The Big Day!!!

Hi Everyone - so sorry not to have updated this sooner. Those married people who are reading this will completely understand how hectic things are in the weeks after the event! Things seem to be getting back to normal now, I have had my professional shots back, sent out my Thank you cards and caught up with my washing - so now with the blogging!!

I have decided not to add all of the images onto my blog, instead I have used my very favourite shot, which for me encapsulates the whole day. This was taken in front of the most beautiful pink barn door in a small holding across the lane from the pub where we had our sit down meal. For those interested in seeing some more photos from the day please visit my flickr gallery and check out my sets of not only the pro shots, but photos taken by our guests, processed images and also the preparation!

So where do I start? Well - it was the most magical day - this is something I'm sure every bride says about her wedding day. The sun was shining, the back garden looked amazing (after the whole week before was spent decorating it!), everything was organised and even my hair had turned out well after a last minute trip to the hairdressers to add more highlights and then having to wash my hair in cold water the night before! As the wedding was at 11am it was an early start, so my parents, sister, sister in laws and friends Jo and Mandy (who were responsible for the make up and photography respectively) all arrived bright and early.

The flowers arrived on time, and I was amazed at the unusual hydrangeas used on the bridesmaids bouquets, really wonderful! Unfortunately my peonies hadn't opened in time, so they were just buds, very pretty still, but not the big pom pom flowers I had wished for. Jo did an amazing job on the make up for myself and the bridesmaids, she's a miracle worker! We even had time to spare for a photo shoot in the garden which turned out amazingly! Then the lilac morris minor convertible arrived, driven by the fantastically named Andrew "Charlie" Chaplin - in a smashing 50's inspired outfit!

We married in our local registry office - the Archbishops Palace in Maidstone, which as registry offices go, it's pretty special. It's a very old stone building right next to the river with a herb garden and small park behind which many (including us) use for photos. After a short wait in an adjoining room, with a few last minute shots it was show time! The bridesmaids all looked so pretty in their colourful pink and lime green shrugs, and polka dot and floral dresses. They also had smaller versions of the fabric pom poms in their hair.

Dad was suited up with his lilac floral shirt and tie. And not forgetting his vintage grey converse trainers (these were the same as Wayne was wearing, he didn't know that both my Dad and his Dad were wearing these also until the day!) He looked so cool - much better than a stuffy old morning suit! I entered the Solar Room to the sound of Glenn Miller Moonlight Serenade (one of my faves). It was so touching to see all our friends and family there, smiling, wearing a wonderful mix of bright pretty colours (as I had suggested on the wedding blog). Then I saw Wayne, he looked so handsome, and nervous, but smiling still. He seemed pleased to see me too - which was a bonus!

The whole ceremony didn't take than long, and flew by. Although I did manage to start blubbing during my vows, which set everyone else off! Oh yes, I almost forgot, I did also get Waynes name wrong - much to everyone's amusement! Doh!!!

After this we all flew out the building, gave and received lots of kisses, then had some formal shots taken in the park behind. At this point I must mention my photographer. My good friend Amanda Jayne Stewart, never will you see a more hard working photographer. She has such a lovely way of dealing with the guests - who can be unruly at times! She manages to capture so many wonderful formal and informal shots, and did a truly amazing job at documenting the whole day, including all the little details I had worked so hard on. Details of Amanda's (Mandy's) website are below in my thank you list.

So then onto the pub - the beautiful Horseshoes, gastropub in East Farleigh. It's one of our locals, and was the ideal location for our informal gathering. We basically took over the back half of the pub, where we had our own bar, toilets (most important), lounge area, patio and restaurant! The restaurant section is is a lovely conservatory like building, with wonderful beams, vaulted ceiling and an eclectic mix of vintage chairs and tables. The manager Paul Stewart was most accommodating and enable us to tailor the room to our specific needs.

