Snowy sunday!! Still heaps of snow- decided not to risk the deathly drive to my studio!!. So had to make use of the time off- went up in the attic and dragged all the xmas shopping down. This is always a fun experience of joy and wonder!! as i start shopping in january and squirrel it all away. Then I drag it all down in december ( early this year lol) and write post its with every name on that I get gifts for. I put it in piles and hopefully the post its match up the piles. I have a ridiculously large pile for our six year old daughter!! She is into crafy things ( hmmn wonder who she takes after..........) This year she is going to venture into the world of scrap booking. I have collected lots of crafty bits and a craft/ card makers bag to store it all in.
Our three year old son is mad ( in a tottally obsessed way!) about Thomas and chuggington, so he has tracks and trains galore.
I have a few things for my sil, hub wants a guitar hero keyboard for the wii. In laws want theatre vouchers. Hubs Dad and step mum and half sister are yet to be sorted. My parents have yet tio be done too- my Mum is coming to stay for a week tommorrrow so will take her shopping for some jewellery. My dad will want stuff for his remote planes i expect.
In the interest of economy all my friends and i are restricting ourseklves to just buying for the kids this year. Thay are all sorted too. So all in all doing well!! m just about to venture out in the sbnow to town to meet sil and get a few bits and bobs.
Sunday, 28 November 2010
Saturday, 27 November 2010
Saturday 27th Nov
The design was sketche dfrom my head and I used a 1952 pattern as the basis for cutting it. I added a long waist sash which can be worn in a variety of ways, with or without a bow etc. It could also be made with a contrasting sash. It is fulled boned and lined. The pics show it with a fabulous marabou shrug from Sasso. I LOVE their stuff!!! I made the sample in a size 20 I know it would have looked much more vintage in the pics if it was more nipped in a the waist, but not many of my customers have a 1952 sillouette!
They must have had seriuos underwear then as if I use vintage patterns to cut from i have to add 2 inches to the waist on nearly all sizes!
Ooops nearly forgit to tell you what I did instead!! I cleared ot my daughters bedroom to make room for Santas forthcoming trip!! I will not tell you what disgusting and weird things you find down the side of a six year old girls bed!!!! We had a good sort out found loads of missing bits and bobs and filled four sacks for charity and 2 sacks of rubbish. I then carried on the same task in the playroom, and then after my tea as if 9 hours of sorting had not been enough, I cleared out my 3 year olds room too- whilst he was asleep, because i could not take anymore "Please can I keep that I love it!!" Yep so much that you forgot it was even here under the bed, back of a drawer etc etc
Monday, 22 November 2010
Monday 22nd Nov
Well afull week ahead beckons.... Lunch today with my friend and colleague Emma. Sewing for the rest of the day. Then I have to manage to cram in all the work I lost havong to go to my dear froends funeral on friday. It was so sad as we had been friends for 29 years since we were 11 !! However I met uo at the funeral with half a dozen old school mates i had not seen since i moveed away when i was 14. We have made firm plans to keep in touch as losing a friend so young makes you realise how inportant it is to keep intouch. I am looking forward to meeting a new ckient tommorrow who want me to design a medieval inspired wedding dress. Anyway must dash busy busy....ps please do not let it snow at weekend as I am going to exhibit at Danby Castle Wedding Fayre and after i had a really bad crash in the snow one year I now never drive in the snow EVER!!
Wednesday, 17 November 2010
Wednesday 17th Nov-Busy days
Today I am meeting with clients to discuss alterations to their wedding dresses, the adding of swaroski etc. Also I am making bespoke bridesmaid dresses and fur cloaks for one and bespoke flower girl dress for the other one. I also have to contact about 25 more secondary schools re my new Prom Dress Venture, Cinderellaprom which has been very well received. Jobs for today are also to load up my car with several crates of jewellery for this evenings Xmas Fayre at my daughters school. I also need to squeeze in 2 hours sewing on current projects and do the usual mad school run etc etc. My life is never dull...............( however I could do with some more hours each day, or an extra set of arms or both...........).
ps I meant to share a couple of trade secrets with you! I buy my Marabou wraps, shrugs and capes from this amazing supplier, They are amazing and the celebs wear them. The are the very essence of vintage and very beautiful
http://www.sassobridalaccessories.net/marabou_ostrich_feather.htm
Tuesday, 16 November 2010
And on and on...........
