Homemade Wedding Card

I think this is really special – it’s a hand made card my mum gave us for our wedding.

Both David and I thought this was a store bought card at first, but when I looked closer I knew it was my mum’s handiwork. Her skills with this are really coming along and looking very polished.

I really appreciate these things more if they are home made. It gives it that extra personal touch, encourages creativity and resourcefulness in our culture, and anything that challenges the artificial guilt we have been brainwashed into wearing so we buy gift cards, wrapping paper and presents from the shops, I’m all for it!

How to have a simple wedding

David and I decided early last year that we would get married, after he romantically proposed during a holiday at a place called Secrets on the Lake in Montville. The how and when of it was all up in the air. The thought of organising a wedding was very daunting for both of us as we have become real hermits in recent years! But it was pretty obvious to us from the onset that whatever we did, it would have to be very simple and low stress!

By holding the ceremony in the cute and quaint backyard garden of a local celebrant, and only inviting parents to witness it, a relaxing lunch for 6 topped off the day and rain by no means dampened the mood.  The day was all about David and I celebrating our love and making our marriage official, skipping a lot of traditions but keeping the few that were meaningful for us. Below I outline the details of our little wedding for future reference, and how we organised it in about 6 weeks and for a cost of less than $1200 (if you don’t count our rings!).

Planning Barbie’s Big Day

Well, Barbie is not quite ready for her big day as she hasn’t even met Ken yet, and he certainly hasn’t figured out what he is wearing! But at least the girls are sorted,  the bridesmaids are already chosen!
Oh yes, Barbie has her priorities straight, doesn’t she? She knows what she will wear and she will look Fabulous!!!

rofl!

This is my contribution to the Wedding blog party hosted by Angelic Accents, I hope it gives a little giggle. I hand crochet all the doll dresses myself and each have a blog post. The White wedding dress, Strapless pullon dress, Teal Dress and the Pink Dress were all inspired by a doll dress I still have from my childhood that was made by my grandmother.

This post is tongue in cheek because my partner and I agree we want to be married officially before our baby arrives, but all we have done so far is get our rings, we can’t seem to bring ourselves to organise anything else!

I hope you liked my little wedding blog party post!

❤ ❤

A White Dress for Barbie

I’m very surprised how this turned out, how could it be that the bodice of this dress fits so perfectly? This is my post for White Wednesday which is hosted by Faded Charm. I’m also putting this in for this week’s Transformation Thursday hosted @ The Shabby Chic Cottage.

I used white dimples baby yarn from Lincraft, that’s their cheapest baby yarn and it costs $1.99 for 50g. I started with the bodice as usual with all of these dresses I make, working up from the waist. When I got to the cleavage area I attempted a sweet heart neckline. I have attempted this before on a top I’ve made but undid it as it didn’t work out. This time I did it over two rows and I am totally amazed at how perfectly it sits, I was certain it would be a little wonky.

The skirt is the 5 cluster separated by english doubles in the cluster below pattern which I saw in a picture of a Barbie doll wedding dress, although that’s the only thing I used from that pattern. I didn’t plan for the skirt to be this shape at all, it just kind of happened. I forgot to increase more before starting the shell pattern so the skirt is more fitted at the top, so then I flared out at the bottom. It was nice but it needed something more so I finished off with a row of picots, and low and behold, they really wanted to sit up in the air like that! It kind of looks funny but it is a ‘white dress’ after all, so they are kinda of required by law to look a bit frilly and silly!!! lolzzz

I have many white buttons and I knew I wanted the one holed pearl kind, but the only ones I could find in my stash were a little too big or had peeling polish so I actually bought these buttons new /gasp! That really is naughty for a doll’s dress isn’t it? I got some really cheap ones and there are plenty left over to use on other things, so I figure I’m not toooo bad!

The last thing to do was to make something white for her hair so I just whipped this thing up. It’s simply a row of English trebles (US dc) to allow room for ribbon to be threaded through, then some shells like the skirt on top of that. I didn’t really know what I was making, this kind of just happened! I threaded the ribbon through then around again to form a loop that the hair could go through. Tying it tightly keeps her flyaway hair in place and every bride needs a little something white on the head, don’t you think?

❤ ❤

Be sure to check out other pretty whites @ White Wednesday!
My favourite highlight from this week’s White Wednesday

• another beautifully embroidered baby dress @ The Old Fashioned Sewing Room

Check out lots of cool & crafty ideas @ Transformation Thursday!
I checked every participant this week for this blog party as I always find so many useful posts. Here are some of my favourites.

