Arch of Swords

Here it is one week since my son's wedding and I've posted only one photo! Shame on me! Actually, after getting back home on Saturday I was so tired I slept most of Sunday. Then on Monday I popped something in my lower back and couldn't move without assistance for two days. Sitting at the computer was out of the question. Since then my back is getting better, but still uncomfortable.  At least I finally loaded and edited the photos I did take last week.

Most of the photos I took were at the reception, leaving the wedding pictures to Rebeca Peters of Kansas City. She is a fantastic photographer and I can't wait to see all the wedding party and family photos. Since Scott and Paula are still on their honeymoon we have gotten only a sneak peek at Rebecca's work. But I did get some very nice shots of the Wedding Arch of Swords. This military ceremony, steeped in tradition is sure to bring tears, cheers, and a giggle or two. Scott's swordsmen are officers he has worked with during his career.  They also served as ushers for the families and friends attending the wedding.

Here are some of the stills of the ceremony:

This is at the third pair of swords, but at each of the first two the swords were lowered and the command called out "The price of passage is one kiss!" to which Scott and Paula shared a quick kiss.

At the third pair the same command was called out, but one quick kiss wasn't enough. The command "A REAL kiss!" was called out, to which Scott and Paula complied with a kiss more, um, interactive than the one pictured above!

If the swordsmen were supposed to remain stone-faced during this, they certainly didn't at this point!

The tradition of the Arch of Swords is to symbolize safe passage for the couple into their new life together.

But the best part of the ceremony was when the swordsman, in this case Captain Studeman on the left, gently whacked the bride on the behind with his sword and said "Welcome to the Navy, Mrs. Moseman!"  I didn't catch the actual sword-whacking, but love her expression as they passed through.  My brother took a video with his phone and is trying to figure out how to get it into the computer. I'm looking forward to the replays!

I'll have more photos of the reception over the next few days, but will probably put those on one of my other blogs.  I want to get back to making some cards and posting them here.  But, don't worry, I will let you know where to find more photos and stories as I get them posted.

Have a great weekend, everyone! Thanks for stopping by!

First Release of Paula and Scott's Wedding.....

I've been home less than an hour and still riding high from the wedding of my son and his beautiful bride.  This is the first release from the photographer.  I took precious few photos, but will have some to post, as well as stories.  Right now I am just soooo tired!!

This Is the Week We've Been Waiting For!

[This post is a little long but full of photos.]

 Before you all think I have fallen off the face of the earth --- again --- I have a really good excuse for being absent.  This is the BIG WEDDING WEEK!  My son Scott is marrying the love of his life, Paula, this Friday evening.  Mom and I are busy with last minute plans for the trip to Lawrence, Kansas, with all the food and decorations for the rehearsal dinner on Thursday. 

My mom is very crafty and artistic -- and she was kind enough to pass that gene on to her kids!  But she really out-did herself with the centerpiece for the dinner.  The theme is seashore and lighthouses and here is her creation.

The base is styrofoam that she painted with various colors and added sea shells, moss and greenery. She does beautiful floral arrangements so had all of this on hand. The lighthouses were picked up at a flea market. I am a lighthouse fanatic, as is my son, so this piece is really "wicked", as Ron Weasley would say!

I love the blue along the bottom and IRL it looks like crystals.  The piece will be set on blue clear wrap.

For party favors I didn't get quite as fancy. (Who could compete with that centerpiece, anyway?) But using little square boxes from the Bridal dept at Michael's I filled them with little bags of Jelly Bellies, Scott's request. The lighthouse die cuts are from the Cricut Wall Decor cartridge. 

On the tops of the boxes is a thank you message from the couple.

Paula will be keeping her bouquet as it will be specially made by her aunt.  So, in keeping with the latest trend of having a throwing bouquet she asked me to make one for her based on an idea she had seen the "The Knot" of one made with paper flowers. My plans were for more handmade paper flowers like I've seen in some fabulous blogs, but with 17 weddings in 3 weeks (photographing) I just simply got crunched for time.  However, in cleaning out my stacks of stash I found a tablet of die cut flowers ready to punch out and assemble! There are three large ones in the bouquet from that set and a few smaller one.  I filled in with silk roses and stems and lots of glitz, including a sparkly butterfly.  All is assembled on the styrofoam ball with plastic handle. The hardest part was the bow --- I just don't do well with those.

