Diamonds are forever...

...at least according to James Bond!  As we can look forward to April, the month of diamonds, I thought I'd share a different kind of diamond with you:  the diamond stitch.  Not long ago, a bride contacted me to commission a pine needle basket which will carry the Stefana (Greek wedding crowns) at her approaching wedding.  After some research, I found that the number three is important in many Greek ceremonies, including a wedding.  The center of the basket begins with two walnut slices tightly joined to symbolize the bride and groom.  Then three circles of stitches surround them, two in chain stitches and the center in the diamond stitch so that the sparkle of their love will always be chained together. 

After she received the basket, she was gracious enough to send a photo of the basket with the stefana inside.  These stefana are especially precious to her as they were worn by her parents as well.  I've included her picture as well as one of the basket before it was mailed.   I'm thrilled that she is so pleased!

s

W.........edding Part 4

After a lovely ceremony, the time came for the posed pictures of the wedding party. You might notice that the group seems to be looking up. That's because the official wedding photographer decided to perch on a ladder to get the best shots possible. It really wouldn't have bothered me so much, except for the fact that the photographer was my older daughter! She did not seemed worried, but her husband, my husband, my nephew (shown holding the ladder) and I were a little nervous...especially when she moved up two steps. Guess my acrophobia does not run in the family!

Thank you for sharing these moments with me. It was a wedding I'll never forget!

W.........edding Part 3

Another special occurrence at my niece's wedding
was that her younger son escorted her and "gave
her away". Later, he helped the groomsmen give his mother a "lift" after the ceremony. Stay tuned for the last wedding episode tomorrow when you'll see why there is and extra "head" in the first picture.

W.........edding Part 2

The very special flower girls for the wedding were the bride's two-year-old grand daughter and the groom's younger daughter. They were a very sweet part of the procession and sat in the front row to watch the ceremony. Isn't it hard to believe that the bride is a grandmother? It's also hard for me to believe that I held them both as infants. Talk about the circle of life!

F.........amily Wedding Part 1

Most families celebrate the fourth of July with food, fun, and fireworks. This year our family added something special...a wedding! It was the first wedding I ever attended where the bride and attendants were bare foot! They really didn't tiptoe through tulips, but posed for us two ways. The bride's two daughters are on either side of her in the pictures and her step-daughter is to the left on the "foot" picture and the right on the "face" picture. It was truly a lovely ceremony and a great time was had by all. More wedding pictures will follow soon!

W.......edding Challenge

My latest endeavor has been to enter a "Wedding Challenge" through a couple of ETSY groups. I loved making the drape for this candle and thought it might make an appropriate entry. If you would like to see the other items in the challenge, you can click on http://jewelryonetsyteam.blogspot.com/ to see this along with the other entries. You can even vote for your favorites if you would like! One like this graced a candle at our wedding, so it will always be in my heart.