Mothers and Daughters - Mother's Day 26th March 2017 #3

 

The relationship between mother and daughter is like no other - it can be like two sisters, can be fraught with conflict, or can be somewhere in the middle ... my own mother was like my best friend to whom I could talk about anything and know that she would respond with merriment and teasing or with calm wisdom, depending on what she sensed was needed.  She very rarely got it wrong! She also insisted on her position as matriarch and even as a frail old lady of 96 years she could put me in my place with a word and a look.. and I would be a six year old again (much to my intense irritation at myself!)   

On Instagram I posed the question 'How would you spoil your Mum?'

My mother rejected Mother's Day as an American commercial racket - but appreciated being fussed over.  Gifts she wouldn't accept .... but a home made cake and tea all laid out on a trolley? That was different!

I've discovered a lovely shop on Etsy called QuirkyArtsHere - Kerry is a talented maker of all sorts of gifts using decoupage - and her answer to my question on Instagram was 'I'll be treating mine to one of my decoupaged 'all things tea related' tea caddies.'  

... and here is what she meant......

How cool is that!  A great gift for anyone who likes tea ... (she also makes a coffee lover's caddy!)

My old mum died a few years ago so I'll be treating my lovely daughter-in-law and my own daughter to something special that I will make .... 

... and in case you are stuck, there is still time to visit DunnCrafting for an intimate gift for a special mum - or grandmum

You will find these in the Wedding Favours section at DunnCrafting

The final word I give to Kahlil Gibran (author of The Prophet - a beautiful philosophical poem )

The mother is everything - she is our consolation in sorrow, our hope in misery, and our strength in weakness. She is the source of love, mercy, sympathy, and forgiveness. He who loses his mother loses a pure soul who blesses and guards him constantly

Here are the links to the two Etsy shops featured : -

QuirkyArtsHere.etsy.com

DunnCrafting.etsy.com

Happy Mother's Day

Mother's Day: 26th March 2017 #2

The bond between mothers and daughters can be incredibly strong - even when their personalities clash!

My mother used to say 'A son is a son 'til he gets him a wife, a daughter's a daughter all her life' - I'm not sure that is entirely true (seems a bit hard on sons who have their own special relationship with their mothers!) but I always valued my mum's sense of fun (she was in many ways my best friend) - and above all her wisdom.

Mothers Love.  Love Mothers

(https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/490700826)

Gra of crossstitchtheline.etsy.com has designed some amazing cross stitch designs that would be great gifts for these very special mums.

(https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/504481693)

The centre of any home starts with the mother - chief cook, bottle washer, seamstress, creative genius of fancy dress costumes, birthday cakes and party games, provider of soft lap and hugs, medic, and a shoulder provider for weepy moments - often while being a full time employee somewhere else!

Juggling Mum- this makes me laugh, it's so true!(https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/491525452)

Ancient Greeks and Romans celebrated mother goddesses in the spring, and later early Christians took the fourth Sunday of Lent to pay tribute to the Virgin Mary, Mother of Christ - this was then expanded to become Mothering Sunday when children brought gifts and flowers to church, and workers were encouraged to return home to honour their mothers.

Today, it is a vast commercial enterprise across the world - but fundamentally, it is still the one time in the year when families can say - Love you mum!

A tribute to a mother's wisdom and love
(https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/239434295)

It has to be said that ideally we should show our appreciation to our mothers all the year round - not just on one day!  Mums of all ages, new mums, older mums, working mums, grandmums - we salute you!

Pay a visit to Gra's shop - you won't be disappointed!

crossstitchtheline.etsy.com

DunnCrafting.etsy.com

Happy Mother's Day

  

The Language of Flowers

I've always been intrigued by the meaning of flowers - how secret messages could be conveyed by the flowers that were sent from lover to lover.  The interpretation could be positive or negative - and I guess it would depend on the combination of flowers in the bouquet and the recipient's feelings or mood on the day as to how the message would be received!

