My first craft project.....my wedding

As i have mentioned in previous posts the first time i ever did anything crafty was for my wedding in 2010. At the time i loved reading blogs by American brides and also sites like Project Wedding where i would marvel over the ingenuity and talent of these other brides-to-be!
As our wedding date approached i decided to take the plunge and try my hand at homemade wedding decorations and stationary. Looking back i can't believe i did this as if it had all gone wrong i don't know what i would have done, but i am glad i was brave (or reckless) as it turned out wonderfully and i discovered a new love and hobby and a tiny bit of talent.
I decided to make:
* table names
* table plan
* place cards
* wedding card box
* sign for candy buffet
* sign for guest book
* tissue paper pommanders to line the aisle
* seat names for family and wedding party in the ceremony
Let me know what you think?
Table plan:

Wedding Card post box:

Tissue paper pommanders:

Table names:

candy buffet sign:

place cards (we tied them to the back or each chair with yellow ribbon....one less thing on the table)

Ceremony place cards (for close family and wedding party):

It was hard work putting all of this together whilst planning a wedding, but also strangely calming to have something tangible to focus my energies on each evening instead of the general dramas and stresses that come with planning a wedding. On the day, after we were married, it was fulfilling and satisfying to see little pieces of me all over the venue, i had firmly put my stamp on the day. I was proud, and trust me, i do not have a tendancy to feel proud of myself, quite the opposite in fact.
Even more gratyfying was that people didn't even realise the decorations were homemade. Yay me!!! I believe on our wedding DVD you can see my brother give me a high-five, and i remember clearly that high-five was offered when he found out i had made all of the above.

So to any bride-to-bes reading this and wondering if they can do it, or if they should do it? Yes and Yes!! Its a great experience and really adds a little extra to your already special day.

Homemade Nursery Decorations

When i got married to my husband Simon in 2010 i made a lot of the wedding decorations myself. I'd never done anything like that before and i discovered it was sooo much fun and really rewarding to see how things came together.
After the wedding i didn't really have any need to make anything, so i put my glue gun to one side and got on with life.

Then when we found out we were expecting a little girl i just knew there would be something i could make for her nursery that would sate my need for something crafty.

I had planned on making the decorations long before the baby was due, but as things worked out we didn't finish painting her nursery until about 3 weeks before she arrived and so i spent my last few weeks of pregnancy sat on our living room floor surrounded in tissue paper and ribbon. It was hard work doing arts and crafts with an enormous belly. But, for me, it was totally worth it.

This was a garland i made to hang on the wall above her cot and also to hang from some shelves in the room.

And then these were the tissue paper pommanders i made to hang from the ceiling in the corner of her room. She has loved them since she was very young. She used to lay on her changing table and stare at them and now she is bigger if you hold her she knocks them so they swing around.

 Its lovely for me to know that something i made with my own hands provides her with some sense of enjoyment.