Christmas around the world

So I have a fun work-related project that requires me to stamp away. How fun is that? We have a bulletin board at work where each department is assigned a month to decorate it, and our department was chosen for December. We each decided on a "theme" to do, so I chose "Christmas around the world." Here's what I created for the first week. I'll apologize in advance for the bad photo quality - I had to take the photo on my Blackberry. I'll try to get a better one to post:

Our display is awesome, so I promise I'll take a picture and post!

DIY Cheescake Pops

Yummmm! I came across this delicious post on the Wedding Chicks website and just had to share it with you. Here are instructions on how to make your own cheesecake pops. Since this is an American site, they're obviously talking about using these for American Thanksgiving, but what a great idea to give to co-workers for Christmas. Or for all you winter wedding brides, using different coloured sugar crystals to make it look like coloured "snow" on top and having them as part of your dessert buffet. Enjoy!

Instructions:

Supplies

1. Lollipop Sticks

2. Ice Cream Scoop

3.1/3 Cup of Sugar

4. Cookie Sheet

5. Colored Sugar

6. 1 pkg. (8 oz.) Cream Cheese

Preparation:
1) Mix softened cream cheese and sugar together until well blended. Gently scoop cream cheese mixture and drop onto your cookie sheet.

2) Gently scoop cream cheese mixture and drop onto your cookie sheet. Put a lollipop stick through the center of the cream cheese ball.
3) Time to decorate!  Sprinkle pretty colored sugar crystals on the cheesecake pops.  Place your cookie sheet into your freezer for 3 hours or until they are firm.  Remove the cheesecake pops from the freezer 1 hour before serving them.


{all images from www.weddingchicks.com}

 

WOW.

That is the only word that came to mind when I came across this video on the Wedding Chicks blog. The wedding took place at the Fairmont Banff Hotel and the wedding looks AMAZING. I am also in LOVE with the song (Always by Switchfoot) that the videographer, Imago Cinematography, used for the background. What a perfect wedding song! View the wedding video and hear the song below:



Stef + Ben ›› Banff Springs Wedding from Imago Cinematography on Vimeo.






Always by Switchfoot

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

It's official...winter has arrived in Calgary. We had a very rude awakening the last two days

from Mother Nature. And with that being said, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! I have been busy over the last two weeks making Christmas cards, both for myself and for clients. Here are three of the designs I created this year. Next year, I plan to be waaay more organized and prepare 6 - 8 designs to choose from for next year, but for now, these will have to do. Have a great day and enjoy the snow (and traffic jams) out there.

Winter Wonder

Just a quick post today...with winter wedding season upon us, here's one of our invitation pieces that captures the romance beauty of the season:

Front of folded invitation

Inside with rhinestone embellishments

Inside pocketfold with RSVP card

Music that sets the mood

One of the things I debated most when I got married which was songs to pick for the prelude. The song I THOUGHT I would walk down  to got pushed aside for another song I fell in love with, and it's a decision I'll never regret.

Music sets the tone for the whole day. Many of my guests said they actually cried during the prelude because my song choices were so personal and touched them. I chose music that had meaning to me and us as a couple.So my advice for the day is this: sure, people might expect you to walk down to Canon in D like hundreds of thousands of other brides before you, but choose music that's meaningful to YOU. People will remember you walking in to a unique song more than walking in to the same old, same old.

And in case you're wondering, my bridesmaids walked down the aisle to "Feels Like Home" by Chantel Kreviazuk; the ring bearer and flower girl walked down the aisle to "Suite from Forest Gump;" and I walked down the aisle to "If This is It" by Newton Faulkner.

"Feels like Home" by Chantal Kreviazuk

"Suite from Forest Gump" by Allan Silvestri

"If This is It" by Newton Faulkner

The art of thank you cards

One of the most important, but often overlooked, elements of your wedding stationery is your thank you cards. In my opinion, the thank you card is one of the most important aspects of the entire wedding, yet most people forget about the importance of it. The thank you card is a way for you to personally thank your guests for their gift and for attending your wedding. Here are some tips to remember when writing your thank you cards:

1) Keep it personal. Try to incorporate at least one or two sentences that speaks personally to your guests. Even something like, "It was wonderful that you and Greg could share our special day with us" or " I had a blast dancing to the YMCA with you at the wedding" shows that you aren't writing out the same three-to-four sentence thank you message to all your guests.

2) Acknowledge what you'll do with their gift. If your guests bought you a place setting, say, "Thank you for the place setting. We'll use it when we host many Christmas dinners in the years ahead." If you received a presentation gift, say how you'll use it, such as, "Thank you for your generous gift. We used it towards a nice evening out during our honeymoon."

3) Thank your guests for attending your wedding. Even saying something like, "Thank you so much for celebrating with us. It meant a lot to us that you were there to share in our special day" will make your guests feel like their presence was noticed and appreciated. If your guests travelled from out of town, be sure to thank them for making them trip, as many people will have spent a large amount of money on hotel accommodations, meals and gas for their car in order to be there for your special day.

4) Keep your thank you card to three to four sentences. One or two sentences is too short, and anything more than four is too long.

5) Write out your thank you cards a few at a time. Spread out your thank you card writing over several days; otherwise, it will become monotonous and you will make mistakes, wasting your precious thank cards. Not to mention the hand cramping!

Looking for personalized thank you cards that match your wedding stationery? Here are some examples of some of the thank you cards we've made. For more examples, visit our website or our Facebook page.

  

{All images property of Glass Slipper Designs}

Anything but strapless

When I was shopping for a wedding dress for my own wedding, I wanted a dress that wasn't your typical strapless dress that's been worn by almost every bride for the past 10 years. That's why I was so happy to see that straps are making a comeback for the 2011 bridal collections. At the recent New York fashion week, straps were one of the biggest trends on the runways. Here's a quick look at some of the looks being featured in the Spring and Fall 2011 collections:

   

   {Bagdley Mischka from brides.com}     

 

    

         {Maggie Sottero Destinations Collection from brides.com}

   {Sottero Midgley Collection from brides.com}       

    {Watters & Watters Collection from brides.com}

  

   {Casablanca gown from brides.com}  

     

   {Lena Modern Trousseau Collection from brides.com}

Vintage Vibe

One of the biggest trends for 2011 is vintage patterns. My personal favourite vintage pattern is damask. It's an elegant way to make your invitations look chic and sophisticated. Here are two examples of invitations that Glass Slipper Designs created to incorporate a damask pattern:










Embossed damask detail


















Stamped damask detail











RSVP with stamped damask detail





For additional photos, view the Glass Slipper Designs website or visit us on Facebook.

Welcome to our website and Facebook page

Just a quick post for tonight. We are pleased to announce that our website and Facebook page are now up and running. Please visit our website and like us on Facebook to see more of our designs.