7 Layer Studio

Projects Galore

 

Now that the kids have some options for summer attire, I was able to make a couple of things for myself before our big trip to the West Coast.  This fabric is from Joel Dewberry's new line Deer Valley.  I made the skirt for myself, and another skirt for my niece Caitlin who was visiting last week (no pic of that one).  I had some fabric left over so I made a bag for my dear friend Edith, whom we will be visiting this summer.

 

I was really excited about the fabric combinations at first, but now that it's done I'm having major misgivings about it...the color combination reads much more "pinky" than brick red (which was the predominant color with the blue, or so I thought).  So Edith, if you're reading this, and you're not crazy about this bag, let me know and I'll bring some different fabric with me and I'll make a new bag for you when I get there, OK?  I'm serious about that, you know - speak up now or forever hold your peace.  :-)

Here's the inside of the bag.  I always like to include a row of pockets for pens, cell phones, etc.  Of course, the only real good they do in my bags is to provide entertainment for my toddler Hazel, who takes great delight in emptying those pockets full of essential stuff and watching them mysteriously vanish into the Black Vortex of Unknown Whereabouts.  Which, incidentally, is also the reason why I lose at least 2 or 3 socks every time I process the laundry.  Somewhere in the Universe, the contents of my purse and those mismatched socks are floating in the Mysterious Unknown.

I'm happier about this green skirt that I made.  The bright, bold design just makes me smile.  And I will definitely be ready when March 17th rolls around again.

 

I used two different ribbons on the trim, both from Michaels.  First I sewed the striped ribbon onto the wide dotted ribbon, then I sewed the wide ribbon onto the skirt.  A bit tedious, but I love the result.

 

A bit of advice:  Cutting out fabric and sewing very very late at night is hazardous to the outcome of the outfit.  Take this skirt, for instance.  I barely had enough fabric to make it the way I wanted it to look, and because of the irregular dot concentration I didn't cut the waistband from selvedge to selvedge, like I usually do.  I checked and double checked the width of that waistband, but my brain was on StupidPilot (as opposed to autopilot) and low-and-behold, when I had finished the skirt and attempted to try it on, guess what.  I couldn't even pull it on because the waistband was a couple inches too narrow.  ARGH.  I had absolutely zero fabric left to "patch" onto the waist, so now my cute and fresh skirt is hanging in my daughter's closet (now with a much smaller waist size, obviously).  Ah, well.  Maybe if I'm able to ditch those last 15 pounds that I would love to bid adieu to forever, I'll steal it back and replace the elastic. 

I just love pink and red together.  I know I've said that before, but let me say it again.  I just LOVE pink and red together!  Just in case you didn't catch it the first time.

 

I'm not the only one in our family knee-deep in projects this summer.  For the past month or so, Hyrum (and to a lesser exent, Eliza) has been diligently constructing (okay, so I do the glue part) and painting all these fantastic models (AKA sculptures, as Hyrum calls them).  I bought the kits for a buck apiece, and after the initial racecars were so enthusiastically painted I went back and stocked up.  I should have enough for the entire summer, but we'll see.

 

Hyrum's going through them pretty fast.  He is typically a very hyperactive child, but when he sits down to paint one of his models, it's all business and concentration.

How else could a 4-year-old achieve a paint job like this?  Sort of Jackson Pollack-ish, don't you think?

Hyrum gets a kick out of the rubber band tracks on his bulldozer.  Until they fall off, and he follows me around all day asking me to put his tracks back on for him.  What are mothers for, if not to replace bulldozer tracks and re-glue model vehicles that have died a thousand deaths because they keep getting in unbelievably violent wrecks.  There is such an inborn difference in the way boys and girls play! 

My rough-and-tumble boy has a soft side, too - he can be the sweetest kid in the world.  Nothing can compare to him flinging his arms around my neck and telling me he loves me more than a billion gazillion trillion.  Or when he suddenly states "This is the bestest day in my whole life!" for something as mundane as eating a bowl of cereal.  Don't worry, I really do feed my children breakfast every day...he is just enthusiastic about life!

