An early start, a picnic blanket, a DSLR and an action camera, the North Coast, burgers for breakfast, The Red Arrows, two-seasons-in-one-day weather, an Irish Wolfhound in a coat, the Vulcan's last flight, a trip to the Donut Tree and a visit from this little cutie... another great Saturday in Northern Ireland.
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When we moved house and got into the back garden we soon realised that we were sharing our space with lots of frogs who seem to love the place as much as we do. Little did I know our front garden was soon to be the delivery suite of a whole host more! I had tadpoles as a child, so when Princess J found a huge amount of frog spawn in our pond, we were both pretty excited about watching it as it turned into hundreds of tadpoles. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately!) nature was harsh... the birds were well fed, the neighbours' cats found entertainment, and on a few occasions I forgot about the running hose and our pond turned into a flowing stream (sorry to all those tadpoles who never made it into my rescue glass!) After months of watering the pond multiple times a day, watching for any changes and Princess J being surprised by big momma frog hiding under a rock, our tadpoles have finally found their feet! While the number of tadpole siblings dramatically decreased, our little patch of the earth is home to an 'army' of frogs who, at the minute, are so small that they can fit into the head of the hose - just like little froggy above! I just hope they don't live up to their name... Family, having 'the tourist' look, lovely ships, flags, burgers, noodles, funny photos, Dutch pancakes, chocolate strawberries, smoothies, a load of great music from Samson and the Delilahs (our amazing wedding band, for those of you who have been asking - check them out!), finding friends, dancing Joe, fireworks, a late night walk, 'busking' under the bridge and a trip to McD's...all in a great day out.
When I was studying, Princess J was only little and in the time I got to spend with her, we often pretended she was a super hero, flying around the room on my shoulders with her beloved teddy. So when we were given the task of creating a graphic novel, I had the perfect opportunity to create something I had planned in my head for a long time - finally I had the time to bring the idea to life! To get Princess J more involved, I photographed her in different places, and the photos were then used to help me along the way in capturing each of the scenes. The images above are only a selection of what was used in the book, and all are hand drawn and rendered using watercolour paints. Every image was accompanied with a piece of the story, so using simple words, I played with it to make it rhyme...perfect for a little girl to read at bed time! So here it is...a graphic novel based on the ever lovely Princess J and her precious Mr.Ted. Something she can look back on over many years to come, and remember the fun she had with Auntie S. I have been privileged with the opportunity to work with this guy for the past 4 years, and what a blessing he has been. I've seen him grow from a child into this wonderful young man, and tonight he has his senior formal! It hasn't always been easy for him, but that smile always shines on and makes my weeks so much more enjoyable. Totally feeling like a proud big sis!
A lovely Saturday with some of my favourites, and my English favourites too! And some of Aaron's shots from the day Following the usual 'New year, new me' mindset, and to celebrate Eleven30's 1st birthday, we decided to give the service the gift of some new design work.
Happy birthday Eleven30! After such a long wait, I can finally get excited all over again and share all the lovely things I made for our wedding! Aside from the handmade save-the-date, invitations and thank you cards, here are some of the things that made our day so special to us The GirlsFor my bouquet I wanted something a little different, and so created it entirely from paper. Using the colour from the flowergirl dresses, I made three arrangements, embellished with coordinating droplets. For the bridesmaids I used ivory and pink paper, and added a hint of blue into my own. Each bouquet had a handle which was wrapped in a lace very similar to that of my dress, and was completed with a row of droplet 'buttons'. Rather than a bouquet, I made smaller posies for my flowergirls. The same paper was used, this time layered up and fixed in place with pearls. The handle was wrapped with ribbon, and finished with a bow. I found 'wedding' hair bands to be uncomfortable, so I decided to make the flowergirls hair bands using plastic bands. They were crafted from coordinating felt with buttons sewn in place. Decorative stitching was added The BoysSince the bouquets were handmade, I decided to create boutonnières for each of the five men in the bridal party. These were made from the same felt used for the hair bands, this time incorporating a cream leaf with hand-sewn detail. Each flower had a stem which was wrapped with string, and was embellished with pearl-like beads. To make them more personal, the initials of the groom and the two grooms men were sewn into the rear of the leaf. Sweet TreatsWe decided to create our own sweet table, using the sweets we love. I designed this little graphic and framed it, just to make it a bit more personal.
The two images above were taken by our lovely photographer Dale Robinson. Go check out his amazing work here - www.dalerobinsonphotography.com Thank YousThe help we received from friends and family was phenomenal. The cars, the band, the worship, the service - every aspect was personal to us, with our closest friends being absolute stars in what they gave us. One way in which we thanked them was by creating cards, each one individual and personal.
It has been a long time coming, and I've found it pretty difficult to keep the bits a secret, but I can finally share all of the lovely things I spent time making in the run up to our wedding! Here is a little sneak peak, with more posts to follow
It's been a long few years, but we finally got there.
Thanks to the lovely Cathy Dempster (http://www.cathydempster.com/) for the studio shoot and the craic. Going to miss this lot (and the rest who are missing!) With my degree graduation in a few days, this little lady had to get in on the action! How cute is she?!
Flowers are my favourite things to photograph, but what do you do when they wilt? Make Forever Flowers! These are made from different papers and are just adorable - they'll never have to be replaced. Monochromatic flowers created from black paper, patterned grey paper and pages from an old book. Flower buttons used to embellish with wired beads, in a woollen pot tied with black ribbon.
After a busy year of uni work and wedding planning, I can finally relax a little and look back over what I've created.
These framed textile pieces (which sat alongside a wall hanging) were part of my final major project, based on the importance of October 14th for me. Crafted from felt, all pieces were hand cut and sewn, with lace, ribbon, sequence and beading embellishments. |
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