At this point though, I cannot go any further without mentioning the truly inspirational Haylie Harrowell - owner of Violet Weddings. Haylie is a super organised, knowledgeable, hardworking and lovely lady, without whom I couldn't have survived the day (or the run up!) I contacted Haylie early on in the planning when I realised that to have the reception in the back garden with food and entertainment meant I needed help. Like many people I'm guessing, I always thought wedding planners were for the rich and famous. Or are an extravagance nonetheless - how wrong I was! Having Haylie help plan and organise the day was completely invaluable. A good wedding planner will actually save you money! Even for the reassurance side it is money well spent! Not to go on too much about money, but our wedding was on a tight budget - the whole thing (excluding the honeymoon) came to just over 5k. Not bad I think considering what we achieved. But to stress my point, having Haylie on board was the main reason we managed to keep our costs down without compromising on anything! Details on how to contact Haylie are below.

Ok - so whilst our guests were enjoying the Pimms in the lovely sunshine, Wayne and I nipped off in the Morris Minor to the small holding across the road. It is owned by the lovely Ann Moon, who was so very kind and sweet to allow us to use her property for our mini photo shoot. The idea of this was something I'd had from the very start, I'd seen some lovely images on flickr (check out these galleries of inspirational images I gathered from the world of flickr) of couples stood "shaker style" in front of agricultural buildings and really loved the quirky, twee, arty feel, so was amazed when I caught eye of Ann's pink barn door just across the lane from the pub - perfick! So as you can see from the image above it really works with the vintage 1950's feel I was aiming for.

Then after the wonderful food and drink at the Horseshoes (amazing quality, extremely tasty by the way!) we all set off back to our house - a 5 minute drive from the pub. When we arrived the band were setting up, Waynes's ipod was on, playing his fabulous playlist (which started off with Buddy Holly (our first dance was "True Love Ways"), Glenn Miller, Billie Holliday, Frank Sinatra, Miles Davis - classics to get everyone in the mood for the band!! Even before I met Wayne, I knew two things about my wedding day (as I'm sure every girl does) at my wedding it must have fairy lights, and a live band! The band we chose after about 3 weeks of researching was Brighton based Greggi G and his Crazy Gang. A four piece jive band who were perfect for my theme. As well as the marquee we had also hired a stage for the back of the garden for the band to play from - it was a little tight (sorry guys) but it didn't seem to affect the glorious sound they made!

So to set the scene - you had the large open sided marquee, filled with bunting, fairy lights, martha stewart tissue pom poms and seating made from straw bales - we even made a sofa from them! The band at the back on their stage (of course also with bunting, fairy lights and pom poms!), the dance floor in the centre then on the left hand side trestle tables with polka dot and floral oil cloths, a plethora of cake stands, jars of sweets, punch bowls, candles and all around were scattered the assortment of vintage bottles and jam jars I had sourced throughout the months before. These were filled with either tealight candles or the mix of pretty flowers we bought from our local supermarket!

Inside the house were the main attractions - the chocolate fountain and the cake! Wedding cakes are funny things. Some people spend hundreds of pounds on them, then moan that they didn't taste very nice, or hardly anyone ate any. For a start, I knew for sure I didn't want a traditional cake, and then the only other option seemed to be a cupcake tower - but everyone does this now - as pretty as they are I wanted something else. Luckily flickr came to the rescue again as I came across the doughnut wedding cake!! Here's a link to my one. The stand was cardboard - not the most glamourous material I know - but cheap and recyclable! To pretty it up I covered it with Cath Kidston wrapping paper - alternating between polka dots and florals. Then the toppers - I spent so so long thinking about this - until Haylie suggested the obvious - mice! For those who don't know, in my crafting world I am most know for my sock mice - they have been my most successful creation by far. So it made sense to make my own mice! This time I chose not to use socks - maybe a little too much foot association considering food is involved! So I then used the linen from my wedding dress - oh the dress, I should have mentioned this already!! Will do after this section! Ok - back to the cake! Both the Wayne and Shelley mice were made from linen, and instead of the usual button eyes I used miniature black glass eyes used in toy making. My mouse had a pink chiffon petticoat and a mini pom pom sash, whist Waynes had a grey felt waistcoat, complete with pocket and handkerchief! Then the doughnuts themselves were Krispy Kreme, original glazed and chocolate sprinkled. Although you can get this type of doughnut cheaper in the supermarkets they really don't taste anywhere near as good as Krispy Kreme! I will never forget the gasps of delight everyone made when I lifted off the cover! Brilliant!