I sent some pics to Paula last night and she loves it! Whew!  The thing is quite heavy so I hope it doesn't clunk someone on the head .... and I hope it remains intact during its flight and ultimate catch. 

Now, for a sampling of Paula and Scott's engagement photos they had done last month.  I have to give a plug to Rebecca Peters Photography in Kansas City. She is tops in her field and will be doing the wedding as well. 

Yep, Scott's car! When he first gave Paula the keys I knew she was the one! He is like me, picky about who drives our 4-wheeled babies! BTW, the sky actually looked like that the evening of the photo shoot.  They put off doing the engagement photos because of the winter months, then every other opportunity they had it was raining. This was just after the rain.

I think this is Paula's favorite.

This is part of a series that Scott initiated.  He is not one to keep a straight face for very long so after too many "sober" shots he told Rebecca to keep shooting, then he started tickling Paula in the ribs.  This is my favorite picture because it is truly who they are.  I now use the same trick in my wedding photos after secretly asking the groom if his bride is ticklish.  I get some very funny results!

My heart is filled with joy for this wonderful couple!  This day is a long time coming, but definitely worth the wait.  It's easy to see they each have found their soulmate.

Thank you for letting me show off a preview of the week to come. I am so happy! There's just no other way to say it! You can bet I will be sharing more photos later from the wedding!

Can You Imagine Being Married for 70 Years?

Can you imagine being married for 70 years?  To the same person? My beloved Uncle Earl and Aunt Lorraine of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, will celebrate their 70th Anniversary on July 19.  That seems so amazing to me, but not when I think about the unconditional soul-mate love they have for each other, the deep and rich faith in Jesus Christ, and that all their lives they have given unselfishly to their family, friends, and church members.  I love these two wonderful people so deeply; they are my inspiration and role models.  Earl and Lorraine love to get my cards and it is not unusual to see them on display in their home.  Here is yet another one for them... for this special occasion that is nothing short of a miracle.

The image is Mo Manning's new "Kisses for My Sweet" which comes with a variety of images to hang over their heads, such as mistletoe, wedding bells and heart.  The image is colored with Copics on Wausau 110 lb paper which is available at Michael's. The pretty vintage roses dp is from the Paper Studio, the pearl swirls are Recollections, the butterfly is K & Co, and the leather flower is from Jolee's.

Aren't they just adorable?  Earl and Lorraine still hold hands and call each other "Babe"!

This is the inside of the card.

And here is the happy couple.  This photo was taken six years ago.  They really haven't changed much, though Lorraine's health is not good. She is 89 now and Earl is 90.  And they are self-sufficient in the same little house they have lived in for nearly 50 years!  Gotta love 'em!

Thank you for stopping by and letting me share this special story with you.  I hope your life is as richly blessed as these wonderful people!

Mo's DP2 Challenge --- Vintage With Distressing and Lace

Mo's challenge this week is Vintage with Distressing and Lace, one of my favorite themes for cards.  I'm slipping in under the wire, but I've been wanting to put this card together for quite some time. When I think of vintage I'm flooded of memories of my grandmother who loved flowers, crocheted beautiful doilies, could make a delicious dish out of leftovers, and whose pies were straight from Heaven! Grandma would have chuckled at what I did with this card.  I love all the things she did, but I don't cook much.  However, I did use fresh fruit and a rolling pin on this card.........

The image is Mo's "blueberry girl" which I colored over a month ago while visiting my friend Peggy.  I don't remember the Copics I used, but I was very happy with the result.  This card is on ivory Paper Trey cardstock which is so lovely and rich.  The embossed panel is a new Cuttlebug set called "Preserves" which coordinates with the Cricut "Preserves" cartridge (yet another one on my wish list!). The lace came from an antique store and the flowers from silk stems.  The distressed edges are rubbed with Versa Mark amethyst ink.

