     boat: E33, E35 and E37
     sails: W1, W3 and W5
     water: B21, B24 and B26
     clouds: C00, C0 and C1
     sky behind the clouds: B91, B93 and B95
     I love using X-Press It for coloring. This card stock is so smooth. After it was colored I die cut it with Spellbinders label. If the background print looks familiar it should, lol. It is leftover from the Nautical invitations I did with the Imagine More cart. The ribbon was also a scrap piece I had hanging around.
     The sentiment is a rub-on from My Sentiments Exactly. These are the best rub-ons because they come with inside sentiments as well and look like they have been printed on the card.

     By the way, the party was wonderful! Thanks for following me and don't be afraid to leave a comment, I don't bite, promise!

Wedding Flowers

     I have been super busy with projects at home as well as wedding consults at work. Thankfully all the brides I have been working with have been wonderful to work with. No bridezillas at all. ( Believe me that's amazing!!!)
     I had the honor of designing the wedding flowers for an amazing young woman I have known for years since she danced with my daughters. I thought I would share these since the colors were so vibrant and there were some touches that are kind of a signature of mine.

      The above picture is the brides bouquet. She wanted all white with roses but one of her bridesmaids reminded her that she had also mentioned callas. These white callas are just the greatest to work with. They are the perfect size and shape and this particular grower is outstanding. It has taken us literally years to find the right source for these. We are VERY picky about our wedding flowers. They may be just for the day but the pictures last a life time.

      The bridesmaids were wearing all black and the bride wanted hot pink and a nice mix. These roses were the perfect shade of hot pink and they had a wonderful fragrance. If you have noticed that the roses today are not quite as fragrant as in years past you are correct. Although they have come up with different colors and varieties (including a chocolate colored one, lol) they have sacrificed fragrance in the meantime. That is why I was so pleasantly surprised when I was putting these bouquets together at the wonderful aroma they had. The pale pink flower is alstromeria or "peruvian lily". It does not have a fragrance but is so long lasting. It last as long as a carnation.

      She decided to use real flowers on hair combs for the Maid of Honor as well as the bridesmaids. The small pink flowers are waxflower with a delicate scent of its own.

      I also added some waxflower to her bouquet for a little color. The signature I like to use in my wedding work is the heart made of bear grass. I use it in the brides bouquet, grooms boutonniere ( his was a single calla) and, in this case the Mother of the bride and the Mother of the groom. They carried a small bouquet of 3 white roses with a little greenery.

      This is the hair comb the bride will wear with white dendrobium orchids. I love to use these orchids for hair adornments because they are sturdy and long lasting and hold up so well in hot weather.

     Last but not least is the small white rose pin on corsage which all 4 of the garndmothers will receive at the wedding. It amazes me that it is rare to have grandfathers, sometimes even just one, still alive to see their grandchildren wed. We know they are there in spirit. Hope you enjoyed this look into this special wedding.
     Congrats Kim and Matt!

I'll Always Have A Helping Hand.

          I always wanted to try printing on fabric, so when this was one of the lessons in the mixed media class, I knew this was the class for me. I am in the process of redoing our youngest son Steve's room with a nautical theme.
     There is 15 years 4 days difference between our oldest and youngest. Mike was going away to college and Steve was entering nursery school, lol. The photo was taken on Cape Cod while the 2  brothers were climbing on rocks. Steve (the younger one) was very nervous, so his big brother (Mike) reached out his hands and coaxed him up. The colors were just perfect for what I was looking for.
     I printed out the perfect sentiment: "I'll always be there with a helping hand." The solid light blue color is from a pair of my favorite capris. They were so worn I really had to replace them but couldn't bring myself to throw them away. They were so comfy. Glad I saved them because they were just the right color.
     Next I went through my buttons and found these that have a greyish tone with a black stripe in them. They go perfect with the rocks in the photo.
     I finished the edges with some French Knots with a darning cotton to add a little dimension to the piece. I really love how this turned out (as well as my sons, lol). Steve graduates college in another month AND has a job( as well as a cute girl friend!). Mike is married, lives in Florida, has a lovely wife and 2 wonderful children, Alexis and Nicholas. He also owns his own company. I'm sure this will become a conversation piece in this bedroom as well as making me smile every time I walk by.

USMC

     As you can tell, I am exploring new techniques (again!). My latest venture is my favorite place to take on line classes: My Creative Classroom. This is a class exploring mixed media with Shirley Pando. This second lesson is using paper on canvas and can I just say I Love It!!!
     I find it hard to come up with projects for men but somehow, this just seemed to come to me. One of my daughters lives in Hawaii on the Marine base with her husband. I also have a nephew who was in the Marines and my nieces husband also serves our country.I had made an album a while ago and this was paper I had leftover. I won't bore you with the details of the background but would like to share the embellishments and some of the meaning behind them.

     First, the metal tag I found @ Michaels in the clearance bin. It is engraved with wonderful words that I feel exemplify a Marine: courage, honor, hope, loyalty, unity, kindness, truth, charity and passion. Across the top in the right hand corner are 4 small circle tags that say "U S M C". These are tied together with thread that symbolize the bond they have for their "brothers" and fellow Marines. They are from the Tim Holtz collection but the letters are some stickers I had.
     The center image is from Tim Holtz seasonal stack and it features an eagle and the stars and stripes. I laminated this with glossy accents. The furthest image is also from Tim H and says "the world". I used his fragments acrylic tag and used a gold marker on the edge to add some dimension. This highlights that these men go anywhere in the world that are called upon to serve.

     I added a strip of the map across the bottom and added the United States Marine Corp sticker. When Chris and Andy got married we had black candy boxes with Lindt chocolates inside as favors for the men at the wedding reception. The top of the boxes had this emblem on top. As a side note, when they married he wore a tux and not the dress uniform. He said "You are marrying me, not the marines!" I love that he is such an individual. He loves his job but is also his own person.
     Finally, my daughter shared this quote with me: "Some people wonder all their lives if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem."
     The far right corner has a double stamped star with Stazon ink. I also had some Tim Holtz metal corners that I used and added a burgundy grosgrain ribbon around the outside edge. One suggestion from Shirley was to try upholstery nails along the edge. I added these last to symbolize that these dedicated service men can be tough as nails! Thanks to all the Marines for keeping us safe and allowing us to do what we do best.

I Love Sewing!

     My Creative Classroom is where I take a lot of classes and this is just the latest: Mixed Media. I have always wanted to learn the principles of this art form ( and use up some scraps!). I love detail so this was a project where I could really let myself go!
     First I started with a scrap of tapestry fabric, some coordinating fabric, some buttons and some lace when it hit me, why not do something for the sewing area of my craft room? I pulled out a zipper, some floss and embroidery yarn ( a project that has long gone by the way side!) and a vintage button. 
     After I fringed the edges of the tapestry I laid out my scrap fabrics and fused them onto the tapestry. Next i did some decorative stitches by hand before I added the zipper.
     The image is from Tim Holtz which I added some Rangers Glossy accents to before gluing it to card stock and fabric. I have so many letter beads that I decided to spell out "sewing" and added pearl beads in between the letters to soften the look.
     The pin with the thread and scissors was a gift years ago for my sister-in law since we both share a love of sewing. I made a ribbon hanger that I glued to a piece of card board and then glued the two together for some stability. This looks so good in the sewing area of my craft room!