Right then - the dress! So, as I mentioned in previous posts the idea of finding a wedding dress filled me with horror! That was until I realised I could have any kind of a dress I liked. I very quickly settled on a 1950's tea dress style, which just HAD to have a colourful petticoat underneath! My friend Sass Tetzlaff was the obvious choice to make this dress for me, she has made more wedding dresses than I've had hot dinners (!) I managed to find a roll of Irish linen on eBay for £20, just what I had wanted, then I came across Annabella Designs who can custom make petticoats in a variety of styles and colours - so I chose a pink and blue tulle petticoat - not too full, as I didn't want to look like a toilet roll holder! After just a few fittings Sass created my dream dress, which was finished off perfectly with a hot pink silk sash, and a teal blue shrug. I then added my own finishing touches with the pom pom and ribbon corsage! A bit bonkers, but fun and colourful!

So - the rest of the day went well. The drink flowed, the music was popular thanks to Wayne's tireless efforts in putting together a diverse mix of old and new songs for each stage of the evening, Haylie and her partner Andy worked so hard (and so discretely) at laying out the food (and cooking some of it too - sorry!), the flowers, the drink and making sure everything was running to schedule! The punch went down well, and even though we had the doughnuts and the extremely popular chocolate fountain even the sweeties in jars were scoffed - our lot certainly do have a sweet tooth!!

After the scrum when the bouquet was thrown, the band had packed up and DJ Wayne was in effect, the heart lantern had been lit (say no more), the evening then whizzed by in a blur of twinkling lights, dancing and laughter - our Perfick Summer Fete Darling Buds of May wedding. What a day!

So here I must thank all of our friends and family who helped us create this day, for the gifts, the crafting, the generosity and kindness, that made everything even more special than I had ever dreamed it would be.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Wedding Planner - Haylie Harrowell - visit website
Photographer - Amanda Jayne Stewart - ajsphotography - visit website
Bouquets + Buttonholes - Girlflower - visit website
Wedding Dress - Sass Tetzlaff - please contact me for details
Petticoat - Annabella Designs - visit folksy page
Morris Minor - Andrew "Charlie" Chaplin - please contact me for details
Chocolate Fountain - Chocoholics Delight - visit website
Band - Greggi G and his Crazy Gang - visit website
Wedding Rings - Charmian Beaton - visit website
Marquee - Four Jays Group - visit website
Letterpress Invitations  - Blush Publishing - visit website

And a special thanks to:-
My amazing sister Zoë for her help, support and thoughtfulness.
My dear friend Jo for her makeup, beauty and crafting skills and all round support.
Our friends Darren, Leza, Steve & Sam for their help with the preparations.
My Mum & Dad and Wayne's Mum & Dad for their generosity and help.
Ann Moon, for the use of her barn door and tractor!
Ron and Glenn for the Straw Bales
Krispy Kreme Bluewater

Not long now!!!!

Apologies for not keeping up with my blogging of late. Struggling to find any spare time at the moment. Four weeks yesterday until the Big Day! Wow - how did that happen. A word of advice to anyone planning a wedding - everything will take longer to sort out and cost more than you expect - so start early and save where you can!!

Even on our small "budget" the costs are mounting up - despite my overuse of Ebay!!

