Preparing for special wedding photos

Hi all, sorry about my absence & neglect of my blog but I have been busy preparing for a wedding that is approaching very quickly now.

My regular readers will remember the first wedding I photographed with my daughter & the post of photographing-beautiful-wedding

A Wondering Star had done all the Bride meeting & briefs before we went out early morning to do all the pre-wedding final plans .

My good friend, The Tipsy Tart's daughter asked me more than a year ago to photograph her wedding this year & so the time is finally approaching quickly.

I am merely an enthusiastic photographer who is seldom without a camera of sorts - some of my work has been used commercially in print  & many more have asked to use my photos for various websites, blogs & projects via my flickr photos . I always appreciate being asked as copyright demands, rather than stumbling across them on the web & having to ask for credit to be given where it is due …

I digress … so this past week, the fabulous make-up artist Liane - trained by many of the leading cosmetic houses like Benefit, YSL, Estee Lauder etc - is doing the make- up so we set off for the beautiful Ludlow to do the planning visit.

Tea & scones, then time to walk the venue & church ...

back for lunch of home made Thai chicken soup ....

 

 

then the make up session ….

I had great fun photographing the lovely Bella while her Mum was being made up - I know she will be a perfect model on the wedding day ....

The wedding will be in the fabulous old Shropshire town of Ludlow - the castle dominating the skyline & the town will be buzzing with a May Day festival but all of our attention will be on the lovely couple, their gorgeous children, family & friends.

A wonderful time to look forward to - very exciting to be working with such a beautiful, natural bride who has chosen us girlies to help on her big day

I look forward to sharing some photos soon ….

Enjoy your Easter weekend, thanks for stopping by
Dee ~♥~

Happy Easter

I apologise for neglecting my blog but it has been rather hectic lately & so I have been taking lots of photos but not getting to upload them or write up a post.

A Palm Sunday cross seen in a church in Ludlow this past week

A few Easter things on our sideboard at home

A special bunny plate gift I received last year from Ms M that I love

Egg time on the sideboard

However, I just want to wish everyone a very peaceful & blessed Easter - from my home to yours ...

This cross appeared in our local suburb today - placed by a local church as a reminder of what Easter is all about. I really love it ...

Have a fabulous family Easter & thanks for stopping by

Dee ~♥~

Before Pinterest there was ....

We are now spoilt for idea choice with the fabulous Pinterest making it so easy to browse & collate ideas for projects, home décor suggestions & much more.

It was not always so; many will remember the mood boards we created from cut out magazine bits for inspiration whenever we wanted to create something else.

I was gifted a fabulous vintage sewing basket for my birthday this week & amongst the things in the basket was a selection of fabrics, all pinned together.

 

It seemed to have an order to it & Ms M & I looked through them & tried to decide on the choices which were made not too long ago.

We both decided that the fabrics are definitely 1960's / 1970's ....

 

 The whole pinned selection is shown on the top, then 3 very bold swatches were at the end (bedrooms perhaps?) with complementary colours gracing the first few samples.

We thought the orange / yellow / green stripes were curtaining with the striped fabric for dining chairs & the bold red furnishings with the gold patterned fabric for curtains in a living room ...

The heavy pink velvet had us stumped - lounge? Dining room ....

What do you make of the colour choices?  Do you think we guessed some of them correctly or how would you have used them? A random find that reminded us that Pinterest has not always been the platform of choice.

Thanks for stopping by, I look forward to your opinions on the choices
Dee ~♥~

A vintage sewing basket

Hello to all, hope Spring has sprung & you too have a Spring in your step. Our clocks went forward this weekend which means I lost an hour of sleep but the promise of longer days makes it worthwhile.

I was once again down south cheering up an aging relative of 90 who needs a bit of a distraction & my babbling news seems to provide something else to talk about. The upside is that I get browse my favourite markets more often.

I shared my last trip & the stallsThe joys of hand sewing and the lovely items we found on the stalls. Take a look at the card on the bottom left  ....

 

I also mentioned on my blog that I regretted passing up a lovely vintage sewing basket. You all know that feeling ...

This visit, I thought it might still be on the stalls so I hurried down eagerly on Saturday morning & to where I had seen it .... and it was not there!!!!

'Serves you right', I chided myself, 'for being indecisive' & 'now it is gone, one of a kind, gone to someone else.'  'Oh well', I consoled myself - 'at least I took a photo' ...

Ms M, my dear sister in law by chance, close friend by choice gave me a beautifully wrapped birthday present with a stunning card she had bought & the gift felt .... like a basket - surely not; I was afraid to get my hopes up.

In the evening, over supper & a drink, I asked to open it early .....

Ms M reads my blog & she had returned to the Saturday stalls the week after my visit but the stall holder was not there, then the following week she made a special trip & couldn't  see it so she asked if it was sold. The stall holder unpacked several things in his van till he found it ....

How special is that to go to so much trouble for a special gift? The basket has little pockets inside, a drawstring & it still had some items left in it.

Ms M & I unpacked the vintage items in the basket. We both love history & vintage items so we speculated on the previous owner whose sewing items still grace it's interior. A sample fabric piece shows her practising her stitches with large running stitiches, some uneven blanket stitch & very neat darned patch ...

 

Her brightly coloured unfinished embroidery was still as vibrant as when it was done - neat stitches but incomplete with the back not tidied up yet. Had time got the better of her? We can all empathise with that ....

I have not seen another basket like this so am soooooo very pleased with my thoughtful gift as it will be perfect for my renewed interest in hand sewing. It looks like a 1970s version - what do you think?

I know that my next hand sewing Gentlework project will be to use some of the fabulous things that were found in my basket - to give a nod to their history ...

I am not sure what form it will take yet, but the cloths are being soaked & washed, ready to inspire me ....

I hope you have enjoyed this lovely gift with me & will look back in to see how the sewing basket Gentlework progresses ...
Dee ~♥~

Hello April

Hello my lovely friends & followers

I can hardly believe it is April already but time waits for no one so here we are ....

I hope your day is as lovely and colourful as this photo I took on the weekend.

Look in tomorrow - I have a lovely update of a surprise I had on the weekend down in Dorset ....

Thanks for stopping by & welcoming April - have a fabulous day,
Dee ~♥~