books!

I might have mentioned before that books are very important in my life. I’m a children’s book editor in real life — that’s my job, and sometimes I’m sure it defines me in other ways, too. Growing up, I was an absolute bookworm, and I can track stages of my childhood and adolescence through the books I loved and read again and again.

Sweets had a different experience with books, as he had a longer road to reading in English and the books that were popular with American children, but he, too, has a great many novels and reading experiences that mark his childhood.

All that considered, I was thrilled with Sweets suggested we might use children’s books, and the books that were important to us in our formative years, as part of the theme and decor of our wedding. We thought we might use books as part of the tablescape/centerpieces for each table at the reception. Instead of numbers, our tables might have author names to correspond with the collection of books displayed. And we’ll create a bookplate for each that thanks our guests for celebrating and sharing the stories with us. Guests can take them home, then, as a favor and a memory of us.

So last night we spent time pouring through the shelves at The Strand and another little used book shop in the Union Square area. We gathered some great finds to start our collection.We have a much longer list of titles and authors we’d like to include, but it’s a great start!

There are plenty of other ways I think we might use books in the wedding, too. I’ll share those soon.

Red papers

As I am a lover of paper, it is not surprising that I’ve started daydreaming about wedding paper goods. I’ll need to edit all my daydreams, of course, but here are some of the ways I’m thinking of using paper in the decor. 

I’ve asked a friend to create a papercut piece that represents Sweets and me, and our wedding, as a kind of centerpiece for our wedding — we’d display it on the guest book table, or with the cake, or with the place cards… somewhere where everyone will see it. It will incorporate themes from our wedding, our lives together, our families. I hope it will be very meaningful especially to the Sweets’ family, as it is one of the ways we’ll incorporate their Chinese/Taiwanese-American heritage. And of course it will be a piece of art that we can display in our home forever. 

I found this lovely piece on Etsy (though it's not the same artist as ours).

And I’m thinking about paperwhite bulbs as a favor, in brown paper packages tied with red and white baker’s string (yes, that does sound like a lyric to a much-loved song!), with sweet red tags with our thanks and growing instructions printed on them. Like these, maybe? 

favorite things...

sweet, simple, unfussy.

 I know I have a long way to go to get this in line, cohesive, and beautiful, but I like playing with these ideas. Thoughts? Suggestions? I’m open!

singing little details

a flock of cardinals by SongandBranch

 

We’re still working on the big elements of wedding planning — finding the venue, you know — but I’ve started to form thoughts and ideas for the sweet little details that will make our wedding personal and offer sentimental notes to my family and friends. One of those elements involves the cunning little ceramic birds in the picture above. But first, the story:   

My paternal grandmother was the much-loved and treasured center of my father’s family. Among her loves in life was a deep appreciation for nature, and cardinals were a favorite of hers. I remember her home was decorated with them — figurines, towels, dishes. She became ill with Parkinson’s when I was a teenager, and it claimed her life in the fall of 1997. When she passed, my aunts began to tell stories about seeing cardinals and knowing grandma was with them. I laughed at first, but then I started experiencing it myself. For example, a few years after she died, while I was still away at college, my parents called to tell me that my little brother, a serious high school multi-sport athlete, had been badly hurt in a football game. His knee was destroyed, he’d need surgery, he’d likely never play sports again. I was distraught, knowing what kind of pain he was in, and took a walk just off campus to a wooded area. I was crying, trying to pull myself together, when I heard a loud bird call. I looked up to my left and saw a flash of red in the bush near me. I thought of my aunts, of grandma, and was touched and comforted.   

Many times in my life since then, during both joyful and painful moments, I’ve found myself in the company of a cardinal. In fact, on the morning after Sweets proposed, we were sitting together on the couch of our living room, windows open, calling friends and relatives with the happy news. After hanging up the phone at one point, I heard a familiar song outside. “Babe,” I said. “Listen. I think I hear a cardinal.” Sure enough, I looked outside at the tree in our back courtyard, and there he was. A bright red cardinal singing from the branches. I wept. Gosh, I’m even crying as I write this. And I just remembered that yesterday, the day I finalized the deal with SongandBranch, was my grandmother’s birthday. Cardinals did it again!   

So, since my grandmother and other special loved ones (including my paternal grandfather and maternal grandmother) who have passed will not be with us as we celebrate our marriage, these small ceramic birds will be placed throughout the room. I hope that when my family sees them, they’ll know our loved ones are with us and celebrating, too.   

I’m thrilled to have found SongandBranch, an Etsy seller, who is willing to make a dozen of these ceramic cardinals in a not-quite-so-mini size. I will be touched and comforted to see them nestled among flowers and in other places of honor at my wedding.

berry mad

If I’m running with my Winter Berries ideas, Wedding Paper Divas have paper goods!  Pretty! And with craft paper accents, it coordinates so prettily!  

winter berries invitation?

