The Creative Bride

and the winner is...

2008-06-02T12:05:00.000-07:00

Congratulations Daphne - you've won the pair of earrings!

Thank you to everyone who has entered - and keep watching, because there are more contests coming up :-)

Artsy bloggers round-up

2008-05-31T11:16:00.000-07:00

A Happy Little Woven Pouch full of sweet sisterly memories
One thing always leads to another, doesn’t it? Reading a sweet book inspired Noreen to weave a little amulet bag in honor of a dearly loved sister.
De-Cluttering my Craft Room the FlyLady Way
Eileen tackles those piles of “inspiration” that seem to accumulate in any artist’s workspace … 15 minutes at a time.
Digital Painting Tutorial
Some more from the lovely and talented Genece Hamby.
Kitchen Message Center from Cutting Board
Have a used up cutting board? Here’s an idea to give it new life.
Layers Upon Layers
Cyndi’s mixing it up again with another project combining physical and digital art!
Link-roundup for the silk paper how-to
Chloe has completed the silk paper project and posted a complete list of all the links.
Update on the fake wasp nests
Noreen Crone-Findlay designed a crocheted fake wasp nest to keep the beasties at bay, and her husband has turned one in wood. Here’s the update on how the wasp away’s are working:

image source: Stock.xchg

Friday photo inspiration

2008-05-30T14:58:00.001-07:00

CIMG3697, originally uploaded by Matt & Helen Hamm.

What a spectacular place for a wedding!

Artsy bloggers round-up

2008-05-25T19:35:00.001-07:00

Be gone foul wasp!
Noreen crocheted fake wasp nest to trick the wasps and yellow jackets into staying away from her home. Let’s hope it works!

Freaky Friday #66
A great visual journal writing prompt.

Is this a Blog? Or is it a Website??
Are you confused by the distinction between a blog and a website? Eileen tries to sort things out for you.

Layers Upon Layers
Torn paper landscapes are super-simple backgrounds for collage!

Review: Last-Minute Fabric Gifts
This junk book helps you transform clothing you no longer wear into fun gifts like recycled sweater hats.

Sewing a wasp decoy?
Chloë was inspired by Noreen’s crocheted wasp decoy to try sewing a fabric wasp nest.

image source: Stock.Xchg

contest reminder - there's still time to enter!

2008-05-21T10:20:00.000-07:00

There's just over a week to enter to win these glass dangle earrings - just remember to read the instructions before you enter!

Artsy bloggers round-up

2008-05-17T09:12:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry about the lack of posting this week - but when you check out my link from Tangled Thread, I think you'll see why! I've been elbow deep in hand-sewing, but it's done and I'll be back this week with a brand-new tutorial and free pattern!

1000 Journals Project
Links to the amazing 1000 Journals Project, in case you’ve missed it so far.

How Will the Orphan Works Bill Affect Ownership of Your Art & Written Work?
Mary Emma at Quilting and Patchwork wonders what you think of the proposed Orphan Works Bill in the US Congress and how it will affect artists, writers, and artisans.

Layers Upon Layers
The incredibly talented Judy Coates Perez has done an artist profile for Layers Upon Layers!

Make Embellishments From Aluminum Cans
If you have a die cut machine and some pretty cans, you can make your own embellishments. Just don’t cut yourself to ribbons while you’re making them!

Organizing and storage of a yarn stash
Noreen Crone-Findlay has posted pics of some of the ways that she organizes and figures out storage solutions for her yarn stash. Here’s the link….

Preserve Your Precious Photos
If you save precious photos on your computer, you need to know about Carbonite online backup subscription service.

The completed memorial textiles
Chloe, from Tangled Thread had finished the memorial textiles created in honor of her grandmother.

Vacation Scrapbook Planter from Sour Cream Container
Reuse a sour cream container as a planter and scrapbook all in one.

image source: Stock.Xchg

Friday photo inspiration

2008-05-16T12:21:00.001-07:00

102_123504_079022202809.jpg, originally uploaded by meow8dotcom.

I love seeing people who include their animals in their wedding ceremony. One of my dogs ended up being our honorary ring-bearer when my DH & I got married last summer! We decided to leave the parrot at home though - I didn't think that she would make a very good flower girl...

Artsy bloggers round-up

2008-05-11T15:42:00.001-07:00

A quick and easy market bag to crochet for ‘WOW MOM’s!
Noreen Crone-Findlay designed a quick and fun market bag in honor of all the Wow Moms out there. And it’s good for dear old mother earth, too!

Decoupage a Byzantine Cross Pendant
Eileen shares instructions for a decoupage Byzantine cross pendant made from cardboard - of all things!

Digital Photomontage Demonstration
Links to a simple photomontage tutorial.

Glorious Gourd Decorating
A quick review on a great resource for gourd decorating.

Layers Upon Layers
Take one cheap piece of felt and transform it into “leather”!

Gadget Wish List for Quilters
Mary Emma at Quilting and Patchwork wonders what you have on your dream list of quilting gadgets

Spring-time felt flowers
Inspire kids to start sewing with this easy felt flower from Tangled Thread

Wooden craft boxes as wedding favors
Chloe from the Creative Bride suggests painting charming & inexpensive wooden boxes to give as wedding favors

image source: Stock.Xchg

Tags: art-blogs, artsy bloggers roun

Friday photo inspiration

2008-05-09T10:45:00.001-07:00

Casamento na praia, originally uploaded by Luís Guilherme.

You don't need to do a lot of decoration if your ceremony location is as beautiful as this one is!

wedding favor ideas - painted wooden boxes

2008-05-07T12:51:00.001-07:00

Are you looking for an easy, inexpensive, handmade wedding favor? How about little painted wooden boxes? The box I painted for this sample cost a grand total of $1.50 at my local craft store (the big one that starts with the letter "M"). Paint? $3.50 per bottle... plus a little time. You can monogram the boxes or decoupage them to match your wedding theme.

