The Grammy & Marmee Effie Belles and Wedding Belles (my embellished ballet slippers named after my Grandma Effie Belle) are creating a bit of a stir….and we were invited to have a booth at Rippavilla Plantation's Bridal Fair.
Last Saturday night I began working on a custom order for a little flower girl -to-be….
I had relaxation instrumental music playing on the computer…
The cottage was quiet ...sweet little Sophia was off to a cousin's birthday party…
Notions and ribbons assembled…
Commence...
The colors for the roses were to be browns and gold…
Husband brought home an old picnic hamper from the Antique shop down the lane, and it became the perfect place to stash ballet slippers and a sewing basket holding all the silk ribbons and notions…
I love this antique set of tiny boxes, pin cushion, and needle keeper..
A gift from Marmeé….last summer…before we knew we would collaborate...
While I was working, an order came in for a Miss Opal's Thimble necklace with Hand-Dyed hydrangea blue silk ribbon…
I was so tickled with the tiny "Belles"… that come with my linen lavender-filled sachets tucked inside…
So before I would send them out by post…
I would be able to display them at the Bridal Fair today.
I had acquired a vintage Laura Ashley prairie style wedding dress, last fall…
before I knew I would be creating Wedding Belles …
(forever thankful to my college friend Denise Patnode, for spying my silk-embroidered sachets …requesting a ring bearer's pillow, as her son would be getting married this past February and then inquiring if I could make some white-on-white "Effie Belles".. which led to the term "Wedding Belles"...for the flower girls and her daughter-in-law-to-be.
Do you see what wonderful adventures are in store when you say YES …and try something new?)
...and before I even dreamed that I would be asked to be a vendor at a Bridal Fair…
It became the perfect prop …on the old victorian dress form I've affectionately referred to as "Old Gal."
Now It was time to prepare my ensemble for the event, and I had just a bit of help from little sidekick seamstress, Sophia.
She said, as she measured…"Da wace is 57 8 9 2 wong…Da back is 59 big…"
Okie Dokie.
I didn't argue.
My sweet girlfriend, Embi had given me instruction to keep some of the Victorian Lace for a project of my own.
This strip was the perfect length (as measured above and found to be perfectly perfect)
I attached it with a blanket stitch and placed our label above…anchored with vintage buttons…
Marmeé had originally created the dress as a nightgown, from a vintage damask tablecloth.
She gifted it to me, and I had embellished the front with a lace panel, a salvaged monogram from the handkersniff that had wrapped Eliza Mouse on our journey to Martha's Vineyard, and a ribbon embellishment from a Victorian crocheted piece…
….this was before we knew we would be collaborating…and I would need to change the label from "Little Cowgirl" to "Grammy & Marmeé"….
The car is packed, and we are on our way…
Smile sweet girl…
Husband/Big Daddy led the way in the truck and would take little missy to spend the afternoon with family in neighboring Thompson's Station.
We arrive at Rippavilla Plantation in Spring Hill, Tennessee, on the most gorgeous day of all …blue skies…birds singing…
and I find my table…and I position Old Gal in her Laura Ashley…and I drape the bunting…
the bunting that waves hello...
….and Eliza sits in her daybed…and greets the brides-to-be…and the mothers of the grooms…and the mothers of the brides…and the fiancés of the brides-to-be…and she is so proud that all love her little books and recipe cards and coloring books….
Sachets and Effe Belles and Wedding Belles…"blanks"…"in the works"….complete.... All can see the stages from start to finish….
….and the mothers of the brides-to-be spy Old Gal…and they remember these beautiful vintage dresses…and Laura Ashley…and they Sigh….
There are vendors with beautiful cakes …and flowers…there are photographers…and honeymoon planners….
and we congregate under this massive white tent that covers a bricked courtyard…
with the loveliest fountain…
trickling and setting such a delightful ambience for the afternoon…
…and there are even more vendors inside the Mansion.
But I come to this cake.
It is magnificent.
The creator began his craft after he turned 50…
hmmmm…
a kindred spirit.
His handmade roses were exquisite…
At the end of the fair…I wandered inside and found the florists as they were dismantling their magnificent displays. As I was melting into a puddle…she asked if I would like one of the Cabbage Rose blooms.
Be.Still.Heart.
As we were leaving the courtyard…all packed up…Sophia chattering and twirling along the path…
the vendor's husband walked by with an arrangement, saw twirly chatter bug, and offered her one of the very same blooms I had tucked in my basket.
She loved on it and sniffed it and tucked it in her carseat cupholder and sniffed it some more.
Can you guess which bloom is hers?
What a lovely event
on a perfectly glorious day
on the weekend before Spring.
How happy is my heart, for I was reacquainted with a beautiful grandmother who had purchased my little books 2 years ago…for her granddaughter Eliza. That beautiful little girl is about to turn 2!
Such serendipity. Or as a friend once said, "Some call these Co-incidents…I call them God-incidents."
I am most thankful for God's blessings, as He brought me through this week that involved 3 nights in the hospital, a CT scan and MRI…and finally a clean bill of health.
