Top Ten? Best of? How bout be thankful I’m still posting

Can you believe that 2010 is over? It’s the end of a decade, literally – tres bizarre. 2010 was a big year for me – I learned how to make this blog not a piece of trash (see first five to ten posts re: August). That meant learning how to edit photos properly using programs like Gimp and Picnik, compose video content and put videos together using Adobe, MovieMaker and Animoto and of course, write a catchy jingle, complete with harmonies (thank rue thank rue thank rue Christopher Peter Duthie).

MmmmmChristopher!

This little bloggy blog has also been a motivation to start writing, keep writing and be (reasonably) excited to write. I don’t care if you care or not, obviously you do because are still reading this, but what I will say is I encourage you to try new things, like I did when I started this blog. It doesn’t matter if you are good or not, what matters is trying something that challenges you. Maybe if you get really, really good, you can con one of your friends to help you write a jingle and also be FAMOUS in Calgary Metro.

Because what are you waiting for – what are you afraid? Really – if I am willing to sell myself out as the silly goose that I portray myself to be in this blog, how much of a risk are you actually taking? Don’t be a baby, baby.

So there is no top ten list for 2010. Because I can’t stand trends, yulch, and so it would be more like a top ten list of stuff I would NEVER do but I don’t want to post that because I know a lot of people getting married next year and I don’t want to poop on all their ideas because I can’t stand them *YELLOW FILTERS!!!!*

Never one to disappoint, maybe here is a top ten list of things I have thought and learned about today.

10. Packing

9. Santa

8. Christmas

7. Lunch, especially parm frits

6. Spin class

5. Prezzies for the Cpt

4. The internet

3. A craft involving Christmas lights and a shadow box

2. Social good

1.. Social media fundraising

Share the photo lurve

So like, ten million years ago (in August) I wrote some posts about fun ways to encourage guests to share photos are your wedding. There was one post about using the Polaroid Project to upload photos into polaroid form. There was another post about using Hipstamatic to capture some more tender moments of your day.

I have been playing around with lots of different phone apps, as camera phones become more and more high resolution and better quality, people start using them more often to document their lives.

This week, I downloaded a new Android app called Retro Camera, an app that is just that, a retro camera.

What I like? All the functions – it comes with five cameras, and three (maybe four) of them have both the colour and black & white functions.

What I don’t like? I don’t think the older guests at the wedding would quite understand how to use it, simply because the shutter has a sporadic delay. Isn’t that always the case? You click to take the picture and then it delays for a weird amount of time and then you look at the front (for whatever reason humans naturally do that is beyond me) and then it takes a pictures of the left side of your face.

Here are some examples of the types of photos it takes. As you can see, lots of different variety and some fun features. I am just not sure that encouraging my guests to use a camera app to capture my day is the best idea. Thoughts?

Lazy Post: $30 holiday outfit

I know – when did I stop posting about my wedding? Please. Everything stops for Christmas and if you aren’t like me, well it’s no wonder Santa doesn’t bring you any good gifts. Once again, I pinky swear to get back on my wedding high horse in January.

In the meantime, I’d thought I’d celebrate this with you. It’s not impossible to find an entire holiday outfit for $30. And I’m not talking about sprucing up an older dress with a new scarf.

I would have loved to show you a photo of what this outfit look like on, but The Cpt gave me quite the scowl when I put it on. He does not like the outfit so I had no one to take a photo of me. Please forward all hate mail to him.

Here are a few tips to finding these little gems. These are not new tricks, but let me remind you of them.

• Go to malls and stores that are quieter. The stores may not receive all the same variety of stock, but it will be much less picked over so you are more likely to find something you like that’s in your size.
• Always check the sale rack first. Do not fall in love with something that’s full price.
• Look for accessories that will spruce up a simple style.

 

Forgive me, Santa.

That's right - I've been a bit of a Scrouge this December. Not in the sense that I am not all about the season and the spirit and the giving and the loving. But, as you may recall, I did not let The Cpt bring a Christmas Tree into our house this year. It was a one-girl clean up job last year and I didn't like that, not one bit. I took a stand - no trees. I did pick up some sticks with pine needles because I like the smell but so far, they have generated no smell what so ever.

I drove home yesterday a little later than normal, maybe 530 or closer to 6. It was dark by then and I cut threw a residential area. I couldn't help but notice how there are so many houses with lights up and decorations in the windows this year. We have lights up on our balcony (with a timer! which I highly recommend) and we have a single, crappy window sticker that no one can see. But other than our stockings, I have not put up any decorations.