Don't forget that the earring contest is still on!

Artsy bloggers round-up

2008-05-04T10:23:00.000-07:00

How to make silk paper
Tangled Thread has created a how-to for making your own silk paper, using raw silk fibers.
Layers Upon Layers
Fabulous mixed media artist Andie MacCowan shares about her artistic journey!
Make Yourself a Giant Check
No, Eileen doesn't tell you to click on this link and win a million dollars. She tells you how to create a giant check for presentation.
Mixed Media Earth Friendly Woven Dolls
This week, Noreen Crone-Findlay finished weaving a very special doll, 'The Earth Listener Angel Doll'. She's uploaded photos of the making of the doll, as well as pics of some of her other mixed media woven dolls. The links are on:
Red Castle Templates
Links to excellent templates, mostly free for you to download.
The Delights of Blogging About Quilting
Mary Emma Allen, at Quilting & Patchwork, discusses the enjoyment she finds in blogging about quilting and connecting with other quilters and fabric artists..
win a pair of beaded dangle earrings
The Creative Bride is giving away a pair of her beaded dangle earrings - just make sure to real the rules before you enter :-)
Cat Toy (and more) from Ketchup Bottle
Learn about all the cat-related uses for an empty ketchup bottle.
A Call for Alzheimer's Related Art
I am compiling art for an ezine titled "A Portrait of Alzheimer's" and am putting out a call for artwork and poetry.

image source: Stock.Xchg

Friday photo inspiration

2008-05-02T08:48:00.001-07:00

an unfortunately ruined dress, originally uploaded by tarts larue.

It's cool, grey and rainy... and your wedding is due to start - what's a girl to do? Grab a fabulous umbrella and enjoy your day!

Friday photo inspiration

2008-05-02T08:47:00.001-07:00

Covered bridge, originally uploaded by photosavvy.

Friday photo inspiration

2008-05-02T08:46:00.001-07:00

Could it be raining?, originally uploaded by kit.

win a pair of beaded dangle earrings

2008-04-29T08:44:00.001-07:00

As I promised on Thursday, I've got a special treat for you... I'm holding the first-ever Creative Bride contest! The lucky winner will win this set of earrings - the same ones I created to demonstrate this tutorial:
To enter, just leave a comment on this post, explaining *why you deserve to win the earrings*!

The rules:

One entry per person please.
Leave a valid email address so I can contact you if you're the winner (it won't be shared)
The contest will run from now until May 31st.
I reserve the right to delete entries not fulfilling the entry requirements (ei - don't leave a comment just saying "thanks")

Thanks for entering and good luck!

Artsy bloggers round-up

2008-04-26T09:49:00.000-07:00

Quilts in Times of Disasters

Quilters often turn to quiltmaking in times of stress, crisis and disaster. Mary Emma Allen, of Quilting and Patchwork, mentions a scene in one of her books about quilting during the Civil War.

Cornstarch clay- can it look like turquoise?
Noreen Crone-Findlay is working on a new doll. She’s spun the yarn to weave the body, and sculpted the head from cornstarch clay. She painted it to look like carved turquoise.

Creative Scarecrows book review
Yard people aren’t just for the fall. Check out this book for inspiration.

Keeping a Knitting Journal
Links to free knitting journal page downloads to keep your knitting organised.

Layers Upon Layers
Cyndi got a new tool — a forstner bit — and couldn’t wait to come up with a project to use it…

Make your own wedding earrings
The Creative Bride has created an easy tutorial to make these feminine dangle earrings.

Tangled Thread’s final De-Stash challenge check in
Chloe has put together a list of her favorite De-Stash challenge projects from the past six weeks.

Tea Tag Bookmark
A simple reuse project for tea lovers.

What Did I Accomplish This WeeK?
Did you ever come to the end of a week and ask yourself, “What in the world did I do all week? Eileen muses on her week.

image source: Stock.Xchg

Friday photo inspiration

2008-04-25T09:14:00.001-07:00

AshleyJosh_1300, originally uploaded by Shindig Photos.

I thought that today's Friday Photo Inspiration should be all about outdoor weddings. After all, it's starting to warm up enough that your guests won't get frostbite :-)

Friday photo inspiration

2008-04-25T09:10:00.001-07:00

outdoor wedding, originally uploaded by m.a.mueller.

Friday photo inspiration

2008-04-25T09:09:00.001-07:00

down the aisle, originally uploaded by cdiblasio.

tutorial: easy dangle earrings, part two

2008-04-24T10:52:00.000-07:00

Ready to start creating? I gave you a list of supplies yesterday - got them all? Just as a reminder, this is an original design so please don't copy the pattern - feel free to email the link though :-)

To begin, you'll need to trim six headpins to three different lengths - like this:
Each earring needs three headpins, each one with an approximate difference of 1/4". I'm using 2" headpins, so I trimmed to first two to a length of 1-3/4". The second pair is 1-1/2" long and the short pair of headpins are 1-1/4" long. You can also adjust the lengths if you prefer shorter or longer earring dangles as well.

Place your beads onto the headpins - I needed to use seed beads at the end to stop the bigger focal beads from slipping off:
We now need to curl the top of the head pin into a complete circle like this:
Use your round nose pliers and gently curl the headpin to form the circle.

Use the needle nose pliers and crease the headpin at the bottom of the circle - the dangle will hang straighter that way:
Open up with the circle and slide the ear wire into it. Close the circle again, so the earring looks like this:
Now repeat the step with the other earring. Each earring should have three headpins, each a different length.

