etsy love!

I am swooning over these gorgeous crocheted floral bouquets and boutonnieres by Petal to the Metal!



Using recycled yarns and animal-free products whenever possible, these lovely bouquets are made to order and with almost 30 colours to choose from, they can match the colours of your wedding day.



Petal to the Metal (aka Robyn) started the shop while planning her own wedding in early 2009. After being overwhelmed by florists and floral arrangements, she wanted something that reflected her uniqueness and craft-minded nature.



These flowers would be such a perfect touch for those brides with a DIY spirit and a great surprise for a centerpiece giveaway!

PS. If you are looking for some more DIY inspiration, visit the got craft blog and check out feature #9 - Amanda from Owl + Pussycat

heat wave

It is a "balmy" 23C today, but holy was it ever hot last week! Each summer, I say "Was it this hot last summer?! It couldn't have been THIS hot." Of course, each winter, I also say "Was it this cold last winter!? It couldn't have been THIS cold." However, I have to admit that I can make that statement this summer, because, yes, it was that HOT. 34C broke weather records across BC and believe me, I am not a hot weather type of person. Plus, that was the temperature outside.. add a few degrees and you have our apartment on the third floor. Our box fan, that was saving us earlier in the summer, had no cold air to draw in and our oscillating fan was just blowing hot air around us. Needless to say, our little kitty Cleo was wishing she had a zipper on her fur suit! She still wanted to be with us, so she would follow us around the apartment and just flop over with everything exposed. Rob and I even tried to rub her down with an ice pack, but she wasn't too keen on that.

I kept an eye on emails, but everything pretty much halted for lotus events. I even considered renting a hotel room to enjoy a refreshing dip in the pool and some A/C! This weekend will be spent playing catch up. Rob and I spent Saturday working at the cruise ship terminal with a program. Yesterday was week 4 of 5, so one more round to go. Today, Rob is busy with the Pride Parade as the Scotiabank Aids Walk for Life on September 20th has a float plus a booth over by the main stage. So far, I started the day with a hot walk over to pick up some wedding pictures I had developed to find out that they were closed. I headed next door for an iced coffee instead (which i spilled on my clean shirt!) and stopped in to the poorly neglected community garden plot.

Despite the neglect, a few things are growing quite happily. Anybody want some zucchini?




pumpkin


more lavender

Stay tuned for my tutorial on how to make your own reusable dryer sachets using garden lavender on Granville Magazine!

photobooth vancouver

Thinking of having a photobooth at your upcoming wedding or event!? Just check out the fun we had at the Handmade Nation Vancouver premiere with the lovely Angela (pictured above) from Photobooth Vancouver!

The amazing thing about their photo booths is that, unlike others (no steps, curbs, etc.), they are easy to maneuver and can seat up to 4 people or more (depending on how much you squeeze)! You have a choice of black and white or colour and you can even add a logo / website (for events) or name / date (for weddings) at the bottom of each image. The best feature is that your guests receive a copy AND you also receive a copy of each image taken in the booth! Huzzah!


(Here's Lyndsay from Coco Cake Cupcakes)

For more information, visit the Photobooth Vancouver website or check out their blog for more images.


Here's Christina pictured with her fab Olive bath and body products. Christina is also a wedding photographer. Visit her blog to check out her amazing photographs.

uppercase magazine

I have to admit that I was a bit late to discover uppercase magazine, but better late than never right? I have been following them ever since the launch of issue #2 and it must have been fate when I read a twitter post by Beyond Robson at approx. 1:00am announcing that Janine will be in Vancouver! Of course, I was so excited that I went and woke up Rob even though we had to be up at 6:00am the next morning to go to work. He was 25% excited and 75% confused.



After work on Saturday, we headed over to the Regional Assembly of Text to meet Janine. Lucky us, we even bumped into Jan from Poppytalk, Becka from Bliss in a teacup and Jeannette from The Beautiful Project! I didn't take any pictures once inside. I am always a little hesitant to do that. I guess I just don't want to seem like a stalker? :)

If you haven't picked up your issue, there are about 10 copies of issue #2 left which can be purchased on the website. You can check out more pictures on Janine's blog

Thanks for the lovely meet & greet and of course, the lemonade and cookies! Yum.

more bambs + paul

Five of my favourite images from Bambs and Paul's wedding last May by the lovely Studio Jeanie!

Handmade Nation

Hey! For those that missed out on Handmade Nation last week, head over to the Got Craft blog and read all about it!




