Saying "Yes" to the Dress

Hi there! I mentioned awhile back that I purchased my wedding dress. My mama, two aunts, and I went to David's Bridal on a whim one day...just to look. I had no idea that I would find "the dress" that day, but when I did, I knew I had to get it. The past few months have been a whirlwind of planning and work. Andrew and I are renovating my grandparent's home for us to live in. It's a lot of work, but it will all be worth it when we get finished. Plus, both of us have school and work. I'll be glad when things settle down! However, it's such a happy and exciting time! The wedding is going to be in the Spring of 2011 in Gatlinburg, TN. Our close family will be there with us. Then, we will have a small reception in our hometown a few weeks later. I'm doing the invitations, thank you notes, etc. myself, so I've been busy working on those as well.

I thought I would share a few of the photos of the dresses that I did not get. I tried these on, and I even liked a couple of them. The one with the flower on the waist was a top contender; however, none of them even came close to the dress I got! It was so much fun dress-shopping! Oh, and my mama even got me a $200 matching David's Bridal tiara on eBay for $20...score!

I've also created a wedding website on theknot.com. You can see it by clicking here.

I think this dress below makes me look like a mummy.

                                       

I won't show you the whole photo of the dress that I did get, but I will leave you with a little sneakie!





Thanks for stopping by!

Christmas Card Challenge

Hi there! Did you think I disappeared? It's been a whole month since I posted, and wow, that month sure went by fast! Life has gotten sooo busy...good, but busy! I've been busy teaching, doing homework for my graduate class, tutoring in the afternoons, working on the home Andrew and I are renovating almost every evening, trying to get fit by going to the gym, and much more!

Needless to say, card-making has taken a slide to the back burner. In fact, this is the first card I've made in a long time, and it felt so good to get creative again! It made me realize how much I miss it, and now I've been online browsing some of my favorite blogs for inspiration.

Now, it's time to talk about my card! I am so excited because I am the guest designer this week for Christmas Card Challenges! If you haven't checked out this blog before, then you need to! It's such an awesome concept...make a Christmas card every week so that you have all of your cards made by the time Christmas gets here! I don't get to play along as often as I'd like, especially here lately, but I hope I get some time for it soon!

My card features Christmas Tree Ruby by Sparkle Creations Rubber Stamps. Isn't she a cutie?! I stamped her in Memento Tuxedo Black and colored her with Copic markers. I added Stickles to the Christmas tree ornaments and star. I also added some Liquid Applique to the trim on the tree as well as the trim on the Christmas stocking. I even added pearls around her neck!

The sketch I followed is an older one by Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenges. All of the papers, ribbon, and Christmas tree stick pink came from the Tinsel and Twig Project Pantry Kit by Taylored Expressions. I just love the classic red and green colors of this paper by The Girls Paperie. I punched the green trim with the Fiskars Apron Lace border punch...one of my favorite punches. I stitched around the edge of the patterned paper. To finish it off, I added a bow, a stick pin, some pearls, and some flowers.

That's all for me today! Hopefully, it won't be another month before I have a card to share with you again. Be sure to hope over to the Christmas Card Challenges blog to see all of the beautiful inspiration from the design team!

Thanks for stopping by! :)

Supplies:
Cardstock: Choice Snow White, Choice Buttercream, Bazzill
Patterned Paper: Tinsel and Twig by The Girls Paperie
Stamps: Christmas Tree Ruby by Sparkle Creations Rubber Stamps
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers
Embellishments: stick pin, champagne pearls, Stickles, white brads (The Paper Studio), flowers (Prima), ribbon, Liquid Applique, Spica clear glitter pen
Tools: Classic Square Nestabilities, Fiskars Apron Lace border punch, sewing machine