Papered Parlour - Hen Afternoon!!

A little later than planned, but I just had to blog about my wonderful Hen afternoon at the Papered Parlour in Clapham. To be honest, the idea of a hen party filled me with dread. I just didn't know what to do. I knew what I DIDN'T want to do (strippers, L plates, plastic willies etc), but it took me a while before finding the right thing.

I started off thinking of cupcakes and cocktails - two things I really like. There were plenty of High Tea options at fancy hotels to choose from, and the odd cupcake decorating classes. I knew I liked the idea of something crafty to do, but the local options were very limited in Kent, so realised we may have to go up town.

In desperation one day I resorted to asking my Twitter followers for suggestions and the lovely Monda-loves suggested the Papered Parlour to me - and I'm so glad she did!! I googled them and found their site - link which had everything I had wanted, craft, cupcakes and cocktails!!

We started off the day on the train - in First Class no less - drinking bubbly, eating chocolate cupcake lollies which I made for everyone, and all wearing our corsage flowers made by my lovely big sis Zoë (Zed Designs) who had also put together the most wonderful goodie bags filled with brooches, bangles, magnets, mirrors, hairclips etc many of which she had bought from the very helpful Anna from Lilies and Daisies I felt very spoilt indeed!

We were made to feel very welcome on arrival at the Papered Parlour by Claire, the decor in the Parlour section was adorable, with reclaimed doors as the bar, vintage teacups hanging from the beams and Buddy Holly playing on the original 1950's record player - wonderful!

I choose the silversmithing- ring making class, so that we could all make something we could keep forever. It was quote challenging, but every single one of us made a ring to be proud of by the end of the 3 hours. We learnt how to measure, anneal, shape, solder, file, sand, hammer and stamp a strip of silver until it resembled a real life ring!!

Here are some of the photos from the day!

Thanks Papered Parlour for a wonderful experience - and thanks to all the girlies for joining me (especially my gorgeous sis for her thoughtfulness!)

xxx

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!!

The Pom poms continue! . . .

Still in the middle of my pom pom frenzy! Even made a group on flickr to indulge this obsession - For the Love of Pom Poms would love for you all to take look, join up and even add some of your own pom pom creations to the pool!

Have added some of my latest uses of poms poms - firstly as decorative gift wrapping using chiffon pom poms - these are so pretty and super quick to make! Then, wait for it - a HEART shaped pom pom!! These are a little trickier to make (I have used the clover heart pom pom maker), and the instructions will scare the life out of you but it is well worth the effort. Made several of these into a garland for my friend Jo's birthday.

Sneaky Peek - Favour Labels!

Little name tags for the wedding favours!!

My hands ache from all the cutting and threading, but that's one more thing to tick off the list!!

Wedding preparations . . .

Sneaky peek of the current preparations . . .

I've been featured!!

How excited to find I have been approached by a couple of lovely blogs to feature my Wedding Invitations!!

Check them out here -

I made this!! Rag Pom Pom!!

Now I promise I am not being sponsored by Clover, but, I must urge people to buy one of their amazing pom pom makers! They are such a clever design that makes pom pom making so easy and professional. They come in lots of different sizes from tiny 20mm to big huge ones - and even heart shaped! I bought mine on eBay, but you can get them from lots of different craft supply shops too. Here's what they look like . . .

To make a pom pom you just wrap your wool, embroidery thread, fabric etc around each pair of semi circle arms (which hinge out of the centre) - there are two pairs of arms by the way - make sure you wrap your chosen material around the two together. One you have filled up the two semi circles you push back to the centre, making sure everything is together securely then using a sharp pair of scissors or snips cut all the way around. Loop a ribbon or strong thread in between the two discs - give them a wiggle to make sure the they reach the centre then knot very securely!!

To release the pom pom I find it easier to open the hinged arms on each side then pull the whole thing in half (the two discs are held together with a pin in the centre). Give your pom pom a fluff, trim off any straggly bits with a pair of scissors to tidy up and hey presto - a pom pom!!

Here I have shown a pom pom made from very roughly cut scraps of leftover fabric. Some of these strips were only a few inches long but that doesn't matter - they just need to be long enough to wrap around the arm once. So this is a fantastic way to use up all your leftover scraps of fabric. What do you all think?

I made this!! Flower Corsage Ring Cushion!!

Apologies in advance to the Best Man, but I have made a ring cushion for my wedding.

This may not be the final version - want to try a small one in silk next, but I wanted to put some of my new Heather Bailey fabrics to good use (and of course my pom pom makers!!)

Wedding Invitations . . .

Originally my plan was to make these myself - I have a decent printer - know my way around a computer and am known to be a little crafty - but after researching other peoples invites on flickr I came across some beautiful examples of Letterpressed invitations by Bella Figura.

This led me on a search to find a UK based Letterpress company - it wasn't long before I came across the wonderful Blush Publishing! The ever diligent and eternal night owl Mark Moran was extremely helpful and patient whilst I dithered about what design I wanted. Originally I had planned a funky square invite with motifs representing myself and Wayne. Wayne would be easy - an xbox controller (!) and maybe mine would have been a pair of scissors or a needle or a mouse? But as the wedding plans took shape and the vintage element really kicked in I just had to work this into the theme!

