Wedding Bells

I love a wedding and since my own I just cannot help offering advice and ideas for other people around me who are getting married. From helping out with stationery designs to producing invites to just offering advice on how, when and how to go about things.  I must just be an old romantic at heart and just love the idea of it all.

On Saturday I saw a friend of old get married in the most beautiful setting on the outskirts of Guildford, Surrey, Loseley Park.  The venue was of significance to us too as our last visit we made there just days before our little one was born. It was so lovely to see it all again and to be there sharing in our friend's special occasion. The wedding was beautifully laid out and every detail was thought of.  

For a special couple, I needed to make a pretty special card. I am hoping the happy couple have surfaced enough by now to have opened their card and are jetting off somewhere not checking my blog! (why ever not?). I am sure it is safe to share with you, so here it is.

I love included elements into a card to make it more personal. This card is made from nearly entirely retired products as they got engaged in Paris it just had to be the Artistic Etchings stamp set as it was perfect. I knew there was a reason I keep some retired products that I just cannot part with! 

There was a lot of Hessian involved in their theme which I know the groom was starting to get a little anxious about as jokes about a hessian dress were bantered about. I added the Burlap ribbon though to keep it in theme. The Burlap ribbon is a current product, available in the annual catalogue. 

The base card is a one I pre-bought, but the card is very similar to the NEW Kraft Cardstock in the catalogue which I am already using for lots of projects.  It is layered with the Natural Ivory card which I bought recently too and have not stopped using since I have had it.  The two match perfectly for more craft-style projects.

More about the details, as weddings are all about the details! The pink ribbon was from their original invite and the Very vanilla satin and the diamante ribbon slide from my own wedding stationery as an added personal touch. The soft flower trim is sadly another retired product, but once I had the idea for the flower heart I was sure of my design and it was just a case of adding the other elements.  The flowers were fantastic at the wedding in pinks and creams and so I couldn't have chosen better. The happy couple looked overwhelmed with joy throughout their day too so I know they have chosen well too.

Now that was a brief break from the seasonal catalogue and it's product.  I am off to munch on some more wedding favours and get back to the glitter and sparkle to show you some more seasonal ideas from tomorrow.

Suzanne
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Current Products Used:

Kraft Cardstock 133674
Natural Ivory Cardstock 108630
Burlap Ribbon 132140
Crumb Cake Classic Ink Pad 126975
Sponge Daubers 133773
Scallop Tag Topper Punch 133324

To place an order, book a workshop in your home or come to a class, just drop me an email at craftyinkbuds@sky.com. Remember you can now order online at anytime too.

Festive preparations are away

Christmas preparations are progressing, but there has definitely been a lot of shopping trips backwards and forwards, and that was just to sort out the tree!  Still, at least we have finally got a tree up and have made a first attempt at decorating it with my special 'little helper'.  I think there may be a little re-arranging to do now, but he enjoyed helping adding the baubles and thankfully we suffered no breakages despite a few tree wobbles in the process!

I can also say that the first flurry of cards has made it out the house too - yey!  Hopefully I am not spoiling the surprise for anyone, but just to say we had an interesting family photo shoot with the self-timer on the camera - there were quite a few takes!

Our cards for close family were the Holly Jolly Greetings Simply Sent (132159 £13.50) which I was amazed at when I saw them as they were so beautifully made.  I should not have been so surprised for Stampin' Up!, after all one of the things I loved most when first introduced was the quality.

Now for another card for today to show a technique which uses my favourite tool - daubers of course!

I guess you are familiar with the Festive Flurry set by now as it has featured on most of my Christmas cards, but here is the largest of the stamps on a card.  The colour is applied to the stamp with daubers with a shaded affect. I have used the beautiful Smoky Slate on the outside edges, then the Coastal Cabana, through to the Bemuda Bay in the centre.  This also works really well with contrast of brighter colours.

I could not resist a little dimension to the card so the snowflake was cut with the matching dies and then added with dimensional pads.  It was so tempting to add a Frosted Finishes Embellishment (132150) to the centre, but I wanted to keep it simple and show the most of the colour so I add a single large Rhinestone.

Just peeping behind the card there is an envelope in the Winter Frost Specialty Designer Series Papers (132341 £11.50).  This card was larger so needed a custom size envelope.  Luckily I had my new toy...I mean tool........the Envelope Punch Board (133774 £17.95).

It really is so easy to make an envelope as the tool has a wealth of sizes already worked out (inches and metric).  The corner punch is a dream as well, with a precise professional finish to form lovely curved corners.

There is still time for festive orders and don't forget your seasonal scrapbook pages or thank yous for post Christmas and the Clearance Rack items to check out!.  The last date to order for Christmas now is 16th December.

Hopefully Christmas is all so well organised I will be able to come back with some more to show you in the next few days.

Suzanne
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