I look back at that now, and I think it's heartbreaking. What was my problem?! I was not raised to be LAZY about sharing the Christmas spirit - RobBob always breaks out the Christmas trunk around December 1st and puts out the garlands and the lights and the ribbons and bows and my dad has a massive Santa ornament collection (which both my Gramma and I agree, the eyes of those Santa's follow you around the room) which is on display, over taking an entire antique buffet.

I am disapointed in my attitude. I felt like just because I was going home to Victoria for Christmas and The Cpt would be working, that he wouldn't care about Christmas fuss. Isn't that the time when you need the most Christmas cheer? When you are all alone on Christmas Eve? *sniff*

Don't worry. I rallied myself. I did two crafts. I took some pics and then I made a video using a new website Kathie at the Bridal Group of Companies showed me, called Animoto. I am not sure I love Animoto yet, but I bought a year's subscription. I think I can fine tune it to something I like. I know I don't like their music collection but oh well.

Forgive me, Santa.

Alix's List of Some Things to Craft for Christmas Gifts!

We went to a Christmas party this weekend and a conversation was up-struck about le blog and le crafting. Sometimes people ask me where I get my ideas for crafting and uh, it's pretty straight forward. I rip them off other people (except of course, all my precious coffee fitler crafts). Please - inspiration is everywhere. Once

I fixed my eyes to look at how things are made, it became so simple. Everytime I see anything I like, I think about:
1. How I could make it
2. How/if I could make it better
3. How I could make it to my style and taste

Christmas is a great time to let your mind be inspired and creative. You can save a LOT of money by snooping around online, finding something you think you could make, creating it and gifting it. It comes with a MUCH larger sense of achievement and pride, and giving a gift you made is actually 10 thousand times better than you can imagine. Like when my future brother in law gave me this little gem last Christmas.

Maybe you too, are struggling on what to give to others this Christmas. Or yourself, I guess. Here is a little list of things I have come across that I think are awfully neat AND that you could probably make yourself.

5. A candleholder made of birch. Please. Crate&Barrell sells it for a WHOOPING $75. Um, okay or you could just go for a walk in the forest 20 minutes north of Calgary and pick up some thick branches off the ground and hollow them out yourself. You could make yourself an entire set. Shocking, really.

4. Tin can wine rack. Although for some reason I can't seem to find them for sale on the interweb today, I will tell you I have seen wine racks simliar to this and/or the exact same as this going for over $100. Or you could make a chilli, save the cans and make your own. At least you can match it with your place. My advice tho? Put those fuzzy stickers on the bottom, the ones you put on the bottom of your couch. You don't want your shelves all scratched up. Here is a link with a link that has some directions to follow.

3. $100 for this. For a chalkboard shaped like a whale. There are so many ways to do this easier and cheaper, it hurts my eyes. You could walk five steps to Chapters and buy a square chalkboard decal for $30 and cut out a shape of a whale. Or a fish. Or a dinosaure. Or a red panda. Doesn't matter. Even more DIY? Walk another five steps to Home Depot, pick up a can of chalkboard paint for $5 and paint whatever you want, an entire WALL so kids can make their own shapes. $100?!?!?

2. Not really all that pricey but on principal, you can't buy this. Skoobawrap takes a piece of fabric (admittedly thick fabric), glues some velcro the corners and asks for between $15 - $20. If you want one of these, please. Contact me and I will do it for FREE (materials not included).

1. A cardboard box bird house. Go cut a hole your cereal box and don't cry when you realize that cardboard goes soggy in the rain and all the robyn red breasts in your neighborhood will have a hard time flying for a few days while they try and shake all the paste weighing down their wings. In this, a great crafting lesson: Cute doesn't always cut it.

Christmas is Taking Over

What else is new. It's hard to plan a wedding when it's Christmas. I don't care about getting married anymore. I want Santa. And everything that comes with him including bells, music, smells, cookies, bows, glitter, stalkings, candy canes, movies, rhymes and especially - Santa's bag.

Even all the wedding blogs are just talking about Christmas. I guess it's the same as all the other holidays - at Halloween, it's about spooky weddings, at Valentine's Day, it's about smoopy weddings, at Easter, it's about... Jesus weddings. Or maybe bunny weddings. Resurection weddings? Anywho, all events and occassions are influenced by the season.

