Wedding Decor

It's been three months since our wedding and I'm just now resurfacing enough to start posting some images of the big day! Having a backyard wedding was absolutely a dream!!!

Photographs are courtesy of our amazing friend and photograher Laurie O'Neil.

Our wedding cake was made by our friend Terri Lynn and it was AMAZING and delicious and more than we could have ever dreamed of. It's her special Swan Island Pound Cake... ooooh!

Cake Toppers: Han Solo and Princess Leia Pez People by artist Kelly Weingart of Spindleworks Studios in Brunswick, Maine.

I had the insane idea to made pickles and wine jelly for the guests. Making 100+ cans of goods was pretty tiresome for the bride-to-be to do at the end of a long summer of wedding planning, gardening, and more... but I'm so happy with our guests' reactions to the homemade favors. Well worth it. I would highly suggest having some good buddies on hand to help!

Thank the heavens for an amazing mother-in-law-to-be and bridesmaids and friends who helped sew about 100 yards of bunting! It was exactly what I was hoping the tent to look like and we were able to lighten our load of fabrics that my sister and I were hoarding for the last 15 years or so!

I turned an old suitcase into our card collection box. This was a fun and easy way to add some fun to the decor and to tie into our registry wish for a dream honeymoon fund! 

Giveaway Alert!

Time for a good ol' fashioned giveaway!

Head on over to my facebook page and get in on the contest!

Simply "like" the post on facebook, comment on the photo on facebook, and/or share the post on facebook and get up to 3 entries in the giveaway!

**Please note that commenting here will NOT get you entries into this contest (although you're welcome to comment here, too!). Please head over to my facebook page to enter the contest.

Best of luck to you!

Something Blue

A little something blue from our wedding:

My Great Aunt Josie was a very big part of my life. She was like a grandmother to me so when I was searching for my something blue, a swatch from her old house smock was just the thing...

(Photography courtesy of: Laurie O'Neil Photography: http://laurieoneil.com/)

Mintbooks - Wedding favors

Oh hello there, my blog-lovin' friends! It's been a wee while since I've posted but there's very good reason... in April I got engaged and then on September 22nd we just got hitched! So I've been in wedding la-la land for ages, it seems like, but I'm back and ready to craft! And post more!

The good news is that with the wedding came a lot of new crafts... many of which I've been eager to share with you on my blog! So stay tuned for more posts!

Today's post is all about a very special project that was one of the first we created for our wedding. Mint Matchbooks or Mintbooks, as I like to call them. We made these way back in May and kept them right up until our wedding at the end of September. They were a huge hit at the reception. We also created some mini cake stands (which will be featured in another blog post coming up soon) that were part of the table decorations. We had these mintbooks on the stands at each table as an extra favor for each of our guests.

I'm now offering these mintbooks for special order in my Etsy shop! Customers can customize their mintbooks with their own names (and wedding date if they like!). Simply visit my shop listing and contact me if you'd like your own order (or leave a comment here).

Wedding crafting may have become an addiction for me...

Recipe Scrapbook

For many years I've had this recipe scrapbook. I'd started it when I lived in Charleston, SC and soon after moved to New York and then to Maine... all along holding on to the book but losing sight of the project in mind. Last weekend I found myself awake early on a Saturday morning and digging through my pile of loose recipes, handwritten family recipes, and a piping hot cup of coffee. I grabbed some tape and decided that I would sit down right then and there and complete my project.

Complete my project? ...well maybe not. But I was able to put all of my loosy goosey recipes into the scrapbook and am determined to keep it up with new recipes over the years.

I had so much fun playing origami with my recipes and creating new ways to attach them to the pages. A little twine bow here, some more green tape there, and some idea clippings from my favorite magazines. Sure. 

And what fun it is and will be to unfold those recipes and re-discover ideas. The very next day I discovered Pinterest where I created a folder/file/whatevertheycallit for recipes. But I still love my handmade recipe scrapbook. Stains and all.

Someone seems to have a case of spring fever

I may or may not (definitely may) have spring fever. 

I miss my garden, the warm sun on my back, eating veggies and fruits fresh from my yard...

Here's a little photo collage of some of my past gardening fun:

Garlic is my very favorite thing to grow! We just planted about 40 cloves plus another 20 rounds and 100+  bulbils. I'm anxious to have enough garlic to get us through the winter and then-some. We eat a lot of garlic!

The first couple of years I grew tomatoes I probably grew eight plants or so. Then last year  I said, "I'm growing any this year! I'm taking a year off." Then I found a packet of seeds and figured "what the heck..." and grew 21 plants (plus I bought another three from the local nursery for good measure). Then last year I learned how to can so... I'm probably going to grow about 40 tomato plants this year so we have enough to get through until the next season! I just love making chili and sauce and salsa!