I will at some point write a full wedding report with pics ( I have one on my computer that i did for YAYW You and your wedding) However for today suffice to say that everything went really well. I designed everything from the invites to the flowers to the Cheese stack. We married on a monday which as said previuosly was out 10th anniversary. We had a small wedding at Barnard Castle Reg office with "Martha's Theme" from Doctor who to come in to and we signed the register to the thme from lord Of The Rings. We read "I do not like green eggs and ham" by Dr Suess. We then had photos at the ruins of the castle. It was a beautiful day the hottest april on record! ( typical as I had made 8 velvet cloaks- the previous april it snowed!!) We then had a meal at my Favourite pub "The Spotted Dog".
A week later we had a party for all our friends at Hurworth Grange ( where my studio is) we also held a commitment ceremony we had written ourselves.
Four weeks later we had a garden party ( in the house cos it rained!) for family.
Four months later we had a cherish the dress shoot at Old Wardour Castle down south on our hols.
So I really got my wear out of my Dress!! Four times!! and as it is on display in my studio I get to look at it every day. A dream come true- I sketched it when I was 10 years old and never dreamed it would be brought to life nearly 30 years later.
After my wedding I got more and more clients wanting me to make wedding related stuff. So I decided to launch a new "Arm" to my business. So bexbrides was born to accompany its sister bexrooms. A couple of months ago my colleague who owns a Bridal shop Happily Ever After ( who I do all the bespoke work and alterations for) was convinced by me, to start a new venture to build on our previous seasons success with prom dresses. So a third child was born- bexproms!! and as an outlet for this i devised a madcap idea utilising my sales and partyplan experience ( virgin vie etc etc) and so we came up with cinderellaprom!!
Anyway I am off for my beauty sleep now- fat chance as darling son has woken up every night for the last 3 so fingers crossed.....
A week later we had a party for all our friends at Hurworth Grange ( where my studio is) we also held a commitment ceremony we had written ourselves.
Four weeks later we had a garden party ( in the house cos it rained!) for family.
Four months later we had a cherish the dress shoot at Old Wardour Castle down south on our hols.
So I really got my wear out of my Dress!! Four times!! and as it is on display in my studio I get to look at it every day. A dream come true- I sketched it when I was 10 years old and never dreamed it would be brought to life nearly 30 years later.
After my wedding I got more and more clients wanting me to make wedding related stuff. So I decided to launch a new "Arm" to my business. So bexbrides was born to accompany its sister bexrooms. A couple of months ago my colleague who owns a Bridal shop Happily Ever After ( who I do all the bespoke work and alterations for) was convinced by me, to start a new venture to build on our previous seasons success with prom dresses. So a third child was born- bexproms!! and as an outlet for this i devised a madcap idea utilising my sales and partyplan experience ( virgin vie etc etc) and so we came up with cinderellaprom!!
Anyway I am off for my beauty sleep now- fat chance as darling son has woken up every night for the last 3 so fingers crossed.....
The story continues..........
To fill in a few blanks Chris and I "Courted, went out with, whatever!" from 1999 we lived at his flat in canterbury for a few months but I was away with work all week. He was desperate to find a job back up north. He went for a job near Stockton on Tees and got the job, I gave notice to the tenant i had living in my first house i bought but never lived in as my job moved me away. So i went to Melton Mowbray and Chris went home to his Mam in Durham we met up at weekends at Melton- we did that for nearly 2 years and it nearly killed us- long distance relationships for two people who have been seriously hurt emotionally previuosly are really hard work. However we managed it. we decided to sell my house and rent together near Chris's job, but after i found loads of rental details he just said "Why don't we just buy a house i am sure we will get on, if not we can just sell it"
So we bought a house in 2000. In 2003 I started my own business after much pressure from people who i had made and designed projects for in my spare time. It was quite scary to give up prospects of a pension and paid holidays etc. What if i was not busy etc etc. I need not have worried as i have been working solidly for the last 7 and a half years with two short breaks to have the kiddi bops!