In a broader sense, there's your very traditional Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter categories. That is how you describe your wedding to strangers. Waiters, the mail man, the barrista at McDonalds. Then you can break it down by month. Jan, Feb, March you get it. This is how you describe your wedding to people like your father's co-workers, your dog walker, anyone who might actually come in contact with you during the month of your wedding. Then you narrow it down to the date, September 16, for those people who will probably be invited. Your fiance's accountant or I dunno.

Here is an example of me during the different seasons...

You hope that just mentioning when the wedding will take place kind of fills the wedding conversation. Summer wedding = probably outdoors, maybe tented, warm and bright colours, ect. Unless you are doing something way out of the ordinary ("We're getting married next July, but in Australia so it'll be a July winter wedding - fun, right?!") this should basically sum up your wedding talk with the majority of the people described above.

You will get the odd person who really wants to know. About your dress, and your colours, and your table setting, and your meal. Humour them - there is an excellent chance that they are asking because they want to share their story with you. No matter what type of bride you are now, you are going to want to tell your stories and share your memories. Whatever you do - be gracious and listen. There will come a time when you're that married old fart who wants to vicariously re-live the glory days of your wedding through young, fresh faced brides to be :)

What was the point of this article? There was none - it's Christmas and it's hard to focus.

Risky Business: Some thoughts on guerilla weddings in Calgary

Lately, a lot of people in the Cpt's greater circle of friends have been getting engaged. Love it. Love love. But now we have five weddings - so far - next summer.
Makes you wonder, though, how to keep things fresh. Not your relationship - your wedding. All weddings are unique, as I've said before, because the people getting married and the love and the relationship are unique. Blah blah blah. But how do you make the party unique?

I've always wondered what it would be like to have a guerilla wedding. For those you of who don't live on the edge, a guerilla wedding is a wedding held wherever you want, whenever you want. You just have no permit so you have to pray that no one kicks you out. I think they sound fun - I like the excitment of it!! Your guests receive an aloof invitation with minimal information in it - just a time and a place... maybe a "shhhh" theme to the stationary. It's a mystery!

Guerilla weddings also save a lot of money. You have no venue so you forfit your need for any chairs, decorations, insurance, parking, lighting, tipping, flowers. You tell your guests to dress in whatever - their Sunday best, their Star Wars costume, their favourite jeans, you roll in, get married and roll out. Then just have the reception at a resturant! I think it sounds fun!

Captain Skeptical - does not.

Here is a list of places in Calgary that I think are worth considering for a guerilla wedding. Please - add your suggestions below!

Obvious Places *yawn*
1. The Scotiabank Saddledome - home of the Fwames. Everyone buys their tickets to the game, you all meet an hour before in a particular part of the building (rght infront of the BBQ Stand) and voila! It's done! Enjoy the game and every can meet up after every period for more crack beer. Perfect for the especially bored/lazy groom.

2. Top of the Calgary Tower - I know, barf right? So obvious but admittedly a neat place. Everyone buys their tickets to get up there and you get married on top of the city. Don't go to the resturant - the servers will catch on too quick. Head to the observation deck and pick your favourite view. Great for photos up there!

3. Scotsmans Hill - you might as well wait for Stampede to do this one. This is the best location to view the fireworks, as it sits right at the top of the Grandstand. Be wary tho - parking around the neighborhoods of Inglewood and Ramsey is helter skelter during the 'Pede so your guests will have to take transit. You can send bus tickets with their invites. Go green!

Off the Beaten Track - some lesser known but more importantly, unique places.
1. Memorial Park Library - this is one of the city's original sandstone buildings in the heart of downtown, which is on the east side of the newly re-done Memorial Park. It has a romantic feel to it, similiar to the Lougheed House. No longer just for crack heads and drifters, this park has had a big face lift and looks fantastic now. Well groomed, well maintained, lots of parking, the Hop'n Brew is right down the street and so is 4th Street for a casual reception.

2. A.C. Leighton Museum - you may temporarily BORROW my favourite place in the world. For meow and only because it's for your wedding. This was our first choice to get married, it's the stunning home of Alberta artist A.C. Leighton that now serves as a museum and artist retreat. Features the stunning rolling foothills, I'm obsessed with it. However, due to the fact that it's a privately owned foundation (proabably) they most likely would have said no to our wedding and also the price to tent 150 - 200 guests is a kick in the face as it is, no less transfering all that stuff to De Winton. The tent, the heaters, the flooring, the generators, the tables, the chairs, the linens, the food. FML. If you're smart you'll go check it out - and donate.

