The reception was in this really cool old building. Beautiful woodwork. [...]]]> I’m the lucky duck who got to abandon all my duties and go to my cousin’s wedding. Thanks to Chris for supporting the activity and to Mom and Pa for making it possible. We had such fun. My photos aren’t great… but you get the idea.

The reception was in this really cool old building. Beautiful woodwork. Soon-to-be wedding planner, Cousin Annie, did an amazing job. I’m sure other people planned stuff too — good job, other people. White pumpkins, berries on chairs, jute on everything, candles in the windows, burlap table cloths paired with vintage linens.

Things to note: See that book? Yep. I made it. See those personal sized cakes wrapped beautifully? My auntie made those. One for every guest! And if you know the first thing about my auntie, you know she makes the most amazing cakes.

The cocount, lime curd cake was my favorite.

It was really fun to see my family. And spend some time with cousins. (Can you tell which girls are sisters and which ones are cousins?)

Just before I boxed up my studio, I made Sarah and Marty’s wedding guest book. Marty is one of our cousins (Side Note: We just spent a weekend with that side of the family. They are so much fun to be with. Missing them already) and we are so excited for him and Sarah. I really [...]]]>

Just before I boxed up my studio, I made Sarah and Marty’s wedding guest book. Marty is one of our cousins (Side Note: We just spent a weekend with that side of the family. They are so much fun to be with. Missing them already) and we are so excited for him and Sarah. I really wish we could be at the wedding. Sarah described her wedding as “sophisticated homespun” with blue and coral as the main colors. I’m so glad I got to contribute.

After fabric shopping, Sarah chose this for her cover. I love that it is not traditional silk. The guest book is bound with red waxed linen thread.

The endsheets are a really mild gray. Inside, I used my favorite Frankfurt paper in white.

We included a title page (not pictured).

And engagement photos (which are awesome, by the way!).

And a few lines of text from Mindy Gledhill‘s album, Anchor.

One of the great things about this style of binding is that it opens completely flat. The binding will never crack or break.

Packaged in the usual muslin bag with a little note.

Congratulations, Sarah and Marty!

////\\\\////\\\\////\\\\

I am not taking custom wedding guest book orders right now. I need to unpack first The studio should be up and running August 1st.

Email me if you have a project in mind.

A month or so ago, some friends of ours moved away from Texas. For their going away party, Kathleen had the brilliant idea of having a guest book there for everyone to sign. Great idea. So I came up with this guest book.

I found this great blue and white fabric for the cover. The guest book [...]]]>

A month or so ago, some friends of ours moved away from Texas. For their going away party, Kathleen had the brilliant idea of having a guest book there for everyone to sign. Great idea. So I came up with this guest book.

I found this great blue and white fabric for the cover. The guest book is bound with teal waxed linen thread. Inside paper is Mohawk Superfine.

I included a simple title page with the name and date of the party.

We miss you, Bevins family!

About a month ago Chris’ grandmother passed away. I made a special guest book for the family to use at the viewing and funeral service.

Grandma’s favorite color was pink so I used a pink silk for the [...]]]> So, they say there is a first time for everything. In April, I had a first: a funeral guest book.

About a month ago Chris’ grandmother passed away. I made a special guest book for the family to use at the viewing and funeral service.

Grandma’s favorite color was pink so I used a pink silk for the cover. The endsheets were handmade paper with pink flower petals pressed in.

The first few pages were lined for guests to sign their names at the viewing and funeral service.

The next section was reserved for the family to write their memories of Grandma. We took turns writing in it when we were just hanging around together – lunchtime, late night chats, etc.

The last few pages were for recording tributes made. Flowers, meals, cards, etc for the family. Everyone showed so much love to Chris’ family.

While we miss Grandma, we know she is in a better place now with people she loves.

Kristina’s wedding colors were purple and green. Since purple was more favorite than green, that’s what I went with for the cover. I found a beautiful lavender silk for the front and back covers. Frankfurt paper is on the inside (my favorite!). The endsheets were white with a [...]]]> I really enjoy making wedding guest books.

Kristina’s wedding colors were purple and green. Since purple was more favorite than green, that’s what I went with for the cover. I found a beautiful lavender silk for the front and back covers. Frankfurt paper is on the inside (my favorite!). The endsheets were white with a black paisley design. I bound it with slate gray waxed linen thread. The happy couple’s engagement photos were mounted throughout the guest book and they (the couple and the photos) were amazing. Professional pics in the guest books always look better than snapshots. Of course I delivered the book in a muslin bag.

