Iain and Rachael's big day

travel theme, ideas for a vintage wedding, guestbook, wedding pictures

Since Spring has sprung (sort of) and love is in the air, I thought I would post about a beautiful Scottish wedding I had the pleasure of being a (very small) part of. Rachel Boyce (now Mrs. Iain McCallum) contacted me last summer about doing a map-covered guest book for her wedding, which was to have a vintage travel theme. We worked together, long-distance via email, to come up with something custom and very personal to her and Iain. Here are a couple of photos of the guest book.


 
  Rachael requested a map of North America for the cover, since she and Iain 
  have traveled here several times. This map is from a 1920s atlas.




The date on the passport stamp is their wedding day. Travel images illustrated each
page and there was space for guests to write their best wishes for the couple.



And now for the big event! They deftly carried the vintage travel theme through all the details of the wedding:





 

 
 Handsome Iain 


Beautiful bride Rachael










Happy day! Congratulations to a lovely couple.

All wedding photographs by Craig & Eva Sanders Photography.

Esther Howland - Mother of the American Valentine

Esther Howland, Valentine, handmade Valentines, history of the Valentine card

Since tomorrow is Valentine's Day, and being that I am a purveyor of paper goods myself, I thought it would be fitting to do a post about Esther Howland, who is known as the "Mother of the American Valentine.


Esther was born in 1828 in Worcester, Massachusetts. After her graduation from Mount Holyoke College in 1847, at the age of 19, she received an English Valentine from a business associate of her father, who owned a large book and stationery store in Worcester. She became intrigued with the idea of creating similar Valentines, and ordered the necessary materials from England and New York. To her surprise, the demand for her handmade Valentines exceeded her expectations and outpaced her ability to make them. She enlisted friends to help her assemble them and her home-based cottage industry quickly grew into a $100,000-a-year business. Let's not forget, this was the mid-1800s and she was a woman! When she retired in 1881, she sold her business to the George C. Whitney Company.

How's that for inspiration, Etsy sellers!



One of Esther's innovations was to slip a sheet of colored
paper placed behind the "lace" for more contrast.


Another of Esther's early creations

Meanwhile, I had fun making these:


    Bit o Honey -- Happy Valentine's Day to my sweetie.

 
   Custom tailored - You  were made for me.

 
    We They -- You and me against the world.
     
    Happy Valentine's Day to you!
  
   Sharon

Accidental Mysteries

vintage photographs, vernacular photography, John Foster, Teenuh Foster, Accidental Mysteries

John and Teenuh Foster have amassed a fascinating collection of vernacular photography, which can be viewed here. Following are a few examples from their collection:




And here are a few from my collection:




John Foster also has an excellent blog. Until next time...
Sharon