Life is fragile.
We count our blessings.
We give God the Glory.
We love well.
Blessings to you and yours!
Last Saturday night I began working on a custom order for a little flower girl -to-be….
I had relaxation instrumental music playing on the computer…
The cottage was quiet ...sweet little Sophia was off to a cousin's birthday party…
Notions and ribbons assembled…
Commence...
The colors for the roses were to be browns and gold…
Husband brought home an old picnic hamper from the Antique shop down the lane, and it became the perfect place to stash ballet slippers and a sewing basket holding all the silk ribbons and notions…
I love this antique set of tiny boxes, pin cushion, and needle keeper..
A gift from Marmeé….last summer…before we knew we would collaborate...
While I was working, an order came in for a Miss Opal's Thimble necklace with Hand-Dyed hydrangea blue silk ribbon…
So before I would send them out by post…
I would be able to display them at the Bridal Fair today.
I had acquired a vintage Laura Ashley prairie style wedding dress, last fall…
before I knew I would be creating Wedding Belles …
(forever thankful to my college friend Denise Patnode, for spying my silk-embroidered sachets …requesting a ring bearer's pillow, as her son would be getting married this past February and then inquiring if I could make some white-on-white "Effie Belles".. which led to the term "Wedding Belles"...for the flower girls and her daughter-in-law-to-be.
Do you see what wonderful adventures are in store when you say YES …and try something new?)
...and before I even dreamed that I would be asked to be a vendor at a Bridal Fair…
It became the perfect prop …on the old victorian dress form I've affectionately referred to as "Old Gal."
Now It was time to prepare my ensemble for the event, and I had just a bit of help from little sidekick seamstress, Sophia.
She said, as she measured…"Da wace is 57 8 9 2 wong…Da back is 59 big…"
Okie Dokie.
I didn't argue.
My sweet girlfriend, Embi had given me instruction to keep some of the Victorian Lace for a project of my own.
This strip was the perfect length (as measured above and found to be perfectly perfect)
I attached it with a blanket stitch and placed our label above…anchored with vintage buttons…
Marmeé had originally created the dress as a nightgown, from a vintage damask tablecloth.
She gifted it to me, and I had embellished the front with a lace panel, a salvaged monogram from the handkersniff that had wrapped Eliza Mouse on our journey to Martha's Vineyard, and a ribbon embellishment from a Victorian crocheted piece…
….this was before we knew we would be collaborating…and I would need to change the label from "Little Cowgirl" to "Grammy & Marmeé"….
The car is packed, and we are on our way…
Smile sweet girl…
Husband/Big Daddy led the way in the truck and would take little missy to spend the afternoon with family in neighboring Thompson's Station.
We arrive at Rippavilla Plantation in Spring Hill, Tennessee, on the most gorgeous day of all …blue skies…birds singing…
and I find my table…and I position Old Gal in her Laura Ashley…and I drape the bunting…
the bunting that waves hello...
….and Eliza sits in her daybed…and greets the brides-to-be…and the mothers of the grooms…and the mothers of the brides…and the fiancés of the brides-to-be…and she is so proud that all love her little books and recipe cards and coloring books….
Sachets and Effe Belles and Wedding Belles…"blanks"…"in the works"….complete.... All can see the stages from start to finish….
….and the mothers of the brides-to-be spy Old Gal…and they remember these beautiful vintage dresses…and Laura Ashley…and they Sigh….
There are vendors with beautiful cakes …and flowers…there are photographers…and honeymoon planners….
and we congregate under this massive white tent that covers a bricked courtyard…
with the loveliest fountain…
trickling and setting such a delightful ambience for the afternoon…
…and there are even more vendors inside the Mansion.
But I come to this cake.
It is magnificent.
The creator began his craft after he turned 50…
hmmmm…
a kindred spirit.
His handmade roses were exquisite…
At the end of the fair…I wandered inside and found the florists as they were dismantling their magnificent displays. As I was melting into a puddle…she asked if I would like one of the Cabbage Rose blooms.
Be.Still.Heart.
As we were leaving the courtyard…all packed up…Sophia chattering and twirling along the path…
the vendor's husband walked by with an arrangement, saw twirly chatter bug, and offered her one of the very same blooms I had tucked in my basket.
She loved on it and sniffed it and tucked it in her carseat cupholder and sniffed it some more.
Can you guess which bloom is hers?
What a lovely event
on a perfectly glorious day
on the weekend before Spring.
How happy is my heart, for I was reacquainted with a beautiful grandmother who had purchased my little books 2 years ago…for her granddaughter Eliza. That beautiful little girl is about to turn 2!
Such serendipity. Or as a friend once said, "Some call these Co-incidents…I call them God-incidents."
I am most thankful for God's blessings, as He brought me through this week that involved 3 nights in the hospital, a CT scan and MRI…and finally a clean bill of health.
Life is fragile.
We count our blessings.
We give God the Glory.
We love well.
Blessings to you and yours!