tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34098527733640768802024-03-13T12:38:53.784-07:00Nattie and her NeedleNattiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08963176361578704063noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3409852773364076880.post-44675328524681974382011-02-14T06:36:00.000-08:002011-02-14T06:36:00.072-08:00First Married Valentine<div style="">Just a little post to say HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY to my one and only!* Isn't his regard wonderful?</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0S-JuiMhpl8/TVfuY-ZLK_I/AAAAAAAAAUg/ZCsIshDHNvc/s1600/P1014940.jpg"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0S-JuiMhpl8/TVfuY-ZLK_I/AAAAAAAAAUg/ZCsIshDHNvc/s400/P1014940.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573185176727137266" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; " /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KgF4KFT3_nQ/TVfuYvVItUI/AAAAAAAAAUY/EW3wU6iEUcw/s400/P1014939.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573185172683666754" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; " /></span></div><div>*...and also an opportunity to toot my own horn for his embroidered bathrobe.</div>Nattiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08963176361578704063noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3409852773364076880.post-21201059622934169512011-02-11T09:52:00.000-08:002011-02-11T11:50:37.612-08:00The Pre-Graduate<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:15.6px;">So with this next post, I'm not even going to try to come up with an anonymous name for my brother because my favorite thing to craft for him are things with his name on it... To add to his personalized collection of embroidered goods, which already is comprised of a laptop case, pillow shams, some more stuff, etc..., <span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:15.6px;">Pierre (that is his real name!) is now the proud owner of a throw pillow celebrating his time during his undergraduate studies.</span><div><div><br /></div><div>I wanted to give it to him as a pre-graduation gift before he actually finishes his coursework so that it can enjoy time in the dormitory of the University to which it pays homage. In chain stitch with grey thread to resemble pencil doodles, the various motifs are embroidered on French school paper themed fabric and then appliqued onto blue chambray.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>Good luck my darling brother for the rest of your semester!!!</div><div><br /></div><div>xxN</div></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-size:15.6px;"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L1ROIfkFWCU/TVV9irqDCsI/AAAAAAAAATw/eix3595GGeA/s400/P1015395.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572498148728965826" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:15.6px;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rJeyO7XAlGE/TVV9i95H3GI/AAAAAAAAAT4/_TWMoY57KX4/s1600/P1015399.JPG"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rJeyO7XAlGE/TVV9i95H3GI/AAAAAAAAAT4/_TWMoY57KX4/s400/P1015399.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572498153624034402" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NgbZ2LfjwJY/TVV9i22gguI/AAAAAAAAAUA/deGsQWQYjS0/s1600/P1015400.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NgbZ2LfjwJY/TVV9i22gguI/AAAAAAAAAUA/deGsQWQYjS0/s400/P1015400.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572498151734018786" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; font-size:15.6px;"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ERGzXLXyPZw/TVV9jHtKuTI/AAAAAAAAAUI/mu_CPkVRhLo/s400/P1015405.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572498156258244914" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></span></a><div><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KIQ23X60Qe8/TVV9jUqhCkI/AAAAAAAAAUQ/LgW238fkD3Y/s400/P1015407.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572498159736785474" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; font-size: 15.6px; color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; " /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-size:15.6px;"></span><br /></div></div>Nattiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08963176361578704063noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3409852773364076880.post-36864846383153676492011-01-08T00:48:00.000-08:002011-01-08T01:18:02.686-08:00Shawn our Sock MonkeyI seem to have temporarily fallen off of the surface of the blogosphere as I've been busy getting sick this winter, punctuated by a wonderful Christmas break from it all in between! I want to take a pause from the wedding dress posts and talk about the holidays a little bit.<div><br /></div><div>My favorite Christmas present this year was a sock monkey kit given to me by Beau's brother's English Rose. The kit contained a pair of socks, thread & two buttons and took about 30 minutes to make. It's amazing how a pile of ordinary objects can transform into something with so much character! Beau named the sock monkey Shawn and he's got a place of honor on the shelf now at home (Shawn, that is - it's not Beau on the the shelf!)</div><div><br /></div><div>Here are a few photos taken by Beau's brother during the holidays. He and his English Rose are real whiz kids with a camera! (And if you are wondering, those "Fame" and "Wags" workout DVDs that appear in the photos were indeed Christmas presents from my very own, Beau!)</div><div><br /></div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 265px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TSgqU1kNn-I/AAAAAAAAATM/qaBLrgNCVjo/s400/Picture%2B4.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559740277453594594" /><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 265px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TSgqVhfamyI/AAAAAAAAATU/QA2r0WxbhT0/s400/Picture%2B5.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559740289244633890" /><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TSgqWw_x98I/AAAAAAAAATc/yWZSYGKmvqg/s400/Picture%2B7.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559740310586783682" /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TSgqXQv_99I/AAAAAAAAATk/-hJh16OycOQ/s1600/Picture%2B6.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 263px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TSgqXQv_99I/AAAAAAAAATk/-hJh16OycOQ/s400/Picture%2B6.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559740319110526930" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div>Nattiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08963176361578704063noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3409852773364076880.post-81518129612390774172010-12-20T01:29:00.000-08:002010-12-20T07:42:30.100-08:00East Midlands Bobbin Lace<div style="text-align: left;">The next post about le frock takes a little bit of history to explain. My beau was born and raised in Nottingham. For my American audience: Yes - Nottingham is a REAL place that REALLY exists! And yes there REALLY is a Sherwood Forest! And yes there REALLY was Robin Hood and Maid Marion and even Frier Tuck. The American that I was B.B. ("Before Beau") considered London, Brighton, Manchester and Liverpool and among the 10 or so real places in England and chalked the rest up to places of fables and fairy tales - it's true! Thank you Beau for enlightening me about the Greatness of Great Briton and the Kingdomness of the United Kingdom. Moving on...