Friday, October 26, 2012

Southard House Journals

Hello Sweet Friends!

I have been very busy working on getting things ready for my new bed and breakfast that is due to open in early 2013.  I have been so busy this week creating some beautiful custom-made items for my guest rooms, including some beautiful journals for guests to leave messages about their experience with us and some "Do Not Disturb" sachets for guests to hang on their door knobs so I will know not to bother them when cleaning their rooms.  I have had so much fun this week.  It is really amazing how things come together when you are creating.  I have a picture in my mind of what I think something should look like and then I start working and it comes out completely different . . . and usually better.

The journals started off looking like this, except they had different colors of paper on the inside.
 This is the completed journal for Suite Blessings.  I am planning to decorate that room with lots of crosses and angels.  I am going to use ivory, taupe, and spa green in this room.  I know it will be beautiful!

 This is the journal for Suite Dreams.  I am going to decorate this room like a pretty French garden.  I plan to use garden gates for the headboard and lots of garden statuary and flowers like hydrangeas in this room.
 This will be the journal for Suite Beginnings.  It will be decorated with crimson, white, black, and tan.  It will be very different from the other rooms in the B&B but it will still be very elegant and beautiful.
 This is my favorite journal, which probably means it will be my favorite room.  This is the journal for Suite Hope.  It will be decorated with a lot of Marie Antoinette-inspired decorations.  I plan to use pink and ivory in this room with a lot of roses.
 I had so much fun making these journals.  It was amazing to see them come to life right before my eyes.
I also made some sachets for my guests to use when they do not want to be disturbed.  When this sachet is hanging on the door knob I will know to let them sleep!

Can you guess which sachets go with which room?







 Each of the sachets got a cute label on the back with some "bling" to dress them up.  I think they are so sweet!
 I also made custom labels for my bath soaps that will be found in each bath room.  The soaps smell so wonderful and they will be sold in the gift shop because I know once my guests try these soaps they will want to take more home with them.  They are delish!
 I worked today on framed door plaques for each guest room.  They are almost complete and then I will post them.  I am also working on some beautiful lavender-scented sachets that will be placed on each bed and sold in my gift shop.  I am so excited about this new venture!

I will be posting again soon!  I hope you all have a blessed weekend and a Happy Halloween!

Blessings to You!
Love Tammy

Friday, October 12, 2012

My Pretty Pink Wedding

Hello Sweet Friends!

Happy Pink Saturday!  I have so many beautiful pictures to show you of my wonderful wedding day.  The photographer took over 600 pictures so I picked out some great ones to share with you today.  I think I will show you some of the pretty things I made and the pretty pink decorations and then I will show you the ceremony and reception pictures.

 This is the train case I painted and decorated to collect cards for the wedding.  I bought it at a garage sale for $5 and it was a really ugly blue.  Now it is so beautiful and I am going to use it to display brochures or pretty hand made items in the gift shop at my bed and breakfast.

 The program table was so pretty.  I covered an old dictionary with scrapbook paper and then opened it to "love" and put a heart around that word with a pink marker.  I thought that was a neat idea.

 The candy bar had five different kinds of candy on it and we are still eating it to this day . . . and we will be for many months to come.  Let's just say I over-ordered on the candy.  But that's not a bad thing!

 I ordered this sign for my sweet little "flower girl"  to carry.  I added the lace and ribbon embellishments.  I am going to use this at the bed and breakfast too!
 The unity candle table was so pretty.  I just love mercury glass and these candle holders were perfect for my wedding day.
 I made the mothers and my grandma an embroidered hankie with a tag on it that said "happy tears".  I know there were a lot of those shed.
 These are the sweet match box favors my sweet mama and I made together.  I filled them with mint gum and there were only 6 left when the wedding was over.
 I used mason jars for the wedding punch - pink lemonade of course!  I tied pink ribbons on each jar and they all got a sweet pink and white straw too!
 Here is Miss Lucie - James youngest daughter - adding the picks I made to the wedding cupcakes.  The cakes looked so pretty when they all came together!
 I love cupcakes and I thought they were a perfect serving of cake for the wedding.  I love the colors and the pretty lace sleeves.
 I made a special pick for the bride and groom cupcakes.  I made those sweet cupcake holders too!  They turned out just perfect!
 Here I am after the ceremony.  I was so nervous but I guess it didn't show.  Even though I was nervous it was still a wonderful day.