Here's how the finished pair look:
The sky really is the limit with this simple design - you can use pearls, or crystals, or shiny glass beads...

tutorial: easy dangle earrings

2008-04-23T09:49:00.000-07:00

Time for a new tutorial! Do you want to make your own jewelry for your wedding, but aren't sure where to start? This is an easy design (it's one of my more popular classes) to create a versatile pair of earrings in less than an hour. Just a reminder, this is an original design, so please don't use the photos or text - feel free to email the link though :-)

You'll need:

needle-nose pliers
round nose pliers
bent nose pliers, or a second set of needle nose pliers
wire snips (optional, lots of jewelry needle nose pliers have wire snips built in)
head pins (I'm using plain ones for this project, but you can get head pins with fancy ends like rhinestones or little hearts)
ear wires (use gold or sterling silver if your ears are sensitive
six small focal beads
optional: smaller "E" or seed beads if your focal beads have large holes.

I'll show you the first steps tomorrow :-)

Artsy bloggers round-up

2008-04-19T10:55:00.000-07:00

Cover girl! Here’s my heart…..
Noreen Crone-Findlay designed, spool knitted and wove a wonderful heart. The art director at Harlequin Romances liked it so much that she bought one for the cover of a new Harlequin Romance. And now, they’re holding a contest so readers can win the heart. Here’s the link….

Digital Painting Tutorial
Artist Genece Hamby shares her pushing colour tutorial.

How to Attach Vintage Buttons to a Charm Bracelet
Antique buttons make special charm bracelets. Here’s how to attach the buttons without destroying their value as collectibles.

Inspiration Comes From the Strangest Things
Make a colorful background for your artwork.

Layers Upon Layers
Cyndi has a great magazine to give away…as a bribe!

Trails End Quilters of the 1870’s - My Quilting Heritage
Mary Emma, at Quilting and Patchwork, reminisces about her quilting heritage and urges you to discover yours.

Use t-shirts to create a recycled, reversible totebag
Chloe from Tangled Thread has created a tutorial for making an easy totebag using a t-shirt

Vintage Gift Tags
With your love of old magazines, create inexpensive, easy-to-make gift tags your friends will cherish.

Scrapbooking your wedding
The Creative Bride has been busy creating the first few pages of her wedding scrapbook.

image source: Stock.Xchg

Friday photo inspiration

2008-04-18T10:12:00.001-07:00

amanda kaotik, originally uploaded by vingt_deux.

For this week's Friday Photo inspiration, I'm going with tattoos on brides. There is some spectacular artwork out there and I think that brides shouldn't be afraid to show it on their wedding day!

Friday photo inspiration

2008-04-18T10:04:00.001-07:00

showing off the ink, originally uploaded by Ferrous Femur.

scrapbooking your wedding - part two

2008-04-15T08:53:00.000-07:00

I showed you the first page of my wedding scrapbook yesterday - here's the next two pages:
My DH & myself used butterfly stickers to decorate the programs, but we ended up using two different kinds of stickers. What's a person to do? Put one of both programs into the scrapbook!

I was glad I saved some extra programs - they're a lovely reminded to have :-)

Again, I used really simple layouts and just added some butterfly stickers to these two pages as accents. If your invitation folds open, using multiple copies of it in your wedding scrapbook (like I did with my programs) can be a great way to show everything.

I'll post more pages as I create them :-)

scrapbooking your wedding

2008-04-14T15:47:00.000-07:00

I've just recently started to put together a scrapbook for my wedding (yes, I know it's taken almost 8 months - I'm a busy person!) and am glad I saved things like extra wedding programs :-)
This is the first page of the scrapbook. I layered one of the invitations with an envelope (with one of the wax seals we used for hand-delivered invitations) I used an archival double-sided tape to attach everything to the paper. It's important to use archival materials, including paper, glue and even the scrapbook itself. You don't want to put all that time and effort into making something that's going to fall apart and discolour in a couple of years.

So far, I'm going with plain and simple embellishments - but of course I may change my mind too... I'll show you the next two pages tomorrow :-)

Artsy bloggers round-up

2008-04-12T11:30:00.000-07:00

An “Elephant” Strategy to Quilting Business Success
In her new book, Karin Abarbanel provides a woman’s “go-for-it!” guide to developing a business…whether in quilting, crafts, or other areas.

Does Your Art Shock You?
If you are startled when you look at your art the next day, you are doing something right.

Eco projects to celebrate Earth Day
Noreen Crone-Findlay has been having a wonderful time reclaiming wood from a broken loom and a melted down old desk. She's made some very fine bag handles and some fab eco bracelets. Every Day is Earth Day, right?

In Search of Craft Balance
How to squeeze more time for your art into your busy days.

Junk Project: Orange Bird Feeder
Learn how to make a bird feeder from a used orange peeling.

Layers Upon Layers
A clock-junkie shares what to do with those annoying AOL cds…

Make Artistic Stickers for Your Journal
Links to an easy tutorial for making your own artistic stickers.

Things You’d Never Imagine From Beer Cans, Gloves and Chairs
Explore the beautiful work of junk artist Paul Villinski.

Hand-sewing special projects
I've been working with my mum to create a series of hand-sewn runners to commemorate my grandmother.

image source: Stock.Xchg

Friday photo inspiration

2008-04-11T10:23:00.001-07:00

Bridemaids' flowers, originally uploaded by BabyDinosaur.

Friday photo inspiration

2008-04-11T10:21:00.003-07:00

Wedding Bouquet, originally uploaded by audra little.

Friday photo inspiration

2008-04-11T10:21:00.001-07:00

A twist on the classic..., originally uploaded by morgan_iscool.

It's starting to feel like spring in my neck of the woods - the tulips are finally poking through the soil!

In honor of the promise of new flowers, today's Friday Photo Inspiration is all flowers.

tutorial: embroidered blessing ribbons

2008-04-09T18:15:00.000-07:00

I showed you one of the "blessing ribbons" I created for my wedding in the last post. Essentially, I programmed a message into my sewing machine (an older computerized sewing machine with embroidery features) and stitched it onto lengths of grosgrain ribbon.