3. Sunnyside Acres - or any other garden centre for that matter. Everyone huddle up in the green house during the winter or have your guests take strolls through the gardens in the summer. Gorgeous! Everyone gets a daisy or a mint plant as a wedding favour. The smell, the sunlight *sigh* so hippy dippy. It is a retail space so don't wear your Vera Wang wedding gown. I wonder if they would boot you out? And I wonder why more garden centres don't offer weddings...?? It's so obvious to me.

4. The Garry Theatre in Inglewood, now it's the Ironwood. - again, a resturant with serving staff. Servers hate things that don't generate tips, so watch out. But this is an old, beautiful space with a lot of spirit. And also, there's free entertainment afterwards. No need for a DJ - think about it...!

Risque Business - places to get kicked out of just for the sake of getting kicked out
1. Chintz & Co - because who wouldn't want to be married in the midst of all the splendors of the unknown world!!!! It smells great in there, plenty of seating (be careful sitting on the prop beds tho) and you don't have to register - at all. You can walk around and pick out your gifts with your guests!! Play it off as quality time together. And also - they're a little snooty snoot there but just remember when you go in - they work there. You're getting MARRIED there.

2. The Bow - becaues it's not even built yet. But you could lay claim to the fame of holding the first function there. It would be dusty but I bet all the construction workers would cheer their hearts out for you!

3. A bridge (Centre Street Bridge, Calgary Zoo Bridge) - because nothing brings the cop faster than people standing on the side of a bridge. Although, wouldn't that be neat?? Having the groomsman hold up "STOP Love in Progress" signs and stopping traffic and walking into the middle of the bridge for a quickie ceremony - 123 I do - I do! Smooch!! And all the cars honk as you kiss and awww. What a scene - great for YouTube.

4. Any other official wedding venue - because they know a wedding when they see one. But if you have your eye on that church and your officiant is willing to risk it, do it! Back off, societal norms, love is in the AIR!

Thoughts on fun guerilla wedding ideas? Don't be shy!

It’s harder than I thought

Aside from MCSC, this week I got my entrepreneurial on and started my own Etsy shop. Coffee Filter Weddings is officially open for business! It was harder than I thought it would be – not that much harder but harder than I thought.

First I had to really look at my crafts, which are precious to me and I love them, and decide if I wanted to put my hard work out there, for the world to judge in a fiscal sense. I had to look at my little projects in a different light – who wants these besides me? Because I definitely want them so if no one else does, more pour moi. You are putting a piece of yourself on sale. It’s hard.

Then you have to look at your crafts and decide which ones you want to sell – which ones are both appealing and relatively easy to make. What is possible to make well and quickly, what is going to be the least expensive to make? Which crafts require specific supplies that are not readily available i.e. not found at Safeway or the Dollar Store.

So you have separated the crafts that apparently, you have decided society will see as having “value” from your new pile of “reject” crafts, and you put the “reject” crafts somewhere where they can’t see what you’re doing, you have to put a dollar figure on your hard work. UGH that is awful. Due diligence calls for you to to look at what else is being sold on Etsy which is similar - well ya, that paper crap is similar but mine are made with LOVE and especially the ones with the blooms The Cpt has helped me fold and that love has value and I think is tangible, even if you don’t agree, so therefore mine should be priced 150% of what that paper crap is. But then logic pulls the wool off your eyes.

You look at all the comparables on Etsy and holy smokes – some are ridiculously over priced (like $150 for a paper flower bouqet, wtf??) and some are ridiculously under priced ($1 per tissue paper pompom, which, by the way, are clearly NOT handmade but because it is a “crafting supplies” it gets to be listed on Etsy). So I am no fool – if I want to sell these puppies, I have to price them reasonably enough to be considered for purchase but at the same time, I am not going to give away the farm.

I am not all that concerned about this little Etsy shop, I will keep my lil’ eyes on it. I almost put it up there just to see – what happens. Y’know? Sometimes you just have to throw caution to the wind and wait and see what the universe brings you. Do I expect to be a full time crafter by this time next year? No.

 

 

Also – please don’t order things to support me. Pass them along to your friends and family who are getting married. Or if you really want one – because the lanterns could turn into full chandeliers, y’know. But it does take a lot of time to make these thing.

It’s been a week?!

Holy mother of pearl. I called home yesterday and my Gramma answered. She was working on a tricky puzzle but in spite of focussing on a thousand tiny puzzle pieces, she mentioned “I noticed you haven’t posted anything new lately…” of course I knew exactly what she was talking about.GRAMMA! I’m back to blogging.

