A Magical Occasion

Ok, so you will have to forgive me for a double wedding post, but this Harry Potter wedding was just too cute! I stumbled upon said wedding when browsing Green Wedding Shoes whilst studying procrastinating. Opps. 


What I love about the styling of the occasion is that the Harry Potter design can be extrapolated to any sort of celebration (for my next birthday,  peut-être ?). 


I think the making of any amazing event is in the small details - the Harry Potter font, the design of the program to look like The Daily Prophet, quills for the signing of the registry, gorgeous potion bottles, and of course, who couldn't celebrate in true HP style without Butterbeer, Polyjuice Potion, Felix Felicis (aka liquid luck) and/or Pumpkin Juice. C'est magnifique ! 

How exquisite is the photography? Photographer Abby Grace has outdone herself. The natural setting is wonderful and I love how relaxed the couple are. All I can say is, I want to have my wedding in Washington DC/Virginia!


I also love this Harry Potter Marauder's Map invitation from one little m - just adorable!

What sort of things do you think make or break an event? The details, or maybe something bigger like the venue? I'd love to know :)

À plus tard. Pip x 

Feature blog "A Beautiful Mess"

J'adore les mariages ! Je ne sais pas quoi...

I was chatting over tea and crochet to my dear friend, L of teaandcraft fame, about weddings. I am unmarried; L has been married for just over 2 years. And we both love weddings!

I don't know if it is a girl thing, but whenever there is a wedding nearby, I always stop and have a look (actually nearly rear-ended another car the other day whilst I was gazing at a picturesque bride along the highway). Le sigh.

Whenever I see something wedding related that I like, I put it in my memory bank for the future (or alternatively, just pin it on Pinterest).

So when I stumbled across an Etsy blog article featuring Elsie from abeautifulmess, I couldn't not share.

Elsie's 2011 wedding of the theme Birds of a Feather is simply stunning - from the mismatched coloured stockings gracing the pins of the lovely bridesmaids, their individually made bouquets exploding with colour, 50's beehive hairdos, the urban decay-ness of the wedding venue... What is not for this wedding lover not to love?

Here are a few of my favourite photos from their wedding. Please go and have a look at her website. She is an amazing crafster and shares my obsession love of photography and vintage cameras.

Do you love looking at weddings and wedding related paraphernalia too? Leave me a comment! 


À plus tard. Pip x

salut!

Bienvenue à la première poste de 2012! Je suis en retard, je sais. 


New year, new blog. I decided that I have outgrown my previous blog, and am aiming for something fresh this year (as I say at the beginning of every year), a blog that I am inspired to work on, not one that is a tedious chore. 


Alors. What other way is there to welcome the new university year than to indulge in a decadent High Tea? I am sure there are lots of other things, but whilst contemplating them, I hope you enjoy these photos from our small slice of afternoon decadence a few weeks ago. 


A plus tard, Pip x

our oxfamily...

Last week in Sydney, from the 8th to the 11th, I was privileged enough to spend time with other young uni students doing **AMAZING** work for Oxfam via their Oxfam uni groups, and some fantastic people who are in the process of setting up their own Oxfam uni groups for their campus (yay!!!).

I met with students from the University of Queensland, Uni of Sydney, Uni of NSW, Monash, Uni of Melbourne, Uni of Newcastle (forgive me if I have left anyone out) and over three and a half days, we brainstormed, shared ideas, ate some heaps of awesome food and had a blast. We got the opportunity to speak to around 17 amazing Oxfam staff, from Campaigns Coordinators to Youth Program Coordinators, Advocacy writers, Marketing and Media people, etc.

We formed a National Oxfam Uni Groups Network - Oxfam Unite - which is going to be a fabulous medium for us to share ideas, troubleshoot our problems, support one another and keep in touch :) We have a website, which is going online soon ^_^ so exciting!

I had a remarkable three days, and I think that the others did too :) It's always refreshing to find a group of people that are passionate about the same things that you are, and to connect with them so easily.