Wishing you the best, Kristina!

I just finished and shipped off this guest book for Mitchell College. They are hosting an author reception soon and commissioned this guest book for the event. The covers are navy linen and bound together with white waxed linen thread. I used the same paper I use in my wedding guest books: Frankfurt white. It has [...]]]>

I just finished and shipped off this guest book for Mitchell College. They are hosting an author reception soon and commissioned this guest book for the event. The covers are navy linen and bound together with white waxed linen thread. I used the same paper I use in my wedding guest books: Frankfurt white. It has such a beautiful texture.

Thank you Mitchell College! Enjoy!

Just finished up this custom wedding book for Leah & Eliot way over in the UK. Leah had such a beautiful vision of what she wanted her guest book to be and I think I made it reality.

The covers are covered in a cotton fabric with a white lacy pattern printed on it. I used my [...]]]>

Just finished up this custom wedding book for Leah & Eliot way over in the UK. Leah had such a beautiful vision of what she wanted her guest book to be and I think I made it reality.

The covers are covered in a cotton fabric with a white lacy pattern printed on it. I used my favorite paper for the inside – frankfurt white. It has the most beautiful texture and feel to it. Every other page has a photo of the bride and groom on it. Opposite those pages we included some of Leah’s favorite quotes about love and marriage. One of the great things about the link stitch binding that I use to sew my wedding guest books is this: it lays completely flat. The binding will never break or crack or fall apart. Plus, the braiding on the spine is beautiful.

Congratulations, Leah and Eliot! I wish you all the best!

Tomorrow there is a very special party at my great auntie’s house. She’s calling it, Pink Party. On the surface, it’s a celebration of the pink dresser that was a Christmas gift given to her and her sister (my grandma) when they were girls. The pink dresser is famous in our family – and [...]]]>

Tomorrow there is a very special party at my great auntie’s house. She’s calling it, Pink Party. On the surface, it’s a celebration of the pink dresser that was a Christmas gift given to her and her sister (my grandma) when they were girls. The pink dresser is famous in our family – and the story that goes along with it. Aunt Ellie wrote it down and you can read it here or here (the pdf is very slow so give it a second to load). I wish I could be at the party! My mom will be there and I hope she takes a lot of photos.

Aunt Ellie asked me to make a book for the party. (umm, yes, I would love to!) It’s about 8″ square with a silk cover. It’s a beautiful silvery-green (Steph, that’s your wedding fabric!) with white pages. The first half is for guests to sign while they are at the party – there will be four generations of Ashton girls there. The back half is for photos of the party Aunt Ellie can add after the day is over. The pages in the back are thick to hold the photos. The back cover has a pocket to tuck other mementos she collects from the party (the invitation, etc). I designed the title page and drew a simple line drawing of the dresser. I’m in love with this book!

I’m happy to know that a piece of me will be at the party after all.

I love my family!

This is a sneak peek for Britten who ordered one of my handmade wedding guest books from PersonalizeYourWedding.com (my website). She chose a chocolate brown silk cover with butterscotch colored waxed linen thread binding. I added a title page at the front with a photo and their names, wedding date, and location. It turned out beautifully! [...]]]>

This is a sneak peek for Britten who ordered one of my handmade wedding guest books from PersonalizeYourWedding.com (my website). She chose a chocolate brown silk cover with butterscotch colored waxed linen thread binding. I added a title page at the front with a photo and their names, wedding date, and location. It turned out beautifully! I used my favorite paper – Frankfurt white – on the inside. It has the most luxurious texture. Really beautiful.

One surprise came Friday when I was ready to ship it off. I was all out of the cellophane bags I typically package my guest books in. Since I was going out of town for the weekend, I really wanted to get it shipped off before I left. I scrounged through my supplies to find something – anything – to make it beautiful.

[Confession: I often spend more time packaging my products than I do making them!]

Then I found it. Muslin. Ha! I made a little pouch for the guest book out of muslin and tied it up with jute twine. Not bad, eh? I’m thinking I should do this from now on. Forget the plastic bags! The muslin pouch really completed the look.

Thanks for the order Britten! Wishing you the best on your wedding day!