Well, I should start with an apology for not posting in a while. It's been a bit hectic with house shopping, work, wedding planning and all!
I am happy to announce I found a pattern for a wedding dress I LOVED! I found two that I liked and made my groom-to-be pick which he liked, and came up with a Burda pattern, #8198. I'll be doing the dress with the lace over-dress and bell sleeves and decided on the most fantastic idea. The lining fabric I picked will be a shimmer satin I got from JoAnn, in a soft, aqua blue color. The lace is a pearl colored lace, ordered from J & O Fabrics. (A side note, this has been a wonderful company to deal with, so far. They email back quickly, they are friendly, and have LOVELY products! I've already suggested them to someone in the Farmgirl Sisterhood!)
A lot of my ideas, I am realizing, have been brought about by My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding on TLC. Yes, yes, I know. But I LOVE that show, and quite frankly, I often wonder if some of my ancestors were Irish gypsies. *teehee* One of the ideas was the color in my wedding dress. I don't look good in white or ivory, and I love colors! I've seen many a gypsy girl with a pink or purple dress, or color splashed into their dress. Granted mine will not be quite so flamboyant as their dresses, but I got an idea about how to add a bit of sparkle and my own panache to it, which I will get into at a later time.
Well, this all actually all has a point. As I said, I ordered my lace from J & O Fabrics. Originally, I ordered samples from them for $2 a pop of 4 different laces I liked. My original plan was to have an ivory lining with a colored lace, but it just did not pan out. I pulled the four generous swatches from the envelope and pondered. The first was much too stiff to be used in a wedding dress... more like something one would use in a window treatment. The second was the ivory pearl. The third was described as "antique lavender" but appeared more of a dowdy mauve color, and was quite stretchy. The last was a gorgeous shade of sky blue with silver, but the silver was entirely too heavy, which did not show up online. (This is why I loved their sample option... colors, textures, and patterns are often deceiving in the digital world, and their swatches were big enough to know EXACTLY what you're getting! My least favorite in the group online ended up being EXACTLY what I wanted!)
I sat there looking at the three unchosen swatches, feeling a bit guilty. I just can not waste fabric. I knew I needed the one I had chosen so I could pick the lining fabric, but what would I do with the others? And even the swatch I liked? What would its purpose be after I'd chosen the satin?
Use them! Even though one was too sparkly, and one was a bad color for me, it DIDN'T mean I had to waste them. I got an idea from a flier in an aisle at Hobby Lobby to decorate with mason jars. (Consequently, my family has an obsession with mason jars... they are the handiest, dandiest little things ever invented.) One method was to create a votive or tea light holder using wire, gidgets and gadgets, and lace or fabric remnants. Gadzooks! I have 4 good sized swatches I can trim down to ribbons and use! The same goes for any fabrics I have left over after I begin cutting the dress out! (wish me luck, by the way... I now have two very spoiled little kittens running amok...). I always purchase more than I need in case I have a mistake, a flaw in the fabric, or another project I want to create. I have thought of using some of the satin for either a small bag to carry that day, or mix with more lace to make the ring pillow. I have a simple, but pretty guest book that cost me (I am not lying about this... I swear!) NINETY EIGHT CENTS about a year ago when The Man and I began talking about getting married. It was in good shape, but no one wanted it for some reason! As plain as it is, I can really personalize it with the things I like!
Well, as I begin I'm also continuing to make paper flowers, will be making paper pinwheels, and other nifty things with found objects, paper crafting and scrap booking embellishments, and peacock feathers. But, with all these odds and ends, AND bits and pieces for the dress on their way, I was losing track of them. I have stamps for when I am ready to design our invitations, stamp pads, markers, and yes, crayons. I have brads and charms and gears and cogs and sprockets. I have crystals on order for both decorating AND putting on my wedding dress. Where will all of it go??
I am using some of the boxes I receive my goods in (I wish Overstock.com had frequent clicker miles... haha!) to separate my stamps and ink pads and markers, another for the base petal cutouts for my paper flowers, another for crafting supplies, and I got small trinket boxes at Hobby Lobby (four of them for $3.99!) with dividers to put all my charms, doo-dads, bits, pieces, and other miscellany into. Now, I know where all of my stuff is, and (ESPECIALLY with a move coming up in the next 2 months!!!!) I can find what I need when I need it, and put it away easily at night.
If you are going to make ANYTHING, whether it's a scrap book, decorative items for the home, or something as insane as handmade wedding decorations and favors (and a dress!) organization is key. Now that I sound thoroughly like my mother, I am off to think up how to use these pieces of chip board I snagged from a box in the store room at work!!!
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