There is another story Chris was pretty anti kids he is younger by me by 3 years and his parents split when he was a teenager and it affected him deeply. He also swore he would never marry ( or have a joint bank account!!)
I had an issue with my coil ( iud) and had to have some tests and was told by Gp it was unlikely i could conceive and if i wanted children i had better do it now or never!!
Flippin heck that was a stressfull time vest not dwelt apon! To cut a long story short Chris decided he would rather be with me with or without kids rather than not be with me. We tried for a baby and defied the gp and had our daughter Rhianna in 2004 We gave her Fleur as a middle name in memory of my dear sister. We loved her so much ( the hellish pregnancy is another story!!) that we decided we would have another- it took a while but in 2007 along came her brother Rowan.
In 2004 my Mother in law remarried after being a single Mum for over 10 years. I offered to make her wedding dress. I had sort of made my first wedding dress in that I dismantled a silk dress- re- assembled it and added lots of stuff including fimo roses made into beads. I did "O" level needlework and was a qualified curtain maker and had made several items of clothing for friends and myself including a fully corseted elizabethan dress for my 30th ( that took 77 hours and was a labour of love)
So when Chris and i decided to marry I knew i would make all the outfits myself.
I knew I wanted A magical Medieval princess dress myself- think Lord of The Rings- meets Narnia meets Flower fairy!!
One of my overriding memeories of Chris as a child is him permenantly having his nose in a Doctor Who novel- so it was no suprise that he chose a replica Doctor who outfit.
I must point out that he was completely anti suit, tails top hat anything weddingy etc So planned to marry me in his jeans and Darlek T shirt!! After 10 years of waiting to get him down the aisle so to speak I was past caring lol!! He could have turned up in a bin bag and I would not have minded!
One day he said "What are you and Rosie wearing?"- ( his sister and our witness) I said "Medieval dresses and velvet full length hooded cloaks" He looked thoughtful and said " I am going to look a right knob in my jeans then!!" I said well you can wear what you like I am not going to make you wear a suit. He said "have you seen what paul Mcgann wore in the Tv movie for the 8th Doctor Who?" I said i had not but I googled it and said "Sure I can make that!"
Several weeks later with a 37 piece pattern in my hands with 35 pages of instructions on how to construct my Victorian velvet frock coat I was to look back and wonder on the wisdom of that statement!!
However It turned out fanatstically. The full story of researching the exact fabric. colours etc for the coat and waistcoat and which button hole the watch chain was worn in etc is a whole other story!! Suffice to say thise of you who have not come accross the obssesive loons that inhabit the world of Cosplay!! ( Costume play- mostly sci fio and comics!) and yes they do have conferences and seminars and yes I thought I was weird and slightly obsessive before i discovered them - now i feel normal lol!!
So we bought a house in 2000. In 2003 I started my own business after much pressure from people who i had made and designed projects for in my spare time. It was quite scary to give up prospects of a pension and paid holidays etc. What if i was not busy etc etc. I need not have worried as i have been working solidly for the last 7 and a half years with two short breaks to have the kiddi bops!
There is another story Chris was pretty anti kids he is younger by me by 3 years and his parents split when he was a teenager and it affected him deeply. He also swore he would never marry ( or have a joint bank account!!)
I had an issue with my coil ( iud) and had to have some tests and was told by Gp it was unlikely i could conceive and if i wanted children i had better do it now or never!!
Flippin heck that was a stressfull time vest not dwelt apon! To cut a long story short Chris decided he would rather be with me with or without kids rather than not be with me. We tried for a baby and defied the gp and had our daughter Rhianna in 2004 We gave her Fleur as a middle name in memory of my dear sister. We loved her so much ( the hellish pregnancy is another story!!) that we decided we would have another- it took a while but in 2007 along came her brother Rowan.
