Succulants

I am always over preachy about brides finding inspiration in unusual places.  Well, this example is more than perfect.  Amanda, who I will describe soon, wants flowers like succulents on her dress.  Doesn't that just take the cake.  This bride is so on my wave length that she likes the only plant that I will allow in my house.  I am not much for house plants... too much dusting, watering, etc, but I do love a good terracotta pot of succulents.   

Okay, should I start this story.  Plan on it being random and too wordy.  I have a lot to express on this one. 

Amanda and Viena are these great women.  Amanda, the bride, lives in San Fransisco and her mother, Viena, lives in New York City.  You think that is quite remarkable, the fact they inhabit the two best cities in the U.S.  They are as cool as the places they live.  

Here are a few reasons why:  

They were daring enough to come out to Utah to have this random dress maker design a wedding gown.  I have brides come from many places, but they usually have a friend who has worked with me.  She did it without knowing any of my brides.   

When Amanda called me from the Salt Lake Airport, she was so very excited about how beautiful the view was from the airport windows.  That is the kind of enthusiasm that just makes me happy. 

Viena raised Amanda in New York.  When I visit there I see these moms teaching their kids to ride a bike on the sidewalks of Manhattan.  Now I get to chat with these great people who had that experience of New York.

Viena has had been a career woman in Manhattan for many years.  I love the idea of that and have really enjoyed hearing her point of view.

Oh, and did I mention, Viena was "Miss Central America" at one point. 

Who leads that kind of life? 

I want to share all of these great things I have learned about these women but keep deleting because.... well, you just have to be there. 

Well, meet Amanda and Viena.  At the end of the long weekend where I sewed and they got to enjoy a snap shot of Utah, we took them up through camp.  They met the horses. 

I am hoping that the boys start calling them Aunt Amanda and Aunt Viena.

This horse was especially wanting some attention.

Here is just a taste of what is to come for Amanda's dress.  I, as you can tell, am pretty excited about this one.  I don't want to show much because it is just the start of the process and I have learned the more I work on a detail, the better it will be.  I am looking forward to being surprised. 

But really, isn't this just the best flower motif ever.  I love a good desert plant. 

Metal in the desert

I love the desert.  I consider it the most creative place I know.  I guess I am not the only one who feels this way.   Here are some great examples of creative people doing interesting things in the desert. 

Anyway, the boys and I got invited to Lake Powell for 2 days.  It was the perfect amount of time.  I had to wait for fabric to come from New York, so there were no reasons not to go.  On our way down, we stopped at Hanksville.... because it would be cool to get a picture of hank by the sign.  Well, as we toured through the small metropolis we passed the most amazing town project.... or so I assume it was a town project.  There were 30 sculptures in front of an old motel made of random car parts.  The inspiration was dinosaurs.  Another example of why I love the desert.

Slade looks like he isn't too sure about this one.

Okay, these two images are just random ones I have snapped in the last year.  I guess in a round about way, it fits the theme.  Love the color of the blue truck. 

 Just love the horse shot.  This horse is really quite remarkable.  It is located outside of my brother and sister-in-law's restaurant,  The Painted Pony, in St. George. 

Cotton Dot Organdy

Starting a new dress is always a refreshing experience.  I feel a lot of peace and happiness when I am cutting it out.  Maybe because it is in the most perfect form.  There are no known problems.... yet.  I have no idea what will come and how the final product will turn out.  I like that. 

Using this incredible cotton organdy is making my day, or rather, my week.  It is crisp, clean, insanely beautiful, and will do just the right thing for the gown.  It will be a simple dress because of the great fabric.  I can't wait to see how the whole thing will develop.  This is why I do what I do. 

I wonder if my euphoria also has to do with the fact this is my last dress of the summer.  I might even luck out and have a holiday with the kids before school starts!  What a novel idea. 

Enjoy!

Cristy's Flower Dress

I love a good image.  Doesn't Lindsay from Green Apple Photography greenapplephotographyonline.com do an amazing job?  She works with lighting in such a beautiful way.  I was so excited when I found out Lindsay was doing another one of my brides! 

I wish everyone could meet the bride in these images.  She is just so very cool.  She might be one of the most up beat people I know.  No, she IS the most up beat person I know.  She was open to some different ideas for the dress, so I was able to do these great embroidered flowers for the skirt.  In the end we used hundreds and hundreds of them.  This is just a teaser.  I will post more of the whole dress later.  

