When it comes to clothing or hair accessories, I usually know what I want. When I go shopping I search for the things that match the picture in my head. If I can't find what I want or the closest match is too expensive, I'll make whatever I need myself. Usually, I'm able to make what I want with acceptable results, but it often takes a considerable amount of time.

I knew exactly what I wanted for my wedding hair accessories: I wanted them to be in gold tones to match my dress, I wanted something botanical with leaves, and I wanted two hair combs instead of a tiara. Not that there is anything wrong with wearing a tiara; they just aren't my style.

After shopping with grim determination I couldn't find anything approaching my ideal combs. Even distant matches carried a $100+ price tag for rhinestones and brass. Instead, I resolved to make my own.

My supplies came from Fire Mountain Gems, but I purchased them through a local store called the Rock Shop so I wouldn't have to put in a bulk order to get the maximum discount. I bought gold filled wire, AB Swarovski crystals, citrine drops (my birth stone), and marquise cut topaz (also a birth stone). To fill in the background and add a botanical look, I added metal leaves.

My camera is broken, so the resulting pictures are less than optimal. The resulting combs, however, turned out well. They sparkle a lot in the light and make my inner magpie happy.




I also made a tiara for one of my bridesmaids, just 'cause she wanted one. I posed it on top of our fan:

Labels: hair accessories, preeety, shopping

posted by Alison 7/05/2007 02:47:00 PM : (0) comments : splink


Tuesday, July 03, 2007

The Getaway Dress for My Getaway

My 'getaway' dress was once supposed to be my wedding dress. On a trip to Thailand two years ago, one year before my engagement, I had the top secretly made at a tailor's shop while attending a Machine Translation conference alone. I had been with my (now) fiance for about five years. At the time, I'd imagined a much more casual wedding, possibly with a bowling alley reception. So, I went to the shop, gave them a sketch and it was in my hands three days later.

My wedding has changed to a much more formal affair and my simple bowling-ready dress has been replaced by a beaded number with a train. However, it would be a shame to let such a pretty silk top go to waste. Now, it will be what I change into when my wedding dress gets to be too cumbersome at the reception.

I purchased matching silk after my aborted New York Father's Day trip and made a knee length circle skirt to complete the outfit. Just to add some character, I drew a picture of a vine a few days later and silk screened it around the hem.

Before:


After:

Labels: DIY, dress, preeety, wedding

posted by Alison 7/03/2007 12:01:00 AM : (0) comments : splink


Friday, June 29, 2007

Pittsburgh's Secret Jewelery Abode

There is a special building in downtown Pittsburgh called the Clark Building. Instead of being filled with accountant's or lawyer's or optometrist offices, the first four floors are occupied by nothing but jewelery stores. I've never been a woman who craved jewelery, but there is something about that building that makes me happy every time I go there, and this is despite the fluorescent lighting and drab carpeting. I really like the idea of having all of one type of store in one place. We were able to peruse the whole range of quality and price in just an hour, too short to get bored or sick of looking at the same thing.

Both my ring and my fiance's came from stores on the third floor. I wore mine secretly on the bus ride home after picking it up alone. I've never worn a ring, but I found mine to be instantly comfortable. We are each holding one another's rings until our ceremony to help me resist the temptation to wear mine prematurely again and again.

There is also one store in the Clark Building that sells amazing Tacori hair accessories. Unfortunately, they only sell ones made of silver. I can't justify spending $325 on something that won't match my dress.

Still, I want one!

Labels: DIY, hair accessories, Pittsburgh, preeety, shopping, wedding

posted by Alison 6/29/2007 08:47:00 PM : (0) comments : splink


Sunday, June 10, 2007

A Lucky Veil from a Happy Marriage

Ho boy! My future mother in law sure is a nice lady. Because she has three boys and Clark will be the first son to marry, I am the lucky heir to some of the to M. family wedding keepsakes. Namely, I'll be wearing her wedding veil. My mom didn't have a one of her own. She borrowed her sister's wedding dress and instead of a veil she wore a big southern-belle wicker hat. Yeah, not my taste, really.

So, I dodged a bullet, an ugly hat-shaped bullet. I'm especially excited to have a veil from a happy, long-lasting marriage. It was cathedral length and attached to a lace cap. I say 'was', because I chopped it to bits this morning. I reduced it to ankle length, removed the cap, converted it to a double layer veil, and rounded the corners even more. My mom will be adding trim to the edges with her new serger.

I did all of this with permission of course. At my FMIL's wedding her husband kept stepping on it, almost yanking it off of her head. Most of my their wedding pictures have her cap askew. Amazingly, it is still intact; there isn't one snag or tear. Even so, I felt evil hacking it up.

Measuring and rounding the corners:


Here are my results:

Sadly, I only have two photograph faces: eyes-closed or crazy.

Labels: preeety, wedding

posted by Alison 6/10/2007 10:53:00 PM : (0) comments : splink