• make home-made wood polish @ Nancy’s Tidbits
• chalkboard top desk @ Twice Lovely, chalkboard labels @ The Scrap Shoppe, reuse the back of a photo frame chalkboard @ Keeping it Simple, old chalkboard makeover @ My Magic Mom
• ideas for home-made kids clothes @ Little Lizard King
• no glue stretchy button headband @ Love Stitched, cute girls dresses @ The Train to Crazy
• how to cut up a watermelon @ The Pumpkin Patch, jello rockmelon @ How Does She?
• home-made beauty products like parsley toner @ Homemade Mamas

I also found these Ten Parenting Tips @ Real Parenting Tips

1. Read to your children.
2. Have the courage to say “NO!” at times.
3. Create meaningful family traditions.
4. Make home a place where your children want to be.
5. Have Family Dinner every night.
6. Teach your children to work – and work with them.
7. Support your child’s interests.
8. Talk with, not at your children.
9. Listen.
10. Say “I love you” often.

Three Small Things – showerpuff, beaded hanger, doily

>>> I finished this pink shower puff yesterday. I used the crochet shower puff pattern from Crochetspot. It was really fun to make, the pretty pink cotton yarn I chose to try was really nice, but it took more than a whole roll. It certainly isn’t the cheap option for shower puffs, as you can pick up the plastic ones for a dollar or two, and the yarn cost $3 each. It took a while to do as well, but it was a relaxing exercise. Apparently they last longer than the plastic ones, so I decided I needed to try it out in the shower. It feels like a face washer, and lathers up about as much. I’d rather the exfoliation of the plastic shower puff, so I think I’ll pop this one in the guest bathroom because it is quite pretty.

<<< After I picked up David’s suit yesterday from the drycleaners, I beaded the wire hanger with some old plastic beads I had stashed away. I don’t have any other wire hangers, I threw them all away years ago, but wanted to try this out to see if it works. I got the idea for the beaded wire hanger from allfreecrafts. With it being summer, I’m wearing more singlets than usual and want to hang them up, but don’t have enough of the kind of hangers where the straps won’t slip off. I finished this hanger with some red ribbon and a cute little bow.

>>> On Monday, I bought a new dress that might do me as a wedding dress, if we actually get around to organising a wedding sometime in the next 12 months or so, which might not happen. I’m wondering if I’ll be able to make myself a little cream coloured bolero to go with it, so I’ve started practicing and working out a draft pattern that has potental. I’m really liking the gathered petals, which is (tr 4 tog).  Part of this sample was inspired by a pattern my mum gave me, and I used some lovely lemon coloured cotton she also gave me. Thanks, mum!

Love Sprinkles and herbal Love Tea

I’m working on some herbal combinations, one is a herbal tea and another is some herbs to add to pasta sauce. I’m also working on a mix of herbs to add to a relaxing hot rice pack. All the herbs I’m using come from my garden and, according to tradition, are good for love and weddings!

Marjoram is thought to be the herb for ‘marital bliss’ and should be added to food to strengthen love! It has a very subtle flavour, so it will be the main ingredient of my Love Sprinkles. I’ve read marjoram is best dried, then elsewhere I read it’s best fresh, so who knows? I’ve dried a bunch already by hanging them up in a paper bag. I’ve started to remove some of the leaves to test how it holds its flavour. To that I’ll add a little rosemary, which is a strong flavour, and some flecks of chilli flakes for a bit of spicy passion! These herbs would be good added to pasta sauce or maybe vegetables. I hope to try it out very soon.

For a herbal Love Tea, I use peppermint, lemon balm and pineapple sage. This makes a subtly flavoured relaxing tea. As I used fresh herbs for this, it needed to be steeped quite long, about 10 minutes. Lemon balm is well known as a good herbal tea.

Here are three ideas I’m working on for herbal combinations which are good for love and weddings.

good for herbal tea (Love Tea)
pineapple sage – weddings, wisdom
lemon balm – love
peppermint – love & sleep

good for food (Love Sprinkles)
rosemary – weddings, memory
marjoram – weddings
chilli – passion

good for rest (Hot Love Rice Pack)
lavendar – love & sleep
lemon myrtle – love & sleep
oregano – weddings & sleep