In 2004 my Mother in law remarried after being a single Mum for over 10 years. I offered to make her wedding dress. I had sort of made my first wedding dress in that I dismantled a silk dress- re- assembled it and added lots of stuff including fimo roses made into beads. I did "O" level needlework and was a qualified curtain maker and had made several items of clothing for friends and myself including a fully corseted elizabethan dress for my 30th ( that took 77 hours and was a labour of love)
So when Chris and i decided to marry I knew i would make all the outfits myself.
I knew I wanted A magical Medieval princess dress myself- think Lord of The Rings- meets Narnia meets Flower fairy!!
One of my overriding memeories of Chris as a child is him permenantly having his nose in a Doctor Who novel- so it was no suprise that he chose a replica Doctor who outfit.
I must point out that he was completely anti suit, tails top hat anything weddingy etc So planned to marry me in his jeans and Darlek T shirt!! After 10 years of waiting to get him down the aisle so to speak I was past caring lol!! He could have turned up in a bin bag and I would not have minded!
One day he said "What are you and Rosie wearing?"- ( his sister and our witness) I said "Medieval dresses and velvet full length hooded cloaks" He looked thoughtful and said " I am going to look a right knob in my jeans then!!" I said well you can wear what you like I am not going to make you wear a suit. He said "have you seen what paul Mcgann wore in the Tv movie for the 8th Doctor Who?" I said i had not but I googled it and said "Sure I can make that!"
Several weeks later with a 37 piece pattern in my hands with 35 pages of instructions on how to construct my Victorian velvet frock coat I was to look back and wonder on the wisdom of that statement!!
However It turned out fanatstically. The full story of researching the exact fabric. colours etc for the coat and waistcoat and which button hole the watch chain was worn in etc is a whole other story!! Suffice to say thise of you who have not come accross the obssesive loons that inhabit the world of Cosplay!! ( Costume play- mostly sci fio and comics!) and yes they do have conferences and seminars and yes I thought I was weird and slightly obsessive before i discovered them - now i feel normal lol!!
This is addictive lol!!
On with the story ( if you are joining me here- please go back and read previuos posts or this will make even less sense than it does already!)
Before chris and i met up after our 18 year separation i said to a friend "I have found the person i am going to be with for the rest of my life!" She just looked at me and said "based on what?" I said "On his voice on the phone- it goes right down my spine and i just know!!" She looked again and said " Look you have just come out of a 12 year relationship, have you heard the term rebound.....)
I just laughed and said "You wait and see!!"
On the fateful day 20th April 1999 a tuesday, I turned up at the address I had been given and was looking for his flat i had to ring him and say i could not find it he came down and I vividly remember him saying turn around 180 degrees, i turned around and there he was all i could think was how he had grown ( well he would have since age 11) and that he was really hairy! lol!!
We said our hellos and hugged. we went up to his flat and he had made me a meal ( I was like wtf- a man who cooks!!) We just clicked straight away it was like the last 18 years melted away, we chatted about my sister and his sister ( who i had never met) his brother. Our families our jobs our lives etc. We told each other every thing that we had gone through since we last met. We looked at photos osf us as kids etc we talked about our favourite books which turned out spookily to be the same series of books ( how likely is that??) Eventually at 3am I apparently said "Well are we going to bed or what?" - Hope My parents are not reading this...
The next day we said our goodbyes and I went off on a holiday to Cornwall to visit my sisters grave, I rang Chrsi every day and ran up a mobile phone bill of £150!! in a week eekk!! ( no unlimited tarifs in 1999!!) He invited me back at the week end I stayed for the weekend and we walked and talked by the sea.
I went home packed my bags left a note for my husband ( we were having a bizzarre timeshare of the marital home with me at weekends and him in the week) saying "taken your advice and f***ked off. Washing in the machine, tea in the freezer you need milk."
I moved in with Chris and 10 years later to the day 20th april 2009 we married at Barnard Castle with me dressed in one of my creations as a medieval princess ( based on a sketch i did when i was 10) he wore a replica 8th Doctor who outfit ( made by me of course) Our two children wore a minature version of my dress and velvet knickerbockers and a waistcoat. Chris and I had a daughter in 2004 and a son in 2007 I will let you work out who wore what!!
