The Special Event

So, that event I told you about that took place in the garden really was a great day…. I got MARRIED!!!

Yep, Mr Shortcake and I finally tied the knot. With TWO WEEKS notice we booked the registry office, set up a Facebook Event, called the family, purchased a dress, picked some shoes, sorted a suit, made some decorations, had bouquets and buttonholes created, organised photographers, hired caterers, acquired rings and wrote our vows. WOW!

The reason for the rush? Mr Shortcake was offered and accepted a job in Dubai; it’s illegal to live together unwed over there, so we whipped up some plans. We were already engaged and I had been gathering inspiration for our impending nuptials, I just wasn’t prepared for them to be so soon! We kept the reason a secret so we could tell everyone at the reception and thought we'd be inundated with questions about the rush, but no-one did! They all just put it down to our crazy, impatient personalities and thought it was 'typical' for us to do something like that!

I’m simply amazed at what we achieved with so little time and a very very small budget. I couldn’t have asked for more; the best day ever, FACT!

I’m sharing it here, as I want other brides to be to understand that you don’t need to spend thousands to have the perfect day. Here are the details and some pics:

The Outfits

My dress is from Warehouse, the shoes are from Kurt Geiger and were purchased in the sales. I made the bow in my hair and I changed the laces in the shoes. I knew immediately that it was the dress for me. It has long ruffled sleeves and a tiny bow at the back. Cute! Mr Shortcake picked his suit up in House of Fraser and I found him a tie to match my shoes. My outfit cost £76, his came in at £150. Bargain!

The Bouquet

Made and gifted by my AMAZING friend Becky of Blossomking Floral Design It's completely precious, crafted from foam roses and reclaimed jewellery. I still can't stop looking at it.

The Cake

The cake was completely gluten and wheat free, tasted delicious and cost a few pounds! It's a Chocolate and Cherry sponge from Marks & Spencers, the weekend we went to purchase it we were informed they were on offer 2 for £3 so we picked up 7 chocolate and 3 lemon drizzle for a bit of choice. £15 for a 5 tier wedding cake + spares is pretty good going! I made the cake toppers from wallpaper samples and wooden craft sticks I had in the cupboard. While I was getting ready my nimble assistants dressed them. The cake stands are made from thrifted plates and glassware that I stuck together with epoxy resin! The prettier glassware I saved for the sweeties! The table cloth is grey suiting fabric I had in a box with a piece of statement wallpaper over the top.

The Bunting

In the cake room the bunting consisted of hearts cut from the wallpaper samples, loving hole punched and glued by my friend Laura.

Outside we had tissue paper bunting and pom-pom bunting (see below). These were also made with the help of Laura along with another superstar Jacqui. These lovely ladies couldn't make it to the day so we had a craft session and a curry to make up for it, creating these beauties in the process!

The Reception

At such short notice it was difficult to find a venue for the reception at a reasonable price. We knew we didn't want a sit down meal, it just wasn't us, so we went with the BBQ option, supplied by our local butcher Johnny, in our garden. The food was awesome and it produced the relaxed atmosphere we wanted. However, it was the 6th November so we provided a couple of patio heaters and a hamper of blankets, scarves, hats and gloves which went down a treat.

The Entertainment

It was the day after Bonfire Night so it would have been rude not too! Fireworks supplied and lighted by my new husband, purchased from the firework factory down the road. Sparklers were handed out to everyone and we gazed up at the sky in wonderment!

The Photographs

Our photographs are brilliant and we were lucky enough that it didn't cost us a penny. We asked around and got a couple of volunteers with cameras that were eager to use them. Our wonderful friends Laura and Dru got some absolutely amazing shots, they have a natural talent. I then tweaked a few on Photoshop which will be framed up and hung in pride of place.

The Live Video Stream

Mr Shortcakes family were spread across the world on the day we got hitched. It was important to us that they were still able to be a part of the day so clever-clogs here, set-up a channel on Ustream.tv and broadcast the wedding ceremony live! It was a wonderful idea as anyone who couldn't make it was able to watch at home/work/on the beach. We recorded it as well so we can watch it wherever we are, whenever we want!

It truly was a budget affair but such an amazing one! We are so blessed to have such fantastic people surrounding us that pitched in and made it a day to remember. A BIG THANK YOU to all those that helped and attended.

Deeper shade of white

Snow.

Britain is just not equipped for the white stuff. Every year it comes unannounced. Every year we skive, sorry, can't make it in to work because of treacherous driving conditions. So why don't we prepare ourselves for the weather?

I love the white stuff; it's pure and clean. It's reflective properties illuminate the city/village/countryside. It gives a new lease of life to the surroundings, wrapping them up, covering the less attractive elements. And, most importantly, it fun!

The pom-pom is a decoration left over from a special event that took place in our garden. I'll reveal that at a later date. It was a magical affair and the pom-poms around the door are a lovely reminder whenever I come home!

Toodles Ice-pops!

Kt x

bad blogger

You can see a pattern developing can't you! I'm awful at blogging. To be honest I don't blog regularly as I don't think I've got anything interesting to say or show, which slightly defeats the point of blogging as, I think, as it's about being yourself and then if people find you interesting/funny/inspiring etc, they'll read and visit again. So I'll do my best to blog more often, but don't hold me to it. I've got some plans for possible posts and plenty of time at the moment (the reason for which will be revealed in one of the posts). So I'll be back soon!

