Labor Of Love

I know that I posted the other day about how our wedding was the biggest DIY project I've ever taken on, but there was definitely more to it then that. 

If anyone knows anything about me, it's that I have a strong and deep love for my family. That's why I felt like our wedding day was a giant labor of love from our entire family. 

My cousin's helped me find my dress at their bridal consignment boutique, my niece and sister did my hair and make up, a co-worker and her brother did our catering, the women in Matthew's family brought a variety of desserts for our dessert table, our good friend Tim performed our ceremony, Matthew's cousin Jason was his best man and my niece, Kirra was our flower girl.

Without both of our families, our wedding would not be possible. 

And what a beautiful wedding it was! 

my favorite picture with my flower girl, Kirra

Matthew with his best man, Jason

Matthew escorting his parents down the aisle

first kiss as husband and wife!

 After our ceremony, Matthew & I and our amazing photographer, Heidi,  were driven down to the bridge not far from my Aunt's house where we had our ceremony, before coming back to enjoy the reception. 

signing our marriage certificate

showing Luna a little bit of love

my Maid of Honor, Brandy Jeanne and me

our wedding party

"To family."

planning our last great adventure, our honeymoon to Yosemite

Matthew with his father, Bruce

 

Jason and Chris playing music

We played nice, no cake smearing for us

Jason's best man toast

Tossing my bouquet

first dance

Our day was absolutely perfect! So full of love, family and friends. Now that Matthew is gone, these are the memories, along with the pictures, that will last me the rest of my life. Which is something that always makes me smile.

 I hope they make you smile, too!

Photography from Heidi Hoffman Photography. If anyone is looking for a wedding photographer, Heidi is AWESOME!!! Half the time I barely realized she was there and she got the most amazing shots!

One Month Ago

One month ago today I said good bye to my best friend. I let go of the hope of a cure for his horrible disease, and walked into the realization that my life would never be the same. 

It's crazy to think of what has happened in the last month. 

To be honest, it doesn't feel like a month. It feels like a year. So much has happened in the past month, and I've kept myself so busy. 

source

I went back to work, which was a surprisingly wonderful distraction. I work in retail, and to a lot of customers I am just the nice lady who brings them out shoes. They don't know that I'm a widow, that I'm dealing with a great loss or that there is a reason why I might seem a little sad or distracted. When I am at work, I know how to act like a professional. 

I threw myself into helping others. Two of my good friends are getting married next month (yikes!) and being that I have some crafty skills, not to mention just planned a wedding recently, I offered to help them out. It's been a nice distraction, not to mention a fun way to spend time with two of my favorite people. 

  And lastly, I've been traveling! While Matthew was sick, I worked a very part time schedule, but starting the first week of November, I'll be getting more hours. But at the end of October, I had some long stretches in between days that I was scheduled so I tried to take advantage before the holidays and crazy Christmas schedules start. I already posted here about my spontaneous Seattle adventure, but I was only home again for two full days before I left again. 

Best Road Trip Companion Ever!!!

Luna and I drove up to Neah Bay, WA to visit my Coast Guard friends that are stationed there for Halloween, which spending Halloween with them used to be a tradition for me. The day I drove up, a storm came through so it was quite the wild ride, especially since I had never made it before. I was so relieved when we finally made it to their house. It rained the entire time I was there! I didn't mind the rain at all. It meant that we stayed in for the most part, watching movies, eating homemade chex mix and talking.

Two days later when I left, I took a different route then the one I took to get there and was rewarded with good weather, and lots of picture taking opportunities, as we headed east toward the ferry that would take Luna and I to Seattle. 

I'd love to live in a house like that!

Those mountains peeking out through the clouds is Canada

a beautiful fall pond

driving along WA-113

Lake Crescent, Olympic National Forest, Washington

Luna and I stayed with Dan in Seattle a few nights before driving home. Unlike my last trip to Seattle, this trip was a little more low key. Dan and I took Luna to a few different parks and let her get her energy out. 

Discovery Park, Seattle, WA

Discovery Park, Seattle, WA

Discovery Park, Seattle, WA

And, as promised, I took Dan lamp shopping. 

...which resulted in a hilarious picture!

 
Now I'm back home, and back to work. I'm trying to get things organized from the chaos of the last two months, and I'm even starting to craft again! It's so crazy to think that it's only been a month when it feels like it's been so much longer then that. 

I am so lucky to have family and friends that have shown me so much love and support over the past month. They have put up with me, listened to me, let me be or give me hugs, made me laugh or let me cry, fed me, and let me know that I'm always welcome to crash on their couch/spare bed. It's a bit humbling to know how many people care. 

One month down, the rest of my life to go!

Biggest DIY Project Ever!!!

My wedding was the biggest DIY project I think I've ever taken on. I've been involved in weddings before, and even currently have a couple people sucking up to me because they know they'll need my crafty skills when their big days arrive. (Yeah, Brandy Jeanne & Tiffany, I'm talking about you!)  
 

I shared several projects with you, but there were quite a few last minute ones that I didn't have time to post before the wedding craziness set in. 
 

Let's start with our save the dates! 
 

I was so proud of how these turned out, and more people seem to remember these unique save the dates better then our actual wedding invitations! I borrowed the idea from this Etsy store and loved it because we decided not to take engagement pictures so we didn't need to use pictures to make these. 

