At the Castle... a wedding tale

Well who gets to get married at a castle??!! I did! It's Genevieve here, officially a Mrs! That part is so weird... however, the wedding was awesome. We had it at Fonthill Castle in Doylestown, PA. Originally the home of the famed eccentric Henry Mercer, it is a fully poured cement castle, entirely encrusted on it's interiors with thousands of tiles from everywhere in the world.

This is the room we held our ceremony in, we did a Quaker ceremony, which is a really beautiful Pennsylvania alternative to the old Justice of the Peace! Basically it's self uniting, so we each sign, our witnesses sign, and then people are free to stand up and tell stories or give blessings, or whatever they are feeling. It's very special and sweet and friendly. 

A Mint Green cake you say? Why yes, it is a Mint Green cake! 

The Bride

The devastatingly handsome Groom and his wonderful Dad

The Bride and Groom could not stop laughing through the ceremony...class act all the way....

We really did it our own way, I made all the bright fringy tablecloths, Sammy made all the vases (he is a great glassblower), I made my own goat cheese for the cheese plate, the food was Potluck, everyone brought something, and we had no photographer--all our photos are trickling in from our friends and family. It was probably a lot more work than it should have been, but as dorky as it sounds, I am presently 100 times more in love than I was for the first 4 years we have been together--and I think that's a great sign!

Thanks Orna for letting me share!

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a month ago...

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Belle Armoire Jewelry

I'm thrilled to be published in the summer issue of Belle Armoire Jewelry. It is a fantastic quarterly magazine that showcases beautiful handmade jewelry from different artists across the country.

Each featured piece includes instructions on the materials and their properties and on how to use the unique techniques to complete the projects. The Summer '09 issue just came out and it is loaded with good stuff, including my needlepoint cuffs! I love it when my needlepoint designs are published in non-needlepoint specific magazines. It always brings hope that maybe, just maybe, someone new will get hooked on needlepoint.

The whole issue is really fantastic, definitely worth checking out.

and speaking about jewels... still waiting for wedding photos but in the meantime...

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9 days to go!

Have you given up on me? Please don't...I promise to be back soon. And in the meantime...


9 days till wedding bells. Overseas guests are starting to come in, to-do lists are being crossed off, (although they are still quite long), baking and freezing, baking and freezing and the excitement is building up!

Last weekend Shiri, Shari (her delightful friend) and I worked on handmade this and thats for the tables, as well as baskets for the flower girls, (see above).

Here's a peek at Nina's dress. I cut the flowers out of felt and embroidered them with different colored floss. I added some buttons and sewed them carefully onto the dress. I had such a fun time with these flowers, making each one a bit different and yet keeping them coordinated. Nina is a very happy flower girl.

and now...


Surprise!!!!

With Alex's dedicated assistance, and in the midst of all the chaos we are bringing you two new additions to our How-to section! The first is a new color experiment and the second a detailed illustrated How-to make a pillow.

You will find these on our website in the How-to section. Print them out, enjoy them, you deserve it!

Take good care of yourselves and we'll talk again soon!

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I'm still here...

I'm still here...

After a long bout with bronchitis, which just wouldn't go away, I moved right into the "oh my, the wedding is just 2 months away!!" phase. Shiri and I quickly completed the wedding invitations and sent them out. She came for her dress fittings, and once the dress was ready, I started beading on it, and making the veil.





We still don't have anything to wear for Reid and myself. Nina's dress will undergo embellishments by me, and we need to get her shoes. Then the baskets for out-of-town guests and -

OK, I need to stop, I'm getting myself all worked up.

So, dear friends, I will be back to you again, promise!

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At the end of the day.

It's Sunday evening and I'm reflecting on an eventful and exciting weekend.

On Saturday morning Shiri came. The two sisters hugged, kissed and then chatted about American Girl Doll stuff.







While Nina went to her Cambodian dance class, Shiri and I went to meet with the wedding flower lady and played around with vases, votives and flower possibilities. You can imagine how much fun that is for me!

We had a house full of guests for Saturday dinner and this morning we woke up bright and early and headed out to Nina's first Figure Skating competition.




You want to hear how ridiculous mothers can be? In Nina's level there were only two competitors, Nina and another little cutie. What that means is that Nina could either get a gold or a silver medal, right? She couldn't leave without a medal and she couldn't leave with a bronze medal. She could ONLY leave with either a gold or silver one. So please tell me why was my heart beating in my throat, why did I want to snatch her away from all this and run all the way back home with her, why did I feel that with every passing minute I was loosing a year of my life?


Well, she did beautifully, very poised and so happy. In the audience she had a row full of love: her mommy, daddy, sister and then... her teacher came from hours away with his two sons, and her good friend Helen and her mom were there cheering her on as well. When she was done with her routine she beamed over at us and waved and then took a very cute curtsy for the judges. She got a Silver medal!






While I was busy with all this, my very good friend and designer, Michael Boren, was teaching my piece GIBOR at the annual Stitch for the Cure event in Virginia.


Gibor means hero in Hebrew. The piece was designed in memory of my father. Michael told the participants the story of my father's amazing life. He taught the design and I received rave reviews from participants at the event about Michael and how he introduced them to my father and to my design. What a friend! Thank you, my very dear Michael!

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We have discussed what a sucker I am for a good gift wrap, right? Starting tomorrow, all our orders are going out in a dark green reusable fabric bag, the perfect size for carrying your projects. Our signature green tissue paper has been toned down a bit from the lime green to what they call the aloe green (I'm not making this up!).



I want each and every customer who opens up an Ornaments shipping box to find a beautiful presentation inside, one that will make you feel as if you have bought yourself a gift.

You deserve it!!

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fashionable fabric

I bought a new book titled "Fashioning Fabrics", edited by Sandy Black and published by Black Dog Publishing. It is a compilation of apparel by iconic designers as well as new comers and what they all have in common is their extraordinary use of fabrics. The pieces are not always what you would wear at your daughter's wedding (can you tell there is something on my mind...), but each piece is a work of art. I took a fast look at each page but tonight I will move slowly, page after page and A D M I R E!
This ensemble is by Manish Arora from India. At night, when I dream, this is what I wear...

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hands of gold

This Mother's Day I had both my girls with me and it was blissful! Shiri came in from New York and the three of us spent most of the weekend drawing, crafting, stitching and chatting away. Nina, my six year old, learned how to quill, (paper quilling). Her little fingers became more and more nimble as she inserted the little strips of paper into the quilling tool. The look of intense concentration on her face and the little whispered sounds of achievement or exasperation were enough to make me want to eat her up. Shiri and I were busy working on ideas for invitations to the wedding and coming up with color possibilities. Then she sat down with a piece of needlepoint I was working on and began drawing. She carefully and lovingly drew each stitch, each thread, every shade of color. She truly has hands of gold.

My girls, my life.

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A wedding story.

Our daughter, Shiri, got engaged last month. We are so happy for her, (and for ourselves!). We have an entire year to dream about themes, colors, invites, menus and more. Both Shiri and I share a love for design. Although a lawyer by trade, she is a talented artist and has impeccable taste. We have decided to do it all on a small budget and use lots of creativity and ingenuity to make it one beautiful wedding!

Above, we are experimenting with an alternative to live flowers. These I made from grosgrain ribbon, fake stamens and some floral wire and tape.

I'll keep you all posted as our ideas come along.

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