</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The city of Nottingham (yes it's a CITY!) in in the county of Nottinghamshire (I couldn't make that up either!) in the region of the East Midlands (because it's in the MIDDLE of England on the EAST side - seriously!). They used to make lace in the East Midlands during the ye olde days of the lacemaking and more specifically, the county of Nottinghamshire is famous in the history of lacemaking. There are many technics to make lace by hand (back then of course lace had to be made by hand) and the method that was used in the East Midlands was bobbin lace making. This made Nottinghamshire famous! (& Robin Hood too of course...)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Handmade bobbin lace isn't a big industry anymore in the East Midlands anymore, although there are people keeping this craft alive as a hobby. These days most lace is made on machines in factories, and much of the high end luxury lace still comes out of France, actually the NORTH of FRANCE (You can be proud Maman!) as well as Italy and a little bit in Japan.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The reason I am giving a history lesson is that I got my hands on some vintage East Midlands bobbin lace from, that's right, Nottingham, and used it on my wedding dress as a little "wink" to Beau. Before posting the photos of the lace I used on my dress, I want to post some photos of the making of bobbin lace so that we can truly appreciate how wonderful it is to encounter even 1 meter of vintage hand made bobbin lace. Seriously guys, this stuff is precious, people spend hours to advance just a few centimeters. I am so grateful that there are still people today practicing this method so that we have digital photos to help us appreciate what it used to be like to make fine clothing. I am so passionate about keeping these artisan crafts alive!</div><div><br /></div><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TQ8puQCAhyI/AAAAAAAAASg/StNTmvMvPdI/s400/lace-004.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552702740125222690" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; " /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TQ8puDdEviI/AAAAAAAAASQ/SC94tXJVtVo/s1600/bobbin-lace-007.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 229px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TQ8puDdEviI/AAAAAAAAASQ/SC94tXJVtVo/s400/bobbin-lace-007.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552702736749084194" /><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TQ8puMgXkFI/AAAAAAAAASY/eWQbSCwJj_g/s400/bobbin%2Blace.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552702739178819666" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 270px; " /></a><div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TQ8pty6MpXI/AAAAAAAAASI/nKbqeGfp4GE/s1600/2565999576_781baeeaaa_o.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TQ8pty6MpXI/AAAAAAAAASI/nKbqeGfp4GE/s400/2565999576_781baeeaaa_o.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552702732307834226" /></a><br /></div><div>Isn't that incredible?!?! And now for the photos pertaining to crafting my wedding dress:</div><div><br /></div><div><div><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TQ8r_IVWyGI/AAAAAAAAATA/JZBRUloyDdw/s1600/IMG.jpg"><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TQ8r_IVWyGI/AAAAAAAAATA/JZBRUloyDdw/s400/IMG.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552705229139920994" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 179px; " /></a>Above is a scan of a little piece of the lace that I used. This is the original lace which is as you can see quite discolored so I decided to dye in a shade of taupe to give it a more uniform color.</div><div> </div><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TQ8r_IVWyGI/AAAAAAAAATA/JZBRUloyDdw/s1600/IMG.jpg"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TQ8r3wwp9GI/AAAAAAAAASo/36FsFJe8eoY/s400/DSC06583.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552705102552888418" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a>Here is a photo of when I was working on the bodice of the dress. You can see that I've applied the now taupe lace on the waistband on the left side already and then dressed it up a littlebit with some silver beads. I embroidered the borders of the waistband with just a simple chainstich in silver thread because it mimics nicely the oval shapes in the lace and makes it stand out more.</div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><u><br /></u></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><u><br /></u></span></div><div style="text-align: center;">And NOW for the photos of this waistband from our wedding day by <a href="http://studiomathewes.com/">Studio Mathewes: </a></div><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TQ8r4IReJsI/AAAAAAAAASw/4AVvG_k5Htc/s400/201009_SaddiPoole-041_web.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552705108864542402" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></div><div><div style="text-align: left;">I hesitated about asking <a href="http://studiomathewes.com/blog/index.html">Jocelyn</a>, photographer extraordinaire, to pretty please take photos of the details of my dress and I'm so happy that ultimately I did! The photos are so nice and really give value all of the little sentimental things on this dress that became my labor of love for the year that I worked on it. I hope that these photos, the dress, the story of it outlive Beau and Me.</div><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TQ8r4C1zM2I/AAAAAAAAAS4/4LOC7Smnd2U/s400/201009_SaddiPoole-406_web.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552705107406304098" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " />Isn't this image great? The last few hours B.W.B (Before Wedding Band)! By the way I have a quite a fetish about this wallpaper in the background. It's metallic gold and silver stripes with sort of a white gauche finish that form the damask shapes on top so that the metallic shine shows through a bit...I just can't get enough of it! I think the next time I go back to the house I'm going to photograph just the wallpaper and use it for arts and crafts (JD&J - you've been warned!)</div><div><br /></div><div>Stay tuned for next week's installment of more wedding dress details - bear with me for a few more posts and then I'll put some photos of MOI in the thing!</div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TQ8r3wwp9GI/AAAAAAAAASo/36FsFJe8eoY/s1600/DSC06583.JPG"></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TQ8r3wwp9GI/AAAAAAAAASo/36FsFJe8eoY/s1600/DSC06583.JPG"></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TQ8r3wwp9GI/AAAAAAAAASo/36FsFJe8eoY/s1600/DSC06583.JPG"></a></div></div></div></div>Nattiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08963176361578704063noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3409852773364076880.post-54851065829796218912010-12-08T00:45:00.000-08:002010-12-08T01:18:10.559-08:00Toile de Joy<div>When I admit that I made my wedding dress from the curtains of my bachelorette apartment, people usually wrinkle their nose and furrow their brow in an effort to comprehend, why on earth, out of all of the fabrics available to me in Paris, especially that I live down the street from the world's best fabric district, would I make my wedding dress out of old <i>curtains?!?!