A house full of wedding cake

3 Tiers....

200 Cupcakes....

And 1 sulky puppy...

Remember the "Lavender" bunting I was busy sewing the other day? Well, the Lavender wedding has finally arrived... tomorrow morning, I'll be setting up the hall - hanging bunting, decorating tables, arranging cakes.... I can't wait!

My friend asked me over a year ago if I would help organise her wedding, I was feeling a bit blue and unsure what to do with myself after my own wedding so it was a great thing for me to start thinking about!

Today she came round with all of her cakes, 2 high chairs and her guest book for me to take down to the hall tomorrow. 

Seeing the guest book gave me an idea. Instead of just leaving a note, I wanted to do something a bit more personal, so I pulled out my sketchbook and started doodling.

First I just did a couple of weddingy sketches, a couple of bride and groom scribbles. Then I did one of them running for a plane with her suitcase bulging.... Then I thought, they are going on safari for their honeymoon so how about I chuck a lion in there as well? Oh, how about her suitcase has burst open and all her clothes have fallen out but they are too happy to notice? 

And this is what I came up with...

Her bikini top has got hooked over the lions ear!

Cute, yes?

I've attached it with photo corners so that she can take it out and frame it if she wants to. I really enjoy doing these little drawings, I did a couple for my bridesmaids (they were fairies and wearing their bridesmaid dreses) when I got married and one for a friends baby but have not done one since. I think it's nice to have something to remind you of a particular day - I think they make great cards or gifts.

Off now to practice my hair do for tomorrow - my hair is so long these days it takes forever to do! I'm thinking of doing lots of twisty loops all to one side and maybe a few curls hanging down.

Anyway, more on the wedding tomorrow! Everyone pray for nice weather for the lovely bride please?

A beautiful parcel that made my day...

I had a really rotten day at work today. It was one of those that makes you wonder why you bother getting up in the morning... well, at least why you bother leaving the confines of your comfortable home with comfy chairs, the option of staying in your PJ's the whole day if you feel like it and a little dog who would love it if you'd just give her one more cuddle.

My day was rubbish... until I got in the car at 5pm and this was on the seat waiting for me...

Which immediately made me feel better! If you look closely, the postal stamp is actually a special Hide N Seek stamp and the date on it is November 9th 1948! I love how it is made to look all old. I think it's such a lovely idea and so telling of the loveliness hiding on the inside!

I love the message on the back to the postman as well! So cute! And the red ribbon is a lovely touch.

But then the inside! Such goodness awaits! Not only the three gorgeous prints that I had ordered, but also a hand written note thanking me for my purchase (complete with bear hug!) and a co-ordinating bookmark and gift tag! Aren't I a lucky girl?

Don't you just love it when you order something and it arrives and it is so much better than you ever imagined it would be? To be fair, that is what has happened every time I've ordered something off Etsy but this is by far the loveliest thing to ever land on my doormat! I can't wait to pick some frames and get them hung on my wall... where there is a nice big spot, left empty by one of my own paintings which accidentally got a door through it this evening and now has a whopping great hole in the middle! So Yey! to new paintings (not so much to ones with holes in.)

I got these prints from Eloise over at Hide N Seek - pop in and have a look round, she has some beautiful stuff and hell, I would have ordered an empty envelope if I'd known it would turn up looking like this! And how strange, she lives just around the corer to where I lived when I was at Uni! It really is a small world!

Good night, god bless. Fingers crossed to a better day tomorrow! x

I have to share!

I don't know why, but I have suddenly got my creative Mojo back! I haven't painted anything outside my sketch book in 3 years (since I painted this).

But tonight, I suddenly felt the urge to paint again. And I'm not talking pocket size. I'm thinking big. Really big. 3 foot by 4 foot canvas to be precise.

I've not put brush to canvas yet, I'm still in the planning stage. My idea is to take some of our Japan photos, the ones that I think really scream Japan and turn them into a comic strip with a little comic caption at the top. The images I've chosen are a snow capped Mt Fuji, a single stem of cherry blossom, a couple of Geisha underneath a vivid red silk umbrella and a night shot of some of the illuminated billboards in Osaka. Up to now, the caption says "Meanwhile in Mt Fuji.... Ninja's strike again!" (remember the ninja restaurant in this post?) but I'd love it if anyone can come up with something better for me?

I'm not going to try and make the images look like photos, I'm going to do a pop art cartoon sort of effect. Like this one I did of Johnny Cash and June Carter from the cover of the film Walk the Line (the first film me and My P saw together - I did it when we bought our first house together - if you look really closely on the bottom right, you can see my old signature before I was Mrs B!).

I absolutely love this painting. And everyone who comes into my house comments on it. So I think it will be great for the new painting to match while being a totally unique piece of art at the same time.

As this is the first big painting I've done since I've been writing this blog, I think I will walk you through my process and take photos for you along the way.

Tonight is step one: The planning.

I knew I wanted my painting to be in honour of our recent trip to Japan and it had to be all of the things that I remember Japan as being.

First thing I did was to think of the first words that come into my head when I think of Japan. Those words were Fuji, Geisha, Blossom, Night Lights, Ninja, Temples, Buddha, Zen, Comics and so on. From these words, I was able to choose the photos I wanted to use in the painting.

Then I did a few doodles to decide on the layout. I wanted it to look like a comic strip so I did a few layouts from different comics and decided on a large image across the top and then a row of three images across the bottom. I didn't want it to be too linear so I've gone for wonky angles with the text in the top left corner. 

Then I had a play around with my photos in Photoshop, I applied filters, distorted the images and messed with the colours until I had 4 pictures that I felt complimented each other, that the colours were balanced and most of all that together, as a comic strip they tell the story of our wonderful trip.

I'm not going to show you the photos I've chosen, I want you to get the full effect when I unveil the finished painting. So watch this space for Step 2 - Pencil on canvas.

Love,

Princess and her paintbrush x