Loving Memory Portraits

As Valentines approaches I am inclined to think of favorite love stories ... and of course my very favorite love story is that of my parents ... they met at a dance when she was 16 and he was 24, in the middle of the depression.  He had just decorated the hall for the dance, when she and a school mate snuck away from a night of studying to check out the local dance hall.  When my Dad and his friend saw the girls, my dad said "I'll want the one with the skinny ankles."  The rest of course, is history, family history, that is.

 

They didn't marry for another 3 years.  With money being tight they spent their first married years living with his parents, whom he supported...   Anyway, I thought it would be lovely to capture their love story in an unusual way ... these are the elements of the finiahed portraits shown above.  The larger frames have photo copies of a page each from a letter written from one to the other during WWII when they were separated for most of four years.  The pictures were of them as youth, both taken before they actually met.  The bracelet  was sent from my Dad to my Mom from Hawaii while he was stationed there.

 I made the name plaques using this graphic from Graphics Fairy.  I erased the interior (in paint) and saved it, then took it to word where I stretched it to the shape I wanted, before taking it back to Paint, where I added their names, as shown below.

 I wanted to use the charm bracelet, partly because I love charm bracelets, and partly because it makes me think of my Dad, lonely and missing his little family wandering around shops looking for something my Mom, a young pregnant mother with a two year old, would enjoy.

 

To assemble them, I glued the small frames,  with their pictures, to the glass of the large frames with E6000, then I set the small name plaques on tiny blocks to make them stand out and give them added dimension. I hammered tiny nails into the corners of the small frames before gluing them to the larger frames to hold the bracelet.

 

 I love how they turned out ... so fun to see their handwriting with their photos, and phases like "dear one",  and "my loved one"  and from my mother's letter, "I said, 'Do you love Daddy?' (to my 2 year old brother) He put his face down on the paper, so lovingly as if to say, 'I do love Daddy."  and even the mention by my mother of her "two lovely blisters" makes me smile.

Thanks for coming along and sharing my parents love story during this season of love ... 

The Beehive Bazaar Once More

Once more it is time for Wednesday's Wanderings, and for once I am actually sharing something that happened on Wednesday, last Wednesday to be exact.

 I know I have mentioned my super talented friend Jennifer before.  One thing about Jenn is that she is creative in so many different ways.  She works in theater, so I always find out about awesome gigs, whether its a play, musical performance or even ballet.

Last week she was setting up for a fabulous boutique, called the Beehive Bazaar, that she has been doing for several years.  Jenn's stuff is a lot of fun, sometimes it just out there and unexpected.  Like the red and white necklace to the left.  I

would have added another red bob on the right, the extra white one is just fun and surprising.  She did a couple of necklaces with vintage enameled pins too. I love them!

She brought antique shoe form lamps, like the one she and her husband designed for their home after seeing one in an Anthropolgie catalogue, as well as more of her funky birthday crowns and hats.

Her collection of vintage trims are always a hit with buyers.  She has such a great eye!!  She also works in great vintage and modern fabrics, which really pack a punch in decor.  Don't you just love the orange wire display basket?  She found this great piece at our flea.o.logy sale last week!! 

She made these fun button bracelets, and here is another view of a couple of her necklaces.  It was so fun to get together and help her set up, not that she really needs help, but it was just fun to be there. 

I was so charmed by her booth setup, that I even forgot to take pictures of the wonderful items other dealers were setting out for the sale that started the next day.  As I said the Beehive Bazaar always has amazing stuff, their selection of dealers is based on the unusual craft ideas that each produces, which always makes it a really great experience .... this boutique is NOT your mother's craft show!!  Thanks for coming along, if you live along the Wasatch Front in Utah, you may want to check out their show before Christmas!!