Here's a close up of this little cutie.  She reminds me of the time I went berry picking in my great aunt's berry patch.  We ate more berries than we kept and came home with more chiggers than berries!

Now, here's where the fresh fruit and rolling pin come in...... I always have blueberries in the house but some had gotten a little too squishy so I put them between two pieces of watercolor paper then wrapped with waxed paper to keep the kitchen from getting showered with juice.  I rolled my grandmother's own rolling pin over the papers and, after a few hours of drying, had some really fun blueberry paper.  It came as quite a surprise that the colors from the blueberries are very much like the colors I used on the image. Pure luck, trust me!  I have more paper to use.  I also have some fresh pineapple, lemons......and plenty of watercolor paper!  Grandma would be proud!

Thanks for stopping by today.  Gotta get this posted over at Mo's DP2 Challenge.  Hop on over there and see all the other wonderful projects! 

Bah! Humbug! Challenge --- Meeces, Mices!

Meeces, Mooses and Mices!  Oh my!  I think the ladies at Bah! Humbug! must have been cleaning the dungeons and encountered some of these cheese-crazy, cute critters!  They must have inspired the challenge this week which is all about mice! Well, I know that everything at Humbugger Hall is fun and creative and anything but scary.  Also, thanks to my stash of House Mouse stamps, I have some of these awwww-inspiring cuties.  Here is my card for this week's challenge:

I like to use non-traditional colors for holiday cards.  I actually started with the ribbon for inspiration.  When I first looked at it I thought it was burgundy and green, but under the Ott light I realized it is purple and green.  Not being much of a purple fan I took on the challenge with my trusty Copics.  The tan in the ribbon inspired the use of Kraft cardstock. I haven't placed a sentiment on the card yet but I think I will make a tag to slip under the bow at the top. 

Here is a close up of the image.  It doesn't show well but I used some Waterfall Stickles for the snow.  I usually take three shades to color an area for depth, but the House Mouse images have quite a bit a shading already printed so I used only two shades.  The purple is V06 and V09.  The green is G82 and G85. The fur on the caps is colored to look more tan than white and I used E81 for that. 

Thanks for stopping by today.  I hope you take time to hop over to Bah! Humbug! for inspiration and to play along. You won't regret it!

Eight Reasons I've Been AWOL

Once again I've been AWOL for awhile.  Some of you know that I also do photography as well as paper crafting, and for over a year I've photographed weddings at  The Hummingbird Inn, a local bed & breakfast that also specializes in small intimate weddings.  The grounds around the Inn are gorgeous and the view across the Ozarks hills north of Branson is breathtaking.  I love doing shoots there.  Well, last week I found myself doing eight weddings in five days, and all five days were record heat indexes!  I thought I'd show a sample of another side of my world. 

We have so many locations for outdoor weddings: The beautiful garden below, a gazebo, a large meadow overlooking the view, a barn complete with a "hitchin' post", a  large deck with hummingbirds feeding even during the ceremony.  During inclement weather we have a beautiful fireplace in a vintage parlor that many choose for the ceremony.  Every wedding is different and never dull! In this more casual atmosphere we have alot of fun.  The weddings are often just the bride and groom but we have had parties as large as 45, the average being about 15 guests.  They are informal or very formal; from the young first marriages to mature remarriages and everything inbetween.  We've had vow renewals and even couples marrying again after they were divorced -- those are really touching.  All are joyful and I can get so wrapped up in the celebration.

I have eight more weddings scheduled before the 23rd of this month.  Then comes the wedding I will get to see with both eyes and not through the lens of the camera --- my son's on the 29th!  With that so front of mind every one of these weddings at the Inn make me cry.  I guess I am just gearing up for the gusher I know I will have at Scott's wedding!

Thanks for indulging me a post without a single scrap of paper in it.  I hope your week is off to a great start!

Bah! Humbug! Challenge -- Penguins!