It has been a big week for me – I have started a new full time job. I have given up “freelancing” a.k.a. being incredibly particular about projects or jobs I consider and have taken a full time position at the Missing Children Society of Canada, which I am incredibly proud and honoured to be a part of. It is a unique feeling to know that you are contributing to change on such a high, national level and I feel great to be the new Development Associate.

Anyways, that doesn’t account for laziness however I will say that I have been slightly pre-occupied. But I will say that I have most definitely decided to scale back the blogging, most likely to post 2 – 3 times a week as opposed to 6. I have a little less time on my hands.

To get back in your good books, here is a collage of when The Cpt and I went tree cutting this past weekend with friends.

Little white dress

We all have a little black dress, something we can throw on with a multitude of different scarves and suddenly look classy and put together. It’s the perfect way to effortless because let’s be honest, when you wear it, you usually put very little effort into it. You more hope for the best.

Sometimes, I wonder what life would be like if we actually did try and do things effortlessly for our wedding? Please. People try and make weddings look effortless but let’s call a spade a spade – weddings take effort. And if not effort, then you spent a lot of money paying someone else to put in effort.

And so if weddings were effortless, would you even bother to get a new dress? Throw a dinner? Even tell people? Because all that, technically, takes effort. There is no such thing as an effortless weddings because marriages take effort. And that’s the point of a wedding – to celebrate the decision to put a lifetime of effort towards someone else’s wants, dreams, goals, and clean, folded laundry.

I believe, the key to making a wedding look a little more effortless is the incorporation of colour into your outfit. When on earth would you leave the house entirely in white, other than for your wedding?

If I could make things look like they were effortless, here’s what I might try and pull off.

            

Lace Anthropologie dress with a black bow belt, combined with this adorable Anthropologie necklace and J.Crew pearl drop earrings, you get a triple dose of “Oh, I just showed up, what’s happening here?”. Slap on a nice  military green wedge pump from Cole Haan (complete with Nike Air sole).

 

 

Here is a bit of more straightforward dress from Asos (which occasionally carries Issa London, Kate Middleton’s favourite designer) matched with a necklace and bracelet from another British shopping website, TopShop. I would bottom it off with a high heel, high boot – this back zip boot from Frye would most certainly do the trick.

Mos def these websites are great for creating outfits, because you get a range of styles and designers in one place. However, you are paying for shipping and sometimes, website don’t ship to Canada. For those of us near the Canada – US border, ship it to a small town nearest to your home, and drive over and get it. There are some locally owned shipping depots that will sign for anything and then you come pick it up when you can.

Eff Bomb Crafting: Nothing to do with le wedding, everything to do with string art!

As I was Stumbling along through the internet the other night, I came across this fantastic little post about string mural art – ingenious! Using just string, you can do an entire mural on your wall and all you are sacrificing are a few small holes as opposed to attempting to paint and/or wall paper and putting your artistic ego at risk.
The Cpt does NOT like holes in the walls, especially for experimental purposes. The trick was to ask him if he would mind when he wasn’t paying attention and then complete the craft while he wasn’t home.
Enjoy!




Tools:

• Yarn, the colour of your choice. But have a lot of it!
• Thumb tacks – clear is best or the a colour that matches your yarn. And lots of them – over 100 to be safe.

Step 1
Have an idea in your mind of what you want your project to look like. You can do a mental drawing, a physical sketch on a piece of paper or for those of you who are taking this seriously or putting it in a prominent place in your home, sketch it out on the wall.
Step 2
Outline your sketch with tacks, the more the better. The reason that more is more is because it gives you more angles to thread the yarn, and will fill in your mural thoroughly. You’ll see.
Step 3
Start threading. I would sometimes wrap the yarn around the tack, a one loop, or sometimes I would just rest it against the tack to get an angle. Depends. If you do a lot of tack wrapping, then in some central locations, you will probably need two or three tacks to accomodate all the yarn.
Hard to explain, easy to do. Good luck!

Superstitions 8: Rice and exploding birds.

