You have got to check out this artist’s work! She works from wedding photographs and makes miniature models out of the wedding scenes. At $5,000 and up they are a bit pricey, but wouldn’t this make a fabulous keepsake?

Gotcha!!! It’s April Fool’s Day and I just couldn’t resist. These are tilt-shift photos. Tilt-shift miniature style photos are pictures of real-life scenes that are manipulated to look like model photographs. These images were actually made with TiltShift Maker. I simply uploaded a couple of wedding ceremony images and viola, a miniature appeared! Some photos work better than others. Give it a try. It’s a blast. But before you mosey on over, watch this incredible Tilt-shift video by Keith Loutit. (Photos above: #1 from Sherry and John’s wedding; #2 Overbury Inn outdoor ceremony.)

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This is the most unique wedding invitation I’ve seen so far.

The invitation was created by Dom Roberts, the director of the Australian branding ageny, Mash Design for his October 2008 wedding.

From MashDesign.com

Dom took a week away from other projects to concentrate on creating a unique and memorable piece to be used as a wedding invitation. The concept was to use the concept of ‘growing old together’. Face shots were then taken of the bride and groom which Dom then used as a basis to create a chronological representation of their aging faces into the
future. 10, 20, 30 and 40 years into the future, growing old together. The scarily realistic results where then presented inan A5 booklet on uncoated paper with thread stitching. This was packaged in aspecially designed pack and printed with one colour ink. Many a laugh was had bythose invited to the big day.

My husband and I both got a big kick out of this. But I’ve got to say – this Helena chick (Dom’s Bride) is SUCH A GOOD SPORT. That ‘do’ in the eighth photo is something else! Check out the photos in a larger format at MashDesign.com.

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*THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.

The cupcake craze is far from over. Cupcake crawls  are still popping up from coast to coast. And they’re still all the rage at weddings.

Why? They’re delicious. They’re pretty. They don’t require utensils. They’re economical.  Which makes them a perfect alternative to wedding cakes – and ideal for wedding and shower favors!

I love consumable wedding favors, so when Tawnya from Gourmet Gift Company in California offered up a $100 gift certificate towards her gourmet custom label cupcake mix wedding/shower favors as a contest prize for my readers, I was delighted!

These are not your typical out-of-the-box cupcakes! (Read a review over here ). The mixes are handmade is small batches with wholesome ingredients.  They are all-natural with no artificial flavors or preservatives.  Your guests simply add fresh ingredients from their kitchen and bake. Each box makes a dozen cupcakes. What a sweet reminder of your wedding day!

Each mix comes complete with your choice of a white gloss or natural-colored box and your choice of custom personalized label.

For your chance to win a $100 gift certificate towards Gourmet Gift Company’s custom label cupcake mix wedding/shower favors, simply leave your answer to the following question in the comment section beneath this post:

What was the wedding favor that you received at the last wedding you attended? What made it a good (or not-so-good) wedding favor?

Deadline is 11:59 PM Eastern Time April 20, 2009. The winner will be chosen by the random number generator and posted April 22. The winner will be contacted by email. Contest is open to residents of the U.S and Canada only.

Good luck. I look forward to your responses!

First Photo: Chocolate cupcakes, Gourmet Gift Company

Second Photo: Gourmet Gift Company’s custom label cupcake mix wedding/shower favors in white box

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Okay, I admit it. I have never read Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree ,but I do love the look of these save-the-dates. And guess what? They’re free for the taking.

I found this free wedding template over at Merriment Design – a lovely blog that’s all about sharing awesome craft and design ideas.

Kathy, who owns the blog, explains that The Giving Tree save-the-dates were created by Adam Siegel for his fall nuptials. Apparently, Shel Silverstein’s
classic children’s book has special meaning to him and Cristin (his partner).

In the spirit of giving, Adam and Cristin are sharing their template for free. All that is requested is that anyone who uses it leaves a comment at Merriment Design or email Kathy at Merriment Design.

Here are the supplies that are needed:

• Cristin and Adam’s free Giving Tree fall save the date announcement template (PDF, edit using Adobe Illustrator )
• Luna font (free!)
• Color printer
• #10 size flat cards (if letterpressing)
• 8.5 x 11 cream luxe 210 weight paper (if printing yourself)
• Paper Trimmer
• #10 size envelopes
• Optional: Cristin and Adam’s free envelope label template (Microsoft Word)
• Optional: Avery labels

For complete instructions on how to create your Giving Tree save-the-dates, go to Merriment Design.

Please note that if you don’t have Adobe Illustrator and you love this design, don’t give up! Perhaps you know a friend who is a graphic designer that could modify the text for you? Perhaps a talented Etysian could take on the task for a nominal fee?

Maybe there’s another book that has special meaning to you and your sweetie and this will spark some literary save-the -date ideas of your own! If so, let me know. I’d love to hear all about it.

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Nerves a little frayed? Wedding planning got you in a sour mood? Need an extra dose of understanding from your partner, along with a helping of TLC? Leave one of these Knock Knock notes for your partner, with the appropriate descriptions checked off:

Then, once the argument ensues about how you are doing all the work planning the wedding, and you feel unappreciated and overwhelmed, you can redeem one of these:

At which point, your partner will present you with this: (drink wine, laugh, grow old are checked off.)

Finally, you pull out the show stopper:

 Who says relationships had to be difficult?

(All notes from Knock Knock.)

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