New voodoo doll holiday ornaments available!

Howdy!
Well, it's been far too long since I've written. Lots of things going on.
For one, I have been working on getting some voodoo doll holiday ornaments done. I was able to make 5 between holiday gift crafting and commissions. Here they are:

So cute! I need to make some for my Christmas tree.
Unfortunately, I probably won't have much time to make anything new for awhile. I will soon be on "maternity leave" because I am having another little mischief maker, due in February. Between a newborn and a three (almost four) year old, I won't have much time for working.
I am 32 weeks as I write this:

I am working on making an Alice in Wonderland theme (with an emphasis on the Mad Hatter) for the nursery. Here's what I have so far:

I think the white rabbit needs a pocket watch.
I have been playing around with different doll patterns so that I can eventually develop my own. Hopefully it won't be too long. So, stay tuned!
If I don't get the chance to write much, happy holidays everyone!
-mischiefmaker

We got hitched!! Part One

We did it!
And it turned out awesome! All our hard work was so worth it.
Our theme was essentially "home made" but it was also "Alice in Wonderland." I know a lot of people had a hard time understanding how that was all going to fit together, but I think they understood once they saw it.
We wanted it to contain aspects of all the things we love: hand made, Alice in Wonderland, Tim Burton, Harry Potter, zombies, ninjas, good food, beer, etc. But most of all we wanted it to be fun.
Jess and I have been together for ten years, so it feels like we've already been married for awhile now. And since neither one of us likes being the center of attention, so we tried to make it less about "everyone gush over the happy couple" and more of the coming together of families and friends.
Since I have a ton of pictures, I thought I would separate them and do two posts. This one I thought I would just show all the decorations we had worked on. The next post I'll put pictures of the actual wedding.
But first, I wanted to show off the awesome gifts that we received at our rehearsal dinner.
We got this painting of Sally and Jack from "The Nightmare Before Christmas" from my friend Valerie and her brother Brian. Brian painted it

Here's the nameplate:
Our friend Viet painted this for usWe have really talented friends!
Malachi already wants some beer. Uncle Jess was very proud
Our wedding was held in Jess's brother Paul's backyard.
We didn't really have a dance floor, so we improvised. Jess made pillars to hang paper lanterns from
I crocheted party favors for the guests. Here's little guys I created using patterns from Christen Haden's book "Creepy Cute Crochet"
Here's a ninja
Here's some Pygmy Puffs (Harry Potter) from this pattern: http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/features/crafts/crochet/pygmypuff
I made Mome Raths based on this: http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2008/07/crafts_by_alices_crocheted_mom.htmlI crocheted our wedding cake. The goblets next to it were a gift from my aunt and uncle. Thanks Neenie and Woody!
Jess made five or six batches of homemade beer and mead and gave them all Alice in Wonderland theme names like "The Mad Hatter's Tea" and "Beware the Jabberwock."
For center pieces, we just filled mason jars with buttons, put one of those battery-powered LED lights on top, put tulle over the jar and put the lid back on with ribbon. My Mom sewed checker board placemats
Paul really doesn't like their shed and his wife Melissa really dislikes this big mirror they have, so Paul and Jess made a "looking glass." They covered the shed with yellow plastic and put the big mirror in front. Tada!
It worked out perfectly because all the little ones enjoyed looking at themselves in the mirror.
Jess and I made the Mad Hatter and the March Hare out of sculpey clay
They sat next to the guest book Jess made and the card cage I decorated.
These were our centerpieces at the food table that my friend Kellie helped me put together
Here was our kids table. The adults seemed to like it too
I glued tea cups to dowels and make these cute little path markers. We put LED lights in them and lit 'em up.
I also made big flowers out of ribbon and yarn, but didn't really get any good pictures of those.
We had a lot of fun making everything and wished we had more time to do more. But Paul and Melissa's backyard was so beautiful it didn't need that much.
Thanks again for letting us invade your house, Paul, Melissa, and Malachi! We love you guys!

Time flies when you're not prepared...

Ok, so it's not that we aren't prepared, it's that we still have so much left to do to Paul and Melissa's yard. We went over to their house to start planning what we want to accomplish and I think I spent more time playing with Malachi.


How can you resist? Too cute :)
Two more months exactly till my wedding.
Whoa...
I can't believe how many wonderful people I have in my life. So many friends and family doing what they can to make me and Jess feel special. We feel so loved :) You guys are awesome!
And holy crap! Our guest list is almost up to 200, and we could have kept going.
There are some people who are no longer a part of my life, and they are definitely not missed. I found out some things after the fact that I wasn't aware of and I am now ecstatic that they are gone. And I wish I could take back all the nice things I said to them, but have no desire to ever speak to them again. I don't need those deceptive people in my life.
I know I am not the easiest person to be close friends with (I have to have my alone time, I have a hard time trusting people, etc.) but those who understand that that is just the way I am are friends worth having.
And apparently, I have a lot of them :)
I had an amazing bridal shower that I was apprehensive about at first because I don't feel comfortable making people buy me presents, but it was a lot of fun. Rachel, Melissa, and Valerie put it together at my Mom's house. Thank you everybody!!! Unfortunately we had to change the date because of the weather, so not everyone could attend, but I think it was for the better. I don't think I could have handled many more people. I'm trying so hard to get used to being the center of attention. Meh.