</i></div><div><br /></div><div>I made those curtains for that little apartment in the first place because I loved the fabric, and so when I moved in with Beau into his modern man style apartment, I was sad that this fabric no longer had a place in my life! Truth be told, I've made many day dresses out of old curtains and tablecloths, so I was happy to revisit this particular curtain fabric for my wedding dress - and what a fabulous destiny for bachelorette curtains! In French, this kind of fabric is called "Toile de Jouy", and traditionally features scenes of country life from fishing to frolicking to little courtship scenarios. I call the fabric that I used for my wedding dress "Toile de Joy" because of all of the fuzzy memories that it recalls for me!</div><div><br /></div><div>I figure the best proof that this fabric used to actually be curtains is to feature some photos of the infamous bachelorette apartment! While pulling these out of the archives, I realized that I used to do SO MUCH Crafting and recuperating! Just in these photos, the "chandelier" I made out of yogurt jars and christmas lights, the "wall art" is old family photos taped behind a window pane that I found in the street, the slip cover for the couch is fabric that I dyed beige to cover the cheapest available ikea sofa, the side table and lamp I found in the street, along with that chartreuse coffee table and those chairs that my sweet brother is sitting on... I think I furnished and decorated that entire apartment for less than 300 euros. I had just got my very first fashion job, I was earning the minimum wage and I was SOOOO HAPPY to be moving out of the various crummy accommodations that I had been in for so long and into my very own apartment... The nostalgia!</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TP9HGifHcII/AAAAAAAAAR4/W5kfZJ7XXYE/s400/IMG_1581.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548231443605844098" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;">My sweet brother was studying for a semester at La Sorbonne and slept in a sleeping bag on my hardwood floor every night! He is such a trooper! Between the both of us we had some of the most hysterical moments on a super tight budget. Like the time we took a trip to Sweden in the Winter because the flights were cheap (go figure!), stayed in a youth hostel that used to be a prison (our room was an old cell with bunk-beds!) and had no money to actually do anything (like have a warm cup of tea) or go anywhere (like to a museum!), so we spent the entire time outside!!! Those were the days, but I'm also happy that these are the days now too!</div><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TP9HG8AqJEI/AAAAAAAAASA/-WNgWPToReY/s1600/IMG_1580.JPG"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TP9HG8AqJEI/AAAAAAAAASA/-WNgWPToReY/s400/IMG_1580.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548231450457416770" style="text-align: left; display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; " /></a></div><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TP9HG8AqJEI/AAAAAAAAASA/-WNgWPToReY/s1600/IMG_1580.JPG"></a></div></div><div>And now for a few stunning photos from Studio Mathewes:</div><div><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TP9GG7fchoI/AAAAAAAAARo/nM7hLCVAMU8/s400/201009_SaddiPoole-043_web.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548230350806484610" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></div><div>I re-embroidered over the leaves and trees printed on the fabric in silver thread to make it more special.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TP9GHHstkoI/AAAAAAAAARw/UtcHJmL0iGY/s400/201009_SaddiPoole-119_web.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548230354083353218" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></span></div><div>& here's one of me and my Matron of Honor next to each other in our fancy dresses with our fancy purses.</div><div><br /></div><div><u><br /></u></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>Nattiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08963176361578704063noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3409852773364076880.post-36485086131168077832010-11-22T06:14:00.000-08:002010-11-22T06:25:52.286-08:00Le Frock<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15.6px; ">Let us commence the posting on my most favorite crafts project to date: my wedding dress.<div><br /></div><div>I was racking my brain trying to think about how to do this, since there are so many little sentimental details on this dress and so many beautiful photos <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15.6px; ">taken by the insanely talented Jocelyn of <a href="http://www.studiomathewes.com/">studio mathewes</a>. </span></div><div><br /></div><div>Each little thing merits a post all of their own, so what I'll do today is post the overall look of the dress and then get into some of the details over the next few posts and finish the blog series with a post of me in the frock itself.</div><div><br /></div><div>So here for your viewing pleasure are some drop dress gorgeous shots of the dress empty all on it's own courtesy of <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15.6px; "><a href="http://www.studiomathewes.com/">studio mathewes</a>. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15.6px; ">If you are planning a wedding, need some portraits, want to take some shots for the holidays, you will not regret giving Jocelyn a call!</span></div></span><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TOp8qUn3SQI/AAAAAAAAARQ/rzkh2Rm3Ie4/s400/201009_SaddiPoole-022_web.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542379357965076738" /><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TOp8qms68jI/AAAAAAAAARY/WNKn_iFRe5Q/s400/201009_SaddiPoole-056_web.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542379362818126386" /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Nattiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08963176361578704063noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3409852773364076880.post-35336042366631174302010-11-08T00:39:00.001-08:002010-11-08T00:42:58.922-08:00Nan being gorgeous, again!<div>How honored did I feel that Nan wore her corsage to my wedding? Here's Nan in her glory, life of the party as usual!</div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TNe3qBpj5yI/AAAAAAAAARI/GthDTld0SYk/s1600/201009_SaddiPoole-320_web.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TNe3qBpj5yI/AAAAAAAAARI/GthDTld0SYk/s400/201009_SaddiPoole-320_web.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5537096199500457762" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div>Nattiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08963176361578704063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3409852773364076880.post-27547001911601260122010-11-05T02:20:00.000-07:002010-11-05T02:31:47.853-07:00Charmed Corsages<div>Since Nan is so fabulous, I decided that I want to do a blog post all about her! So before I post recent photos of Nan looking gorgeous with my commentaries about her gorgeousness, I want to post some little brooches that I made from her wedding dress scraps. The leaf is made from the satin part, the flower is made from the lace part and a little button from the cuffs ties it all together on a simple brooch pin. This project costs literally less than a dollar but the sentimental value is huge! Stay tuned for photos of Nan wearing her charmed corsage!</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TNPOXZfaMtI/AAAAAAAAAQo/0F0tGFpTwk0/s400/DSC05882.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5535995268343411410" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TNPOX1y4EVI/AAAAAAAAAQ4/-OeA76lXTcs/s1600/DSC05884.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TNPOX1y4EVI/AAAAAAAAAQ4/-OeA76lXTcs/s400/DSC05884.