The last of the wedding traditions stemming from bizarro things in the past. I’m going to miss Jenn and her hilarity. To thank her for lending her words to us, please read all of her other articles and write emails to her editors about how amazing she is. And Jenn, please email me your address so I can send you your STD in due course, of course :)
This might be the funniest of the diddy’s in the article.
Jenn sez…

Throwing Rice
Pelting newlyweds with uncooked starchy vegetables is a time-honored tradition meant to shower the new couple with prosperity, fertility and, of course, good fortune. Oats, grains and dried corn were also used before rice rose to the top as the preferred symbolic sprinkle. Rice lost its popularity when it became widely rumored that if birds ate the rice, it would expand in their stomach and kill them. This is decidedly untrue, as is evidenced by the fact that birds eat dried rice and corn and other dehydrated vegetables and grains from fields all the time and we have yet to see any mention of a national, exploding-bird epidemic running on the CNN news ticker.
Rice can be a hazard to guests, who can lose their footing on rice covered pavement and take a nasty spill. Turns out, even rice alternatives have their drawbacks. Two Texas women were badly injured at a wedding in May 2008 while trying to light celebratory sparklers to send off the bride and groom. The group of sparklers ignited all at once and exploded, burning one woman’s face and both of their arms. One guest at a Russian wedding in Chechnya last March decided to buck tradition altogether and threw an armed hand grenade into the unsuspecting crowd, injuring a dozen people.

We’re throwing dehydrated vegetables at my wedding. Heh. Although I am using sparklers at my wedding…it can be like playing short sticks. Someone is going to pull the short stick – the exploding sparkler!!!

I dreamed a dream

The other night, I had a wedding dream, a bridal dream. I dreamed about a wedding dress. Can I say it was my wedding dress? No.  But I dreamed about a flattering, fitted dress that flared out at the bottom in beautiful, buttercream icing layers. It was very much a white dress – like diamond white or  whitest white or ice white or something.

At first, I thought maybe that was me dreaming of the wedding dress that I should be looking for. The shape and style are what I am after, but  other parts of the dress, like the colour and the relative simplicity are not what I have been looking at. I hummed and hawed at it – should I start looking for the dress from my dreams or was my subconscious just being sassy and excited?

Then today, it hit me. Back in university, Julie O. worked at a used record shop. And at one point in time, the used record shop also sold used books. I got some pretty interesting books from there, including a few dream dictionaries. I’m not saying that I subscribe to the idea that dreams foretell the future, not 100% but by no means do I write that stuff off. I don’t tempt fate like that.

The first book, The Dictionary of Dreams by Gustavus Hindman Miller says this

For a young woman to dream she is a bride foretells she will shortly come into an inheritance which will please her greatly.

Okay, I like it! That’s what I’m talking about.

The second book, Coles Dream Guide by Ned Ballantyne and Stella Coeli (which is out of print, btw. Makes me wonder if my copy is now worth twice what I paid)

If a young woman dreams of being a bride, she will inherit money, particularly if she is in a happy frame of mind while dressing for the wedding.

Now, this one is especially interesting because although I don’t remember everything about my dream, I remember it being before the wedding, when I was dressed and everyone was admiring my dress. I remember smiling and being really happy and feeling excited – so I was CLEARLY in a happy frame of mind.
The third book, Dreams: Hidden Meanings and Secrets (which is currently retailing for $4.89 Canadian, which is probably half of what I fuggin paid for it), says almost exactly the same thing as the second book, give or a take a comma (which is probably why it’s so cheap – just ripped off other dream books).
So although these are excellent, excellent readings into that particular dream, now I begin to wonder where is this inheritance coming from. As in, where is this inheritance coming from? Unless I can be flexible with the exact meaning of inheritance, then maybe I don’t want it.

Well, colour me tan

I have a lot of wonderful memories from my youth – the days when I was living my dreams and travelling around Canada and the US playing fastpitch. I made a lot of friends, played very few innings, saw a lot of cities. But there are a few moments that really stand out to me and one of them is the time we were driving  by a strip mall and I noticed a tanning salon called Colour Me Tan. Of course I did and of all those years, what do I remember? I remember Colour Me Tan.

Today’s postie is about something rather important that has been swimming around my mind for a while – our colour scheme. The overarching scheme for the scheme is opalescent. I love’em and it all started with this photo from Martha Stewart Weddings.



I love the dusty rose, the burnt orange and bronze and the lavender. But as time goes on, your colour wheel adjusts itself. You are inspired by new things, new people, new trends, new songs, new sites.

Life goes on after you’ve picked your colour scheme.

My bridesmaid dresses have been picked and they are a colour similar the lavender above, which I am thrilled about. The dusty rose and burnt bronze are in our tea dyed coffee filter POA – where exactly they’ll fit is indescribable at this point. As in – they’re everywhere right now, including my shoes. Glued to my shoes! :)
Here are some ideas of colour schemes I would like some opinions on. I putting up a straw poll, please vote at the bottom or suggest your own combinations of the colours below.