I also created some test ribbons using strips of duppioni silk:
The green is grosgrain ribbon and the blues are silk. I embroidered my brother and his fiancee's names and the date of their wedding onto a white ribbon, which then got wrapped around their guest book:
It's hard to make out the writing in this photo, but the embroidery is a lovely, subtle way to mark something with dates and names.

If you don't have a machine capable of embroidering letters, why not hand embroider ribbon? You could even paint it on as well! I'm making a series of these to include in my wedding album and scrapbook.

embroidered blessing ribbons

2008-04-08T14:35:00.000-07:00

I wanted a subtle way to include names, dates and even little messages into projects I made for my wedding, as well as my brother's wedding (two weddings in three months - it was a busy summer!)

I came up with embroidering "blessing ribbons" using my computerized embroidery machine. In my next post I'll show you how I created them and how you can use them in your own wedding preparations!

the wedding dress for the really creative bride on a really tight budget

2008-04-07T11:03:00.000-07:00

Are you short on cash but long on time and creativity? This talented Craftster has put together an impressive wedding dress for $10... from dollar store shower curtains and ribbon!

Artsy bloggers round-up

2008-04-05T10:17:00.001-07:00

Creative ways to use up your stash - dyeing fabric

Tangled Thread shows how to re-work a piece of fabric that she no longer likes - by dyeing it.

Jennifer Chiviarini’s New Book - The Winding Ways Quilt
For those who enjoy the Elm Creek Quilters’ series, a new novel was just released.

Layers Upon Layers
Have a good time just playing with paper strips! Sometimes the results are amazing, sometimes they’re just plain fun!

Some Things You Can – and Can’t! – Do with Your Graphic Software
Eileen at The Artful Crafter talks about how you can use computer software design programs to create customized and unique designs without violating copyright.

Tiny and easy to make Worry Dolls
Oooh… there seems to be so much to worry about these days. Why not take a brief holiday from worrying and make some enchanting little Worry Dolls for yourself and your friends. Noreen will show you how.

Your Treasure Map
Links to an exercise for creating your personal treasure map.

Friday photo inspiration

2008-04-04T09:23:00.000-07:00

It's lovely to be back! For a special treat, this week's Friday Photo Inspiration is from my own wedding :-) I just got the "official" photos back and wanted to share a few with my lovely readers.
I created the centrepieces using vintage silver trays, glass vases, tea lights & holders and coloured glass pebbles. Cost? Approximately $8 per table - and they looked awesome! Several family members helped track down the trays - mostly from second hand stores :-)

The wedding cakes, surrounded by origami butterflies. The cakes were decorated with fabric ribbon, stencilled icing butterflies and little sugar flowers to match the real flowers. My bouquet, that I created the morning of the wedding - it was easy to do and ended up costing a quarter of the price of getting the bouquets made by a florist. It's definitely worthwhile doing a test run first though!

I'm back!

2008-04-03T11:01:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the delay folks, it took awhile to get the technical issues sorted out! Okay, here's the scoop - you can reach The Creative Bride at:

http://thecreativebrideblog.com

or the original Blogspot address:

http://thecreativebride.blogspot.com

But for some reason, www.thecreativebrideblog.com doesn't work...

Go figure!

I'll be back tomorrow with some yummy photos :-)

changing domain names

2008-03-25T13:28:00.000-07:00

Hello all, this is just a brief note to let you know that I'm switching my current domain name from www.thecreativebride.blogspot, to it's brand new one: www.thecreativebrideblog.com

There may be a couple of days where you can't reach the blog, but never fear - I'll be back as soon as I can!

Artsy bloggers round-up

2008-03-22T08:19:00.001-07:00

Delightful spool knitted goodies- Kittycat bookmark

This week, Noreen has designed a couple of really fun treasures- it all began with a spool knitted kitty cat bookmark, which lead to a springtime bunny. Who knows where it will all end?

Layers Upon Layers
Want to try collage? Here’s an easy way to put those background papers and textured bits and bobs to use!

Make A Museum Store Quality Decoupage Plate
Eileen at The Artful Crafter gives step-by-step directions for decoupage under glass with a couple of unique twists.

Miracle of the Egg
A mixed media piece in celebration of the amazing egg.

Sisters on Sojourn Website Update
Check out what the Sisters have for visual journal keepers

Student Makes Quilt Depicting Slavery & the Underground Railroad
Youngsters can learn much by making quilts in connection with their classes. One 5th grader designed a very interesting project.

The Creative Bride
Complete the embroidered flower brooch that we started last week, using this tutorial

Make easy embroidered felt Easter eggs
Use your sewing machine to create easy, charming embroidered felt easter eggs with Tangled Thread.

Friday photo inspiration

2008-03-21T11:24:00.001-07:00

TomCarrie.Wedding.073, originally uploaded by Tyrven.

I love bubbles at weddings... in fact - I had bubbles at my wedding! It's a fun, light-hearted way to involve your guests in the ceremony. Just make sure to buy stain-free bubbles!

tutorial: embroidered flower brooches - part two

2008-03-20T16:16:00.000-07:00

Ready to finish up your flower brooch? Here's the first set of instructions if you missed them :-)

Just a reminder, this is an original, copyright pattern that I've put a lot of time & energy into creating. Please don't copy the post - but feel free to send the link to people !

Lay the smaller flower centre on top of the bigger bottom one and tack together using running stitches:
I decided to use buttons as the centre of my flower brooch, but you could also use beads as well. Use a needle & thread with four strands of thread (or two strands of heavy-duty hand sewing thread) Begin randomly sewing buttons (or beads) onto the centre of the flower, building up layers as you go. I used several different styles of buttons, both clear & ivory. If you look closely you can even see a little cupid button!

Sew a pin back (or hair clip) onto the back of the brooch and enjoy!

tutorial: embroidered flower brooches - part one

2008-03-19T13:34:00.001-07:00

As promised, here's part one of the tutorial to create an embroidered flower brooch. I asked you last time to have these supplies - ready to go?