Here is Hyrum wearing the same shirt that either I or my brothers wore when we were kids...my mom saved it because it was so cute, and I'm glad she did!  (Primary is what we call the children's sunday school organization at our church).  He asked me to read what it said, which I did, and he replied, "You know what Mom?  Primary really does make me happy!  It really does!  And not just because it says so on my shirt."  What a darling, innocent sweetie.  I love that kid.

Oh - one more funny thing from Hyrum.  In our congregation there is a family named Baker and one with Cook as a last name.  One night, Hyrum was obviously deep in thought and he finally asked, "Mom, do the Bakers and the Cooks live in the same house?  Because they do the same thing, don't they?"  Too precious.

Tutorial for Girl's Sundress/Romper

 

 

Because I had so many compliments on the little sundress rompers that I made for Hazel last week, I thought I'd post a quick tut on how I put them together...hooray, just in time for summer!  As you can see in the photo below, I used a pattern for the bloomers.  This one happens to be Simplicity #9784, but there are many many options out there.  I lengthened the legs about 2" so they would fall below Hazel's knees, and instead of hemming them I sewed bias tape to the bottom raw edge before sewing the sides of the legs together.

 

For the top, you will need at least 3 coordinating fabrics.  Hazel is a size 3T, so if you're making a smaller or bigger outfit you will need to change the sizing accordingly.  Basic rule of thumb for the bodice:  make it at least 5 or 6 inches wider (bigger) than the trunk (waist or chest, whichever is bigger) measurement of your little girl.  For the bodice I cut a big rectangle measuring 27" x 9 1/2".  The ruffles were cut from a full width of fabric (selvedge edge to selvedge edge, about 43" wide).  The top ruffle is 4", the bottom ruffle is 7".  Make sure the ruffle pieces are exactly the same length, because it will matter later on.  The ruffle strips need to be at least half again as long as the bodice.  (In this case, the bodice is 27", the ruffles are 43").  The straps are 10" x 2 1/2".  If you want to add the ruffled caps to the straps, go here for the tutorial on how to do it.  I cut out 2 rectangles measuring 5" x 10" to make the ruffled cap sleeves for this outfit.

 

Stitch the ends of bodice and each ruffle together (to itself, not linking different fabrics together) to create a large loop or tube out of each rectangle.  Press under 1/4" on the bottoms of the ruffles and the top of the bodice.  Press under another 1/4" so that the raw edge is completely hidden.  Do this while the loops (tubes) are inside out, as shown.  If you need further clarification, click on the twirly skirt tutorial in my sidebar and it will explain this process in further detail.

Turn each loop (tube) right side out and stitch the hem about 1/4" away from edge.

 

Now that both ruffle pieces are hemmed, place the shorter ruffle on top of longer ruffle, aligning raw edges.  If they are exactly the same circumference, they will fit together exactly.  Using the long basting stitch, baste all along the raw edge of both ruffles at the same time.  Be sure to leave the thread "tails" when you're done so you can pull on the thread later to gather it.

 

Using the same technique that I explain in detail in my twirly skirt tut, attach the ruffles to the bodice.  The ruffles should be inside-out, the bodice right side out and inside the larger loop of the ruffles, so the right sides of the bodice and ruffles are facing eachother.  Line up the seams on the ruffles and the back of the bodice so the seams will all be in the same place on the finished outfit.

Here is another view of what it should look like after it is pinned in place.

Stitch the ruffles to the bodice, then serge or zigzag stitch over the raw edges, because it will be quite messy by now.  You don't want all those loose threads hanging down and tickling your little one's tummy!

Turn right side out, and make sure that the bulky seam you just serged is pointing up toward the top of the bodice.  Topstitch about 1/8" from seam where ruffles and bodice meet, making sure the stitching catches the underlying bulky seam.  This will make the bulk much flatter and the ruffles more attractive.

 

If you would like to sew a band of ribbon at the waist, now is the time to do it.  For tips on how to start and stop the ends of the ribbon, refer to my twirly skirt tutorial.