1. 

2. 

3. 

4.

Which colour combination should I use for my wedding colours?

1 - Peach, Lavender, Mocha and Irish Cream2 - Spring Green, Lavender, Butternut Squash and Irish Cream3 - Dusty Rose, Soft Pink, Ocher and Coffee4 - Dusty Rose, Deep Lavender, Deep Teal and Irish Cream5 - New combo of colours from above?

pollcode.com free polls

You may have noticed that today I am famous

 

Of course you have, after all, I’m famous! I wish I could embed the entire article into my blog but I don’t know how.

So here is the link to Metro Calgary’s Five Minutes with Alix Woods

mwuah!

Give It: BIG bows

I love ribbons and bows. I just do, I love them in my hair, around my waist, on my wrists and as necklaces, everywhere. I’m thankful that the rest of the bridal world is on board with me.

In the big wide world of weddings, inspiration boards rein as the medium of choice to help describe a style and convey the essence of an idea, which is something that words can not describe. A number of blogs lay claim to creating the inspiration board, but I think Picasa did. I don’t know who came up with the idea, but I like’em and so here is my go at an inspiration board of bows for weddings.

1. Justin Alexander Bridal dress, love the off the shoulder bow. Highlights the collar bone, non? Why why why can’t I find the link?

2. Justin Alexander Bridal dress 8466 – big sash, different colour, brings the eye right to the waist and makes the body look long even with such a big skirt.

3. David’s Bridal dress T3039 – bow belt! Just right, a good size empire waist line bow. Parfait.

4.Bow bracelet by Ginny D Jewellery, out of the UK – nice link bracelet that smells a little of Tiffany & Co without that silly price tag

5. Liberty in Love birdcage veil with bow (hair comb) – I love hair combs, my hair has the right texture to hold them quite firmly. What’s nice is that the comb and the bow force the veil to become a hair piece, not just lace sitting on your head.

6. Kate Spade bow necklace – a brush gold bow. I am mainly partial to Kate Spade because makes this fantastic wedge heel that apparently all the young, powerhouse women in New York and Washington wear. Of course that’s why I like her.

7. Cute, simple, straight forward Amelie heels. No one really sees your shoes unless you sport a short dress, so why not get something simple with a reasonable size heel.

8. Forever21 bow bobby pin! Need I say more? Comes in 4 colours and even if you just use it to hold the pleats on the pants you’re ironing to wear on the plane ride to your fantastic honey moon location, it’s adorable. :)

Passing the Engagement Gift to it’s new home

You may remember a few months back when Nikki and Niall gave Lowell and I our lovely engagement gift. The ornament is passed along when sets of friends get engaged. I have decided the engagement gift represents laughter, and that’s what it brings to a couple. That’s one thing the Cpt and I may have an overload of. Him at me, me at him, y’know.

But just last week, we had the honour of passing along the Engagement Gift to Scott and Andrea, who were engaged this summer and have just set their wedding date for June 4, 2011.

As much as I loved those little mice and loved the entire notion of the gift, it is always fun to pass along treasures like this.

In case you forgot how much of an impact these two little guys made on my life, refresh yourself with the photo shoot I did with them. *sniff*

Andrea and Scott with their new giftie 

The Cpt and I say goodbye to my friends – bye!

Kathryn and Morgan, previous keepers of these special little guys

Emergency Post: O.b.s.e.s.s.e.d.

I mean it. I’m serious. I love it, I love it, I LOVE IT.

I love her – she is adorable. I love how she keeps sneaking looks at her ring, I love how she keeps having to stiffle her grin, her giddiness. She has clearly been giggling for the last three weeks. She is doing everything that I think I did when the Cpt and I first got engaged. You can’t believe it’s true, it sounds ridiculous in your head and that’s why you keep laughing and you keep checking that ring to shock you back to reality – I LOVE IT.

She is just like every other newly engaged bride – people ask how you feel, you don’t even know! You’re too happy – you don’t know what’s to come, what the future will hold, how you feel about the wedding, all you know is that you are in the middle of a tidal wave of happy. 

I love him – he keeps giving her a hard time, keeps aw schucks-ing, keeps looking at her. He’s kind of a shit, arrogant. Love it. Teases about how lucky she is, how she had posters of him all over her wall growing up, teases about how she loves how funny he is *EYEROLL* Gives him a pass that he’s loosing his hair. Plus he’s a prince so that’s a pass too.

