Monday 30 November 2009

We Make London Christmas Fair

If you love handmade goods, Etsy and Folksy then you’ll love We Make London, sponsored by The Make Lounge they’re holding a Christmas fair at Chelsea Town Hall, King's Road London this Saturday 5th December, where you can buy directly from the designers.


Check out the blog where they are showcasing the designers at the fair: loads of great ones to choose from, here are a few that could be useful for your wedding.

Stationery designers Atherton Lin




Place cards from Pocket Studio



Gift Boxes and Christmas ornaments by Paper Red Shoes…great for favours



For fabulous headpieces Treasure Me



And hats from Hatastic



I could go on but there are far too many, do check out the blog and pop down to the King’s road if you can.

P.S. Take a look at The Make Lounge website if you’re looking for alternative hen party ideas -from cup cake decorating to making your own bath and body products or if you’re thinking of making your own accessories they have tiara and fascinator workshops too.

Friday 27 November 2009

Tissue Paper Pompom & Pomander Inspiration


On Monday I looked at how you could make your own tissue paper pomanders for your bridesmaids young or old to hold, here are some photos showing how you can use tissue paper pompoms and pomanders in all sizes and areas of your wedding

Create a backdrop for your ceremony



Hang on the end of chairs or pew ends either side of your aisle; you can then easily transfer them to your reception venue.



Decorate the reception space; hang then all round the space to add colour, highlight a feature of the room such as the windows or cluster them together to create a focal point around your head table


I love the ribbons hanging from these and different colours used for a Mexican inspired rehearsal dinner designed by Lisa Vorce of Oh How Charming! a US wedding planner.





First photo and above by Q Weddings via Style Me Pretty here & here

They look great combined with Chinese lanterns



They look just as fab, whatever the scale; small ones make fun napkin rings and look like mini-hydrangeas


I love tissue paper pompoms, they’re fun and whimsical and great for adding splashes of colour. They can easily be made but if you don’t feel up to it check out Etsy as there are a number of tissue paper pompom sellers there.

Monday 23 November 2009

DIY Tissue Paper Pomanders

At the weekend I was discussing with one of my brides what her younger flower girls could hold rather than flowers and I suggested she used tissue paper pomanders, they’re simple to make and easy for the girls to hold.

Here are the basic instructions for making the flowers/ pompoms (inspired by Martha Stewart’s large hanging pompom instructions, here) which you can either gather together in a ball like I have or for a more sturdy pomander stick into a polystyrene ball as shown here on the Ruffled Blog.

You will need Tissue paper, florist’s wire, scissors and ribbon.
(If attaching to a polystyrene ball you will also need a glue gun)



1. Take a sheet of tissue paper and fold 3 times so you have 8 rectangular pieces to cut out and then stack on top of each other as shown.

2. Concertina fold the paper, roughly 2-3cm wide, to the top. Fold in half to mark the centre point.


3. Wrap a piece of floral wire around the middle. It works better to keep the wire flat rather than scrunching up the paper. Trim the edges to give a rounded petal shape.


4. Then holding from the wire gradually pull out all the folds, pulling alternatively left and right until you have created your flower.



5. Gather you flower heads together to create your pomander and twist your wires together. Take a ribbon and tie to the centre of the pomander to create a handle to hold the pomander by. I’ve used 3 flower heads here for a loose pomander but you could use more to create a fuller more packed pomander.

You don’t have stick to one colour either you could use contrasting colours for individual flowers or layer different shades of the same colour within a single flower as well.

Tuesday 17 November 2009

Adorable Finds: Jade & Peacock Blue

Here are the adorable finds for the Jade and Peacock Blue colour inspiration
I love the richness of these colours and I think they work wonderfully for an autumn or winter wedding.

I think the great thing about this colour palette is that you can mix it up for your bridesmaids; let them choose their own styles in a range of shades and have fun accessorising


1 Goddiva 2. Net-a-Porter 3 Monsoon 4 Monsoon 5 Net-a-Porter 6 Coast via House of Fraser



1 Feather Comb from Monsoon 2 Blue and Jade Bangle from Aldo 3 Peacock Burst Ring from Top Shop 4 Peacock Clutch from beegee bags via The Brides Café

Lots of great invitations can be found using the peacock as inspiration, here are a couple I found on Etsy.

Invitations from Etsy shops Izzy & the Bean Design and Peacock Invitations



Peacock place cards from Etsy shops Timeless Paper

A peacock on a cake might be a bit much but I like the use of jade icing detailing on this cake.


Cake Inspiration here, via Elizabeth Anne Designs photo by Laura Peacock (the name is a coincidence I promise.)

Monday 9 November 2009

Always Andri News:You Magazine Feature



I was featured in You Magazine at the weekend, the article looked at women who have made the most out of being made redundant. You can read the online article here.


Image by Sam Holden

Friday 6 November 2009

Love Poetry: 'Bright Star' by Keats




Bright star, would I were steadfast as thou art
Not in lone splendour hung aloft the night,
And watching, with eternal lids apart,
Like nature's patient sleepless eremite,
The moving waters at their priestlike task
Of pure ablution round earth's human shores,
Or gazing on the new soft-fallen mask
Of snow upon the mountains and the moors;
No yet still steadfast, still unchangeable,
Pillow'd upon my fair love's ripening breast,
To feel for ever its soft fall and swell,
Awake for ever in a sweet unrest,
Still, still to hear her tender-taken breath,
And so live ever or else swoon to death.




Bright Star the film about Keats’ short lived affair with his neighbour Fanny Brawne is released today. Looking for inspiration for your wedding readings- you can also visit the house where he met her and wrote some of his most romantic poems, they even host a monthly poetry reading and appreciation group.

Image found here
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