Inspirations in Paper

Since I shared Jeff Rudell's amazing paper crafts a few weeks ago, I am pretty much in love with paper creations. Jeff is actually the one who shared this blog by Elaine Lee, who writes mein™ inspiration, a blog collecting her creative inspirations. It features some pretty amazing paper work. Go check it out!

Also, I've recently discovered The Paper Garden, whose writer -- the talented Trinity RS -- has a store on -- what else -- Etsy for her beautiful paper crafts. She specializes in origami roses but uses them in so many different ways that the possibilities are endless!

Family Emergency

Due to a family emergency, I will be out of town for a couple of weeks. This is really sudden so I'm in a huge frenzy trying to getting everything in order to fly to Taiwan in no more than 24 hours. This week's posts will update as usual as I have already prepped them but content for next week and the week after will depend on what my internet access is like over there. The tickets have not been booked as of the time of this post so I can't even say when I'll be back. My mom is looking at staying nearly three weeks to make sure everything gets settled.

I should be back in full force no later than that.

Sometimes, life throws crazy stuff at you and you just have to roll with the punches.

Colorful Fridays: For A Splash of Black...

Black Martini
2.5 oz of Blavod (black vodka)
1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth
Maraschino cherry (garnish)

Place Blavod and Sweet Vermouth into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake. Strain into a very cold cocktail glass. Garnish with cherry.

via Lazy's Bride Blog.


Edit: I've decided I'm going to try a new thing -- Colorful Fridays, where my Friday posts will feature something with a particular color. Check back next Friday to see what I've found!

Million Dollar Idea...

If you thought the "Million Dollar Idea - $10,000 Budget" was a feat that tested your creativity, then it's time to take a look at 2000 Dollar Wedding. Sara and Matt (actually, mostly Sara) share their adventures as they fight off conventional wedding planning, discuss eco-friendly options, give DIY ideas, and remind everyone that a wedding is about bringing your friends and family together to celebrate your love. The clear outline of what they spent and how they handled issues like lodging make this blog an excellent resource in helping a bride remember what is most important to the wedding -- your love, not your budget.

English Retread: Tired to Fashionable

Thank you, Earth Friendly Weddings, for pointing me to these amazing bags and accessories from English Retreads!


Yep -- hand-made, 100% vegan, and eco-friendly. All the class of leather without a single animal being harmed in the process. How amazing is that?


[Small Beatle (Lined)]
This was probably my favorite bag of the lot. I'm a big fan of zippers after too many times dropping my bag and having things spill out everywhere.


[Clutch (Lined)]
Adorable clutch with wristlet.

[The Wallet]
Don't forget the guys! There is also a messenger bag that would be the perfect size for a laptop.

P.S. I think the last two would make good bridal party gifts.

Paint & Peel Nails

I am a Daily PopSugar subscriber and this gem came to my inbox this week -- acetone-free nail polish! Canadian-based cosmetics company Sula just announced their newest line of Paint & Peel Nail Polish, a non-toxic and water-based nail polish that eliminates the need for nail polish remover. It can last just as long as your acetone-based nail polish but reportedly peels off safely and cleanly.




I am dying to try this product! The whole reason I had stopped painting my nails is because I hated how harsh the chemicals were -- not only when I am doing the actual painting but the removing as well. Plus, I hated the maintenance since my nails usually started chipping within 24 hours of being painted. Too bad no stores in my area carry this.

I hope they come out with more colors soon. How convenient is this for a one-day event?

At Green Field Paper Company

Last week, at the bridal show, I met the owners of Green Field Paper Company, Rick and Shari Smith. Their products were amazing and fit perfectly into the theme of being green. Lucky for me, they allowed me to come and take a tour of the company and see how their tree-free paper is made!


They are located on Clairemont Mesa Blvd, right next to the Arby's!


They have a machine that turns these giant stacks of recycled paper into the "pulp" that they use to make the sheets. The paper comes from a company on the East coast that recycles paper and applies a process to get all the ink out of it. This mixture is basically cotton and water. Yes, that is my hand. Yes, cotton and water pretty much feels like it sounds.

The pulp mixture gets scooped up by these wooden palate things and excess water is shaken off. Here's a video clip of the pros at work:

And here's me!

Yeah, I even got to make a sheet of paper! It was heavier than I thought it would be but I only took two tries to get a sheet that Tanner pronounced fit for pressing.


While we were browsing the office, Tanner pointed out all the awards the company has won. I told him I'd make sure and say that Green Field Paper Company is an award-winning company!


How cute are these boxes? They are made with the paper at Green Field Paper Company and sent to one of their partners for cutting. Wouldn't this make a great favor?


Obviously, this isn't a bookmark but this is a sign they made to go with the bookmark. It's great that local companies are going green and making good use of their discarded products. I believe SeaWorld is also doing this or has done this with this company.


In case you thought recycled paper was that boring, drab, gray stuff they sell in the office supply stores, think again! Look at this colorful blend of red and blue!


Now THAT'S a flier.


They also feature many products with embedded seeds in the paper, like this bookmark. You can't barely see the seeds, even when you have it in your hand! But yes, you can just stick this in the ground and a flower type of your choosing (from their selection) will sprout eventually.

And I don't know why I didn't get any pictures of this in the store front but here are their popular all-in-one invitations. They don't require an envelope because they fold into themselves and the bottom part is a RSVP postcard guests can tear off and send back. These also come in a seeded version.