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5535995275941253458" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TNPOXhqwmMI/AAAAAAAAAQw/65YaEhOE85w/s1600/DSC05883.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TNPOXhqwmMI/AAAAAAAAAQw/65YaEhOE85w/s400/DSC05883.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5535995270538500290" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Nattiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08963176361578704063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3409852773364076880.post-72514156437711920332010-10-27T02:53:00.000-07:002010-10-27T03:07:01.935-07:00La Piece de Resistance!<div style="text-align: left;">I'll get right into it with this post, but you'll have to excuse the mess in the house in the background of the photos!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Here's a funky little jacket adapted from the satin overcoat coat/train part of Nan's wedding dress. I shortened the sleeves to a 3/4 length and added a cuff slit, let out the back darts (how tiny was Nan?!?!?!), hand appliqued lace from her dress onto the back panel, cut off the train and with the new hemline, formed a sort of bustle at the back complete with a rosette made from lace of her veil.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">This jacket is now wrapped up in a closet in the States, waiting for someone to take out for a spin! Nan?!?!? Stay tuned to the blog for the final post featuring crafts made from Nan's wedding dress including a photo of Nan herself wearing a creation crafted from her dress!</div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TMf3k62lRgI/AAAAAAAAAQI/_EjNR0V0VBo/s1600/DSC05905.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TMf3k62lRgI/AAAAAAAAAQI/_EjNR0V0VBo/s400/DSC05905.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532662880893486594" /></a><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TMf3lFchlDI/AAAAAAAAAQQ/gZy-2mMpj2Y/s400/DSC05907.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532662883736982578" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; " /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TMf3lTOZ9vI/AAAAAAAAAQY/k_UEJoCgGZw/s400/DSC05908.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532662887435859698" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; " /></span><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TMf3mEorwWI/AAAAAAAAAQg/yqY4-vtVKQg/s1600/DSC05910.JPG"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TMf3mEorwWI/AAAAAAAAAQg/yqY4-vtVKQg/s400/DSC05910.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532662900699414882" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center; "><br /></div></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "></span><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TMf3k62lRgI/AAAAAAAAAQI/_EjNR0V0VBo/s1600/DSC05905.JPG"></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TMf3k62lRgI/AAAAAAAAAQI/_EjNR0V0VBo/s1600/DSC05905.JPG"></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TMf3k62lRgI/AAAAAAAAAQI/_EjNR0V0VBo/s1600/DSC05905.JPG"></a><div><br /></div></div>Nattiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08963176361578704063noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3409852773364076880.post-39538968407133772742010-10-25T03:07:00.000-07:002010-10-25T03:19:45.454-07:00Nan's PillowSecond up in the series of crafts made from Nan's Wedding dress is this pillow. I made the pillow from the satin fabric used on the over jacket part and the lace comes from the under dress part. I cut out the lace motifs and stitched them by hand on the front side of the pillow before sewing it up on the machine. <div><br /></div><div>Because of it's age (no offense nan!) the lace is quite fragile, but when stitched onto the satin it does provide quite a bit more stability. When I gave this pillow to Nan I told her that it's in good enough shape to leave on on the armchair in her parlor, but knowing Nan, it's probably wrapped up carefully in a closet somewhere... But I can't say anything about that since it's the good care that she takes of her things that makes it possible to use her wedding dress over fifty years later!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TMVXWKp-y6I/AAAAAAAAAQA/IlzBUeFadh4/s1600/DSC05805.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TMVXWKp-y6I/AAAAAAAAAQA/IlzBUeFadh4/s400/DSC05805.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5531923755623697314" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TMVXVbb7wYI/AAAAAAAAAP4/tVwX3D_7RXI/s1600/DSC05806.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TMVXVbb7wYI/AAAAAAAAAP4/tVwX3D_7RXI/s400/DSC05806.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5531923742948311426" /></a><br /></div>Nattiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08963176361578704063noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3409852773364076880.post-73693166439823354552010-10-22T05:08:00.000-07:002010-10-22T05:26:47.468-07:00Funny Bunny<div>Up first in the series of things I made with Nan's dress are these bunny ears for my dear friend Ashley. How do I start a blog post about Ashley? Ashley got married just the weekend before I did, at her family's resort, <a href="http://www.vichysprings.com/">Vichy Springs</a> in Ukiah California, so we spent much of the summer helping each other out with wedding stuff. Actually, it's more like Ashley was helping me out with my wedding planning (<a href="http://nattieandherneedle.blogspot.com/2010/04/getting-by.html">remember this post?</a>) and I was ooing and aahing over her wedding planning!<div><br /></div><div>Ashley and I first met in Paris during a study abroad and got along like a house on fire. We both went back to our universities to finish up our degrees and found ourselves both transported a few years later back to Paris. Ashley is a <a href="http://www.ashleyashoff.com/">talented designer</a> with a heart of solid gold and a fashion sense of diamond encrusted platinum! So when we were organizing a bridal luncheon for her at the Plaza Athénée this summer, I couldn't resist making some trendy bunny ears for the bride-to-be. </div><div><br /></div><div>A cheap-o headband, some bias binding, a little lace and glue were all that it took to make them - way cheaper than the ones currently being sold out there in fashion land! (We comnpleted the look with cheesy white heart sunglasses for the bride of course...) So here are a few shots of Ashley wearing Nan's wedding dress on her head for her own pre-wedding festivities -Congrats to Ashley and JM!!!</div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TMGAvVxCbaI/AAAAAAAAAPw/fhJKK6TBPL0/s1600/DSC06697.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TMGAvVxCbaI/AAAAAAAAAPw/fhJKK6TBPL0/s400/DSC06697.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530843368172711330" /></a><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TMGAuvQKipI/AAAAAAAAAPg/_wOvXsc96pU/s400/DSC06706.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530843357834283666" /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TMGAvJ4AbhI/AAAAAAAAAPo/N6TCAm1K5c4/s1600/DSC06707.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TMGAvJ4AbhI/AAAAAAAAAPo/N6TCAm1K5c4/s400/DSC06707.