Enjoy your day.
 

The last of the house pictures!

Here are the few "before" pictures I still have.  Notice the washer hook up in the kitchen.  Once we resolved where to put the washer, we were able to re-do the kitchen. 

The wall came down as well, which allowed us to do the Great Room we wanted when we bought the house.  Because we took down the wall, that made us have to level out the floors.  This is something I thought I would never be able to do.  It seemed insurmountable. 

Here is the kitchen.  Notice the great granite tile I acquired off of KSL classifieds.  I love that site.  This kitchen window looks out to Cascade mountain.  I wouldn't mind living here just for the view.

This is the closet that housed the dryer in the beginning.  We popped the corner out and fit the washer inside as well.  We have about one inch to spare.  My dad also raised the floor of this closet so he could extend the stairs.  They were very short and you almost hit your head each time you went down into the basement.  Now they are a full set that is a pleasure to walk down. 

This might be the window that made us buy this house.  It is huge and has the best view of Timp.

The boys, Dalmatian, Super Doggy, and Little Woof

The front door.  From the inside.

Here are the stairs my dad did.  He had to do them twice because by the time I re-leveled the floor at top, they were off on the first stair.  He could have left them, but it would have driven him crazy.  Hum, I wonder where I get that trait from?

We started this project in July of 2009 and completed it February of 2010.  We started with the idea of replacing one bathroom and putting in windows in the basement.  One thing led to another and we ended up re-modeling the whole house and some.  New plumbing, new electrical, all new windows, all new floor covering, two new bathrooms, and a new kitchen. 

I miss the project half of the time.  I loved working with my dad each day on the house.  Scott asked me one day what I wanted to accomplish in this life.  I think this is the biggest one so far. 

Thanks dad!

Me Time

It is so interesting how perspectives change.  In the past, I had to run miles and miles, then work really really hard to have a good day.      

People would avoid me if I didn't get to exercise.  I would be so very antsy.   It was annoying.    

NOW, if I get an hour of uninterrupted NPR, or even better, an episode of THIS AMERICAN LIFE, I am content.  

IF I get to sew while listening to above program, I am practically giddy.  

If by any lucky chance I get to meander through our meadow with my three cute boys, I have arrived.  

Really, when all is said and done, I am content with a bath and a book.

Am I alone in this?  I don't think so.  It seems all of my friends that find themselves with little ones feel the same.  Here is to this moment in our lives when taking a shower can make a day!  Oh, it is just the simple things.   





  

Jenna's flowers

I just sent off a dress yesterday for Jenna.  She was an out of town bride, which means she spends the week in Utah and we make a dress.  Usually I can get it done, but we ended up putting a whole lot of hand turned flowers on the skirt and shoulder.  I think the number was about 60 or so.  Because of the amount of flowers, I had to do that part after she returned home.  It is strange to not see the finished product on the bride.... 

So, did it work out Jenna? 
Dang, she doesn't have it yet.
I have to wait even longer to know.

I always have a time period when I am unsettled.  After I see the wedding picts or when I receive a call or letter about the dress, well, then I can calm down and know it was a good thing.  So to all of you who have called and thanked me, you really have no idea how happy that makes me.  Thank you. 

I now know that others feel the same way.  My sister Rhonda is an incredible painter.

(This is where I should insert a picture of a painting she has done.  Unfortunately I don't have one.  Sorry, I am a seamstress, not a blogger.)

Out of fear, she waited to ship a painting off for weeks to the person who she sold it to.  Once she sent it and didn't instantly hear back, she had all sorts of things going through her head.  I remember when the woman did call her back and was SO excited, then my sister could feel ecstatic about the situation. 

Am I weird, or do all of you other creative types out there understand this?  Do you understand that the more unrest you feel makes seeing the success even that much better?  It is about the high you get when someone loves something you have created.  It is about coming together and designing something that is beautiful and that IS the bride. 

Or, in the end, this blog entry could be all about the Fray Check I inhaled while making the flowers.
It is probably that. 

Here's to you, Jenna, hope your wedding is delightful and so much fun!   Thank you for giving me the opportunity to do a flower skirt!