Before chris and i met up after our 18 year separation i said to a friend "I have found the person i am going to be with for the rest of my life!" She just looked at me and said "based on what?" I said "On his voice on the phone- it goes right down my spine and i just know!!" She looked again and said " Look you have just come out of a 12 year relationship, have you heard the term rebound.....)
I just laughed and said "You wait and see!!"
On the fateful day 20th April 1999 a tuesday, I turned up at the address I had been given and was looking for his flat i had to ring him and say i could not find it he came down and I vividly remember him saying turn around 180 degrees, i turned around and there he was all i could think was how he had grown ( well he would have since age 11) and that he was really hairy! lol!!
We said our hellos and hugged. we went up to his flat and he had made me a meal ( I was like wtf- a man who cooks!!) We just clicked straight away it was like the last 18 years melted away, we chatted about my sister and his sister ( who i had never met) his brother. Our families our jobs our lives etc. We told each other every thing that we had gone through since we last met. We looked at photos osf us as kids etc we talked about our favourite books which turned out spookily to be the same series of books ( how likely is that??) Eventually at 3am I apparently said "Well are we going to bed or what?" - Hope My parents are not reading this...
The next day we said our goodbyes and I went off on a holiday to Cornwall to visit my sisters grave, I rang Chrsi every day and ran up a mobile phone bill of £150!! in a week eekk!! ( no unlimited tarifs in 1999!!) He invited me back at the week end I stayed for the weekend and we walked and talked by the sea.
I went home packed my bags left a note for my husband ( we were having a bizzarre timeshare of the marital home with me at weekends and him in the week) saying "taken your advice and f***ked off. Washing in the machine, tea in the freezer you need milk."
I moved in with Chris and 10 years later to the day 20th april 2009 we married at Barnard Castle with me dressed in one of my creations as a medieval princess ( based on a sketch i did when i was 10) he wore a replica 8th Doctor who outfit ( made by me of course) Our two children wore a minature version of my dress and velvet knickerbockers and a waistcoat. Chris and I had a daughter in 2004 and a son in 2007 I will let you work out who wore what!!
Whoop Whoop managed to post my first blog post without crashing the entire internet
Hi all, So what now?? Shall I tell you a little about me?? Maybe you are interested maybe not, if not do not read anymore. I shall start by saying why I decided to start this blog. Several reasons, I personally like to read about people and their lives and see what makes them as they are. I like to know that we are all just human. I also thought that from a business point of view it would be interesting for my potential clients to know hat a loony I am and who they are entrusting their hard earned cash and wedding day dreams to!
I also thought it might be nice to have a diary for posterity for my children and friends etc. Yesterday I found out that my best friend from school had died suddenly last week aged 41. Now we had lost touch a little over the last few years due to work committments on both sides, what i would give now for an online diary of hers to read back through and feel her thoughts and feelings......
Anyway where was I?? ( as my Mum would say "Who knows?") Ah yes a little about me...
I am 40 and married with two children. The story of my Wedding and how it came to be could be a full book in it's own right, but I shall try and be brief ( this will be a first lol!)
1977 aged 7 my family and I moved to sunderland from watford. My sister Fleur was 4 at the time, we made friends with two brothers Chris aged 4 and Pat aged 3. Several years of inseperable friendship between the 4 of us ensued- think Star Wars meets the Adventurous Four. We spent many happy hours dressed as Princess Leia ( 2 of them!) and han solo and Luke Skywalker off on adventures ( those were the days when kids were allowed to have adventures!) Chris and I were bestest friends.
1981 I went to secondary school and left the little ones behind a little, then in 1982 Chris and pat moved to another part of sunderland. In 1984 my family and i moved to Debyshire.
1984-1988 I finished school and went to college, my bus used to pass a building called St Christopher and I can honestly say every time i saw it i thought of my childhood chum Chris.
1986 I met my first husband to be.
1988 I left home and became the youngest ever Manager for Stead & Simpson footwear retailers.
1988-1999 lots happened during this time I became a Training Manager, I got married in 1994 and my sister Fleur was tragically killed whilst on duty as a Firefighter in Bristol. At that time lots of friends from the past got in touch, including Chris from my childhood. We then kept in touch via letter and Christmas cards etc. The death of my sister and my partial breakdown sunsequently was the final death knell for my floundering first marriage. My ex left me on Christmas eve ( always one for the excellent timing!!) I recieved a xmas card from Chris saying he and his long term partner had split up. I rang him up ( took a bit of tracking down) and we decided to meet up and discuss the faults of our respective crappy exes!!