My amazing friend Kellie helped me with the bouquets and the corsages and they are so much better than what I imagined. Thanks Kellie!! You are so talented, my friend!
Sorry, I really want to show them off but I don't want to give away too much so no pictures until after the wedding.
The same goes for the decorations, party favors, and other stuff we have planned. Let's just say that we have a lot of surprises up our sleeves and it will definitely be a lot of fun.
People seem very curious about our Alice in Wonderland/homemade theme. Hee hee! You never know what you might see! We're silly that way ;)
Everyone seemed to love our wedding invitations (I can post pictures of them because they have already been sent). Jess and I (well, mostly I) designed them. Not too much lovey dovey (that's just not our style) and lots of humor and mischief. Awesome.






The back of the cards:


We made these golden tickets for the people who are attending the ceremony. It would be way too much to have everyone there, so we're inviting immediate family, close friends, and people who are traveling from other states or countries. We wish we could have everyone there, but the yard would just be too crowded.
Yay! That's about all for now.

`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves, Did gyre and gimble in the wabe; All mimsy were the borogoves, And the mome raths outgrabe.' - Lewis Carroll

I have been inspired by a five-year-old's birthday party.

I came across this the other day:http://www.jessicaclaire.net/index.cfm?postID=134

That is the cutest thing I have ever seen! It makes me want to kidnap a small child and throw her a birthday party. But I won't, I promise.

Unfortunately, I don't have a child and all the little ones in my life are of the male persuasion. But I can always combine an "Alice In Wonderland"-esque element with my home made wedding. Why not, I have some Harry Potter elements in there too.

I don't want to go too overboard, though. It can't be too girly because it is Jess's wedding too. I still want to stick with the purple and green theme (or rather lavender and sage), but maybe add a tea party in there with some finger sandwiches and other treats. Jess likes tea. Maybe some cookies that say, "Eat Me."

Hmmm... That sounds bad.

Okay then, the beverages will say "Drink Me." That's better, right?

I've been on the lookout for different shaped tea pots (hopefully in my color scheme) and cheap bone china-looking tea cups online and at thrift stores. As long as I can get a few teacups for decoration, I'll be happy. It would be nice to have a lot of tea cups for an actual tea party but, call me crazy, I have a feeling that most people would rather drink alcohol than tea.

If only I could have a petting zoo! Awwww! That would be awesome to have little rabbits, pigs, and sheep running around. Damn. Maybe for my birthday ;)

In the process of trying to get ideas, I've been reading up on the "Alice" books and also the author, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson a.k.a. Lewis Carroll. It's pretty interesting stuff if you've got some time to kill: http://www.alice-in-wonderland.net/.

Contrary to popular belief, Lewis Carroll was not on drugs when he wrote "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland," he just had an overactive imagination. And I was interested to find out that "Alice" is based off of one of Charles Dodgson's favorite "child friend" as he was fond of calling them. He made up the story as a way to entertain Alice and her sisters.

Anyway, I'm starting to get more and more busy at work. Not as much time to do wedding planning. The receptionist has left and I have taken over for her. There is so much that she should have shown me. It's kind of scary. And she's not very good at explaining things.

I was having a lot of trouble trying to figure out the pattern for the "I Do" shrug and might try this instead:

From the book:

Lace Style
by Pam Allen and Ann Budd

http://www.amazon.com/Lace-Style-Traditional-Innovative-Inspired/dp/1596680288/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221588413&sr=8-1

I probably won't need long sleeves in June anyway. This is so much easier to knit. And I'm using bamboo yarn which I've never used before. It's so soft! Yay!

I bought some Alice in Wonderland playing cards that have the original illustrations by John Tenniel and some quotes from the book. I'll have to figure out some way to incorporate them in the decorations.

I have made an inspiration board. Some of it are things that I have already done and some things are just what I would like to incorporate. It's an easy way to kind of give people and idea of what you were thinking for your wedding theme. It's pretty random, I know, but I like it.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/26415444@N07/2889780133/

I might go to a yarn store in Arvada on Saturday. There is going to be a crochet designer there named Robyn Chachula who will be teaching a class. I am excited to meet her because she's designed some pretty cool things, like my favorite shrug:

Crochet Me: Designs to Fuel the Crochet Revolution

by Kim Werker

http://www.amazon.com/Crochet-Me-Designs-Fuel-Revolution/dp/159668044X

I have almost finished a pair of leg warmers, so I'll have to take a picture of them when I am finished. I also want to start on a crocheted skirt.

So much I want to do and not enough time to do it. I should just quit my job and become a full time designer. That would be freaking awesome. Too bad it could never work out. Oh well. Back to knitting and crocheting on my lunch hour and after work.

Tonight I think I'll paint me some tea pots. And take pictures, because I really need to get my save the dates (std - hee hee) done.