The first step is to draw a flower shape onto a piece of plain paper. I went with an uneven flower - nothing fancy:
Trace the flower onto your netting and fold it over so you have two layers of netting. Don't cut the flower out yet! Using a zig-zag stitch, stitch all the way around the flower, just slightly to the inside of the pen line.

Okay, now you can cut the flower out!

Now we need to stabilize the edges:
Sew a length of yarn or cord around the edge of the flower, using a zig-zag stitch. I'm using a mohair yarn with little picots on the edges:
I sewed into the centre of the flower, just to give it a little definition. Here's how it looks out from underneath the sewing machine:
I then stitched another cord across each petal, to mimic the central "ribs" that some flowers have. This also stabilizes the brooch as well. Again, just use a zig-zag stitch to stitch the cord down. I'm using a soft, twisted satin cord:
I wanted to add a little bit more glitz to the brooch, so I went over the edges with a metallic machine embroidery thread, again - just zig-zag. I used a silver thread over the central ribs of the flower.

You've got the first layer of the brooch done!
Now repeat the same steps over again, just with a slightly smaller flower - that's the inside of the brooch. I'll show you how to connect everything - but that's for tomorrow :-)

De-Stash Your Studio challenge

2008-03-17T09:54:00.001-07:00

I've decided to start my Earth Day celebrations a little early this year... and by not buying any fabric until April 22nd!

You can read all the details or join me in the challenge on my fiber art blog :-)

short & sweet Saturday links

2008-03-15T11:14:00.000-07:00

I am a devoted fan of Etsy (in fact, you can see my shop here) so I was so excited to see their "Handmade Wedding" series!

Artsy bloggers round-up

2008-03-15T11:05:00.000-07:00

I just recently joined the Artsy Bloggers Round-Up (you can visit my other blog by clicking on the link for Tangled Thread) and wanted to share the links with you all!

Crocheted Comfort Bear by Noreen Crone-Findlay
Noreen Crone-Findlay designed a charming little Comfie Bear and has uploaded the pattern to hankering for yarn.

Knitted Elspeth Doll by Noreen Crone-Findlay
Elspeth is an enchanting doll designed by Noreen Crone-Findlay. She’s uploaded the pattern to hankeringforyarn.com

Layers Upon Layers
Use a lot of texture when you create a geometric collage, and it will never be boring!

Look at Eileen’s New Toy!
Eileen discovers the Scor-it Board to make professional quality hinge folds by hand in all kinds of papercraft projects.

Quilting With a St. Patrick’s Day Influence
Discover the many quilt and fabric art patterns with a connection to St. Patrick’s Day and the Irish.

Tangled Thread is playing with bleach
Tangled Thread is creating one-of-a-kind printed fabric using bleach gel pens

Embroidered flower brooches from The Creative Bride
The Creative Bride is getting ready to make a floral brooch using thread, beads & netting.

Visual Delights
If you don’t keep a visual journal you will want to once you’ve seen this website.

image source

Friday photo inspiration

2008-03-14T15:31:00.001-07:00

ellens butterfly bliss, originally uploaded by nicola loves candy.

I'm such a sucker for butterflies...

Friday photo inspiration

2008-03-14T15:29:00.001-07:00

ring pillow, originally uploaded by Marjorie from Illnois.

What a gorgeous way to bless a marriage! Such a lucky niece to have been given this hand-embroidered ring-bearer's pillow.

tutorial: make an embroidered flower brooch

2008-03-13T15:53:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I posted a tutorial for you lovely ladies, so here's how I make embroidered flower brooches! They would make a beautiful accessory for your wedding day, either pinned on your bodice, into your train or bustle or even as a hair clip.

To make this project you'll need:

Craft or crinoline netting (I'm using white, slightly sparkly netting)
Matching or contrasting beads for the center of the flower
Sewing machine thread (feel free to use metallic thread too!)
Decorative cord or yarn
Scissors, needles, pen, brooch pin or hair clip

And not shown, but also neccessary... a sewing machine capable of free-motion embroidery. As long as you can drop the feed dogs on your machine - you can do it!

You'll get the full how-to on Monday - so stay tuned!

make your own wedding favor boxes & bags

2008-03-12T20:21:00.001-07:00

I just found this site and am utterly enchanted! It's called The Toy Maker, and features the paper art of Marilyn Scott-Waters. Definitely worth a look :-)

What really captured my attention was this little paper bag:
It's a free, PDF download to create your own flower bag. I think that these would make lovely wedding favors - think about all the different ways to decorate them... and then all the things you could put inside....

want to win a charm from Twisted Silver?

2008-03-10T13:54:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the slow posting over the past few days! I've been helping my family move and haven't had two spare seconds for my computer...

Anyhow - I'm hosting a contest on one of my other blogs, Her Accessories, to win this cute little charm from Twisted Silver:
If you'd like to enter, click this link and follow the instructions. But hurry because it's only on until March 20th!

Friday photo inspiration

2008-03-07T19:25:00.001-08:00

Møyfrid & Gaute, originally uploaded by supermarion.

Or if your tastes run to red boots...

Friday photo inspiration

2008-03-07T19:24:00.001-08:00

IMG_6630, originally uploaded by bitogoth.

Now those are some seriously kick-ass boots to get married in!

a guestbook with Scottish flair

2008-03-05T13:41:00.000-08:00

I wanted to create a unique guest book for my brother & his fiancee when they got married last year. They were going with a Scottish theme for the wedding (the men were all in kilts) and so I got to snag a little bit of the family tartan!

I felt that covering the entire guestbook in the tartan would be over the top (of course, the fact that it costs $200 per metre didn't help either!) I ended up using an embellished white taffeta with a strip of the tartan over top. To make it that much more Scottish I also found a lovely kilt pin with the clan crest on it, and pinned it onto the book. The tartan is topped off with a strip of white grosgrain ribbon that I embroidered with their names & the date of their wedding.