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530843364980715026" /></a><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Nattiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08963176361578704063noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3409852773364076880.post-82978714647957768352010-10-12T09:35:00.000-07:002010-10-15T03:11:43.607-07:00Nan's Dress<div>As you've learned in the last post, Nan married husband Malone in a Catholic Ceremony and OVER FIFTY YEARS later, she's very kindly passed me her wedding dress to reuse & recycle and to give birth to little craft babies. Before I reveal the crafting projects that this gown has become, here is a little teaser photo of her dress!<div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/S8H7UUTnnYI/AAAAAAAAALs/n0cr0exqkHs/s1600/DSC05897.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/S8H7UUTnnYI/AAAAAAAAALs/n0cr0exqkHs/s400/DSC05897.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458920549816704386" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div>Her dress was a very pretty strapless number completely made of Chantilly lace over a satin under structure. The skirt part alone has three tiers of Chantilly lace! It was worn with a long sleeved satin overcoat with the most amazing cathedral length satin train and completed with Chantilly lace veil. (Take a peek at Nan in her gorgeous full ensemble in the previous post.)</div><div><br /></div><div> You can see on this photo where I've started cutting away some of the lace on one of the tiers of this dress and how the lining is already cut to pieces. The satin overcoat train and lace veil are over there on the hanger... Stay tuned y'all, my next post is a craft made from these pieces!</div></div>Nattiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08963176361578704063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3409852773364076880.post-40721264770545640782010-10-11T03:34:00.000-07:002010-10-11T04:03:18.905-07:00Nan Being GorgeousSince wedding fever has officially taken over the Nattie-Beau houshold, I want to share with you all a very special wedding story before we get into the details of all of the craftiness of our own party.<div><br /></div><div>Nan Malone married Husband Malone in a Catholic Ceremony quite a few years ago (photo Evidence of the couple in their gorgeous gorgeousness).</div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TLLqGp7Gm4I/AAAAAAAAAPY/a9S_aL-QdpY/s1600/P1012805.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TLLqGp7Gm4I/AAAAAAAAAPY/a9S_aL-QdpY/s400/P1012805.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526737092790885250" /></a><div><br /></div><div>Nan very selflessly gave me the gift of her wedding dress for my own selfish crafting pleasure. Stay tuned for the results of what this dress has become!</div>Nattiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08963176361578704063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3409852773364076880.post-38366708326665993042010-10-11T00:20:00.000-07:002010-10-11T03:25:11.910-07:00Willkommen Madlen!<div>Little Madlen was born this summer to the most wonderful Mutter and Vater, our wonderful German friends living in NYC. Beau and I have had the priveledg of meeting little Madlen twice already, the first time during our wedding weekend and again a few weeks ago in the great city of New York.<div><br /></div><div>Segenswünsche to this new family and may you keep each other warm with love during your first winter together! Beau and I are looking forward to seeing you all again together soon!</div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TLLlRnwOSOI/AAAAAAAAAPQ/bkE-r6ToSnA/s1600/P1013251.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TLLlRnwOSOI/AAAAAAAAAPQ/bkE-r6ToSnA/s400/P1013251.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526731783628802274" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TLLlRdKyLtI/AAAAAAAAAPI/AdYtJomkJ0w/s1600/P1013247.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TLLlRdKyLtI/AAAAAAAAAPI/AdYtJomkJ0w/s400/P1013247.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526731780787416786" /></a>Nattiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08963176361578704063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3409852773364076880.post-64687900083354067502010-09-29T11:23:00.000-07:002010-09-29T11:30:29.727-07:00Welcome Baby Mahaut!!<div>A little bit late with posting this as little Mahaut was born this summer, but the welcome is none less enthusiastic!<div><br /></div><div>Here's to wishing Mauhaut a wonderful first year in Paris and to keeping toasty in the <i>calins</i> of the most wonderful <i>Maman</i> and <i>Papa</i>!</div><div><br /></div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TKOFWZtlbbI/AAAAAAAAAOg/MOMTO5AzsEI/s1600/DSC07164.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TKOFWZtlbbI/AAAAAAAAAOg/MOMTO5AzsEI/s400/DSC07164.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5522404187992059314" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TKOFWNxhnoI/AAAAAAAAAOY/4HxFnH2Sx7M/s1600/DSC07163.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TKOFWNxhnoI/AAAAAAAAAOY/4HxFnH2Sx7M/s400/DSC07163.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5522404184787361410" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TKOFV63lJmI/AAAAAAAAAOQ/Sd2Z9BJSHTc/s1600/DSC07162.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TKOFV63lJmI/AAAAAAAAAOQ/Sd2Z9BJSHTc/s400/DSC07162.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5522404179712484962" /></a>Nattiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08963176361578704063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3409852773364076880.post-62783955896721447422010-07-27T13:30:00.001-07:002010-07-27T23:49:49.918-07:00Under Wraps!Things have been quiet around the blog for a long time - and not for lack of crafting but for a surplus of it!!!<div><br /></div><div>80% of my most recent crafting has been wedding related and of that 80% about half of my crafting time has been taken up by the making of my wedding dress. Believe me I am sitting on my hands to not blog about crafting this dress! But there is some little shred of a traditional bride still left in me that thinks that the dress will have a better impact if it's seen for the first time on the actual wedding day, so for right now it's still under wraps.</div><div><br /></div><div>And since yesterday I've made a garment bag for it - it actually is: under wraps! My wonderful friend Ashley (featured in my post about making the wedding invites) kindly gave me a Posh Roberto Cavalli Gown Bag which I was intending to use, but as my dress took shape I began to realize that it wasn't going to work, due to the fact that I am a bit of a freak of nature. I am six foot two inches tall. One meter eighty seven of crafting craftiness. My dress has a very slight train on it making it over 7 feet long. I needed to make a custom garment bag to take this little monster on the airplane without totally crushing it. Give me a reason to make an heirloom quality ANYTHING and I welcome it with open arms - including garment bags!</div><div><br /></div><div>This took only 3 hours to make, from start to finish. I bought the fabric for very cheap at the Marche St Pierre in my neighborhood. All of the sales are going on right now at the clothing and home furnishing shops all around Paris and so it's that time of year again when the fabric stores bring out their "coupons" or remnants in English. I folded the fabric in half, traced an Ikea garment bag onto it and then cut that puppy out. The zipper is attached with a piece of bias binding so there wasn't even any fancy zipper mounting to do and I used a little bit of bias binding to sew it together around the edges so there wasn't even any seam trimming to do. It's that easy.