Maybe if you have some spare time, you could donate it to Oxfam :) We are always looking for new people, new ideas and inspiration.

Go on... You know you want to :)

|| pip ||

valentine, be mine...

Hi all! Happy Valentines Day! I hope you had as wonderful a day as I had - I got to spend it in Sydney with my boy :)

I have been in an uber paper craft mood for the past two weeks, so I decided to go with it, and based my Valentines day presents for friends and family around paper hearts. I used pages from old books (which I had decimated in the process of making book safes) and cut them into heart shapes, then used red thread to sew them together in a heart garlands :) I hope you like them.

I have also been experimenting with origami for a few weeks, and I made about 30 red flying hearts described in Sok Songs origami book, Crease + Fold. They turned out rather good, once I got the hang of it, and the red-white contrast looked pretty amazing.

On Valentines Day itself, my boy surprised me with six long stem roses, which were simply beautiful. This was quite a feat, as I usually suspect things like this coming, but I didn't realize until Philip was handing me a very large rectangular box :)

We spent the afternoon walking around Sydney. First, we went into and up one of the sandstone pillars that frame the bridge, and had an amazing view from the top:

We walked across the bridge, and across to Luna Park, which unfortunately, was shut :(

After catching a ferry back across the Harbor to Circular Quay, we walked past the Opera House, and through the Sydney Botanical Gardens, spending a fair bit of time in the stunning rose gardens.

Instead of the typical Valentines romantic restaurant dinner, we decided to relax back at the hotel with red wine from Lucy's Run in the Hunter Valley, cheese from the Smelly Cheese Factory, Lindt chocolate and The IT Crowd. Simply divine :)

What did you do this Valentines Day?

|| pip ||

after about four attempts...

This is, sadly enough, my fourth time at writing this blog. Don't get me wrong, it's not because I have writers block, or that it is an incredibly noteworthy or intellectual blog that requires high quantities of brain power. I just keep forgetting, turning my computer off and losing my half completed not yet posted blogs (so I look a little like this... >_< ). Sigh....

So, it's about bedtime, and I thought that if I don't get this blog down now, the thought of its uncompletedness will fester away in some area of my brain til it drives me spare!!! (then i'll try and blog from work on my iPhone, which is just plain tedious!!). So, after all of that!! :

It was Philip's birthday on Australia Day, and I wasn't really sure what to get him. After some thought, seeing how taken he was to Perth's Yum-Cha delights, I decided to make him plushie Yum-Cha, so he can enjoy it all year around :)

Investing in the help of my partner in craft crime, Lisa, we conjured some pretty good plushies in the likeness of sushi (with avocado, as Philip doesn't like the fishy ones), dumplings and prawns. I think they are simply adorable, and I think Philip did too, listening to his reaction as he opened them over the phone ^_^

I don't know about the rest of you, but I thought the bamboo steamer was such a cute touch (and as it turns out, a pretty good way to transport said gifts!).

I'd love to see what delicacies you are crafting up :)

Happy crafting!

|| pip ||

crocheting for a cause....

This week, I found an amazing cause which is aiming to help victims of the horrendous Queensland floods. As I was in Queensland at the time, I was very thankful that the areas in which I was staying - Townsville and Mackay - were spared the torrential downpour. Many other places, however, were not so lucky.

So I have decided to chip in and contribute towards this fabulous idea, the brainchild of Sarah London - Crochet a Rainbow.

The idea behind Crochet a Rainbow is to get lots of people to crochet a few granny sqaures each (or however many they wish!) and to send to Sarah, who will make them into throw rugs for the victims.

I'm sure many of us remember having beautiful crocheted rugs when we were younger (my mum still has mine ^_^ ) and I hope that these gorgeous homemade blankets will provide a bit of comfort to those displaced from their homes.

Please, if you can crochet, pick up your hook and get to it!!! Sign up at http://sarahlondon.wordpress.com/crochet-a-rainbow/ now! And if you don't know how to crochet, now is the perfect time to learn!!!

All the best, and happy crocheting!

|| pip ||