Album

As an 2nd wedding anniversary gift, my mom had another wedding album made via Shutterfly.




I like that she was able to capture some of the "behind the scenes" work, like this page of little details. We are, fortunately or unfortunately, crafty people, so we took on a number of little projects like lace bags inside gold foil cones with jordan almonds, adding wax seals to the invitation envelopes, learning calligraphy to handwrite addresses, adding bows and ribbons to small laurel wreaths for pews and making hundreds of sugar cookies and snickerdoodles.





It was also a nice change to see some of these photos blown up instead of 4x6 size.



It's easy to miss those small touches when it's your wedding. I love looking at the different compositions of albums.

Dogs in Ties 2

Answer: yes, sorta.

Dogs in Ties

I might have to take that all back and move these photos to the top of my ever-growing Etsy love list... though I wonder if I could get my dog to pose like this.





Photos by Christine Edwards.

Whimsical Animal Art - The Bear/Bare Necessities of Life

About a year ago while looking for a birthday present for my mother-in-law, I found an amazing Etsy seller who had just the thing - a print of a golden retriever in a Victorian dress. Maybe it sounds crazy, but as a gift for a woman who loves anything golden retriever it wasn't crazy - it was perfect.

So I found this seller, Amber Alexander, by chance, but as I kept looking back at her Etsy store her prints really grew on me. I later bought and framed Byron, a black bear. How could I pass up a description like this,

Byron likes to read Shakespeare while sipping black tea heavily sweetened with honey. "But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the East, and I need to go get a cookie to go with this tea!"

I've also bought April in Paris, a print that reminded me of the time my friend's dog jumped out of her second story window in Santa Monica and was perfectly fine.

And I can't help wanting more. What's the verdict? Silly animal prints - quirky and fun or somewhat disturbed? Here are my current favorites:



Paul.

"Paul is a very serious dog. He reads lots of books and serves as trustee on many boards. He eats his kibble from an antique porcelain plate. Paul holds many degrees from many esteemed institutions, and he has the plaques on the wall to prove it. When no one is looking, Paul likes to roll in the dirt and eat bugs."

Tiny.


Showgirl.


Precious Pumpkin Pie Dollface (yes, that's the name!)


Bear Art: Pumpkin Pie (yes, I like pumpkin pie a lot!)