So the bunting is finished - yay!! And the favours are all set up - just waiting the final edible treat to be popped inside - be warned that I have gone overboard on the favours, most people seem more than content with an organza bag and five sugared almonds - not me, I have spent hours and hours researching, painting, sewing, threading, cutting, printing, sticking and melting (!) and all for something that most people will probably leave behind on the tables!! I have seriously lost the plot!!

I have so enjoyed making all these things though - this point may have been lost along the way! I'll never understand how people can buy the same old things as everyone else when with just a little thought (and fun) they can easily create something unique and memorable. The whole wedding planning process has made me even more passionate about my crafting and how personal it can make your day. I know it's not to everyones tastes, and not all people want to or are able to make things for themselves - but anything that moves away from the typical wedding look is a good thing in my books and shows people can add your own personality to the day!

Squeaky Bunting!

Now as soon as I sit down in my mini studio and even think about making something a small furry animal appears in front of me. Squeaky in particular is a big fan of interrupting my crafting and likes to make sure she is the centre of attention.

Here you can see Squeaky nestled down whilst I was marking out my triangles for my bunting! Unfortunately after she finally got the hint and moved on she left a lovely trail of fur all over my lovely Heather Bailey fabric. Hmm hairy bunting - nice!!

By the way I am making over 70 metres of bunting for the big day - mostly to decorate the back garden and the marquee. It's a big job, but will make up such a large part of the look it will be worth the while. You can see some of my triangles behind Squeaky in the second photo, and another sneaky peek on my flickr gallery. Fingers crossed I will get it all done in time - wish me luck!!

My simple but complicated wedding!!

Last year my boyfriend of 9 years proposed to me - we have lived together for most of this time and to all intents and purposes were like a married couple anyway - but now we are both in our 30's we thought it was the right time to do it!

Now probably unlike most women I have never dreamt about the big white wedding, in fact the whole idea scares the life out of me - but I realised not so long ago that I could actually make this a day I would enjoy - it might not be everyone's idea of the perfect day, but for me it's just right!

So, the plan is to get married in our local registry office - which luckily for us is a beautiful old building by a river with a small park next to it. I am not religious so getting married in church wasn't the right thing for me. Of course I want to arrive at the registry office in a car - no Rolls Royce for me though, I'd much prefer a convertible Morris Minor!!

Oh I forgot - the dress. Well being on the plumper side of plump I really didn't relish the thought of finding a dress - and especially not one made from Duchess Satin, in fact I really don't want a wedding dress at all - but I realised that I do need to it some way look like I am the bride and not a guest so I have designed my version of a wedding dress - it will be a 1950's style tea dress, calf length, in white linen with a colourful patterned waistband/sash. Then to add a bit of drama - I want to have a pink tulle netting underskirt and possibly colourful flat shoes (cannot walk in heels!)

Luckily I know a lovely lady who will be able to make this for me - so I have avoided the horror of bridalware shops and the embarrassment of trying to find a dress I can squeeze into!! And although spending a lifetime trying to lose weight I am not crash dieting for my wedding day - if I lose weight that's good - if not,  well my OH still loves me!!

So over the next few months I will be blogging about my preparations and inspirations in the run up to the big day - which is on the 26th June this year. We haven't left ourselves much time to prepare, but I am really trying to keep things simple - 50 or so guests for the wedding and meal then 80 in total for the evening reception which we are holding in our small backgarden!!

I have put a few of the many, many images in the collage above - and if I achieve a fraction of this loveliness I will be happy - I have also put together galleries on flickr if anyone is interested - Wedding Galleries

Wish me Luck!!

I made this!! Christmas Stockings!!

So it's my first proper Christmas as a crafter - last year my craftiest effort was using brown paper and making my own button gift tags. Seemed like a good idea at the time but over a hundred presents later it became a little tedious!!

This year I will be buying my gift wrap but making a few presents and decorations instead!!

I've started off with the essential stocking - bought a couple metres of thick red felt (why is this so expensive!?) and a few machine blanket stitches and finishing touches later there are stockings!! The beauty of using felt is that you don't need to worry about linings or right and wrong sides or fraying!! Really like the naive look (I'm good at that!!)