Quickly I decided on a 1950's postcard style and used an example from the fantastic resource which is deviantART to use as my inspiration. I really wanted to incorporate my own artwork for this and knew deep down that computer graphics would look too stiff so I dusted off my sketchbook and got to work . .

Once the artwork was finished, I scanned it, tidied it up in Photoshop then turned it into paths for Illustrator where I could work on the text. I have always loved the look of old fashioned typewriter fonts, they remind me of my art school days when I used my old Olivetti to create many a bizarre text based piece! But I also love the trendy carnival style fonts you see a lot these days. Every waking minute I spent trying to get the look and the wording right - I even sent what I thought was the final proof off to be printed with several errors in my haste and bleary-eyed state!

But shortly after everything was finalised Mark and the clever bunch at Blush turned my design into the loveliness which is below. Even the cute wrapping added to the wonderful experience which is letterpress!

Even after all the agonising over the design and wording the hardest part was writing on them - so wish I had nicer handwriting . . .

Craft and Cupcakes Day!!

My friends are very encouraging of my "sewing stuff" and I decided to call their bluff the other day and invite them round for a craft and cupcakes day. The house was filled with chatting, babies, buttons, fabric and high calorie treats and we all had a splendid time!!

It gave me the opportunity to make use of some of my new fabrics and my array of notions.

We started off with a tissue pom pom blitz, as these are so easy to make. Everyone chose their favourite colour, Jo of course had to have the pink which matched her nail polish! Baby Sam chose not to participate - but boys tend not to get overly excited by pom poms!!

It wasn't long before the cakes were out and we ever so daintily stuffed our faces! We then moved onto woolly pom poms courtesy of my new clover pom pom makers. The wool turned out to be highly unsuitable for pom poms, but the colours were nice anyway!

We finished up by making some fabric corsages. Must have been too tired to remember to take photos at this point, so the first one is a photo taken the next morning of my effort made from some lovely dupion silk. The second one is Jo's lovely corsage which works wonderfully on her denim jacket!

It is far too easy to get lost in your own world when you craft, and as wonderful as chatting online to fellow crafters is, nothing beats the hands on fun of a group of girls making lots of pink things!!

macarons . . .

Mini post just about the lovely macarons - which are just sooo pretty!!!

Is there such a thing as too much research??!!

Since the 21st of January (the day we booked the date at the Registry Office) I have spent EVERY spare moment thinking, planning, researching and breathing the wedding. Is this normal? I have a tendency to over think things, and over plan. I can never go on a holiday without reading all of the tripadvisor reviews about the hotel, and seeing all of the guests photos, or checking which airplane we are booked onto and in which seats, checking traveller forums the best sights to see, restaurants to eat at, which rooms to ask for - yep basically I go over the top.

I'm sure that most women tend to go into this mode when planning a wedding - but I'm surprised that I have enjoyed it so much. Especially as the starting point for our plans was to have a simple, cheap, informal wedding. Would things be easier if we were spending 30k? Probably not.

I think I can be a resourceful person, and I know my way around the internet, which has been my lifeline in researching and planning. I have made the mistake previously of buying wedding magazines. These in fact scared and depressed me so much that I was dreading getting married!! How silly is that? I found their budget and time planners dangerously silly - especially as I came over in cold sweat when realising that I should have sent my invites out 4 months ago and my flowers should cost a 10% of my budget!! But then I came to my senses - but the magazines away (in the bin) and made my own plan!

So a month since setting the date and 126 days until the big event we have achieved a lot. For the moment I am feeling less panicked, and am reveling in ideas for things I can make or silly ideas I can work into the day. I have an album filled with pictures, a large notebook filled with lists, a computer filled with research images, emails and budget spreadsheets and a flickr gallery filled with more inspiration than I know what to do with! But my efforts are being focused as much as possible - I made myself concentrate initially on the big things - whilst the little voice inside me kept saying *look at shoes!!*, *fairy lights*, *envelopes* etc etc!!

Now most of the "big things" are sorted I can indulge myself in silliness and all the pretty little things that really excite me. My other half is maybe not so excited about all of this - in fact he has probably wisely decided to let me get on with it. Something I found hard to understand at first, but he knows me VERY well after all these years and will make himself useful when the time comes - or when I freak out at him!!

So here's a peek at some of the things I have been thinking about the past couple of days -
Doughnuts, invites (sneak preview of the design if you look closely!), my increasingly cluttered dining table and tissue pom pom tutorials!!

The Big Day - preparation . . .

Been busy lately - spent a lot of time online researching and sourcing things for the wedding - must be enjoying it based on the amount of time I have dedicated and the lack of sleep as a result!

Really trying hard not to become Bridezilla and have to remind myself from time to time that it is just one day - the most important part is making the commitment to my partner and our lives ahead - BUT - I still want it be an amazing day - I want it to be fun and relaxed and silly - no stuffiness and pomp allowed!!

The image above represents the last week or so of planning, photographing, making, buying, watching, emailing, freecycling . . .

I made this!!! Felt Button Brooches!!

Haven't given much time to crafting lately - what with all of the wedding planning - but had a blitz last night and made three of my felt button brooches - I had ordered some beautiful merino wool rovings from forestfibres and hadn't had the chance to use them until now - the colours are wonderful!

Have listed them in my noths store if anyone fancies one!!