</div><div><br /></div><div>...and then I embroidered my first initial on the front of the bag because</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "> </span>I</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "> </span>J U S T</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "> </span>C O U L D N ' T</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "> </span>R E S I S T</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "> </span>!!!</div><div>(This is only the SECOND time in my entire LIFE that I've ever cross stitched anything for MYSELF! You know that this is a big day!!!) The colors that I used on this embroidery as well as the silver thread allude to the dress inside but that's all I'm saying for now! Check back on the blog in about a couple of months for the crafty details of the actual gown. Until then, feast your eyes on this garment bag!</div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TE_SGlYdjDI/AAAAAAAAANw/GQRC_uZ0Dgg/s400/DSC07168.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498844680598424626" /><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TE_SG9C6MFI/AAAAAAAAAN4/WteVpTpaMM8/s400/DSC07169.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498844686950477906" /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TE_SHcQqMBI/AAAAAAAAAOA/vp8USC3VYCk/s1600/DSC07171.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/TE_SHcQqMBI/AAAAAAAAAOA/vp8USC3VYCk/s400/DSC07171.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498844695329648658" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div>Nattiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08963176361578704063noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3409852773364076880.post-12108930092271930152010-04-28T12:57:00.000-07:002010-05-08T02:04:58.355-07:00When the Cat's away..... mice get out the arts and crafts!<div><br /></div><div>While Beau's been away these past few weeks, I've got the house in a state of squalor that only a crafter could love! I'm also reminded of the first time that Beau went away after we moved in together. I pulled his favorite jeans from his closet for a weekend of embroidery and quietly slipped them back in his closet. Boy was he surprised to pull them out one day to find them "enhanced" so to speak.</div><div><br /></div><div>It only dawned on me after the fact that it might have been better to ASK him if I could meddle in his stuff, but fortunately for the both of us, he loved the result!</div><div><br /></div><div>Here are some shots of the embroidery, which is cross-stitch of course... The first initial of his name is "I" and the Lion is for England, where he was born.</div><div><br /></div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/S9iVw1CdnfI/AAAAAAAAANU/zovZKHNeteU/s400/DSC06636.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465282813917765106" /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/S9iV_2UMggI/AAAAAAAAANc/inwI2eNluME/s1600/DSC06637.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/S9iV_2UMggI/AAAAAAAAANc/inwI2eNluME/s400/DSC06637.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465283071958614530" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/S9iVjfR9t8I/AAAAAAAAANM/vFKAQ6Nyb94/s1600/DSC06638.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/S9iVjfR9t8I/AAAAAAAAANM/vFKAQ6Nyb94/s400/DSC06638.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465282584738904002" /></a>Nattiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08963176361578704063noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3409852773364076880.post-87274432143876515772010-04-24T06:55:00.000-07:002010-04-25T00:00:03.403-07:00Happy Birthday Pierre!What could I possibly love more than getting a care package? --- Making them! <div><br /></div><div>My wonderful brother recently moved to the Republic of South Africa, so I took his upcoming birthday as an opportunity to assemble the my very first Paris - Cape Town parcel of love! As I've got word that the parcel arrived safely, and today is his birthday, here's a peek for you all of some of the crafty things inside.</div><div><br /></div><div>To make his birthday card, I embroidered (of course!) his name, cut a hole in the card stock, burned the edges of the holes (in efforts to make the imperfect hole look intentional!) and glued the embroidery behind. </div><div><br /></div><div>Pierre is an outdoorsy, nature loving, x-treme sporting, diving with the sharks and hiking to the sky type of radically awesome person - so being the practical sister I am I personalized a stainless steel water bottle for him with his initials to take along on his adventures. The thing is that NOTHING sticks to stainless steel! After much research and development, trial and error, I'm happy to report to you all that nail polish does in fact stick to stainless steel... at least for now!</div><div><br /></div><div>My brother, I'm sending you boat loads of sisterly love across the miles for your 22nd birthday! You are a stupendous man and I am REALLY looking forward to our hiking camping hanging safari adventure this summer together!</div><div><br /></div><div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/S9L47_39VKI/AAAAAAAAAMk/6OAnqgkHWsM/s400/DSC06647.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5463703007595943074" /><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/S9L48e4DbuI/AAAAAAAAAMs/i3L0W5n2Shs/s400/DSC06648.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5463703015917842146" /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/S9L48n5r_rI/AAAAAAAAAM0/6Oq0EB_MUCw/s1600/DSC06651.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/S9L48n5r_rI/AAAAAAAAAM0/6Oq0EB_MUCw/s400/DSC06651.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5463703018340613810" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>Nattiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08963176361578704063noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3409852773364076880.post-25691989247468660782010-04-14T23:54:00.000-07:002010-04-18T04:51:01.534-07:00Sparkling Sampler<div>As you may or may not know, I've been taking a class in hand embroidery on Wednesday nights. The second semester has been dedicated to the luneville technique, which is a french technique from applying beads and sequins using a special little pointly needle-like hook called "le crochet de luneville".</div><div><br /></div><div>The interesting thing about this technique is that you actually work on the back side of the fabric, applying the beads and sequins from underneath. Here's a little glimpse of the very first luneville project I did, a "sampler" of sorts using various beads, sequins and charms. </div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/S8a4uB6h-RI/AAAAAAAAAME/sJZ2eRfMBk0/s1600/DSC06614.JPG" style="text-decoration: none;"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/S8a4uB6h-RI/AAAAAAAAAME/sJZ2eRfMBk0/s400/DSC06614.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460254699160729874" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; " /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Full view of the sampler in progress, remember that this is the back side.</div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/S8a4tihel9I/AAAAAAAAAL8/hrDBBMV9pUw/s400/DSC06613.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460254690734151634" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; " /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); ">Zoom view: the tool is the crochet de luneville and the sequins that are on top are the ones being applied underneath.