I arranged to visit him the next time I was in Canterbury ( where he was living) when i had to visit for work ( I was then an area manager for a footwear distributor)
We set the date for the 20th April 1999...
I also thought it might be nice to have a diary for posterity for my children and friends etc. Yesterday I found out that my best friend from school had died suddenly last week aged 41. Now we had lost touch a little over the last few years due to work committments on both sides, what i would give now for an online diary of hers to read back through and feel her thoughts and feelings......
Anyway where was I?? ( as my Mum would say "Who knows?") Ah yes a little about me...
I am 40 and married with two children. The story of my Wedding and how it came to be could be a full book in it's own right, but I shall try and be brief ( this will be a first lol!)
1977 aged 7 my family and I moved to sunderland from watford. My sister Fleur was 4 at the time, we made friends with two brothers Chris aged 4 and Pat aged 3. Several years of inseperable friendship between the 4 of us ensued- think Star Wars meets the Adventurous Four. We spent many happy hours dressed as Princess Leia ( 2 of them!) and han solo and Luke Skywalker off on adventures ( those were the days when kids were allowed to have adventures!) Chris and I were bestest friends.
1981 I went to secondary school and left the little ones behind a little, then in 1982 Chris and pat moved to another part of sunderland. In 1984 my family and i moved to Debyshire.
1984-1988 I finished school and went to college, my bus used to pass a building called St Christopher and I can honestly say every time i saw it i thought of my childhood chum Chris.
1986 I met my first husband to be.
1988 I left home and became the youngest ever Manager for Stead & Simpson footwear retailers.
1988-1999 lots happened during this time I became a Training Manager, I got married in 1994 and my sister Fleur was tragically killed whilst on duty as a Firefighter in Bristol. At that time lots of friends from the past got in touch, including Chris from my childhood. We then kept in touch via letter and Christmas cards etc. The death of my sister and my partial breakdown sunsequently was the final death knell for my floundering first marriage. My ex left me on Christmas eve ( always one for the excellent timing!!) I recieved a xmas card from Chris saying he and his long term partner had split up. I rang him up ( took a bit of tracking down) and we decided to meet up and discuss the faults of our respective crappy exes!!
I arranged to visit him the next time I was in Canterbury ( where he was living) when i had to visit for work ( I was then an area manager for a footwear distributor)
We set the date for the 20th April 1999...
First ever blog post!!!
Hi everyone, welcome to my blog!! I am known for being a great lover of blogs, forums and basically all internet related weddingy stuff!! However I am also known for my inability to work with computers!! I need a voice controlled one ! I am also known for the fact that should i come within a 6 foot radius of a computer it will immediately start doing weird things!! My husband who is very techy despairs of me. He is a Media Studies and Drama teacher and so knows how these things work. As for myself it is a complete mystery I have only just aged 40 worked out how to Tweet!! However I love to gossip and ramble on about stuff to all my friends and clients ( and well anyone who will listen!) so I thought I would give blogging a go!!
I am also known for several other skills, namely being able to jump in and save the day with wedding dress related disasters, namely the dreaded chines copies aghhh!! I am also known for my ability to form an amazing rapport with all my clients so that we become great friends and sometimes i even get invited to the Wedding!!
Oh and I am also known for my over use of exclamation marks!!!!!! and the abreviation lol!!!
I shall try and post this now and see if it works...............( or maybe i will delete the entire internet or something!)
I am also known for several other skills, namely being able to jump in and save the day with wedding dress related disasters, namely the dreaded chines copies aghhh!! I am also known for my ability to form an amazing rapport with all my clients so that we become great friends and sometimes i even get invited to the Wedding!!
Oh and I am also known for my over use of exclamation marks!!!!!! and the abreviation lol!!!
I shall try and post this now and see if it works...............( or maybe i will delete the entire internet or something!)
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