 

Now you're ready to sew the shirring.  With the seam in the middle of the back of the bodice, place pins or use a washable fabric marker to mark where to start and stop sewing.  I placed my pins just an 1 1/2" from the ends, as you can see.   For details on how to do shirring, you can go to Sandi Henderson's very helpful tut about it here.  The only thing I do differently is that, because I am not sewing around the entire bodice, the stopping and starting is not the same.  I start at the top of the bodice (with a big backstitch action at the beginning to secure the threads), and when I get to the end of that first row I backstitch again, leave the needle in the fabric, and pivot 180 degrees.  I then carefully lift my needle up, move the fabric over 1/4",  backstitch again, and sew the opposite direction.  I backstitch at each stop and start of each line.  Do this 7 to 10 times across the back of the bodice.

 

 

After stitching the shirring, hold a steaming iron over the stitches to make them shrink and bunch up even more.  It should look like this.

Sew the little straps together and attach to bodice.  For the straps, you can either sew a skinny tube and turn it right-side out, or turn the raw edges under on each long side, then fold it in half and stitch it shut.  I used the latter method because I wanted to encase the raw edges of the cap sleeve inside the strap.

I strongly recommend that you pin the straps where you think they should go with safety pins first and try it on your little girl before stitching them onto the bodice, just to make sure they are in exactly the right place and that they are the right length.

I always like to add some little button or doo-da to the place where the strap and bodice meet.  It adds a lot of extra interest.

These bows were stitched on by hand.

And there you have it!  A darling little summer outfit for your young sweetie.  Happy sewing!

 

Hooray!  Mommy's about to put the camera away!  I spent an unbelievably long time trying to get a front view of this outfit while Hazel was wearing it.  She doesn't like posing, and would turn around and run whenever I pulled the camera out.  She would even turn around and walk towards me backwards because she knew that I was trying to get the front of her!  I have no less than 20 back shots, and 2 front ones.  What a character!

Run, run, as fast as you can, you can't catch me with a camera in your hand!

Father's Day For Real, + Monticello

 

I'm rarely early for anything, but this year I was a whole week early for Father's Day!  For some unknown reason, I was thinking that Father's Day fell on Sunday, June 14th.  I woke up early, letting Steve sleep in, and helped the kids make Daddy breakfast in bed, gave him his cards and gifts, and all the usual hullaballoo.  Then I checked my email and noticed a sale ad for Father's Day gifts that lasted all week long.  "That's odd,"  I thought.  "Why on earth would they be featuring gifts for dads the week AFTER Father's Day?"  Then I checked the calendar, which I had looked at countless times in the past few weeks and yet somehow never noticed the little words that denoted Father's Day as June 21.  We all had a good chuckle over that one, and Steve got the latter part of his Father's Day ritual (a yummy barbeque dinner) today, on the REAL Father's Day!  Too funny.

 

Yesterday we took our niece Caitlin on a "little" road trip to Jefferson's Monticello (in quotations because it was the longest road trip our family had been on in years, and the kids were not up to it.  After a couple hours of incessant squabbling, neither were we!  I don't know how my parents ever survived long road trips with all of us kids when we were little, because I know we were just as bad - or worse - as our kids were yesterday!)

 We spent a long time on the grounds, waiting for our turn to go inside (tickets were sold out for tours until 4:40, and we arrived at 1:00.  So if you ever go there, reserve tickets online the night previous and avoid the wait!)  What a fascinating place Monticello was.

 

Jefferson considered himself a farmer and plantation owner above all else, and set about cultivating crops and hybridizing plants in a very scientific and orderly manner.  They have recreated what his acres of vegetable gardens looked like on the grounds today.  The University of Virginia (which was founded by Jefferson) students cultivate the crops, and employees of the Jefferson foundation take home the produce.

 

I had such a great time wandering amongst the gardens - there was a huge variety of very interesting plants and vegetables flourishing there.  This is a type of cabbage - isn't it wonderful?

I love the dusty blues, purples, and reds that are in this cabbage.

