SUMMER LOVING

During the Summer two of our friends who are also neighbours got married. We went to the evening reception and had a fine old time and I decided to make them something to remind them of their big day.

Here is a glass house - based on Sally Jean Alexander's design. As anyone who knows me will tell you Sally Jean is one of my personal craft heroes! I taught myself to solder from her book and her tips on collage-making are second to none. I highly recommend her book 'Pretty Little Things', my copy is just about falling apart!

Here are some views of the finished house ..........

Their photographer, Miriam is also a neighbour and she kindly let me have black & white pictures. The collage includes snippets from the invitation, bits from the table decorations, suitably romantic sheet music, a poem, some snippets from my collection of 'useful knowledge' from vintage instruction books, this particular one is a 1930s volume entitled 'Newnes Everything Within' (A Library of Information for the Home). Most of the quotes are from the sections on 'How to Treat a Wife', 'How to Treat a Husband' , 'Good Wives and Husbands' and 'Advice to Married Couples'. Two of my favourite bits are 'Never pick a wife by Candlelight' and 'A good wife is a good present - a very good wife is a very good thing but the puzzle is how to get her'. To the modern eye its perfectly hysterical, to me the books are priceless!

The collage combines elements from the day like the pictures and invitation as well as some very useful advice! Oh yes, its not just an ornament, my other fixation (also shared with Sally Jean) is making things light up and these houses light up too! Hope you like it ......... comments are always welcome.