I love THEM. They keep sneaking glances at each other and smiling, a few times in the interview they are re-telling stories and start speaking in first person “you” and “i” as opposed to “William” and “Kate”. So natural and so unguarded, it’s as if they’re sitting on the couch, re-telling the stories for their aunties and uncles back home. So comfortable, so genuine, so happy – !

That ring, holy hell. It’s not like I thought the crown jewels would be something to scoff at but that is an eye catcher. Love it. I don’t love Jessica Simpson ruby engagement ring, I prefer diamonds. But that ring is STUNNING. I love how her dress matches that ring, OH she’s too smart. She’s always been a sharp dresser but this whole Royalty business is going to put her in a whole new spot light.

Also I want her hair cut. I’m not kidding. I am now growing my hair out so I can get that hair cut. It’s almost there.

 

Eff Bomb Crafting: Coffee Filter aisle wreaths

Note: This craft has potential to be translated to a Christmas craft. :) 
There has been some big breakthroughs in coffee filter crafting this week, including better ways to dye the coffee filters, dry them and best of all – more ways to actually use them.

This week’s craft was inspired by (i.e. ripped from) Martha Stewart Weddings, who posted this very cute DIY paper wreath, made from fabric and tissue paper. Of course, wherever there is tissue paper, coffee filters are not far to be found.

For the Cpt’s little brother’s wedding last fall, they used blue ties from the store, which was a nice touch. I asked the Cpt if he wanted to do something like that and to my surprise he said “No – it’s already been done before.” I am clearly rubbing off in all the right ways.


Here is the – a coffee filter wreath to decorate your aisle!
Tools:

• tea dyed coffee filters and tea dyed cup cake cups (colour of your choice, der)
• piece of heavier pound paper, preferably white or cream
• glue gun or tacky glue
• crafting knife or blade
• pencil
• pot lid
• yarn or ribbon (not pictured)
• spray glue (not pictured and optional)

Step 1

Trace the outline of the pot lid on your paper. This will be the size of your wreath.

Next, take a smaller pot lid and trace a second circle within the first larger circle. 








Step 2
Cut out the stencil of the wreath using your crafting knife. Clearly, these circles aren`t perfect and neither is this blog.
 




Step 3

Fold your larger coffee filters into blooms and make sure they have a nice flat part at the bottom. It is better for gluing. Then, start gluing them on to the stencil!

I like to pick one colour of blooms, which I might have less of, to be my accent colour. Then I glue about five or six on to the stencil, rather sporadically, and fill in the rest of the wreath with my base colour. In this case, the pink and rose are my accent colours and the brown is  my base colour.







Step 4
Obv, fill in the wreath with the coffee filter blooms.

Once you have it all filled in, you might notice there are small gaps. You can fix those one of two ways. 

1. You can take the cup cake cup blooms and glue them on to fill it in with some colour. They are smaller and will fit into the gaps without making your wreath look cluttered.

2. You can take the petals of your blooms and glue them together, to fill in the gaps between the coffee filters. Just a dot of glue on one bloom and then pinch it together with the bloom beside it. And you`ll burn your fingers if you`re using hot glue, so after about the sixth time, I went and got one of my clothes pins and pinched them together using that.

I used the small blooms to cover over any part of the stencil that was still showing in the centre of the wreath and then glued the petals together for any gaps between flowers.




Step 5
Spray glue the wreath. I like to do this because it gives it a stiff, more sturdy feeling and it secures the blooms to each other, so they are less likely fall off or fall apart. As with anyone DIY project, the more you can make sure things are actually stuck on, the better luck you will have.


Step 6
Attach your ribbon or yarn to the back of the wreath. I did a small loop (the yarn was probably 30 cm long) for the top, to hang down off the chair. I then attached a small piece of yarn to the bottom, so it can be tied down near the seat of the chair. If you are getting married somewhere where there are pews, you probably don`t need the second piece of yarn. 

          

Voila! Attach to a chair in your home and see how you like it. You can fiddle around with sizes of wreath and different ways to accent it. In the Martha Steward piece, they used baubles and probably unicorn glitter to jazz it up a bit.

  Here is it, looking just beautiful beside my glamorous desk.

All in all, this took me about 20 – 25 minutes but that was with the help of the Captain, who folded the blooms while he watched hockey highlights. It`s an easy one, an inexpensive one and by golly,  a pretty one.
MWUAH!