</span><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/S8a-rrzMxfI/AAAAAAAAAMM/b6aVw-V6o84/s400/securedownload-4.jpeg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460261255934428658" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; " /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center; ">Finally Finished - this is the front side</div><div><div style="text-align: center; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline; "></span></span></div></div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/S8a-r7BthdI/AAAAAAAAAMU/n80Z_Scdnxs/s400/securedownload-2.jpeg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460261260021827026" /><div style="text-align: center;">Zoom of Top Portion</div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/S8a-sF-iliI/AAAAAAAAAMc/mUymxIbHwxA/s400/securedownload.jpeg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460261262961317410" /><div style="text-align: center;">Zoom of Bottom Portion</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>Nattiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08963176361578704063noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3409852773364076880.post-91927943611211459752010-04-05T13:21:00.000-07:002010-04-05T13:45:32.961-07:00Getting By...<div><br /></div><div>...with a little help from my friends!</div><div><br /></div><div>I've got a wonderful friend named Ashley. Not only is she wonderful but she's very talented. And not only is she very talented, she's got a heart of Solid Plantimum 950...and calls me her friend also! (I've blogged about Ashley before - we've been friends since the days of Shoulder Garden...)</div><div><br /></div><div>My beau was down at his parents one weekend to leave me to what I usually do in Paris on weekends by myself: make a HUGE arts & crafts apocalypse in the apartment... This time I enlisted the help of Ashley, moving only the location of the apocalypse to... her apartment! </div><div><br /></div><div>I left Montmartre (chez moi) on Sunday afternoon and headed down to Invalides (chez elle) with a bag filled of DYI wedding supplies. The highlight of the afternoon was the both of us at the dining room table cutting out the fabric elements for our wedding invitations (Clarification: Beau & I, not Ashley & I), I on Bird Duty and Ashley on Tree Duty. Here are some photos of Ashley's skilled hands at work. If the fabric looks familiar, it's leftover from the pillows that I made for our apartment which happened to be the featured subject of my very first blog post! Keep checking back on the blog for the results of the assembled invitations! </div><div><br /></div><div>And a big MERCI to Ashley for that wonderful afternoon together!You are a bijou by dear friend!</div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/S7pG-su-zPI/AAAAAAAAALk/ZUg8f8YsKJc/s1600/DSC06625.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/S7pG-su-zPI/AAAAAAAAALk/ZUg8f8YsKJc/s400/DSC06625.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456751941486824690" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/S7pG-TjKo2I/AAAAAAAAALc/c422_CZOtCw/s1600/DSC06624.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/S7pG-TjKo2I/AAAAAAAAALc/c422_CZOtCw/s400/DSC06624.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456751934726382434" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/S7pG91F8cnI/AAAAAAAAALU/KsAnYsYTy1Q/s1600/DSC06623.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/S7pG91F8cnI/AAAAAAAAALU/KsAnYsYTy1Q/s400/DSC06623.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456751926550753906" /></a>Nattiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08963176361578704063noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3409852773364076880.post-79474349067808694092010-03-21T06:11:00.000-07:002010-03-21T06:20:14.965-07:00Welcome Baby Noé!A few weeks ago, I had the enormous gift of being invited to meet Claire's new son. Since this is a little parisian bebe, I decided to make a little french cadeau! I wish la maman my most heartfelt felicitations and le fils a lifetime of discovery! xxN<div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/S6YbnCEk-zI/AAAAAAAAALM/ee5U_l-5Gw0/s1600-h/DSC06130.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/S6YbnCEk-zI/AAAAAAAAALM/ee5U_l-5Gw0/s400/DSC06130.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451074756363483954" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/S6Ybmz0iQ5I/AAAAAAAAALE/RENl6JEnwog/s1600-h/DSC06131.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/S6Ybmz0iQ5I/AAAAAAAAALE/RENl6JEnwog/s400/DSC06131.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451074752538100626" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/S6YbmZUxofI/AAAAAAAAAK8/BHXvSTF6VII/s1600-h/DSC06132.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/S6YbmZUxofI/AAAAAAAAAK8/BHXvSTF6VII/s400/DSC06132.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451074745425568242" /></a><br /></div>Nattiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08963176361578704063noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3409852773364076880.post-39975775651994097212010-02-19T11:20:00.000-08:002010-03-14T05:38:25.302-07:00Indian Block Printing<div style="text-align: left;">It's been quiet around the blog since I'm been on the road for work & play. One of the trips that I've been on this month is 10 days in India for my 'day job' . Feast your eyes on the method of traditional wood block printing! (More of my own home-made project next week once I've recovered from the jet lag...)</div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/S37l21gf9CI/AAAAAAAAAKI/ggCiNahj0S0/s400/DSC04360.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440038130149225506" /><div><div style="text-align: center;">With ink on the first wooden block, he presses the block to the fabric to print.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/S37l3XTcI9I/AAAAAAAAAKQ/d11KImpo2S8/s400/DSC04361.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440038139221255122" /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;">Here is the result - the printed outline of the motif.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/S37l39xnVZI/AAAAAAAAAKY/dwlJXB7VNsc/s400/DSC04362.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440038149548365202" /><div style="text-align: center;">Inking the second block with another color (you can see in the background that he is working on a completely block printed table cloth).</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/S37l4GBIRKI/AAAAAAAAAKg/rDw4H5wAq-Y/s1600-h/DSC04363.JPG" style="text-decoration: none;"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/S37l4GBIRKI/AAAAAAAAAKg/rDw4H5wAq-Y/s400/DSC04363.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440038151760921762" /></a></div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "><div style="text-align: center; ">Pressing a third block with another color.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/S37l4-zMFII/AAAAAAAAAKo/lTo_ARqWkMc/s400/DSC04365.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440038167003272322" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;">The result is a 3 color pigment print.</div></div><div><br /><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/S37nPag75ZI/AAAAAAAAAKw/rc6XFUBfMKM/s400/DSC04366.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440039651911656850" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); ">After washing and setting the dyes the colors of the print look totally different. Ta Da!