 I just love my beautiful wedding dress.  It doesn't even look like the same dress since I altered it.  I am very happy with the way it turned out and now it really looks like "me".

 This was the bow on the back and I made that flower and put it on a clip and clipped it to the bow.  So feminine and pretty!  I love it!
 Cass was James' best man and they work together at the newspaper office.  Cass is a good friend to James.
 Here is my sweet maid of honor Dena.  I used to work with her but now that I quit my job because I am getting ready to open the bed and breakfast I don't get to see her as much and I miss her!

 I know I could not have made it through the day without my sweet mom.  She always knows how to calm me down and I am so thankful for her.  She looked so pretty that day and her dress was just beautiful.  She is a pretty lady on the outside and inside too!

 This is Miss Ruby, my cousin and my "flower girl".  She is very shy and it took her a long time to warm up but after she did she was such a ham!  She is such a beautiful, sweet little lady.

So now the ceremony has started and the processional has begun.  Then it was my turn to walk down the aisle.  Miss Ruby was supposed to go in front of me with her sign but she needed my hand (and I needed her too because of my nerves) so we walked out together.
 James met me half way down the aisle (because we believe in this relationship we both have to come half way and meet in the middle) and we walked to the alter together.
 The ceremony was beautiful and the minister said so many great things about us as individuals and as a couple.  The ceremony was very meaningful and very moving for both of us.
 There were many tears shed because we were so emotionally touched.  It was such a beautiful ceremony about the journey we have been on as individuals and where we are now in our lives together.
 Our poor minister had broken her wrist the day before our wedding.  She did the whole ceremony in extreme pain because she couldn't take any medicine.  We were so thankful for her commitment to us that day.
 We has a "ring warming ceremony" and the best man passed the rings around to the guests in a pretty bag.
 Each guest was supposed to say a prayer or blessing over the rings as they received them, then when the rings came back to us they were surrounded with all of our friends and family's love.
 We also read each other love letters and James' letter was so sweet and wonderful.  He gave me the letter after the wedding and I will cherish it forever.
 We lit our unity candles and the minister made it a point to remind us that even though we have become one we are still two individuals with our own unique identities and we should never lose them.  I loved that because I have had the habit of losing myself in my past relationships. I think I will do better this time.
 So now we are husband and wife!  I am now Mrs. Tammy Neal!
 I feel so blessed to be in love with and be loved by such a sweet, wonderful man.  James is one of the good ones and I am so happy that he now belongs to me!


 This is the whole family together!  From left to right - my grandma (Nanny), my mom and dad, my maid of honor Dena, Miss Lucie, Miss Ruby, Miss Maggie, James best man Cass, James mom and dad.
 I absolutely adore my wedding ring.  James had it custom made for me.  There are three stones that represent our past, present, and future; my birthstone is in it; it has a Celtic love knot all the way around it to bind my heart to his; it is lined in diamonds and each one represents the number of decades that he will be in love with me (and that is a lot).  What an amazing ring for such a blessed girl!

 We had a lot of fun seeing our friends and family during the reception time.  It was so nice to have them there to share our special day.
 I think this picture is so hilarious!  Don't you hate it went you get all tangled up?  That wedding toast thingy is not as easy as it looks!
 My sweet friend Dena has struggled with her weight for her whole life.  She has been working hard for a long time and she lost a lot of weight.  I think she is so beautiful inside and out no matter what but I am so proud of her for what she has accomplished for herself.  She set a goal for herself and she met it and I am so happy for her.  Doesn't she look lovely?
 I cannot describe to you how happy I am . . . but I think it shows, doesn't it?  It is so wonderful to have these times of perfect happiness, for they help us get through the tough times we all experience from time to time.  I have definitely experienced this perfect happiness and I feel so blessed!  God is so good to me!
 We did bubbles instead of rice or bird seed because it was less messy.  But I think somebody spit on me as we were running out the door.  I am hoping that was inadvertent!
James and I went back to our house to pick up our luggage and once there he gave me the sweetest charm bracelet with several charms already on it.  He wrote me another love note explaining what each charm meant and I cried as I read it because it was so sweet and meaningful to me.  I can't wait to fill it up with all kinds of charms that represent the amazing memories that make up our life together.  I am so blessed!

I hope you have enjoyed my wedding photographs and I hope you have a blessed weekend!

Blessings to you!
Love Tammy