I really look forward to the time when I can have a garden of my own.  I really want to teach my kids how to cultivate the soil, plant the seeds, and care for the plants as they grow.  There is something so rewarding about biting into a home-grown ripe tomato (unlike the refrigerated "fakes" sold in stores = refrigeration ruins the texture and taste of tomatoes) or a fresh green bean.

We're living in a rental house right now, but if all goes well we'll be in our own house before the end of the summer.  I don't want to jinx it, so that's all I'm saying just yet!

 

 

I adore these giant hollyhocks - aren't they so bright and cheerful?  The bees were buzzing gleefully around all the gorgeous blossoms.

Eliza really enjoyed the flowers too.  She has learned all sorts of things about plants in science class at school, and it's fun to hear her talk about soil, nutrients, and other things plants need.

In case you're wondering where Hyrum is in the midst of all these pictures of Eliza, he was always off running around in the garden.  I tried to get him to slow down long enough to take his picture, but he wouldn't have anything to do with it.  Eliza, as you can tell, quite enjoys getting her picture taken.  She's modelling one of the summer outfits I recently finished sewing for her.  I was going to put elastic in the bottom of the sleeves, but she wouldn't let me - she liked them loose, just like her baggy pants.  That way, she explained, she can do gymnastics freely.

 

We were all impressed by the gigantic remnants of this tree trunk at the corner of the back lawn.  I had no idea a deciduous tree could get that big!  It must have been struck by lightening or died of disease, but even the trunk is quite amazing.

 

Eliza had a great time trying out a feather quill pen for the first time.  She did pretty well!  It really is quite remarkable how people were able to write so beautifully with quill pens back then - it was truly an art form.

 

Jefferson and his family members are buried in this cemetary, which is just down the hill from the main house.  I love the beautifully grand wrought iron gate that marks the entrance.

Here's Hazel, enjoying a little fountain at the visitor's center immensely.  She loves water, and would have played in that fountain all day if I had let her.

I don't have any pictures of the inside of Monticello - photos were not allowed.  One thing that surprised me about Jefferson's house were all the Native American artifacts displayed in the front hall (brought to him by Lewis & Clark, whom he sent to explore the west).  I think of Jefferson as an appreciator of things European, but I forgot that he had great interest in and respect of Native American culture as well.  He was quite an amazing man, and had many admirable qualities.

 

So here's Hazel, escaping up the stairs, unwittingly modelling the back of her little sundress.  The other two outfits (see previous post) were made with velcro closures in the back, but I finally got smart and made the bodice a little roomier, then did a bit of shirring at the very back to take up the excess.  This way she can get it on and off easily, it provides plenty of growing room, but the front of the dress is smooth.

I'm planning on making a tut for this soon, hopefully this week, so stay tuned!

Chugging into Summer

 

Well, it's officially summer here - the last day of school was yesterday, and to celebrate I took the kids to a local park they have here in Virginia that even has a carousel and its own little train. 

 

Isn't this the cutest little engine on the planet?  It looks like it comes straight out of the book about the Little Engine Who Could.  Hazel was pulling her usual run-around-at-top-speed-so-mom-can't-take-a-single-picture  mode, so finally I asked Eliza to hold onto her so I could at least prove that she was there.  Hyrum was so worried that the train was going to take off without him that he wouldn't budge out of his seat to go and pose at the front with the other two.  The train conductor hadn't even walked out to the train yet, but Hyrum was unswayed.

Notice that Hazel is not in this picture.  In the time it took for me to back away far enough to aim at the kids, she was down and headed off the ramp...that kid is much more active than I remember my other two being, but it could just be a function of poor memory!  At any rate, Hazel is a real handful right now whenever I take her anywhere.  She won't sit in a stroller, and screams (very very loudly) whenever I try and restrain her from where she wants to be going.  I know I'm "only" 35, but really - I'm too old for this.  Especially when the thermometer reads a balmy 75, but with the humidity factor (coupled with the runaway toddler factor) it feels oh-so-yucky.

 

Here comes the train!

