a beer, a corner punch, and a song

Sometimes, all you need are pictures.

This is a total mock-up of what my next bridesmaid newsletter will be. I filled it in with random details and words to get an idea of what it will look like. And I like it. The paper is that super-long 17" one. It rocks. I threw it together in Word, cuz I'm *so* fancy like that. And just trial and error. It was fun. I won't be using that specific damask paper as the "ends" but it will be a damask cardstock for sure. And I'm also thinking about tying a ribbon around it.

And yes - of course this was inspired by the infamous Mrs. Cupcake's program.

beer & funny cards

I'm drinking, writing my thesis and happened to finally find this funny card site. Love it.

i'm gonna kick his ass

Bah.

I knew having a Wednesday wedding would cause problems with some people. I knew that. It's a huge part of why I'm sending out STD's in advance. People need to book off work or rearrange schedules. I know that.

That being said, my brother aka groomsman is a total shite. He just called me and advised me to have a Friday or Saturday wedding because of his work schedule.

Looooser.

His totally serious justification was that he flies in and out on Wednesdays (he works for a mine) and for my wedding, he would have to take three days off work to fly in on the Friday after my wedding. And that's a lotta money in the mines.

To be honest, he has a point. I, especially given the past year's expenses, know the value of money. But you know what - money is JUST money. I am his ONLY sister!

I told him that the people who wanted to be there will make the plans to be there. I was having my Wednesday Wedding b.c. it was on an important day to Allen and me. The End.

We did start laughing and joking and yelling - like we always do - but seriously? I'm getting this now? He's known for two years what my day was.

He for sure can go to work and miss my wedding. He will get razzed until the day he dies, but it's his choice. I won't hate him, I won't get angry. I'll be hurt, which is worse, but I won't hate him. He's my bro.

But next time he brings it up - I'm gonna deck him.

DIY: damask bookmark STD drafts, part II

I've edited these to reflect some of the faves, as well as some style adjustments of my own. I really liked the horizontal layout (since the main info will be a vertical alignment). I've also thrown the wedding date on the information side. It made sense since that's where it said "bookmark this date", no?

Here's a draft, all fixed up.

Now I'm still deciding how I want to do this. I could DIY it all myself. I've got access to a laminator (if I wanted them laminated), I can print almost everything here. I can also throw these onto a 4x6 image file to get them printed as photos at Wal-Mart for cheap. Lot of ideas on how to do these, but that's for another post.

Here are a few picture sides I made up.

The library: I love the quote (and have read the author) and the layout. Is the red "&" mark too much? Would it be better to make it a soft grey (like the author's name) so "flame" is the only word in red?

The wall: My question about the quote - does it seem like a "rubbing it in your face" kind of quote? It reminds me of that childhood taunt "better than you!" and "in your dreams!" so it may just be me and my obviously mean personality... what do you think of it? Is it mean or is it just me? I do like it, I just don't want to be an a*hole.

OR

The hand-holding one: I like this as it doesn't show our faces (who needs more pictures of us kissing?) BUT which background is better? The top is the original, with the background a soft focus in warm tones. The second one is just white, which makes it more crisp but also feels a tad colder. Which one do you like? AND what about the quote? I liked it as in Allen and I are from the same reserve, but does it say "love" to you? Or conveniance?

So there we go. That's where I'm at. This is fun. I like things I can do in Photoshop.

Part 1: Inspiration
Part 2: Drafts

some things i've been thinking about

But I haven't been able to put them into coherent and rational sentences yet. It's more of a random word-blob. But I want to get them down because I would like to expand on them on a later date.

1. I don't hate the word wife but I hate what my mind comes up with when I hear the word. What the hell does this mean? I don't mind being called a wife. It's a word that does not offend me. But when I think "wife" I tend to think of stay-at-home, home-baking, crafty, submissive women. And I really don't know any married women in my circle of friends who do that, so I don't even know why I think that. But I want to explore this further. Meg over at A Practical Wedding has some good thoughts.

2. I kind of hate labels, even ones like "feminist". While I believe in equality for men and women, I have a fear of the label of being called a feminist. I don't have a problem with strong, male figures (maybe because I'm a strong female figure?). But maybe this is more a fear of my misconceptions of what feminism is? I just don't know but I am very willing to look more into it.

3. Bella is one of the absolute worst female characters ever written. Fuck you Twilight. Just read book 4 so it has somewhat to do with weddings, right?

There's more, but that's all I can think of right now. In all honesty, I scared to approach some of these issues because of how passionately some people feel about them. I'm always weird-ed out by people who will get in your face and say "you are wrong!" because how can you tell someone their opinion is wrong?

But then I say telling same-sexed couples they can't be married because they're gay is fucking wrong, so yeah. I'm a hypocrite.

Even now, I trip over my tongue. I want to speak, to voice my opinion, but like I said, it's sometimes just a word-blurb. I have to think. Does that ever happen to you?

my favorite fonts in November of 2009

All fonts were found at dafont.com

DIY: damask bookmark STD drafts

I had to get this out of my brain and onto paper. Ever happen to you?

I really like the idea of bookmarks because I'm an avid reader. Love books. And since meeting me, Allen has really gotten into reading books as well. His are more of the sci-fi/fantasy genre and I'm more of the poetry/trashy romance genre, but we are both readers now.

So with that in mind, some inspiration DIY for me...

FRONT DRAFTS I & II

I really like the damask pattern, the vertical length of it. I like the white information area. I think I need to add the wedsite on this side of it.

BACK DRAFTS I - IV

Version I: I do like - that romantic little foot kick! - but it's a Winter scene for a Fall wedding. So I dunno. That may be me worrying about crap.

Version II: is pretty awesome with the stairs and whatnot.

Version III: I like the brick wall and textured-ness of it all. I like the kissing. I don't like how we look so cold (but we were).

Version IV: Library + bookmark = perfect sense, no? I also like how I have a jaw here. That's always nice to see.

What do you think?