Crystal and Akiko

Jack & Jill went up the hill....to have a party!!!

 
Ben and Crystal threw Corey and I the most amazing Jack and Jill! They worked SO HARD to make everything perfect for us. Here are a few pages to show how much fun we had!

 

 

 

 


 

 

The Best Proposal of all Time: Part 2

Don't worry, I didnt forget about ya! Here are the part 2 pics of my proposal LO's:

 

 

The best Proposal of all time: Part 1

Now this is a story! As you probably know, Ben and Crystal put together a wicked dance workshop once a year, with top dance stars teaching ballroom and latin classes for ALL levels. (check it out at www.2somedance.com for more info - the next event is coming up in February!!!)

Corey and I always go to support our best friends, and because they are so freakin awesome! I dance ALL DAY for 3 days straight, completely exhausted at the end. But its so great to get together with other dance crazies!

So for the event in August of 2009, Corey had told me that Crystal asked him to be in a performance that she was putting together for the show (Crystal is a choreographer - and a damn good one!!!) I was SO thrilled for him. How much fun is that!?!

On the night of his big performance, he was cool as a cucumber. Not a bit nervous! I couldn't wait to see him get on stage and do his thing.

The time has come for him to do his performance, and I have to say it is the most hilarious routine I have ever seen!!!

Crystal did a spoof on Cell-Block tango from the movie Chicago called "Cellulite Tango". She re-wrote the lyrics, recorded them with her mom and sister, and choreographed a dance to coincide. Talk about talent! It was so AWESOME!

Corey was the last jailbird named "Meatball" - and at the end of his big song and dance, he proposed to me in front of 300 people. I was so shocked and happy and amazed all at once. What an unforgettable night.

Here are the first 3 layouts of the routine:

 

Bridal Shower Bliss

Can I just start off by saying that I had the most WICKED bridal party EVER!!!!! They all went above and beyond to make my shower extra special. When I first walked into my mom's house (My moma is such a FABULOUS host!) My breath was literally taken away. It was so special, the decorations were AMAZING and the FOOD! So much delicious food.....mmm....

This was my cover page. I used whisper white SU cardstock and stamped it with french filigree in teal, and a clear damask stamp in black to create my own patterned paper.

The tissue flower, picture of us and title "Corey and Akiko the perfect pair" were all decorations from my shower (I held on to a lot of decor!!! It was too cute to throw away)

I left a white tag to write the date (I still havent done that!! Terrible) and I think I may go over the title "Bridal Shower" in white pen. What do you think?

 

 

I absolutely LOVE THIS PAPER!! Its called "Presto Patterns" by Stampin Up. Its white paper and when you ink it, an image magically appears. SO SICK!!! I used Razzleberry ink on the paper and again, tissue flowers from the decorations.

 

 

Chocolate and Cupcakes and Cookies...OH MY!!!

This page was a lot of fun to make. I used a stampin Wheel from SU for the patterned background (black ink on teal paper), and rich razzleberry ink on the whisper white paper for the other background stamp. The tissue flower and cupcake tags were saved from the decor. I also glittered up the C in chocolates with Martha Stewart glitter.

 
 

Again, my favorite PRESTO PATTERNS PAPER! This time I sponged on both razzleberry and teal ink, to give a nice tie die effect. This page displays my awesome family, who for some we only see twice a year. So it was nice to break out of the normal routine and see eachother at my shower!

 

Me and my Twin the lovely Maid of Honor......TIFFY!!!!!!! Love ya :)

 

Wedding Creations

Being a crafter, and I am sure every crafter will agree, when there is a big event in my life, I have to stretch my brain and create almost everything myself! Which is exactly what I did for my wedding. I think I went a bit too far with my wedding though, I was so exausted afterward!!!

I dont have my professional pics yet, so I took these pictures after the wedding in my basement.

Here is what I made:

1) WISHING TREE - The wishing tree was a substitute for my guest book. Its an asian tradition that I really wanted to have at my wedding, but to buy one pre-made did not fit my budget. And its so much more fun to make your own! Its super easy.It did look a bit different on my wedding night, but it got damaged during transport. But still you get the idea of what it looked like :)

-I spray painted real branches with white paint, and then a glitter shimmer paint to add some sparkle.

-i bought the square vase from bowrings (it was on sale for $6!!) I put a square piece of flower foam in it to stick the branches in, then filled it with black sand.

-I ordered a big roll of crystal strands online and cut them to different lengths depending on where I wanted to glue them on, and used a hot glue gun to attach them to the branches.

-My sister made the sign for me on Adobe Illustrator, and I just printed it and glued it to damask and black cardstock for extra thickness.

-I added the bird for an extra touch, she was on a really long branch way at the top (It broke during transport)

-I made the tags just by simply cutting out white, damask and either teal or rasberry cardstock and glueing them all together. I punched a hole in the top using a regular hole punch, and put a sticker around the hole to make sure it wouldnt rip. Then I just threaded ribbon through it to hang on the branches and voila!

2) DRINK CHARMS - these were a last minute addition to the wedding, so I called in the troops to assist in putting them together. My sister Sabrina put them together on the computer for me, and I cut them and got them laminated. Myself, Crystal, Corey and Hailey spent a few hours one day beading and glueing them together. It was a lot of fun! I will do a video soon on how to make a drink charm. It is super easy!

-I also made a cork board to hang the charms on in alphabetical order so it would be easy for the guests to find their name on the board.