I made this! - Wooden Button Brooches

Now I know these are nothing new - but after making one of these for myself the other day I thought - hey, other people might like these too - could be a nice idea for my noths shop? I have a growing collection of gorgeous large Italian wooden buttons and already had the brooch backs (from making my corsage brooches) so with a little fiddling around and a little super glue - hey presto - button brooches!!

I couldn't just glue to buttons to the brooch back - that would be too easy!! I had to over complicate things (as usual). I cut out small circles of linen to glue over the brooch backs - so that you cannot see the silver through the button holes (which would look weird) and then I threaded and glued embroidery thread through the holes for the finishing touch!

I made this! - Polka Dot Corsage Brooch

Now you know by now I am quite partial to a polka dot - so much so I am even considering a polka dot wedding dress (don't tell my other half!), so it makes sense that I should make one of my pleated totes in a polka dot fabric!

My sprig tote bag has been very popular so I just had to make a matching corsage brooch for this bag too. I love making corsages - just wish they didn't take me so long!! Will never make my fortune that way!!

I decided to do a little modelling too for the corsage brooch - that's if you can count a shoulder as modelling!!

For those who may want to buy the bag (which comes with or without the corsage) or the corsage on it's own please head to my new Not on the High Street store - click here

I'm on Not on the High Street!!

Very happy today - my store has launched on the Not on the High Street website this weekend!! Here's the link.

I made the decision to take my work more seriously and find a suitable online outlet after some less than successful craft fairs this summer. I have had such a good response from my work shown on my flickr gallery that I thought - hey I could possibly make a business out of this!! So now The Beauty is in the Detail . . . is a proper "serious" brand!!

Still early days - but if you don't try these things you will never know!! Wish me luck!!

x

I made this! - Mortimer Sock Mouse!

This is my newest addition to my sock mouse family. A commission for Zoë Power. The brief was that he or she had to be pink and purple. Recently if I come across a pair of socks I like I just have to buy them now - it's become an obsession! This time I had to hunt down the right pair - not as easy as you would think - even when I had the whole of Oxford Street to choose from!!

But finally in Topshop I spied this lovely pair - and I just love how the large spots work with the shape. This time I made the heart belly a little smaller so it didn't wrap around the sides too much and I used piping inside the tail to create the nice rounded shape. Not content with having Molly Mouse my friend Mandy has commission me to make another mouse now with the other sock in this pair!

Think this sock mouse lark might be taking over my life . . .

Craft Fair! - Tunbridge Wells AEC

So I had my first craft fair - it was organised by Bev Russell from Tunbridge Wells Adult Education as a chance for students to learn how to sell and to promote the courses.

Was a bit daunting to start with as I didn't know anyone - was the only person from my Soft Furnishings course who exhibited.

Had few pieces pre-prepared, but when I realised just a few days beforehand that I had a whole table to fill on my own I panicked and spent every spare hour sewing - which was great fun - but slightly stressful.

Wasn't the busiest craft fair I have ever been to and halfway through after only selling three things I was feeling a little despondent but things did pick up towards the end.

The best part was meeting all the other sellers - such a lovely bunch of people.

Can't wait to do my next fair now!!

I made this! - Lavender Birds!

Still love anything birdy - so was dying to make my own bird hangers. Thought they would be great for my very first craft fair - they went down a treat luckily - especially as they took much longer than expected to make!

I made this! - Doorstops!

Used a pattern from one of my favourite books - Simple Sewing by Lotta Jansdotter.

The largest one is from the actual pattern and the two smaller ones are a scaled down version as I found the original to be too large - and costly to fill!

I adapted the handle from Lotta's original specification as I prefer it to be the full width with the ends hidden in the seams - you just have to make sure that you really securely stitch the ends inside the seams as they are pretty heavy.

Pretty easy to make - just have to take it slow and be careful when you attach the top section as if you are slightly misaligned it will look pants.