They loved it and it got filled up with good wishes, poems and dreams at their reception.

10 reasons to have a creative wedding

2008-03-04T18:28:00.000-08:00

Because you want to create a unique wedding.
It's a great way to save money.
You want to be more involved in your wedding (and not just turn it over to a planner or someone else).
Because you love to make things.
You & your fiance want to express your own distinct style.
You don't want to do the big, white, poofy princess wedding gown.
You do want the big, white, poofy, princess wedding gown - but you want to make it yourself!
It's an easier way to create an eco-sensitive (or insert your special desires here) wedding by being creative.
Your fiance is not a standard suit or tux kind of guy (or gal).
And just because it's a great way to create a memorable wedding!

want to win a copy of "Cake Art"?

2008-03-03T20:10:00.000-08:00

She Knows Parties is giving away this amazing looking book "Cake Art"! It's from the Culinary Institute of America and should be a great addition to a creative bride's collection :-)

You can check out all the details & enter here.

Image source

Friday photo inspiration

2008-02-29T13:09:00.001-08:00

butterfly, originally uploaded by tiarazone2007.

I'm a total sucker for butterflies - as you already know :-) I love this tiara with tiny little brass butterflies on it!

Mohop shoes

2008-02-28T10:14:00.000-08:00

Have you heard about Mohop shoes? They're enviromentally friendly shoes, made by hand in a workshop in Chicago. I think that they would make fantastic shoes for a creative bride on her wedding day!

You can choose the shape of the footbed, the height of the heel and even add wedges if you like :-)

They're designed to be tied in all kinds of different ways, so you can get looks like this:
Or this:
Or if you really want to get creative and crochet your own straps, this:

sewing your own vintage-look wedding dresses

2008-02-27T13:19:00.001-08:00

There are some wonderful vintage wedding dresses out there - as well as some lovely vintage dresses that would work as wedding dresses!

But what if you don't like the fabric it's made out of?

Or what if it's too small?

Or bits of it are falling apart!

Luckily, there are pattern companies who are making vintage-style patterns for modern bodies. Vogue has some lovely ones in their catalog:

Click on the photos for more information.

Of course, if you prefer to work from the original sewing patterns, So Vintage Patterns is the place for you!

making your own invitations using kraft paper

2008-02-25T13:13:00.000-08:00

I've already given you a few ideas for using scrapbooking paper to make wedding invitations, but what if the metallic paper I used is too sparkly for you?

How about using brown kraft paper instead?
The same rules apply if you're going to use vellum, but kraft paper is a little bit more flexible - most inks will work beautifully with it.
I stamped a pink leaf pattern on the craft paper, and then used black ink to stamp the word "love" underneath it. I used a floral stamp on the vellum. The design didn't photograph that well, but using multiple layers of stamps can be a great way to customize invitations.

win free tickets to the first Eco-Wedding & Lifestyle show

2008-02-23T14:12:00.000-08:00

Would you like to win a pair of tickets to the very first Eco-Wedding & Lifestyles show, held in Toronto? Just click here to visit the Tree Hugging family blog & enter!

short & sweet Saturday links

2008-02-23T13:48:00.000-08:00

I think this is the ultimate in being a creative bride - spinning your old wedding dress into yarn!

Friday photo inspiration

2008-02-22T08:44:00.001-08:00

Wedding Favours: Black & White, originally uploaded by Trish CupcakeMomma.

There are tons of options for decorating cupcakes as well - I love the elegance and simplicity of these black & white ones.

Friday photo inspiration

2008-02-22T08:41:00.001-08:00

Wedding Cupcakes for a Magazine Shoot!, originally uploaded by kylie lambert (Le Cupcake-Australia).

Cupcakes make a great alternative to a wedding cake - without the worry of cutting the cake either :-)

creating your own wedding invitations with metallic paper

2008-02-21T13:17:00.000-08:00

I love how metallic scrapbooking paper looks & feels - it's silky and still has enough weight to hold up to all sort of embellishments... Which of course is why I used it when I designed these invitations.

There are a few things to remember when you're going to use metallic paper or vellum.

Use a permanent stamp ink (I like Staz-On - it's what I used to create the sample cards)
Let the paper dry for at least 20 minutes (or longer if it's humid outside) before touching or even stacking the paper.
Make a few test cards before you create 200 cards and discover that the ink you chose doesn't show up!
If you're using an ink-jet printer to print on the vellum or metallic paper, it's very important to just print one sheet at a time. The same rules apply for printing that apply to stamping - let it dry thoroughly!

I used a 6" by 12" sheet of metallic paper, folded in half to make the top card. I cut a 2" square out of the centre (using a gridded quilting ruler makes it easy!). The liner is a 5" by 10" piece of vellum, folded in half. I used a small dab of glue in the centre fold of the card to anchor the vellum. I used a hole punch to cut two small holes in the centre fold - approximately 2" apart. I used a scrapbooking punch to create the holes. I threaded a 6" length of sheer 5/8" wide ribbon through the holes and tied a knot. I trimmed the edges of the ribbon at an angle, but you could also cut little dove tails in as well. I used a butterfly stamp and black ink to stamp the butterfly.
This card is just a single 4" X 11" sheet of metallic paper. I stamped directly onto the metallic paper (remember to let it dry!) The top layer is a 3.5" X 10" sheet of vellum. I used the same hole punch to punch the holes, approximately 1" apart. To make this bow, thread both ends of the ribbon from the right side to the wrong side of the card (they should be even on the back) You'll have an even, flat loop of ribbon on the right side. Turn the card over and thread both ends of the ribbon to the right side, out the opposite hole they were threaded into. Trim the ends, and presto, you're done!