-the sign was a way to let the guests know what the charms were - it took me a while to think of the poem, but it has a nice ring to it!

-Crystal did up the letters for me :)

This board was full at the wedding, really neat looking with all the charms on it, too bad I didnt get a pic of it!

The charms were double sided - here is a look at the other side

3) MASKS - You already saw our Masquarade Mask Making Extravaganza - all the guests got a unique mask made my myself and my talented bridal party. Thanks so much girls for your help! I couldnt have done it without you!!!!

We also made a mask for ourselves which was A LOT of fun. Here is the mask I made for myself:

And these were the masks left over... 

4) PHOTO BOOTH - this was a HUGE hit at my wedding. My mom and I created a backdrop out of damask fabric (with a sign) and I bought a bunch of dress up props from the dollar store and goodwill for people to wear and be crazy!

In this picture you can see the centrepieces that I had on the tables (I ordered these) - I kept one for myself :) In the background on the table is the runners that I had on the tables - my mom made those for me! THANKS MOM!!!

My mom made my wedding dress and headpiece...

heres the back:

AND my mom made all the bridesmaid's dresses! PHEW! Thats a lot of stuff....

 

Im back!!! And Im a Wifey!!!!

WEDDING BLISS

Wow....Its crazy to think how long it has been since I last posted. It felt like it just flew by!!! I have sooooo much to share with you!! First of all, CONGRATS CRYSTAL AND BEN!!! I must admit my mouth is half chewed off from stopping myself from spilling the beans!!! Im so super happy for you both, you are going to have GORGEOUS children!! Cant wait for the mini to pop out!

Wow, this is a big year, with weddings and babies, its no wonder we have been so busy! But I must say that my wedding was a magical day, full of happiness and excitement!! (Im sure everyone feels the same way about their special day!)

Here are a few highlights:

My Dad & I walking down the aisle - my talented mom made my wedding dress!

The view at our ceremony...clear blue skies! It was the perfect day.

Our sand ceremony
 

He kissed the Bride!

Tobi Nugget as our ring bearer

My hubby and I in our dance costumes

Dance Action!

Corey's Best Man (Crystal's Hubby Ben) doing his speech....or dance?

 And lets not forget our MJ reunion with "Beat it"

And one of the highlights of the night....Our Photo Booth!!!

 
 Check back to see all the CRAFTING that went on for my wedding!!!! So much was made, I can't wait to share it all with you!!
 
 

Assume Position

Back to our daily lives of day jobs, dancing, scrapping and BLOG POSTING!!!  Phew.  Feels great to get our thoughts and fingers clicking on the keys again.  We missed you guys and certainly have a lot to catch up on.

First, I want to say CONGRATULATIONS COREY & AKIKO =)  Akiko, you're a Wife!  Weird hearing it eh? wife wife wife wife...lol  What an enchanting day. I'm sure Akiko will share a whole lot more with you.

Me walking down the aisle...

 

So I put together this concoction that makes the perfect recipe!  Soooo de-lish!!  Before my release, leave me a comment and tell me if you know what these yummy ingredients create:

"a sprinkling of fairy dust, an angel's single feather and a dash of love and care.  Then mix them all together, add a sentiment or two, a thoughful wish or line and a touch of stardust too.

Can't wait to hear your answers!

Due to our absence, I think our bloggers deserve a giveaway....what do you think?

Sand Ceremony Tags

So for my wedding I decided to do a sand ceremony instead of a unity candle, because we are having our ceremony outdoors, and if its windy the candle would never light.....which would not be a good omen! (although, the sand could potentially blow everywhere too! At least some of the sand will get in the vase, LOL)

I wanted to have a seperate vase for everyone, so in order to make it more personalized I created tags for each vase.

I just designed it on my computer, then printed it and punched it out with my curly label punch from Stampin Up. I punched out an extra whisper white piece for the backing, and put the ribbon in between. And voila!

 
 

Wishing Tree Tags.....OMG 9 WEEKS TILL MY WEDDING!!!

Say Whah???  9 Weeks???

I know.... I can't believe how fast it is creeping up! Luckily, I am feeling pretty good about my progress in terms of my to-do list....although once I clear it, it just fills right back up again!

Last week was a crazy week for me, sorry for the no-posts :( But I was working on my wishing tree tags which I just have to share with you!

What's a wishing tree?

A wishing tree is often used in replacement of a guest book - it is very common in Asian weddings. There is a big tree, often adorned with crystals and shparkly things, and each guest writes their wishes for the  happy couple on a tag, and then hangs it from the tree.

I fell in love with this before I got engaged, and I knew I wanted it at my wedding.

Afterwards, you take the tags down and put them together with a ring to make a wish book. Very cute!

Here are the tags that I made:

 
 

Masqueraaaaaade!!! IT WAS A MASKY MAKING Daaaaaaay!!!

Mask Making Fun!

On Sunday, I finally had my bridal party over for a full day of mask making FUN! It was amazing. I am so amazed at the creative talent of these lovely ladies!

The masks that were created were absolutely stunning.....Of course there are too many to post them all, but I will show you some of the fun that we had on Sunday:

Here is the set up the night before:

Sabrina gettin' crafty! We ended up adding another table to the end...oh boy

 

Mask making fun!

Tiffy's mask sensations!
  

Moma's creative sass!

 

We only got half way through, so there will be a "Mask making extravaganza part 2!!" ....to be continued...