 

 http://www.weddingpaperdivas.com/product/5745/signature_white_save_the_date_cards_fresh_berries.html 

And an Etsy seller has these, though the pricing is certainly higher. But I do love: 

from Sweet Bella Cards

http://www.etsy.com/listing/50851026/winter-berry-love-birds-wedding

I’m dreaming of a white (Christmas) wedding…

Last night I dreamed about my wedding flowers. PLANNING IN MY SLEEP!!! Truth be told, we haven’t settled on a venue yet, but I’m already decorating. Since we’re planning a December wedding, winter flowers will be key. And I want berries. Winter Berries.     

photo credit: Lida Rose, Flickr

 

 Wouldn’t some arrangements of branches be lovely throughout the room, and then springs interspersed with white flowers for bouquets and/or centerpieces?any white flowers will do — not sure peonies are in season in December?     

any white flowers will do -- not sure peonies are in season in December?

 

source: http://theperfectpalette.blogspot.com/2009/11/baby-its-cold-outside-snow-white-red.html     

ooh, and I love this arrangement from Flower Duet

 

And it occurred to me that Amaryllis and Paper Whites in pots would be lovely around the room. And bulbs in organza or craft paper bags with red tags would be gorgeous favors! Yes?

my etsy treasury

I’m in an etsy addict phase at the moment, and I made a treasury this morning to collect some of the lovelies I found today. Not the lovelies I want for my wedding decor, mind you, since I don’t want anyone else to buy them, but lovely things nonetheless.

lovely birds and feathers

Click through to etsy.com to see the bird happiness treasury here.

Star of my heart

The moment I first fell a little bit in love with Sweets was the night of our fourth date. It was a night full of our firsts, which I’ll get to if you’ll let me tell you a little story.  

Our first date, a blind one, was the Sunday after Thanksgiving, and we saw a movie and then went out for hot chocolate. Our second date, at his oh-so-romantic suggestion, was a diner breakfast followed by ice skating in Central Park. It was wonderful — we held hands on the ice. The third date almost threw us off the rails — we went out for dinner and found ourselves struggling to make engaging conversation through the whole meal and our after-dinner walk to see the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center. But he was so cute, and I felt so very comfortable with him, that I took it upon myself to make the fourth date a make-or-break one.  

It was mid-December, and I’d invited him over for a very intense date, I’ll admit. He came to my apartment in the afternoon. The plan was to bake cookies, watch a movie, and then, later in the evening, go to a “bad Christmas sweater” party to meet a few of my friends.  He showed up at my door wearing a silly Elf hat, complete with pointy ears, another in hand for me, and a sweet gift: a silver-colored star tree-topper for my NYC apartment-sized (TINY!) Christmas tree. I had forgotten I’d even mentioned to him that I didn’t have a topper for my table-top tree — that I’d tied a red bow and set it at the top in place of my favorite tree-trimming.  

How sweet that he had heard that little detail, thought anything of it, and hunted down a silver star topper in a 99-cent store. And that was the first time I thought I might be able to fall in love with this sweet man, who came bringing Christmas cheer and an attentive and thoughtful spirit.  

The star, getting its fourth outing this Christmas on our tiny tree!

 

 Later that night we shared our first kiss. And tonight, I kissed him when he suggested we might use silver star tree-toppers as a part of our table centerpieces. What a sweet and meaningful DIY idea. I can’t wait to marry him.

Thinking DIY and books

After I thought more about the book decor post yesterday, I remembered a half-finished project on the back of a shelf. Months ago I was inspired by book art on Etsy — probably something from Rhymes with Magic — and I turned an old paperback novel I knew I wouldn’t read again into a practice project. Last night while the Sweets and I were watching TV, I decided to finish folding the pages, and I made this:

forgive the silk flower and dusty window pane, please!

While I was shooting a few photos of this basic concept, I got to thinking about the other DIY things I could do around books. Not too long ago I bought up several yards of gorgeous home deco fabric from Anna Maria Horner when I found it on sale; I love its subtle nod to rickety piles of much-loved books. I didn’t have a plan for how I was going to use it in any of my sewing projects, but now I wonder….

Display tables? What do you think? Any comments appreciated to help me fine-tune this idea would be most welcome.

Oooh, and look what else I found: http://www.etsy.com/listing/46631993/folded-heart-book. I LOVE!

Big puffy fluff balls of joy

No, not puppies, not fuzzy dice, but paper poms! I remember making flowers out of tissue paper in elementary school, but I spotted something like them yesterday that made my harried heart lighten just a little. In the window of a stationary store in Grand Central Terminal, there were these lovely poms of joy:

poms of joy

I’ve seen Etsy sellers like PartyPoms and A Dash of Color who create poms of joy in the colors of your choosing, and I think they’d be great for shower or even reception decorations, depending on the formality of your theme or venue. Or of course they’re very accessible for the DIY Bride.

So happy and exuberant, aren’t they? Has anyone decorated with these recently? Link to your pictures, please!