Of course, you still need to put all those pesky details like place, time...

using scrapbooking paper & vellum to create your wedding invitations

2008-02-20T09:03:00.000-08:00

These cards are from one of my classes that I teach - and you guys get them for free :-) I've used metallic & brown craft paper, vellum, stamps & ribbon to create these easy & elegant invitations:

I'll show you how I created them in the next couple of days...

how to propose - hilarious video!

2008-02-18T10:07:00.000-08:00

Thank you to Twistie for finding this little gem!

short & sweet Saturday links

2008-02-16T12:51:00.000-08:00

I'm a huge Etsy fan (in fact, I even sell my work in my own Etsy shop) - so I was thrilled when I found the "Etsy Wedding" blog. It's filled with all sorts of wonderful wedding items - all hand-made and unique.

Friday photo inspiration

2008-02-15T16:20:00.001-08:00

... and adoration, originally uploaded by rzdeloach.

I just dyed my hair pink yesterday, which inspired me to go hunting for brides with funky pink hair too! I love her unique tiara as well...

Friday photo inspiration

2008-02-15T16:19:00.001-08:00

Pink., originally uploaded by monstro.

Pink hair isn't just for the girls - the guys can rock it too!

planning bridal outfits with Polyvore

2008-02-14T09:37:00.001-08:00

Have you had a chance to play with Polyvore yet? It's an online outfit designing program (free to use!) It's great for high fashion - but it also works beautifully for planning bridal outfits as well, especially if you're wanting something a little different :-)

I spent some time this morning and came up with three outfits - in only half an hour or so! There are thousands of options for dresses, skirts, accessories & colours - it's definitely worth playing with it if you're not quite sure what you want to wear on your big day.

Want to go with something sleek & contemporary?
Or you don't want to do the traditional white?
Or you're planning a relaxed, outdoor wedding?

embroidered wedding invitations

2008-02-13T13:54:00.000-08:00

I love working with fabric and embroidery - so I came up with an easy way to make your own embroidered monogrammed wedding invitations or thank-you cards.

Here's part one of the tutorial

And part two
Just a reminder - all content on this blog is copyright and is not to be copied, re-used or re-posted without my express written permission :-)

making your own wedding favors? out of chocolate?

2008-02-11T13:13:00.000-08:00

I wanted to give wedding favors that, A: tasted good, and B: kept with our colours & theme. So if you're following me here so far, they needed to be blue, green or brown butterflies and not taste like chalk.

Doesn't sound too hard right?

I loved these.

But they don't ship to Canada.

I did some looking around and couldn't find a Canadian source for them. Sigh...

We still wanted to go with something yummy, inexpensive and in our colours. I've made candy to give as gifts for years now and thought I was up to making our own favors. I spent some time browsing through my local craft store (they have a surprisingly good selection of candy making supplies!) and found some lovely heart-shaped molds for poured chocolates. No butterflies unfortunately...

I bought the molds & some milk chocolate and tested them out - they worked great!

I enlisted the help of my sister-in-law and we spent a couple of hours pouring chocolates (thank goodness for freezers!)

In the space of two hours we had over 100 chocolate hearts, ready to be bagged up :-)

Here's how I wrapped them:
They got slipped into cellophane bags (50 bags for $7 - not bad) and tied with an origami butterfly. The whole thing cost less than $100 and only took a few hours to do - and we got a ton of compliments on them too!

Of course, months afterwards - I found out about these little chocolate molds...

short & sweet Saturday links

2008-02-09T13:12:00.000-08:00

Here's a great link for step-by-step instructions on making your own wedding bouquet.

Friday photo inspiration

2008-02-08T10:23:00.001-08:00

Klen's and Misha's Wedding, originally uploaded by White Marten.

What can I say - I'm a sucker for a man in a kilt :-) It's my Scottish roots showing... I love the bride's ribbon skirt!

Friday photo inspiration

2008-02-08T10:20:00.001-08:00

Beautiful Day for a Wedding, originally uploaded by traceyisanozzy.

There are some wonderful photos on Flickr of people's wedding colours - lots of inspiration!

my wedding colours

2008-02-07T11:58:00.001-08:00

In my last post I mentioned that my DH & myself had chosen blue, green & brown as our wedding colours. I wanted to show you how we worked them into our wedding - I loved the way they coordinated with everything :-)
The cakes had chocolate fondant icing with tiny blue & green butterflies. They also had red & white flowers, to match the bridal party's flowers. I hit up my local craft store and bought spools of every ribbon I could find in combinations of green, blue or brown. I even ended up gluing layers of ribbon together to get the look I wanted.
My mom wove the fabric to make my DH's vest - I think that was one of the biggest projects of the whole wedding! There are many hours of work woven into that vest...
I sewed it together :-)
Unfortunately, I don't have many photos of the tables :-( I used candles & glass pebbles in blue & green for the centrepiece. The favors were definitely a group labour of love! My MIL & I folded the origami butterflies, I made the chocolate hearts with my SIL and we all got together to put them together.
My bridesmaids wore brown dresses and/or skirts & tops (I picked the fabric and let them pick their own dress patterns) in matching fabric. I sewed sheer chiffon shawls for them in either blue or green. I ended up sewing the shawls the afternoon before we got married!

I loved the way the colours worked together - have fun with your own wedding colours & be creative!

choosing your colours

2008-02-06T13:41:00.000-08:00

You know you want to use colours that are unique, beautiful and say something about you & your fiance, right?

How on earth do you narrow all those choices down to something that will actually work for you?

Luckily, the internet is filled with all sorts of fantastic colour guides that can help you out.

Pantone is the grand-daddy of the colour forecasting companies, and their seasonal forecasts are definitely worth checking out for inspiration. Their Fall 2008 fashion forecast was just released and has lots of yummy colours that would be perfect for a wedding!

Color Blender is on online tool for selecting colour palettes that look flattering together - you can play for hours with this one!

