Filed under: Uncategorized
My wedding bouquet was made entirely of Esperance Roses. It was lovely.
I wanted to preserve the memory in some way, but didn’t want to have to commit a huge amount of space to it. I decided to dry just a few of them and put them in a shadow box.
First, I chose a few of the flowers that were still faring well and hung them upside down.
I left them hanging for about 5 weeks. They probably didn’t really need to dry for quite that long, but my honeymoon came in the middle of that time, so I was a bit busy. 
Here are the supplies I used:
Dried flowers
Hair Spray
Shadow Box (mine is 8 x 10 – if you want to preserve more flowers, use a bigger box)
Quilting pins (make sure you have the ones with the little balls on the ends)
Pliers
Scissors
First, pick the flowers you would like to use. I dried a few more than I thought I’d need so that I would have choices. You never know how they’re going to look once they’re dry!
Next, spray your dried flowers with the hair spray and let them dry completely. This will help them hold their shape.
Open the frame, and lay the flowers on the back to determine your layout.
Snip the stems to fit the frame.
Remove the ball from the end of your pin by gripping the pin with the pliers, and pulling the ball with your fingers.
Place the pins in your frame back, just below where you’d like the base of the flower to be, leaving about half of the pin showing. I put the sharp end down, but I doubt it would matter much either way.
Lift up the visible part of the pin with the pliers.
Slide the base of the flower onto the pin.
Repeat with the other flower.
I had some lint on the frame back, so I cleaned that up before putting the frame back together.
And we’re done!
I also made a second smaller one. The idea is to put this in my (future, hypothetical) daughter’s room.
We decided to forego the traditional seated dinner at our reception, and went with a buffet-style selection of eclectic foods instead. We had lots of Memphis-inspired fare, such as barbecue pork sliders with jicama slaw, as well as some Greek dishes in honor of Mike’s heritage.
In lieu of a big floral centerpiece on the buffet table, I wanted to create something simple, but eye-catching. I remembered having seen a pin on Pinterest where someone had created a shadow silhouette inside a lampshade, and decided to run with that idea.
Here is what I used for this project:
Plain white lampshade, the simpler the better ($15)
Black poster board ($2)
X-acto knife
Surface safe for cutting (such as a quilting mat)
Clear tape
Lamp base (from my living room)
First you will need to measure the diameter of your lampshade.
Next, print out your template. Be sure to pay attention to the height of your letters, and not just the total length. I had to go back and do this a second time, because I chose a font that was too tall.
Cut your black poster board into a strip about the height and width of your first word and tape it down to your cutting surface.
Next, tape the template over the top of the poster board.
Firmly trace around your letters with your x-acto knife. You will not be cutting all the way through at this point (unless you have much stronger hands than I do, in which case, go for it!) Just be sure you’re cutting through the template and scoring the poster board underneath.
This is what it should look like when you’re done. (Note the shorter font from this point out!)
Next, you can either go back over the scores with your knife, or use a small scissor to cut out the letters. I found the scissors to be much easier to deal with.
Once you’ve finished the first word, go back and repeat the taping/scoring/cutting process with the rest of your words.
Decide on the spacing of your words, and tape them down to the inside of the lamp (backwards, of course) using clear tape. Regular scotch tape would probably be easiest to work with, but all I had was packing tape, and that worked fine. Just make sure it’s clear.
And you’re done! Put it on the lamp base, flip the switch and voila!
Here is a picture that my friend Lori took at the wedding, before the food was out on the tables. Because this was in the center of the room, with no access to a plug, I had to use a little ingenuity in lighting it. After a lot of trial and error, I ended up using four cheap tap lights attached to the harp of the lamp. It wasn’t ideal, but it worked!
Filed under: Art in Memphis
The day after my wedding, our venue, the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, was yarn bombed! I kind of wish it had happened before – it would have made for some awesomely unique wedding pictures!
This was part of their current exhibit, Angels and Tomboys. I haven’t had a chance to check it out yet, but I’m hoping to soon!
Filed under: Uncategorized
It’s official! I’m a Mrs!! I’m sure that will get less weird over time, right?
Now that the wedding is behind us, I should have more time to devote to my little blog! I have a few wedding-y projects in the queue, starting with our wedding invitations. All of the supplies cost less than $50, and I love the way they turned out!
Here are the supplies I used:
Folders and envelopes
RSVP cards and envelopes
Cream Cardstock (Invite page, address card, hang tag)
Kraft Paper Cardstock (pocket, “at home” card)
Gold beading cord
Small brads (used to attach invite to the folder)
Paper cutter (absolutely necessary – I already had this, so it isn’t included in the project cost)
Small hole punch
Filed under: Uncategorized
Why have a cyber MONDAY when you can have a cyber WEEK?! Between now and Friday, November 30th, I’m offering 20% off all sales on Etsy using the coupon code “CYBERWEEK2012.” Click here to visit my shop.
In addition to wedding planning, I’ve spent a lot of time the last few months making new pieces for a couple of local shows. In September, I did the Cooper Young Festival, which is always one of my biggest sales days of the year. Last weekend, I participated in an event called MemFix Cleveland, which was fun.
A lot of what I’ve been working on has been Christmas related. I’m so happy with how these turned out! Out of the five Christmas plates I made, 2 sold on Saturday. Here are the remaining three:
I’ve also made a few non-Christmas plates over the last few months:
I’m taking a break from plates now to work on some new Christmas ornaments. I’ll try to get a post up about those next week!
Filed under: Art in Memphis
This Saturday, several community organizations are banding together to present “MEM FIX: Cleveland,” a one-day street fair that will allow residents to experience how minor tactical investments can lead to neighborhood revitalization. There will be pop-up shops in empty storefronts, an artists market, local food trucks, temporary bike lanes and lots of great live music.
I’ll be taking part as a “pop-up shop” in one of the empty storefronts on Cleveland between Overton Park Road and Autumn. Along with two other ceramic/pottery artists, I’ll be setting up shop and selling my wares starting at 10AM on Saturday.
The weather is supposed to be amazing on Saturday, so come out and spend the day supporting another great community effort! And do some early Christmas shopping while you’re at it!