Following the Bah! Humbug! Christmas challenge helps to keep me on track for the holidays, which are less than six months away!  But since I have missed a few challenges lately I have some catching up to do.  Not only that but the ladies will throw me in the Humbugger Hall dungeon for being AWOL. ;-)  So this week we are playing with penguins!  Who doesn't love these incredible birds?  I've had this penguin and mouse stamp from House Mouse Designs for ages so I knew in an instant what I would use for this week's challenge.

Don't ya just love this little scene?  I colored the image with Copics.  I tried to do a northern lights effect in the sky but that was a major disaster, so I pulled out a piece of silver metallic cardstock. They call this embossed metallic but it makes me think of the pattern in grosgrain ribbon.  In any case, I got the effect I wanted -- even better.  The card layout is very simple. The image is mounted on a piece of red cs for a touch of color, then those mounted on a silver glitter cs.  A simple polka dot ribbon wrapped around that and all mounted on a black card base.  The card itself is 5 1/4" square.

Thanks for stopping by today.  I have more cards to get done so I'd best be moving on.  But before you move on please hop over to Bah! Humbug! for more holiday inspiration.

Flowers, Flutters, Fairies, Fancy Folds + Color Combo + Simon Says

Mo Manning's DP2 Challenge this week is all about Flowers, Flutters, Fairies, and Fancy Folds.  I made a card that covers two of the four..... well, maybe three of the four if you count the white bow as a fancy fold.  Now for the color combo: as I was browsing blogs this morning I stumbled upon the SPCC Challenge, which just happened to have the color combo that I had just colored.  Then visiting the blog of one of my favorite sketch designers, Jane at Jane's Lovely Cards, I found a sketch that I just had to play with and she happens to be this week's designer for Simon Says Stamp Challenge.  Thus, this card is going into three challenges, a rarity for me.

This started with an image for Mo Manning's DP2 challenge.  Her new "housework fairy" is my idea of a fairy godmother and I keep wishing she would come to my house!  Along with the fairy I have flowers and a fancy folded ribbon bow -- a bit of a stretch for fancy fold, which, I'm sure was intended to be the card fold. Oh, well, there is enough on this card to make it interesting!  I'm not much for CAS --- there are just too many pretty papers and embellies out there!

The fairy is colored with Copics, as lightly as I possibly could.  I love to layer on the color! The dp is from K & Co Watercolor Bouquet collection as is the strip of flowers along the bottom half of the card.

The inside of the card has some of the paper scraps to dress it up a bit.

Here is the color combo for this week from Scrapmaster's Paradise.  Being new to this challenge, a quick browse of temptingly delicious color combos will have me returning, especially when I need inspiration for a new color scheme. These are Stampin' Up colors, but beginning next week the Copic equivalents will be posted as well.  Woo hoo!  I don't remember the specific colors used here, but suffice to say they were pale Bs, BGs and RVs. 

Finally, here is Jane's amazing sketch which is the theme at Simon Says Stamp Challenge this week.  Can you see why I just had to play with this sketch? 

Well, yes, this is my second post of the day.  Since I have several cards to make, and some actually meet challenges, it just might be a busy week!

Sassy Cheryl's Challenge --- Gift Card Holder for New Baby

I finally finished a card for Sassy Cheryl's challenge but have to get it posted very quickly!  Tomorrow will be a whole new challenge.  Well, that's tomorrow....... today I am posting this pillow box for the challenge "Gift Card Holder for New Baby." 

This image is called "Artificial Flower Girl" but I think she is just as real as can be and absolutely adorable.  I took a little different twist on the new baby theme, as you will see in a minute.  The dp is some hot pink stripes cardstock I've had for quite awhile. Same for the flowers and brad.  But the image is new and I colored her with bright pink Copics.

Here is the pillow box.  I know that templates are readily available, but I disassembled packaging that a pair of trouser socks came in. It was the perfect size for gift containers.  Never let a box go to waste!

On the inside was a liner in this shape, so I used it as a template, too, and did a computer-generated image of a gift card (actual size).  The sentiment (I made it up) is the different twist I was talking about for this "new baby" card.  In any case, it's a great little box for the gift card with room for a small item, too. 

Thanks for stopping by today.  I hope your week is starting off well.  Be sure to hop over to Sassy Cheryl's to see the inspiring creations by the design team