The Knot has photo galleries of real weddings that you can search or browse through by colour. They've got pink, red, orange, blue, brown & more.

My DH & myself chose a wedding palette of blue, green & brown - the colours of our eyes :-) My eyes are blue & his are hazel (a mix of green & brown) The colours coordinated beautifully with each other and gave us the unique look we were looking for.

Image source

re-fashioning vintage jewelery for weddings

2008-02-04T08:58:00.000-08:00

I adore vintage & antique porcelain flower jewelery! There's a story behind that... but you'll have to wait to hear it :-)

I decided that I wanted to wear flowers in my hair for my wedding (wasn't wearing a veil or tiara) and decided that the porcelain or china flowers would look lovely. They are quite easy to find on eBay (I found several in second hand shops as well) and not that expensive. In fact, I got so enthusiastic with my finds that I ended up with waaaay too many flowers :-)

But, how to wear them in my hair? I didn't really want to risk sharp points from the brooch backs on my scalp.

I took a risk and used pliers to pry the pin back off the cheapest flower brooch (I figured it was better to risk breaking the $2 rather than the $15 one!) and miracle of miracles - the old glue gave way and peeled off cleanly!

If you want to make your own hair pins, you'll need some bobby pins or hair clips (my local Michaels store carries bobby pins for making your own hair accessories in their wedding department) as well as a glue like E6000. I just put a dab of glue on the back of the flowers and let them dry overnight.

Because I had some extras, I decided to give them to my bridesmaids, to wear on their shawls:
I was tickled pink with how the flowers looked in my hair - with no chance of wilting!

short & sweet Saturday links

2008-02-02T14:24:00.001-08:00

Check out the gorgeous vintage dress this Australian bride wore for her wedding!

Friday photo inspiration

2008-02-01T08:28:00.001-08:00

Mairi tartan/plaid wedding dress, originally uploaded by Lukasz Dunikowski.

Don't be afraid do something other "the white dress"! There are so many ways of expressing your personal style out there :-)

zombie brides

2008-02-01T08:22:00.001-08:00

The Bride, originally uploaded by sjnewton.

Now - this might not be everyone's style of choice for your wedding - but if you & your fiance are zombie-philes... go for it!

memory or card boxes

2008-01-31T12:01:00.000-08:00

My fiance & I used butterflies as our theme for our wedding. They were subtle - but there were butterflies everywhere :-) I designed a card or memory box to use at the reception to hold cards and smaller goodies.

If you'd like to make your own version, here's part one and part two of the tutorial on my fabric blog.

my creative dress

2008-01-30T10:34:00.000-08:00

My own wedding dress:Ah... wedding dresses - never have so many ugly, uncomfortable, almost unwearable dresses been classified under one category before!

I just couldn't image spending hundreds of dollars on a dress I was only going to wear for one day. Not to mention that fact that the trend of strapless or sleeveless dresses really isn't flattering on my plus-size frame.

So what's a creative girl to do?

Sew your own!

I spent hours browsing through patterns in my favorite fabric store, but nothing really grabbed my fancy. I finally realized that I wasn't looking at patterns that would be flattering - and had a brainwave! Why not use my favorite blouse pattern? It's easy to sew, looks awesome on and, with the right fabric should look suitably bridal-y.

Okay, so my top was taken care of - what about a skirt? Or should I go with a dress instead?

Decisions, decisions!

I eventually decided on skirt "E" from this pattern. It's long enough to be dressy, but the train is short enough that I can dance without falling :-)

I found some lovely ivory coloured duppioni silk on sale for 50% off and snagged enough to make the blouse & skirt (and have enough left over for things like guest books)

If you're making your own dress, I think one of the best things to do is make a test garment first. You don't need to use your good fabric, but use something that's got a similar weight and texture. I was sure glad I make a test skirt - I needed to add an extra two inches to the hem (I'm 5'10") it would have been waaaay too short otherwise!

The final outfit only took about 12 hours of sewing to finish - which included hand-sewing details on. My mom actually made hand-made lace butterflies to sew onto both the dress and the skirt.
Making my own dress allowed me to create something unique and special for my wedding - I know that no one else will ever have something quite like it. It also ended up costing less than $200 to make!

As an alternative - check out seamstresses or dressmakers in your area if you don't sew. Shop around and talk to several different people.

helping hands

2008-01-29T13:24:00.000-08:00

There's much to be said for asking for help! There are lots of things I'm good at doing - for instance, I knew that I could sew my own dress, but there's no way I could crochet a shawl for myself... But my mom is a talented fiber artist and so she created an amazing silk shawl for me.

I did trades or just simply asked friends and family for their help with quite a few things.

My brother & his friend are both professional audio technicians, and together with my iPod, they replaced a DJ.
My Dad is a jazz musician, and he played during cocktails at the reception.
My MIL-to-be wanted to help, and so she folded hundreds of origami butterflies to decorate the ceremony location.
Several of my girlfriends helped me put together wedding favors. I made some munchies and we spent the evening hanging out together.
The girlfriend of one of my Dad's musicians is a talented photographer - so we bartered for wedding photographs.
One of my closest friends is a videographer, so as part of her present to us, she filmed the ceremony.

You don't want to burn your friends or family out with requests for help - but you'd be surprised by what happens when you ask!

Image source

welcome

2008-01-28T13:11:00.000-08:00

I'd like to welcome you all to The Creative Bride. I got married a few months ago and wanted to do as much as I possibly could.

I ended up sewing my own dress, making my own jewelery, made the invitations, sewed the shawls for my three bridesmaids, folded 1000 origami butterflies (with the help of my MIL to be) designed the centre pieces, and sewed a vest for my fiance.

All without having a nervous break down.

And without spending the average cost for a North American wedding, which is about $20,000!

I believe that everyone is capable of creating their own beautiful & unique wedding - that captures the love & devotion of their partnership :-)