I made this! - Sock Mouse!

Always been a bit of an animal lover - especially anything cute and furry.

So I thought I would turn my burgeoning sewing skills towards creating something cute and woolly!

As I cannot knit I thought I would make good use of the many colourful pairs of socks that are bought for me each Christmas - many of which remain unworn.


If anyone wants to try making one of these here's my mini tutorial -



1. Firstly take a sock - preferably clean - preferably unworn. Cut down the back through the heel to the toe


2. Cut a heart shape out of the sock - any shaped heart will do!




3. If you want to add an appliqué shape on the belly then you will need to pin the sock heart shape onto an embroidery frame - I used some hideous fabric that I wouldn't dare use on anything else - don't worry no-one will see it!! Then I pin the appliqué fabric in position and draw the shape I want in chalk. Using a close together zig zag stitch you carefully sew round your shape.


4. Remove the fabric from the frame - cut off any excess hideous fabric then very carefully trim around your appliqué shape. The first time I tried this I snipped through the sock and had to start again!


5. Now is the time to decide to what kind of tail your mouse should have. On Marvin mouse I spent forever turning piping inside out - which creates a stiff rat like tail. For Molly mouse, she has a more simpler tail - a strip of fabric with the raw edges folded in twice - stitched one line along the whole length then knotted the end!



6. Once you have trimmed off all the fabric and made your tail fold the shape in half and pin. Contrary to my photo I would advise starting from the tail end - if you look closely at my photo you can see a white mark on the right hand side - this was my stop sewing mark. If you start from that end and sew towards the nose end it is much easier!! Learn from my mistakes. Before you start sewing tuck the tail inside and position - it is much neater and more secure if you machine sew this on as part of the seam.


7. Once you have sewn the back seam, turn inside out making sure the nose is as pointy as possible and start stuffing! I use natural lambswool but you can use anything you like.


8. When you have finished stuffing you will need to weight the mouses bottom - I use a large plastic button which weights it and creates a flat surface helping your mouse sit up. But I'm sure there are many other ways to do this!!



9. This is a rare sight of Molly's bottom! This part needs to be hand sewn. Naturally the open ends come together as shown above - but if yours doesn't just trim bits off until it does!! Tuck the raw edges in and use invisible stitching (ish) to bring it all together.


10. All you need to do now if add the finishing touches - The ears - are just two Pac Man shaped pieces of felt, and the eyes and nose very small buttons - but beads could work just as well.


The Beauty of these little meeses is that they will all be different - no matter how many you make!!

Would love to see other peoples sock mice - post a link to your image - or share on flickr. Other images of Molly and Marvin can be seen on my flickr gallery

I made this! - Easter Eggs!!

Thought I'd make a few fabric Easter Eggs for my family this year - this way everyone can have an egg - dieters, diabetics and all!!

They are all a little mishapen - but as always I'll put this down as character!!

What do you think?

I made this! - Rosettes

Learned how to make rosettes in my Soft Furnishings class last week.

Amazed at how easy it is - all you do is -

• cut (or rip - I prefer the raw frayed edges) a strip of fabric - no specific size or length.
  
• Using double thread, stitch a loose running stitch along one edge (about 5mm from the edge works well).
• When you reach the end gently pull and gather the fabric the together - you will see how the rosette starts to take shape.
• When you are happy with the shape sew the ends together - I prefer to knot in the centre then stitch the two ends together to hide the gap.
• You can either add a button - or a smaller rosette, or a ribbon rosette, or a pom-pom - whatever you fancy.
• Maybe sew onto a scrunchy or a brooch or a bag or a jumper!! So many options - so little time!!
  

Folksy - Etsy for the UK

Not sure when this launched (haven't done my research as usual) but there is now an Etsy for the UK called Folksy. Don't think they are affiliated (could be wrong - research research!!) but the idea is the same. Handmade precious items sold by the makers - wonderful!!