This brings me to my invitations!

It was a simple gate card with a green card printed with all the details. The gate card was then closed and put into a sleeve of burlap and ribbon. They were very time consuming, but I LOVE how they turned out.

We used mason jars as decor for the wedding. I decorated these jars that we hung on shepard hooks that lined the aisle. 

photograph by Heidi Hoffman Photography

I also used mason jars as vases for the tables. I wanted blue mason jars since I loved the look, but I didn't want to have to pay the price. So what's a girl to do? I painted them! 

photograph by Heidi Hoffman Photography

 Can you tell? 

The other table decor that I used was burlap table runners, baby food jars wrapped in lace for citronella candles and little thank you notes on every table. 

photograph by Heidi Hoffman Photography

Very simple and easy set up and take down. I loved it! 

photograph by Heidi Hoffman Photography

I wood burned bride and groom signs to hang on our chairs for our sweetheart table. 

My friend. Naomi found the perfect old fashioned drinking mugs for me, and I etched the bride and groom into them using the same font that I used on our invitations. 

photograph by Heidi Hoffman Photography

I used the mason jar design on our programs as well. They were three pages that stacked, hole punched and tied together with twine. Brandy, Tiffany and I did them in one three hours session just a few nights before the wedding. 

I also wood burned the heart sign for the card box, which was an unfinished crate that Matthew used a blow torch to bring out the wood grain on. 

photograph by Heidi Hoffman Photography

Brandy, Tiffany and I wrapped 200 sets of silverware in napkins and tied them together with a piece of burlap and ribbon. It made it easy in the buffet line to grab a roll and go through the line.

photograph by Heidi Hoffman Photography

I wrapped a candle with burlap and ribbon as a memory candle in honor of those loved ones that couldn't be with us to share in our special day.

photograph by Heidi Hoffman Photography

Speaking of people who couldn't be with us for our special day, I made these charms with pictures of both sets of my grandparents, Grandpa & Granny Bradley and Grandpa & Grandma Hiseley. I tied them to my bouquet and they were also able to walk me down the aisle, along with my parents. 

photograph by Heidi Hoffman Photography

I also wood burned little hearts and put pins on the back for my Dad, Matthew and Jason to wear instead of traditional boutonnieres. 

I also made these corsages for the Mom's and Grandma's to wear out of paper flowers and ribbon. 


My wedding was the biggest DIY challege that I ever took on, and I know that if I could go back and do it over, I wouldn't change a thing. The day was perfect! And all the little details that I made myself just added to the uniqueness of the day. 


If you're interested in seeing more wedding pictures from our special day, click here.


I'm sharing this project at the following link parties: 

~ Show Me What Ya Got @ Not Just A Housewife ~ Love It & Link It Up @ The Little Giggler ~ Talent Tuesday @ Vintage Wanna Bee ~ Wow Me Wednesday @ Ginger Snap Crafts ~ Your Whims Wednesday @ My Girlish Whims ~ Wicked Awesome Wednesday @ Handy Man Crafty Woman ~ Show & Share @ Southern Lovely ~ Creative Juice Thursday @ Momnivore's Dilemma ~ Transformation Thursday @ The Shabby Creek Cottage ~ BFF Open House Link Party @ The Answer Is Chocolate ~ Weekend Bloggy Link Up @ Serenity Now ~ Strut Your Stuff Saturday @ Six Sisters' Stuff ~ Weekend Wrap Up Party @ Tatertots & Jello ~  

No Soliciting!

I know I haven't posted anything creative in awhile, but I'm still kind of working on getting my mojo back. In the meantime, I realized that I had never posted this project. 

My family has a tendency to ask my to use my crafty skills when they want something made, but I very rarely do I have any of my brothers ask me to make something for them. My brother David, saw a funny no soliciting sign when his girlfriend was cruising Pinterest one day and called me right away to ask me to make one for their house.

Seriously, how could I say no? 

 What do you think? 

I started with a blank wooden sign piece and painted it white.

I applied a decal over the white paint to spell out the letters for the sign, then painted over the stickers. Before the paint was fully dry, I peeled the letters off. I did have to fix a few places where the paint bled, but the finished result was pretty good. 

 I drilled hole through the top and pulled ribbon through to make a hanger for the sign. 

My brother loved the sign and it now hangs proudly next to his doorbell! 

What do you guys think? 
Rude? 
Hilarious? 
Would proudly hang one next to your front door? 
 
I'm curious to hear your opinion. 


I was featured!



I'm sharing this project at the following link parties:

~ Show Me What Ya Got @ Not Just A Housewife ~ Love It & Link It Up @ The Little Giggler ~ Talent Tuesday @ Vintage Wanna Bee ~ Wow Me Wednesday @ Ginger Snap Crafts ~ Your Whims Wednesday @ My Girlish Whims ~ Wicked Awesome Wednesday @ Handy Man Crafty Woman ~ Show & Share @ Southern Lovely ~ Creative Juice Thursday @ Momnivore's Dilemma ~ Transformation Thursday @ The Shabby Creek Cottage ~ BFF Open House Link Party @ The Answer Is Chocolate ~ Weekend Bloggy Link Up @ Serenity Now ~ Strut Your Stuff Saturday @ Six Sisters' Stuff ~ Weekend Wrap Up Party @ Tatertots & Jello ~