Things I Haven't Posted but Should Have... Part 1

My one year anniversy is coming up in Nov. and *gasp* I STILL have not posted photos of my wedding dress. I used a Simplicity pattern as a template and modified it to fit what I wanted. When I got engaged, I knew the kind of dress that I wanted. I also knew that I could make it for cheaper than what I would pay for it in the store. I didn't take many in progress photos, because I was engaged in what I was doing.

I purchased everything I needed from the zipper to the fabric to the lining using those fantastic 40% coupons that JoAnn Fabrics sends me in the mail. Total cost: About $50.00. I started working on it over my fall break (less than 3 weeks from my wedding date!). I worked on it for about four hours a day for four days... while watching marathons of TLC's Say Yes to the Dress. (Man, I can be such a girl sometimes!)

This was an adventure, to say the least. I had to use horse hair braid and boning in this dress, both of which I have never worked with before. I was horrifed of screwing it up, but I'm really pleased with the results.

Here are some photos, while I was working (and playing around with it):



Below is a photo of the back. This was a pain in the neck because I had to hand stitch the zipper in so that you wouldn't see the seams.


Around the middle is a large chunk of black ribbon, which runs all the way down the back. I love the way that it looked (and it hid the seams that connected the bodice of the dress to the skirt):


A side shot:


Another side shot:


About 5 seconds into the wedding, I was SO thankful that I had made my own dress, rather than purchase it. Why? My darling husband stepped on the train of my dress, thereby jerking me backwards (hard! No, I didn't fall.). The dress stood up to the test, it didn't rip, tear, or even budge! Had I purchased a dress, it probably would've ripped. What a memory that would have been!

Some photos of the big day:


(the ribbon was tied around a heart shaped pin in the back).













I loved my dres so much. Too bad pregnancy killed my body and I won't fit into it anymore...

Save the Date!

So I made these on the computer almost a month ago. I finally sat down this afternoon with Chris and we put them together. They're printed on good old fashion cardstock and then I stuck a magnet on the back.



We have the date and the city (Viva Las Vegas baby!) now we just need a chapel, hall, and hotel. Thank goodness Vegas has plenty!

Cross-Stitch, Wedding Planning, V-Day Gifts

WHEW! I have BEEN busy! Over the last few weeks (about 2.5) I've cross-stitched Zoey from The Pretender, Han Solo from Star Wars, Bria Tharen from the Star Wars novels, Jayne from Firefly. I've created one of those great card books found at crafster and a wedding planning dream album. NOT to be confused with the wedding planner. More information found below! Enjoy the descriptions and the pictures:

First up is Zoey from The Pretender. She's stitched in the same style as Mr Raines and Miss Parker:


Next is the third Star Wars character in the same format as Queen Amidala and Princess Leia. He came out much cuter than I thought he would. Mace Windu is up next!


And a picture of all three:

They look a little different in size even though they are all the same size. Amidala's head looks SO much bigger but I think that's becuase of her head piece. :)

The last cross-stitch of the bunch. Jayne from Firefly, along with the lyrics from Jaynestown.

A closeup of Jayne:

This one isn't quiet finished yet. It need to be framed, but I need to save every last penny for the wedding, since we set our date for 11-01-2010 (yes its a Monday, but its the day we met).

Card books are found ALL over craftster, especially after this last Valentine's Day. This was the orginal post where I found my insipration!. I made one of these for Chris for Valentine's Day.

Forgot to take a picture of the back. Sorry!
Some of the things I had to say:

Really easy to make, just glued post-its to each card. I'm in the process of making a "sequel" (which'll be a small portion of his wedding gift), that one will be more in depth and more decorated. This one was actually done on the fly as a last minute idea.




And finally...

THE WEDDING INSPIRATION BOOK!

Now, I have a wedding planner (one I've designed for myself) to be shared when I've finished decorating it the way I want it to be. :) This is a seperate book in which I print off pictures of things I like and where I find inspiration. I have the WORST luck with computers so I decided to print off these things so they don't get lost. The best part of this little side project was that I didn't buy anything new for it.

The cover:

I took scrapbook paper and cut it down. Attached some stickers and cut outs. Covered it in contact paper and hole punched three times.

The back cover:

Done the same way as the cover. I then hole punched several sheets of cardstock. I then took three pcs of ribbon (purple, black, and yellow) and laced them through the holes. I tied them up in a nice double bow on the front. This allows for expansion (if needed).

The pages:


I am/will be making my own wedding dress so I pulled together some pictures for inspiration.




WHEW! Well that's about it for now. I'm working on my Mace Windu pattern at the moment, although everything for the most part is probably going to be put off for a few months (or several) as we plan the wedding. We're planning on getting married in Vegas so it won't be TOO much of a hassle and I am looking forward to all the craft projects I get to do for it! :)