Another bit of proof that Eliza is just not a baby anymore...

Hazel held still long enough to take a big swig from the juice box.  She went through at least 3 during our picnic, which is why 90% of the photos I have of her that afternoon are taken with those enticing sugar-in-a-box treats in her hot little hands.

I've been sewing like crazy this week, because the kids have all outgrown their summer clothes and I feel the need to make use of the ever-growing stash of fabric in my house.

I absolutely love these sweet little buttons - I found them at Joann's when I was taking advantage of their 50% off buttons sale.  I also finally decided it was time to buy a good pair of scissors (how could I resist when they're half off?) and came away with some Gingher dressmaker shears that I am in heaven about!  For years I had been wrestling with the clunky orange-handled kind that have been used for anything and everything under the sun.  When I attempt to cut fabric with them it is always to the tune of various mutterings and explosions of exasperation because of the pathetic mangle job they do, and there are so many dings in them that I have to squeeze them just right to even be able to cut the fabric all the way down the line of the blades.  With as much sewing as I do, I decided it was high time for an upgrade, and now I wonder why on earth I waited so many years to buy a good pair of shears!  It's like slicing butter with a hot knife, seriously.  I actually enjoy cutting out fabric now, which is truly a miraculous turn of events.

It's already so sticky and muggy here that I have been making lots of little sundress outfits for Hazel (I know, this is NOTHING compared to what it will be like in August, which I cringe about daily.  I am a beast when it's muggy and hot, so watch out!  I have already informed Steve that if he ever gets transferred to Florida or Georgia or equivalent, I'm going to spend my entire summers in Oregon with the kids and my parents.  I'm not quite kidding either!).

Here's a close-up of the button detail that I sewed onto the front.

Here's another sweet little outfit made with fabric from Sandi Henderson's Farmer's Market line, mixed with some dots from Amy Butler.

By the way, typepad seems to be acting goofy today, so if my text doesn't line up with my photos, don't think it's something I did on purpose.  I have no idea why my paragraphs are getting shifted all over the place.

 

 

More button treasures from Joann's.  Those pretty little things are hand-wash-only, but they're so perfect for this outfit that it's worth it.  I've made lots of things for Eliza and Hyrum too, mostly not-very-exciting shorts, but when I can convince Eliza to play model for a bit I'll post a few cute things I've sewn for her in the past few days.  Our niece Caitlin just arrived from NYC, where she was doing an internship with FOX news, so we're going to have loads of fun playing tourist with her the next few days!  The kids are so excited to see her again, the last time we were together was in Hawaii a few years back.  Tomorrow it's off to Monticello, which I'm very excited about seeing.  I'm sure I'll come back with a photo or two.  :-)

Has It Really Been 7 Years?!

 

My "baby" girl Eliza turned 7 on Friday.

 

When I really stop, step back, and look at her, I am blown away by how much she has grown up when I wasn't looking.  I still think of her as a spunky little toddler, and now she's almost as tall as some adults and is doing all sorts of big kid things (but she's still quite spunky). 

So we had a big water party for Eliza on her birthday, despite the fact that I had been really sick all week (I think I wore myself out from all the late nights due to getting the wedding stuff ready last week, and a nasty bug got me when my immune system was down...I literally couldn't accomplish anything all week.  Nobody else in my family picked it up, thankfully - it was not fun at all).

Lucky for me, Steve came home right before the party started and some of the other moms helped out tremendously, so everything turned out fine in the end.

 

Our neighbor let us use her giant inflatable water slide/pool thing, which was a huge hit!  The kids all had a fantastic time on it.

We couldn't find Hyrum's swim trunks (probably left at one of my friend's houses last weekend when we were at the wedding) so he had to make do with regular clothes, but he didn't care a bit.  Hyrum could hardly contain his excitement, he was loving this pool thing so much. 

 

We had a pinata, and the kids scrambled to get their stash of goodies.

Here's Fake-Smile-Hyrum, doing his best to pose for the camera...