Excuse the poor quality picture (phone camera!) but I wanted to share the fact that I'm finally creating some sketchbook work I'm pleased with :)

I've been making an effort to use sketchbooks again since encouraging my students to do so in lessons. Over the summer I cracked my 'white page' and 'precious' issues and began using an A4 hardback to doodle in, this has been my launching point. It has provided a personal place to explore, to make mistakes and most importantly to play. This in conjunction with some great feedback and thought exchanging with friends has given me the confidence and inspiration to start a new sketchbook dedicated to a new project. More will be revealed at a later date. I had forgotten the joy of a project that is self motivated, virtually all of my work over the last 10 years has been for courses, work or because I felt I 'should' be working rather than wanting to.

I'm enjoying this exploration so much, I plan to encourage the feeling to stay!

Toodles for now,

Kt -x

Dandelion Pancakes and Assignment 4b

The clouds over Nottingham are like a loved moth-eaten blanket today, keeping me warm by filtering pockets of beautiful sunshine into the garden. There is just enough to encourage the dandelions to open their full yellow, mane like flowers, which I duly plucked from their bitter stems:After a through wash to remove the creatures that also think dandelions are tasty, I dipped them in pancake batter and gave them a fry.

Although I wouldn't say they were outstandingly delicious as many TV faces would have you believe, they had an interesting savoury flavour and accompanied my classic lemon sugar pancakes just fine.

The Chai Latte was an extra treat to drive my perseverance forward to completing this next assignment. Only 8 weeks left and three more assignments (including this one) to go. I think this will be an unsettling period, the relief that the light is finally visible at the end of the tunnel but also the anxiety of what the future will hold, which paths to follow and adapting to the changes that are sure to come. It is exciting though!

Toodles for now!

Kt-x

Love, love, love...

I love the view of the sky from the windows of our apartment,

I love finding patterns and sparkles in DIY stores

I love special hot chocolates made by friends :)

I love playing in the garden and calling it work!

I love finding pretty friends

I love finding flowers that smell beautiful and bringing them home

I love fish

I love reaching the top

I love the coast, beaches and the sea

I love doing all those things in cute shoes too!

Paper, string and smiles!

Such beautiful use of colour featured in some blogs at the moment. Here's two that have directly inspired me:

Love this lady (she has a great name too!) ColorMeKatie

Via Flickr

and this is just spesh!

via Essimar

So today, to kill some time and distract me from the jobs I should be doing I made a little heart garland from some scrap paper.

It also gave me an excuse to use my Photobooth application, which I've been playing with.

Then this happened.....

....which made my day!

Right, I'm off to cut some more paper hearts!

Toodles!

Kt x

journeys.....

I love being the passenger......

Colour everywhere.

Just watching space move by, watching people and landscapes....

Seeing patterns and shapes in everyday places. Twilight is also a lovely time of day, the light is always different.

:)

Yesterday....

Yesterday, I coordinated nicely with the train upholstery. Nails, dress, and coat all matched, Lovely! I was convinced if I sat still long enough I would disappear!



I was inspired by my surroundings yesterday, the train seats and my book bag contrasted nicely.




Waiting outside the station the Tarmac seemed creative...




I love the way the lines wear away, makes me think of photocopies and vintage screen prints.




Textured stripes, a muted palette. I want an outfit in these tones, or maybe I just want to blend in with my surroundings, first the train now the street!

<3 Kt -x - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Miji pens, grapes and Inclusive practice...

Today is study-day! I have a few assignments to do and lessons to plan but an awful cold so I'm keeping my spirits up with blog breaks, fresh coffee and fruit!




This is my first post from my iPhone, I'm interested to see how it turns out!

I'll be back in a bit with some pictures I took yesterday :)

Toodles!
<3 Kt x - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

New Year, New Post, New Goals!

2010 is here. (I know, it's been here for 18 days but I was slow to realise!)

2009 was productive, I started my teacher training, I learned to knit, I met some fantastic people, changed my hair, sorted out the studio, brushed up on my snowboarding, spent some time with the love of my life and GOT ENGAGED!!!

So what will 2010 hold?

I'm going to make some goals rather than resolutions. The teacher training is sinking in and they will be SMART:

Specific

Measurable

Achievable

Realistic

Timed

So first up is.....

1. Finish assignments 3days early. - That may not sound like a difficult task but it means I need to be spot on with my time management, planning and self-discipline, so its a good one to measure these against!

2. Share more on the blog. At least once a week, doesn't have to be my own work but must have sources. - This also helps with my training as I am responsible for widening my subjec knowledge so it is reasonable that I share new things on here, it will also act as evidence that I have done some research!

3. Complete the activities in Danny Gregory's book, The Creative License by July. - Now before you say it, yes that is a long time, but I am also studying on a teacher training course full-time and have 5 assignments to do before the end of May so it's a balancing act!

Erm, for now, that appears to be it. BUT as they are goals, they can be added to or adapted as the year progresses, which I plan to do. (is that technically another goal?)

I'm off now to do some lesson planning, so see you later on in the week!

Toodles! Kt-x