Etsy Wedding Ideas

There's no wedding ahead for my family this year, but my husband and I have a special anniversary coming up. Sometimes I find myself looking at the all the wedding things available on Etsy and Pinterest.

What's on Etsy that you can consider for a wedding? The list goes on and on. It includes invitations, napkins, picture frames, ring bearer pillows, bouquets, garters, toasting goblets, cake toppers, table decorations, decorative clothes hangers, favors for the guests, and so much more! The other day I saw a handmade wagon for transporting that "little flower girl" up the aisle. It was darling!

A few weeks ago I made an Etsy Treasury called "Cowgirl Wedding" so there definitely are themed items.
If you want to see my Cowgirl Wedding in its entirety, take a look at
https://www.etsy.com/treasury/MjE1NjQzMDR8MjcyMTY3NjE1Nw/cowgirl-wedding?index=13&ref=treasury_search&atr_uid=

Etsy shoppers can be so creative: I had this pair of vintage bluebirds for sale in my shop and someone bought them recently and presented them to the bride and groom by using them as a wedding cake topper. The cake was decorated with blue flowers and decorative ribbon and was stunning. I'll bet they got lots of comments on it! Best of all, they had these lovely bluebird figurines to display in their home as a reminder of the special wedding cake. I knew these were bluebirds of happiness!

The owner of an Etsy shop who stays in touch with me regularly is Ellen at Seagull Smith Jewelry.



This link will take you to her shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/SeagullSmithJewelry

Ellen has all sort of lovely jewlery. She uses quality materials and artistry. You can find something to use as a gift for your bridesmaids, maid of honor, mother of the bride, mother of the groom, etc. You can purchase a set of matching jewelry. Ellen offers  "Dress the Party " Bridal Packages:

Beautiful classic jewelry for your entire bridal party is now available for your special day. You can now have elegant bridal and bridesmaid jewelry made with STERLING silver ear wires and Genuine SWAROVSKI Crystal and Pearls. All items are personally designed with the option for customization.

Not your color? Ellen offers all these other earring colors, too:

Looking for something trendy or a bit unusual, how about this lovely kumihimo bracelet? I can see this working beautifully for bridesmaids when there is a garden or seashore theme.

Ellen will be happy to help with you any jewelry needs, not just wedding items. There are items in her shop for dress and for casual wear. She has a variety or materials, styles, and colors.

Remember that your flowers and attire and all the bling and even those special little favors that you select for your guests are not the most special thing about your wedding day. It's having that other person in your life as your bride or groom though all the days ahead. Be sure to cherish having that person as your partner in life!

I dreamed of a wedding of elaborate elegance,
A church filled with family and friends.
I asked him what kind of a wedding he wished for,
He said one that would make me his wife.
~Author Unknown

Pineapple Blossoms

I think it may have been two years ago I requested this block with the GardenWeb Birthday Block Exchange. I asked that the blocks be made in bright tropical colors and you can see them in the photo. No one let me down. I sewed many of my blocks together at the GardenWeb Quilt Forum Retreat in the fall, but need to make a few more blocks in order to have a larger quilt top. I pulled this out from my storage bin on Monday and hope to get back to working on it soon.

Right now the idea of blossoms appealed to me. All of our magnificent spring flowers are in full bloom. I don't like the pollen a bit, but all those azaleas and dogwoods in bloom are a marvelouss sight! I'll post a few pictures on my other blog if you want to look at natural flowers instead of quilt block flowers. Stop by!

Poisson d'Avril



Pans Used for Poisson d'Avril
Read below for the full story.

My Etsy Poisson d'Avril Treasury http://www.etsy.com/treasury/MjE1NjQzMDR8MjcyMTYxOTcyMw/poison-davril?index=1
I couldn't figure out how to add the picture of this Etsy treasury that I made here on my blog, but I did manage to figure out how to add the link.  Now, a bit about April Fools Day or Poisson d'Avril.

Poisson d'Avril, if you studied the French langauge, means April Fish. 
"What the ____?" you might ask....

The following is summarized from How Stuff Workshttp://people.howstuffworks.com/culture-traditions/holidays/question604.htm

April 1 is a special day that celebrates foolishness. April Fools' Day, or All Fools Day, is an odd celebration with a strange history.

There's some uncertainty about when and where this bizarre tradition began, but the most accepted explanation traces April Fools' Day back to 16th century France. Until 1564, the accepted calendar was the Julian calendar, which observed the beginning of the New Year around April. According to "The Oxford Companion to the Year," King Charles IX then declared that France would begin using the Gregorian calendar, which shifted New Year's Day to January 1.

Not everyone accepted this shifting of dates at the same time. Some believed that the dates should not be shifted,. Those people may have became the victim of some April jokes and mocked as fools. Citizens in the rural parts of France may have also been the  victims of these jokes because in those days, news traveled slowly. They might not have known about the shifting of dates for months or years.

Today in France, people who are fooled on April 1 are called Poisson d'Avril, which literally means the "April Fish." One common joke is to hook a cardboard fish to the back of a person. Why the fish, I don't know. Some say the symbol is the fish is related to the zodiac sign of Pisces, which falls near April. It's interesting to point out that Napoleon earned the Poisson d'Avril monicker when he married Marie-Louise on April 1, 1810.

When my great grandmother was alive, she would bake a little cake in a fish shape for each of her granddaughters on every April Fools Day. A picture of the cake pans is at the top of this post. Have you ever seen some that are similar?

Happy April Fools Day! Happy Poisson d'Avril!