</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /></div></div>Nattiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08963176361578704063noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3409852773364076880.post-74930527518519001802010-02-19T11:06:00.000-08:002010-02-19T11:16:17.595-08:00Nana, Queen for a YearBeau's Nana celebrated her 80th Birthday not long ago and as such, we though that she deserves to be queen for the year! So... give me a reason to embroider and of course I will...<div><br /></div><div>We sent it to England by post and the latest news is that she is still deciding where to hang it... I will keep you all posted on!<br /><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/S37iv7k_QiI/AAAAAAAAAJ4/KEnbntbz-as/s400/DSC06128.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440034712984699426" /><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/S37iwPjTKSI/AAAAAAAAAKA/Nt5bmx18lVI/s400/DSC06129.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440034718346324258" /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/S37ivXTqyII/AAAAAAAAAJw/ol9YzcOnTKE/s1600-h/DSC06126.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/S37ivXTqyII/AAAAAAAAAJw/ol9YzcOnTKE/s400/DSC06126.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5440034703248377986" /></a><br /></div></div>Nattiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08963176361578704063noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3409852773364076880.post-64160704428051133792010-02-15T20:14:00.000-08:002010-02-17T12:31:00.983-08:00Valentines Garland Galore<div>Beau took me to Budapest for a Valentines-Over-Nighter. It was tres romantique and very fun, despite my brush with a suspiciously FOUL Fish Stew, served "Gypsy Style" whatever that means... Other than that repulsive dish (which I promptly sent back to the Kitchen!), and the COLD (imagine Hungry in February - yes that's exactly what it was like - Blustering!) the most memorable event was giving Beau his Valentine's gift after having been working on it in secret for a little while.<div><br /></div><div>I made this miniature paper garland from images I found on the internet, cropped and converted them to black and white, printed them off on Cardstock, cut around each one with pinking shears, and then ran them through the sewing machine. Each letter is a different photo of a letter from somewhere out there. For example, the "a" in Beau's name is from that famous sign reading"Welcome to Las Vegas" - can you guess where the others are from?</div><div><br /></div><div>Happy Valentines to all of you!</div><div><br /></div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/S3xRPn1zgmI/AAAAAAAAAJo/pCyP2Mgf2y0/s1600-h/DSC06172.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/S3xRPn1zgmI/AAAAAAAAAJo/pCyP2Mgf2y0/s400/DSC06172.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439311778791260770" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/S3xROgEIsWI/AAAAAAAAAJQ/e2yY8G3skT4/s400/DSC06168.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439311759524016482" /><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/S3xRO2z4LrI/AAAAAAAAAJY/rlcebTxpV34/s400/DSC06169.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439311765629841074" /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/S3xRPJYe4lI/AAAAAAAAAJg/uwje_cV4GOI/s400/DSC06170.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439311770615210578" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></div>Nattiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08963176361578704063noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3409852773364076880.post-13179822260190643672010-01-30T08:53:00.000-08:002010-02-07T01:20:47.009-08:00Special Secret Project Revealed!<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I have spent the past year and a half working on a special project for a special someone in special kind of secrecy...</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Timmy appointed himself as my Godfather before I can remember and has always been a big part of my life. A few years ago, he went back to the seminary to study theology and this January was ordained into the priesthood. Timmy going back to school was perfectly timed with the peak of my cross stitch obsession, and so of course I got thinking about what I could contribute in celebrating this monumental occasion by contributing what I know how to do best - crafting! This is the largest undertaking of cross stitch I've ever embarked on and I would dare say the biggest arts & crafts project that I've ever undertook. I've worked on this project all over the world - France, Germany, England, Scotland, Spain, Portugal, Italy, India, America and in various international transit zones as well!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">It took me around 270 hours total in a little over one year. While I was making it, I couldn't help but think of Timmy of course, his devotion, my own devotion and how much our relationship means to me. It was a lovely 270 hours indeed! I gave it to him (at last!) in January when I was home and more than just giving him this stole, It felt like I gave him all those hours that I spent </span><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1264871794_6" style="border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">giving thanks</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> for our relationship and wishing him and his family those many many blessings (270 hours worth of blessings to be exact!) Busy hands make for a quiet mind and I benefited enormously from working on this myself.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The pattern is an antique French motif traditionally embroidered in 2 colors, but I thought that by using 3 colors the cross and the star stand out better, and as this is a liturgical vestment, it's exactly what I was going for. Although Beau and I are truley blessed that he will be officiating our wedding ceremony this summer, I didn't want this gift to be confused with a wedding gift, so I made it in browny neutral tones and not the traditional white that you see for wedding ceremony vestments. It is my hope that it gets alot of wear and use and love!</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I want to thank PeaceBang for posting my queries during the initial phase of this project on her on her blog: www.beautytipsforministers.com. The comments from the clergy who replied to the post were incredibly helpful and it would have not been possible for be to have gotten started without the "inside scoop". I also want to thank my Blog Fan Clun President for these amazing shots! </span></span></div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/S2RkuB7SRtI/AAAAAAAAAIg/zlL3M9TTjmE/s1600-h/stole.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 198px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/S2RkuB7SRtI/AAAAAAAAAIg/zlL3M9TTjmE/s400/stole.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432577792469518034" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/S2RkthtDKPI/AAAAAAAAAIY/t_mm4IFrLao/s1600-h/point.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 327px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/S2RkthtDKPI/AAAAAAAAAIY/t_mm4IFrLao/s400/point.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432577783819872498" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/S2RktQLLOKI/AAAAAAAAAIQ/1be0k1SDgYU/s1600-h/edge.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 180px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3WDEJ1aixu0/S2RktQLLOKI/AAAAAAAAAIQ/1be0k1SDgYU/s400/edge.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432577779114391714" /></a>Nattiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08963176361578704063noreply@blogger.com2