For example, an arrangement that contains purple hyacinth, hydrangea with ivy sprig with white tendrils says 'I am sorry, please forgive me! Thank you for understanding - I am anxious to please you.'

So for your wedding, here are some meanings for the flowers that you might be considering....

For a spring wedding ...

Yellow and white ....

Daisies                 Innocence, loyal love, purity, faith, cheer, simplicity

Daffodils               Return my affection; new beginnings

Baby's breath        Innocence, purity of heart

Jasmine                Unconditional and eternal love 

White lilac             Youthful innocence

White lily              Purity

White roses           Virtue and purity

Pink and white ....

Peonies                   Prosperity, honor

Pale Pink roses        Desire, passion, joy of life, youth, energy

Carnations              Sweet and lovely, innocence, pure love, faithfulness

Canterbury Bells      Gratitude

Baby's breath          Innocence, purity of heart

White roses             Virtue and purity

For a summer wedding ...

Red and white....

Red carnations      Deep romantic love, passion

Red roses               True love

Scarlet lily            High souled aspirations

Lily of the Valley   Sweetness, humility, returning happiness, trust

Plum blossom       Beauty and longevity   

Peach and grey ....

Peach blossom      Long-life, generosity, and bridal hope

Thistle                  Nobility     

Protea                  Courage

Pink roses             Grace

For an autumn / fall wedding ...

Autumn colours ...

Burgundy roses           Unconscious beauty

Orange roses              Desire, passion

Red and yellow roses   United

together                

Orchids                       Refined beauty

For a winter wedding ...

Classic white - or white and silver ...

Moonflower          Dreaming of love

Lavender             Devotion

Blue rose             Love at first sight

I hope you've enjoyed reading about the meanings of wedding flowers - come and visit us at DunnCrafting to see our selection of beautiful bouquets, pomanders and buttonoles.  

We welcome custom orders and will be delighted to work with you to match your own unique colour theme

Mother's Day - 26th March 2017

There are any number of quotes for Mother's Day - some beautiful, some thoughtful, some smaltzy.  At the heart of them all is knowing that we would not be here if it weren't for mothers!

In appreciation of all those wonderful women we know - the mothers, whether new, experienced, or grandmothers - this blog gives some tips - and gifts - to show how much they are loved.

1  Breakfast in Bed - for any mum!

Dads - get the kids involved!  A cup of coffee or tea, some toast inexpertly spread with large dollops of marmalade, maybe a crumpet sticky with honey - all placed on a tray that is carried perilously up the stairs ..... and of course, with a flower...  

This beautiful pendant is available from Peculiaris.etsy.com

2   For the new mum....

Dads.... Change the baby, warm the bottle - or hand over to mum for feeding, making sure she has everything she needs to hand... while you put the kettle on ....

and get breakfast ready for her, burp and soothe baby, put baby down to sleep, and take your lovingly prepared tray of breakfast upstairs to mum - or if she's beaten you to it, lay the table, fresh coffee, warm rolls or croissants - and add a little something that says....

How sweet is this?  From FuNkTjUnK.etsy.com

3 For Granny...

These great ladies are particularly special - they made us possible, often care for grandchildren and are an almost infinite source of stories and wisdom.  My old mum became bed-bound in her final years and loved a little pot of artificial marigolds that brightened up her room.  So here's a gift idea from me at DunnCrafting.etsy.com

A beautiful table centre with faux silk rosebuds  - perfect for a bedroom too

 Do pop over to these great UK Etsy sellers and browse their range of gifts

FuNkTjUnK.esy.com

Peculiaris.etsy.com

DunnCrafting.etsy.com

Happy Mother's Day  

My Funny Valentine

Love shouldn't always be a serious business - fun and laughter should also be a part.

So, here is a great selection of funny and sweet gifts for that special person (male or female!), all from UK Etsy sellers

In our last blog, we featured handmade cards - here are a couple of ideas for crafty folk

Valentine's Day is for lovers - but there are lovers who are alone now and need hugs....

Gra of Crossstitchtheline created this lovely design - don't we all need hugs?!  