 

Eliza loves horses, so I made a huge cake and just perched these little guys on top.  The plastic horses were actually pretty heavy, so their feet originally sank deep into the cake when I placed them on there.  I ended up cutting out a wavy "circle" of cardstock and placed it on top, piped some "grass" all around, sprinkled some green colored sugar on top of that, and the horses are perched on top of the paper.  They got knocked off no fewer than 4 times when I either tried moving the cake or the table got bumped, leaving lovely gouges in the cake all over the place (which is why I'm too embarrassed to show you details of the whole thing....it's quite bungled everywhere) but hey - Eliza didn't care and that's what matters most.

 

A big thank you to everyone who helped pull it off, a big sigh of relief that the weather held (there was a possibility of thunderstorms that day), and a big hug and birthday wishes to my sweet "little" 7-year-old!

Happily Ever After

 

Stormy weather in the hills of Utah threatened to spoil the fun, but we were blessed with a few hours of lovely, non-blustery weather in which to throw together all the decorations for my niece's wedding!

I was very frustrated (understatement) about the windy and rainy weather on Friday (this is June in Utah, after all) that prevented me from setting everything up at a relaxed pace, but it all came together in the end.

The reception was held in the lovely backyard of the groom's bishop's house (a bishop is like a father or a pastor in other denominations), and it was such a pleasure to get to know him and his family a little bit.  Incredibly nice people, so generous and unassuming.  Camille (my niece) wanted a theme that was fun and fresh, with a combination of retro and English tea party undertones.  She chose fabric from Amy Butler's August Fields line and we built the theme from there.

Camille had seen pictures of a wedding online that had colorful pennants draped beneath pretty white tents, and although the budget couldn't support renting tents, I was able to get quite a bit of bang for the buck by sewing these pennants and draping inexpensive white fabric over the rails of the balcony.

I purchased loads of paper lanterns, and had planned to hang them on the wire armatures and put them all over the borders of the yard.  The stormy weather prohibited that until just before the reception, and I discovered too late that the wires I had bent to create the armatures were too short and wimpy for the larger lanterns (I'm telling you this so you don't make the same mistake, should you ever attempt this!)  Lesson learned:  always test things like this out beforehand! 

Still, the few lanterns that I was able to get in the ground were a fun addition to the color scheme.  We put lots of them in the trees, and since we ran out of time, we just tossed the remaining lanterns in the bushes around the patio...

What's that about the best laid plans?

  

Happily, the wedded couple was so giddy from the excitement of tying the knot that they neither noticed nor cared.  Actually, they were very easy going about the whole event - I was the only one preoccupied with getting everything "just so".  I admit it - I'm a perfectionistic type A person...what can I say? 

 

Ah, such an incredibly handsome couple, don't you think?  Camille found an outstanding man to marry, I know they'll be very happy together.

I grouped some white peonies and gorgeous roses together for the bouquet, and you can't really see it but I took an unwanted sash tie that had been removed from the dress and wrapped it around the stems.  The end of the sash was embellished with some lovely beadwork, so the result was very pretty.

These pictures were taken at the end of the day, so the flowers were sagging a bit, but still so lovely. 

We had originally planned on using orange ranunculus and white peonies for the arrangements and the bouquet, but since the ranunculus were out of season I ordered these breathtaking roses instead.  I was just totally enamored by them, with the delicate tinges of rosy coral on the edges and the warmer tones in the middle. 

Please don't make fun of my unfocused rose - I had about 10 minutes to run around and take pictures of everything before the start of the festivities, so I didn't have time to really concentrate on taking great photos.  Nor did I have time to even shower or change clothes before the party started (it was a crazy, crazy afternoon, I can assure you!)  I was putting flowers on the cake during the beginning of the action, and was scurrying around making sure the food was all taken care of in my jeans and with my greasy hair pulled back in a ponytail.  Thank goodness I wasn't in any pictures until things slowed down a bit and I was at least able to change into a dress.  I'm very grateful for the small army of family and friends who helped get all the food together at the last minute.  There just was not any time to do it any sooner, what with the bouquets, boutenirs, and corsages to make that morning, and the decorations to put up when the weather improved, and then the food crew to organize (thanks, everyone, for all your hard work!) and the cake to decorate.