(photo credit: Kim P. Werker)

melissa + chris

(photo credit: Hubbard Photography)

Simply put, Melissa and Chris rock! Seriously.



When their venue, Villa Amato, was only available for July 7th, they said "Fantastic, we are going to go with a 7-11 theme!". We had it all folks - slurpee machines, nacho cheese fountain, burrito station, gelato bar, mini hamburgers and hot dogs, fries in little cone cups and to top it al off, a candy bar with all of your favourite 5cent treats complete with mini plastic tongs!




One of my favourite components of the wedding was the handmade aspect. All of the bridesmaid dresses were handmade by Jane Bon Bon and one of the bridesmaids was actually the very crafty Rita aka Smeeta!

Cupcakes were freshly handmade by Lyndsay Sung from Coco Cake Cupcakes.



We had a top star wedding team including Kyra from Villa Amato, Flower Factory, Shannon at the Lazy Gourmet, Angela from Hubbard Photography and Tania from Chair Decor.

A different spin on the traditional centerpiece by the Flower Factory and the wedding couple.




Head over to Angela's blog for a sneak peek of more wedding photos.

gail & eric

(photo credit to Raymond & Jessie Leung Photography)

We first met them at the Kerrisdale Starbucks in 2007 and have been working on their special day ever since.

You couldn't have asked for a better day! Super relaxed couple + sunshine + amazing team of vendors! I love this couple. Half way through their reception, I turned to Rob and said "I miss them already!".


(cute figurines the Bride had custom made)

I must say though, that this wedding really put my cantonese speaking and listening skills to the test. I am born and raised in Vancouver and my mom moved here from Hong Kong when she was quite young which meant that we spoke a lot of English at home and I grew up with english speaking teachers, canadian tv / radio and everything else Vancouver. As I grew older, my Cantonese speaking skills have definitely detoriated. However, with the Groom and his Groomsmen, only speaking Cantonese as well as most of the guests, the reception venue and the Videographer and Photographer fluent in the language, I am happy to say that I kept up quite well! :D

For more snapshots of their day, visit Raymond & Jessie's blog.

lotus events in Momentum Magazine

(click on images to enlarge)

It has been a little quiet on this side, but there are lots of things being posted over at the Got Craft blog. Feel free to hop on over there and see what we are up to!



In the meantime, check out this super fab article that Tiffany and Julie from Love Bobbie, Robert and I did for Momentum Magazine's July / August issue.

My favourite quote is on the first page ... "Andrea, who, with her black hair pulled back, looks younger than her 29 years". Nice! haha



Article also features Got Craft vendors including Maked and Fibre Manipulator.


(photo credit: Momentum Magazine or as specified on photo)

car free days - commercial drive!

Here is the information for Car Free Days on Commercial Drive ....

Please contact Amy, Community Liaison at openstreets@carfreevancouver.org if you have any questions or for more information.

Summer Spaces is looking for performers, musicians, actors, jugglers, non-profits, clowns, visual artists, dancers, creative souls and community lovers to participate in East Vancouver’s first regular street closure!!!!

That’s right folks, every Sunday for July and August Commercial Drive will be closed to car traffic and open for the community to enjoy! All the way from Venables to 1st Ave.

The excitement starts at Noon and all activity must be clear of the street by 7pm.

Summer Spaces will be much smaller than the Car Free Festival. There will be little pre-programmed activity. Everyone is welcome to come down and enjoy this space responsibly. To make sure everyone is enjoying themselves we have thrown down a few guidelines; so please read, and ENJOY!

Guidelines:

• You are welcome to transform the street into anything you wish! Build a giant board game, start a hockey game, draw on the streets, roll out a living room, create a free store, write, play, sing, dance, perform street theatre, ride a crazy bike, juggle or build a street garden……the possibilities are endless!
• Performance for donations is permitted.
• Non-Profits are invited to come down and participate.
• Preference will be given to local artists and community based organizations.
• No equipment will be provided.
• Local merchants will be expanding their shops onto the street, however no 3rd party vendors will be permitted.
• Please remember this is public space for the whole community.
• If the activity you plan will be amplified (although non amplified performances are preferred) or will have a large impact please inform Amy our Community Liaison, of your plans prior to the event at openstreets@carfreevancouver.org

Thank you for participating in East Vancouver’s first regular street closure!

If you have any other questions email Amy, our Community Liaison at openstreets@carfreevancouver.org