Heather of HeatherEllisArt's cute stamp fits this idea too - I love the tender words!

and who doesn't love a bunny to cheer us up on a grey rainy day? She's called Peaches (aaaah) from Peculiaris

and for funny valentines....

I'm a big Star Wars fan and I love this mug from TattooMugLady - how cool is this!

and with no apologies, I'm back to the romantic....

Kelly of FuNkTjUnK makes 

this fab confetti - great for 

scattering on the table at 

your intimate dinner for two...

 and when you are there, sipping the wine and gazing into each other's eyes,  you slip out a little gift....

Darling, you have the keys to my heart...
(with love from LittleConkers!)

I'll love you till infinity and beyond
(from Alludio)

The Happy Couple (and that's just the cats!)
from CarlBatterBee

Here are the links to these fab Etsy sellers

Crossstitchtheline

HeatherEllisArt

Peculiaris

TattooMugLady

FuNkTjUnK

LittleConkers

Alludio

CarlBatterBee

and a few lovelies available at DunnCrafting....

Valentine's Day Gifts # 1

The festivities are over - and romantics among us are looking towards Valentine's Day.

Shops, both online and on-foot, will be saturated with red hearts, schmaltzy cards - all to tempt us to make that romantic loving gesture.

But ....

for something really unique, look no further than 'Etsy - handmade in the UK' - beautiful makes that are simply not available elsewhere, and will tell your beloved how special she (or he) is....

Let's start with cards - here are two, one traditional, the other....? read on!

This pretty card, from Jane at Bitsanbobsanbags,  is a collage of tiny pieces of fabric, blank on the inside for you to write your own special message.

Or you might like something that is cute - and interactive!  Have a look at this from PurpleValleyDesign - pull the tab and ...... aaaah!

Stage  2 - the tender gift!

I love this glass heart pendant from Artbypolli - there are other really lovely 'heart' gifts from this great shop! 

and what lady wouldn't like to receive this stunning jewellery box from DaisyBelleShop

Stage 3 - the proposal!

'A wonderful and gorgeous snow globe featuring our Handmade design.  Just shake the globe to see many gorgeous red hearts or white snow falling down slowly through the water.'

....personalised for you, from KikkaandTikka - love it!

Being a real romantic, with a love of beautiful words,  I have to end this post with one of my favorite quotes from W B Yeats:

Check out these fab shops, by clicking on the links

Bitsanbobsanbags

Artbypolli

PurpleValleyDesign

KikkaandTikka

DaisyBelleShop

and, of course, come and visit us too, at DunnCrafting.

In our next post, we will be featuring Valentine gifts that are for the 'road less travelled' - watch out for it!

  

Spring Weddings

The Pantone colours for spring 2017 are quite a mix - from soft pastel shades to the more vibrant deep colours - this palette is taken from their website https://www.pantone.com/fashion-color-report-spring-2017

Whatever happened to the (stereotypical?) romantic white wedding? At DunnCrafting we have available some really lovely pomanders and bouquets, with favours to match, in a range of pastels including grey and cream, pink and blue - and our most recent additions are buttonholes and matching bridesmaid pomander in delicate white rosebuds - with a hint of pale blue.

The buttonholes have little forgetmenot flowers - don't you love the symbolism? - and are finished with a dainty collar of bridal lace

And to come?  adding to our buttonhole range, white or cream roses with dainty silver baby's breath flowers and lace; or how about silver grey rosebuds with tiny white flowers and the stems wrapped in dusky pink; or pale peachy pink rosebuds and soft dove grey satin ribbon wrapping the stems ......

I'm so looking forward to making these!  (I might even attempt a little video again!)

In the meantime, here are some of the favours we have on offer.....

Do come and pay us a visit - we love custom orders so contact us and let us know how we can help

Here are the links to our wedding sections:

Wedding accessories - including flowergirl and bridesmaid gifts

Wedding bouquets

Wedding kissing balls

Wedding pomanders

Wedding favours

Wedding buttonholes

DunnCrafting.etsy.com