 

I used less expensive dahlias, mums, and carnations to create the centerpieces and serving table bouquets, but they're still quite pretty.  I put all the arrangements in ceramic pitchers, which provided a fun and whimsical element to the bouquets.

 

We kept the menu pretty basic, since it was an after-dinner affair and for cost reasons as well.  The food we did serve was dressed up for the occasion.  This fruit kabob display was something that my mom taught me to do way back in the days of 4-H, when I was a young teenager.  I did this for a competition one time, and if I remember correctly it was a hit.  The fruit dip was a simple yet delicious combination ofcream cheese, marshmallow creme (of all things!) and lemon zest.  The elevated bowls holding the dip are actually just little bowls from IKEA with an inverted egg cup tacked to the bottom with StickyTack. 

 

The brownie bites from Costco got a facelift with dark and white chocolate, and a strawberry garnish.

Since I was bringing my dishware across the country in suitcases, I didn't want to risk bringing my elevated cake plates.  So here we have the stacked plate+painted glass candle sconce arrangement once again!  I temporarily attached the pieces together with StickyTack, the white stuff you can use to tack posters to the walls.  I have used this technique countless times, including Halloween and birthday parties, and just change the ribbons to suit the occasion.

 

I failed to get any photos of the punch, but it was so pretty with lemon slices and whole strawberries floating in it.  Camille wanted lemonade, and so I punched it up a notch (har har) with a generous helping of ginger ale added to the double-strength lemonade concentrate.  It was very popular, so I'll give you the exact proportions here: Use 2 cans of lemonade concentrate for every 2-liter bottle of ginger ale.  Premix the concentrate with half as much water as you would normally, add it to the punchbowl with LOTS of ice, pour in the ginger ale and garnish with lemon slices and strawberries.  Very tasty, very easy, and very summery.

 

Camille borrowed a darling apothecary jar from a friend, and we filled it with jellybellys that people could scoop into little organza bags.  It was a very fun way to give out party favors.  The golden frames housed bridal photos that the wedding photographer brought...the frames were not exactly in keeping with the aesthetic theme of the other things on the table (had to put in that little disclaimer), but not the end of the world.  :-)

Here's a quick snapshot of one of the ribbon boards I made.  We put childhood photos of Camille in one, and her husband in the other.  

  

In case you were wondering, I didn't actually make or even frost the wedding cake.  Pretty hard to put all the layers of a huge cake in one's suitcase!  :-)  They ended up ordering the cake from Albertsons (it was pretty good!  I had some of the red velvet layer and thought it was quite tasty) and I just put the flowers on it.  Some of the icing had been bungled in transit, and the seams between the layers were pretty apparent (I didn't have any extra icing to cover it up) so I just got very ambitious with the flowers and leaves to hide the boo-boos.  That was definitely the fastest, easiest decorating job I have ever done!

 

Hooray for gorgeous flowers, hooray for good weather at the last minute, and hooray for everyone who helped make Camille's wedding a beautiful and memorable occasion.  A huge thank you, too, to all our friends back in Virginia who took turns watching Eliza and Hyrum while we were gone (just Steve, Hazel and I were able to fly out to the wedding) and to all who helped watch Hazel in Utah.  It was hard for me to be basically childless for a few days (I kept on looking around thinking, where are my kids?  What are they up to?) and I worried about inconveniencing our friends who were watching our children, but it was for a very good cause. 

 

So here's to true love, and an eternity of happiness together.  Congratulations Tij and Camille!  I wish you all the best.

Just Married

  

Well, we're back from a whirlwind weekend in Utah, and I'm exhausted but very happy that our niece's wedding went off well despite some weather-induced setbacks!  I don't have time to post the whole she-bang right now, but here are a few pics to satisfy your curiousity for the moment...

 

  

 

That's all for now, folks!  I'll post more later, I promise.  Now I've got to unpack those 3 suitcases of wedding decoration gear that are still in my front room!