My absence and a Bridal Shower Invitation

This intro is going to be a long one - just warning you.

First, I would like to apologize for my silence this past month and a half. I didn't realize how long it had been since my last blog post until I began to receive emails! Thank you for your concern - you really do like my blog. :)

Secondly, I want to assure you I am fine. The reason for my absence is wedding, wedding, wedding! My middle daughter is getting married in August and it is, what we call, a do it yourself kind of wedding with a church ceremony and outdoor reception. We are trying to save money by doing alot of the work ourselves. To complicate it a bit - she lives in Ohio but is getting married here in Massachusetts!

I have been digging, planting (the flowers), and weeding. Plus I've been hitting up yard sales and thrift stores, and watching the sales, as has my daughter. We were able to get together once in May when my husband and I went to Ohio for a long weekend. If you live in the Dayton area, we were there the weekend of a fabulous neighborhood yard sale in Centerville. It seriously was an endless yard sale and we got some great stuff! Thank goodness for Pinterest! I cruise it regularly for ideas. 

I also was able to go to a wonderful flea market in New Jersey when we drove our other daughter down to Ocean City, NJ. My husband is from Mt. Holly, NJ so he grew up going to Columbus Sale (hope I got the name right). This was my first time and I Loved it! I found some great items for the wedding. And I went crazy at the Amish Farmers Market that is there. Shoo Fly Pie - Yum!!

This past weekend, my daughter drove here for the Bridal Shower I gave her. That was another big reason I haven't been blogging! It was a small intimate group of friends - 16 in all - so I wanted to make it personal and special and I kind of got carried away with details. But it was so much fun! I am going to post it a little at a time I think.

Today, I can show you the invitation that I made. My daughter's colors are coral and ivory. She also loves the vintage minty green and the tiffany blue but for her invitation I stuck with Calypso Coral and Very Vanilla.

The dress is actually 2 pieces. I die cut the skirt first with the Scallop Circle Bigz die and my Big Shot and then trimmed it by hand using a premade template. The bodice was done one of the Hearts Collection Framelits. The final step was embossing with the Elegant Lines Embossing Folder and adding either Crochet Trim or Calypso Coral Ribbon. 

The sentiment was stamped with the now retired Sincere Salutations. 

For the inside of the invitation, I just typed everything on the computer, printed it onto Very Vanilla cardstock, trimmed it, and adhered it to the card base. 

Stamps: Sincere Salutations (retired)

Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Calypso Coral

Ink: Calypso Coral

Other: Big Shot, Elegant Lines Embossing Folder, Hearts Collection Framelits, Scallop Circle Bigz die, Crochet Trim (or Calypso Coral Ribbon), Corner Rounder, Large Pearl

And I just realized the Large Pearl is missing! Every invitation had one glued to the "V" of the bodice. 

Thanks for reading this very long blog post. I'll try to post some more this week.