We are blessed to have some gorgeous apple and peach trees in our yard, too. The peach tree is the smallest, saddest fruit tree you've ever seen. It looks like a soft wind could knock it over. The first year we had a miniature peach grow. Just one! Then in 2010 we had a massive harvest of peaches! The photo above shows one of the three bowls full we harvested. Amazing. Then in 2011 we had none again. I was told by a local farmer that in Maine the peach trees rotate every other year on production. I guess we'll see what happens in 2012! In addition, we have strawberry plants that were transplanted from my friend's farm so her donkeys wouldn't eat the strawberries -- lucky us! We also have a gorgeous little nest (complete with glitter streamers) that robins lay eggs in just about every year.


Aaaah.... soon it will be time to head outdoors again for the happy harvests of spring!

AND... I ordered these crazy looking squash that I'm SUPER excited to grow and eat. They're called Yugoslavian Finger Fruit Squash:

View all of Kenyon Organic's heirloom seeds here.

Happy spring dreaming!

Etsy On Sale Starts Now

I've seen a lot of people trying Etsy On Sale lately and I thought I'd give it a whirl! I have posted my entire 

Paper, Arts, and Cards section on sale for 30% OFF!

Have a look around:

Give Etsy On Sale a whirl by clicking this link!

Vintage Finds

I've been having way too much find scouting out fabulous vintage finds for my etsy shop and even more fun photographing the finds. The most difficult thing is parting with them! But knowing they're going to a good home helps! Here are some recent finds:

Hobnail Milk Glass Tumblers

Black Lotus Bowls

Stacking Teapot Cream and Sugar Set

Mother of Pearl Buttons

Teal Kitchen Utility Scale

Hope you've had as much looking as I've had hunting!

Click the links to visit my etsy shop to see more.

Check out my twin sister's etsy shop to see her paintings featured in most of these backgrounds.

New Printable PDF Items and Giveaway

There's just something about checklists and fill in the blanks. Maybe it's a Virgo thing. Or maybe it's just the pure satisfaction of order, simplicity, and speed. Having a list of options right there before you and being able to move on quickly. I adore checklists. So I have started creating some printable PDF items which are now available in my etsy shop.

First up is this snarky little "While You Were Out" notecard -- perfect for the office, home, or dorm room. Have a little more fun in your cubicle by passing these notes on to your co-workers:

While You Were Out - Printable PDF available here.

If you've been following my blog you've probably noticed that I love sharing recipes. Naturally this recipe card was born. Perfectly bright and cheerful for the kitchen, also great for sending to a friend to share a meal from afar or bringing to a potluck pre-filled out with the recipe you're sharing that night:

Recipe Card - Printable PDF available here.

And now on to the FREE PRINTABLE PDF offer!

Simply comment on this blog with two things:

•Your favorite item in my etsy shop

•Your email address

and I will email you a free printable pdf of my "Things I Probably Shouldn't Forget To Do" list:

Who doesn't need a to-do list, right?

Get on it!

*Painted tins featured in the photo above are available from my sister's etsy shop:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/jamieribisi

The Look is Posted!

Photo Credit: Krystal Kathleen Photography

The Dress to Impress project over at Well To Do You posted the look for today and Suz included my birch bark earrings! It's very exciting to see my creations in use and for such a great cause. Be sure to check out her blog and keep up to date with the daily looks posted for the month of January.

The very earrings donated to the project and shown above.

A recently sold pair

Another pair that are available in my etsy shop.

Dress for Success!

All across the world Dress To Success programs are collecting clothing and accessories for women in economic need to help them thrive in work and life. You can connect with your local chapter here.

In Bangor, Maine one blogger is doing something extra special. Suz of www.welldotoyou.com is documenting how to make the most of one dress in your wardrobe by accessorizing in different ways. She has collected accessories and clothing from various retailers, crafters, and jewelry makers and will document her daily outfits for the month of January. She will be donating all of the items collected to the Dress For Success of Southern Maine chapter.  You can view the Dress To Impres section of her blog and keep up to date right here.

I am mailing out these birch bark earrings tomorrow. I think they will go nicely with the LL Bean dress and really pop on the outfit. Birch bark is also a fun way to bring nature to your earlobes, especially in Maine. I'm eager to see how she incorporates these earrings into her style and also eager for them to be donated to a woman in the program.

You can see a larger portion of my birch bark and other jewelry here and I will be adding more soon.

Check out your local chapter of Dress For Success and see how you can help.