I joined the MOB club!

Technorati Tags: chagall,paint,stamps,mistyfuse,art cloth,wedding

Not that MOB…but the mother of the bride (MOB) club!

The big question is - how does one keep up an art practice when faced with one of these events?

In my case, being a doer and a crafter, I couldn’t resist volunteering for almost everything, and with a daughter who adores the DIY concept, specially for mom, I have been very busy. Thank goodness I can’t cook…

Here is what I came up with for 50+ invitations. Given that I love surface design I had to include some hand dyed cloth…. so I decided on a folio design that would fit in a legal sized envelope to keep postage at a minimum.

Our couple will be honeymooning in France and have adopted a ‘fin de sciècle’ theme for their wedding party. I thought of the painter Marc Chagall . He painted so many brides and grooms floating over French skies and many of them over Paris! I found this image, it is from his painting Les Fiancees de la Tour Eiffel- ‘The Bride of the Eiffel Tower’. It was painted around 1900, perfect!

I wanted to create a kind of folio that when open, would reveal a series of inserts, each with specific information pertaining to the ceremony and reception.

The the outer folio would be made with hand-dyed fabric. I chose a light green for this as the ceremony will take place in a fern-laced wooded area. The inside of the folio would reveal a detail of the selected image printed onto cardstock and fused to the cloth with Mistyfuse – it worked like a charm. Using a makeup sponge, I dabbed all card edges with Fray Check to keep any rogue threads ‘checked’ – this also worked well.

This image shows the inside of folio, completely open. The lower left section is then folded up to create a pouch for the card inserts. Using a #11 exacto, I made two small cuts just under the chicken. This is how I attached the ribbon that would keep the folio closed as seen in the picture (below right).

I wanted to add a fern image to the outer front of the folio and tried making my own stamp – bumpkus! Not enough time and not owning a thermofax, I capitulated and bought a readymade stamp. It worked great!

Below are two images showing the folio open. To the left is one printed insert and to the right all the inserts are in place. The inserts were printed with the help of the groom’s father, using a script that evoked an early 20th century ‘pen and ink’ look.

Below, on the left are a couple of early prototypes that didn’t quite make it…. I find that it always pays to make practice pieces – the end result is so much better. These now reside in my ‘salon des refusés’! On the right is a snap showing 50+ note cards that I stamped with the fern image. Once I start stamping it was hard to stop. The bride now has ready-made customized thank you notes.

This MOB likes to provide a full service. By mid-August I should be back to my regular activities.