What a great experience to go behind the scenes and see this tree-less paper being made. It really inspired me to think green. This company is all kinds of green -- the ink that is used on everything is soy-based and the company is powered by wind turbines! I'm so glad there is a company like this right here in San Diego.

At the Orchid Show

Thanks to an ad in the San Diego Reader, I found myself at an orchid show last weekend with a $1 off coupon. The show was hosted by the San Diego Orchid Society and gave everyone an opportunity to see prize-winning orchids as well as giving vendors an opportunity to meet customers and fellow growers. Here are a few images:


^Yes, real fish in this display!


I saw a lot of vendors selling these dragonfly clips (also available in butterfly) and couldn't figure out what they were for until I saw this. They're to keep orchids upright and bunched together!


Pretty.


This jewelry is, believe it or not, made from real orchids -- preserved and gold plated. What a beautiful touch this would be to the floral design of an event! You can find these at Enchanting Earth. They also carry rose jewelry.


These beautiful orchids are from South Coast Orchids, who graciously invited my wedding business planning class to come and tour their greenhouse up in Vista! I'm currently waiting to hear back from them but I can't wait to see what they have in store for us.

More pictures at flickr.

Preston Bailey's Blog

Funny this should come up today since Peggy Jewell, the instructor for my Wedding Business Planning class, brought in a book just yesterday evening to show us some of Preston Bailey's work.

Yes, the amazingly talented planner for the stars and royalty, Preston Bailey, has joined the blogosphere!

Find his dazzling work at Inspirations and Transformations.

Yummy in Mixed Berry

I've been thinking a lot about bridesmaids dresses, particularly because I'm going to be a Maid of Honor at the end of the year and have been helping my bride sift through ideas. She's got a few ideas for matching dresses but I've really had my interested piqued by Amy of Fiancé Meeting You Here, who was having a difficult time deciding whether or not to have her BMs wear matching dresses.

She posted this picture last week:


...and said it was pretty darn close to what she was envisioning.

I really love the idea of the mixed berry palate, although I don't think I'll be a berry person at all, because it gives a nice blend of colors without distracting from the bride at all. The varying shades are really smooth together and the flowers accent that nicely.

And of course, I'm probably going to be too lazy to go through all the effort of picking out a single specific dress for my girls and grow tired of being unable to please everyone so I'm just going to give them colors and styles as examples and say "go forth and shop!"

At the Bridal Show

Last weekend, I attended my first bridal show at the Hilton Bayfront in downtown San Diego. Thank you Liz Beck and Natalie Parkington, of Liz Beck Weddings and Events, for giving the USD girls a chance to work with you first-hand on a wedding show!

We were in the Education Pavilion, which was hard to miss on account of the giant beautiful white draping around the booth. Not only was the pavilion the site for professionals to come and give talks about greening weddings, we helped promote Liz Beck and bustle, a wedding workshop.

The speakers were great and gave a lot of insight about different aspects of being green. I particularly enjoyed Nicole Matthew's talk about donating weddings dresses to Brides Against Breast Cancer and Green Field Paper Company's presentation on their tree-less paper productions.

I also got to see a lot of wonderful on the floor and speak with a variety of interesting vendors. Catering companies provided delicious samples and a lot of beautiful design was showcased. This show was really intended for brides and not for planners (or potential planners) so it was a little skewed in that direction, but it was still an interesting experience. I got a lot of information to paw through at home so I can do my "homework" for my class!

Pretty in Paper: the Works of Jeff Rudell

After my last post about Jeff Rudell's beautiful yet simple "Snowstorm" decor using only dental floss and white paper labels, I spent the better part of my morning pouring through the rest of his work on CraftStylish.

This crafty man has made some of the most beautiful paper creations I have ever seen. Can you believe this paper chandelier, that was in the window at Tiffany's in NYC?



He also created these beautiful paper flowers:

Perfect Paper Daisies


White Paper Flowers

Also, a Google search for Jeff Rudell turned up that he was on the Apprentice! I don't really watch TV so I wouldn't have recognized him but if the name was familiar to you, that may be why.

The best part about his paper crafting is the range of accessibility. There are things like the paper chandelier that just take your breath away with its complexity and then there things like the paper daisies and snow curtain that look like anyone can create with just a few minutes and dollars. So simple yet so beautiful!

Simple and Snowy

Born and raised in the sunshine state, I don't really have any concept of the magic of snow... but I do know that just about every event in the months of December and January have a winter theme and I love love love this craft idea of using blank white label and dental floss.


I am just blown away by how simple the project is and how beautiful the results are!

Jeff Rudell shared this amazing idea at CraftStylish, which I found downstream from a $10,000 Wedding (one of my favorite blogs).

There's nothing seeing something that gives you inspiration and makes you want to run out and try it right away! I'm thinking of those sparkly stickers mixed with the labels and maybe some clear beads in between as well...

wikiHow: How to Make a Shrimp (or Bird) out of a Plastic Straw

Okay, so the title is pretty self-explanatory. I didn't have a chance to try either of these tutorials out yet but I was thinking "what a neat idea!" If you really wanted to get into it, they could be used to a variety of themes as decor, just sitting on top of a table or on the side of a martini glass, as pictured below with the bird.


How to make a Shrimp

How to Make A Bird

And, a cute and much simpler one -- a floating heart!

As a DIY project, why not try stringing them up with fishing line or adding them to a cake as a finishing touch?