A blog devoted to providing ideas for narrating and cherishing family memories.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Wedding Bouquet With Dove
Extra copies of invitations were torn into strips to make feathers for a dove. This particular bird was chosen because white doves have been a symbol of peace, innocence, purity, fidelity and love. Some cultures believe it’s a symbol of good luck and that good fortune will last throughout their marriage if a bride and groom see a white dove on their wedding day.
Next flowers were picked carefully to add extra meaning to the wedding bouquet -
white roses - Eternal love, silence or innocence, wistfulness, virtue, purity, secrecy, reverence and humility
lily of the valley - Sweetness, Humility, Returning Happiness, Trustworthy
silver dollars - Relief from strife, peacemaking
freesia - Innocence, trust
stephanotis - -Happiness in Marriage, Desire to Travel
This wedding bouquet was also featured in Stampington & Company's Somerset Wedding Volume 3.
Monday, November 28, 2011
Memory Doll
This doll was featured in the Summer 2006 issue of Inspirations magazine by Stampington & Co.
This magazine is available here.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Heritage Wedding Bouquet
Here is a unique way to honor and remember your ancestors on your wedding day. If you are more traditional and want real flowers for the wedding day you could also use this bouquet for your wedding rehearsal.
This wedding bouquet was featured in Stampington & Company's Somerset Wedding Volume 3.
Love Like the Sparrows, Brings Luck to a Home
One of the ways that I like to preserve family memories is by incorporating family photos into my art. The following quote was the inspiration for this folio: “Love like the sparrows, brings luck to a home”. Author unknown
Notice the sparrow on the rooftop. Sometimes the sparrow is hiding, where can it be?
For more information on how to make moveable figures like these check out my book - Interactive Art Workshop:Mixed Media in Motion
First I scanned family photos into my computer. I had Adobe Photoshop until my last computer crashed. unfortunately I had also misplaced the installation CD's. I tried several photo manipulation programs but was frustrated with their limited capabilities. Then I found GIMP. “GIMP is free image editing software that perfects photos and creates animated images. One of the most powerful general-purpose image editors around, GIMP can be used as a simple paint program, an expert-quality photo retouching program, image format converter and more”. You can download GIMP for free here: www.getgimp.com.
Pull up the tab with the sparrow to reveal the quote above the roof plus Bessie, Louis, and Anna in the windows.
Inside the folio are Louis Sr., Anna, Louis and Bessie.
For the background I took a picture from a view of my backyard. I decreased the saturation to give the landscape a vintage appearance. To create a pocket, I photographed this quaint fence from a town nearby and also manipulated the saturation. Some silk flowers were added for extra dimension.
Close-up of Louis Sr. sitting in a chair. By the way, I would love to own this chair.
Lift open Louis Sr’s jacket to reveal the sparrow and a nest full of eggs.
Isn’t little Anna cute with her embroidered fabric skirt, lace collar and silk flowers in her hair? But wait, why the smug look on her face?
She was hiding the sparrow behind her back!
Bessie is all dressed up with her lace collar and bouquet of silk flowers.
Where did the sparrow go? Is it here?
Or there?
Doesn't Louis look dapper with his pocket watch chain hanging out of his pocket?
Or under Louis' hat!I hope you enjoyed the little story told using pictures of my ancestors and a sparrow.
I wish you much LOVE and LUCK!
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Preserving Family Memories Dedication
This blog is dedicated to my Mother-in-law Sue. Her love of family traditions, pictures, mementos and the ways she incorporated them into her life and decor have been an inspiration to me. Sue's family pictures and keepsakes weren't stored in a shoe box on a closet shelf, they were displayed artfully throughout her house. Also, to my Mother and Granny and their shoe boxes full of memories, without them I would be lost.