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Charlie

Daffodils and brown paper for a pretty spring wedding

Charlie

These pretty little miniature daffodils are making an appearance in local florists at the moment, so I couldn’t resist but make them the centre of attention in this month’s creative project.

There is just something so uplifting about a pot of jolly yellow daffodils after a long, cold, bleak winter. Simply wrapped up with brown paper and tied with pale raffia they make ideal decorations or centrepieces – or just to make your home look nice.

You should be able to pick up these small pots of daffodil bulbs from most florists or garden centres. You will find that some of the pots available have only just sprouted so will take longer before they flower – if you keep them well watered and in a warm room it should encourage them to flower.

Charlie

A short update

Charlie

I have been somewhat absent from the blog for a number of weeks, maybe even months now, I have lost track.

I haven’t been well over the Christmas break but am slowly making steps to change parts of my life to get me back on track. Already I am starting to feel myself returning and with that I hope to be back with lots of wedding loveliness, and perhaps even some news on my own wedding planning.

Charlie

Recycled homemade bunting for festive New Year wedding

Charlie

Wishing everyone a very happy New Year! This creative project might be short but hopefully sweet as I’m getting ready for a lovely New Year’s eve with my family.

I wanted to do something festive and jolly that would be lovely for anyone having a New Year’s eve wedding (there was one in our village today!).

This bunting is easy to make and uses up any leftover scraps of paper from Christmas – I found some brown paper (my favourite wrapping paper of choice) and some blue crepe paper.

Charlie

The ultimate green wedding venue – Eden Project

Charlie

I have just heard that the Eden Project is opening its doors as a beautiful wedding venue. If you’re dreaming of a luscious rainforest backdrop for your wedding day, but don’t want the carbon footprint of flying half way round the world can now tie the knot at the Eden project.

The Eden Project now allows weddings amid the rich foliage of the jungle in the Rainforest Biome, the fragrant surroundings of the Mediterranean Biome or overlooking the world-famous domes themselves.

There is a professional in-house events and hospitality team who can help you to organise a day that ticks all your ethical boxes,including the cake, flowers, wedding favours, and a seasonal banquet with a strong focus on locally produced food.

Charlie

Tiny Christmas gifts

Charlie

With Christmas fast approaching I have been busy crafting gifts for friends and family. These tiny bundles of sugary biscuits are perfect for work colleagues, friends or neighbours – a pretty token of Christmassy giving.

I made these quite simply, using small cardboard cake boxes, brown paper, twine, and red bells. The biscuits are designed for dunking – so quite hard and perfect for dunking into tea and other hot drinks because they don’t dissolve or go all mushy. You can find the recipe over here on my other blog. I used a cute bunny rabbit shaped biscuit cutter but you could use any shape you like.

Charlie

A greener guide to wrapping wedding gifts

Charlie

A wedding gift list is a lovely opportunity for family and friends to give a present that will last a lifetime. But all that mass-produced shiny paper and glittery tags can pose a dilemma for couples planning an eco-friendly wedding.

Don’t despair! Encourage your guests to wrap your wedding gifts in reusable or recyclable materials using some of my top tips and advice on greener ways to wrap presents.

Wrapping with fabric

Charlie

Gorgeous eco wedding dress on Etsy

Charlie

It’s been a wet and wild Saturday here, so this evening Mr Rigg has been watching the rugby and I’ve been browsing the beautiful ‘shops’ over at Etsy. Handmade heaven if you’ve not been before.

I was delighted to see that Morgan Boszilkov who is listed in the directory in the wedding dress category, also sells her gorgeous eco wedding dresses via her Etsy shop NaturalBridals.

Charlie

Stunning giant tipis – an alternative wedding reception

Charlie

So as I mentioned previously Mr Rigg and I went down south to kick-start our wedding planning. We went to the Beautiful World Tents open day in Horsham, West Sussex. Beautiful World Tents provide a gorgeous range of big and small tipis for wedding receptions and events.

Ever since I first saw images of these tents a couple of years ago when researching for the Directory, I fell in love with them. Now that Mr Rigg and I are starting to think about our own wedding, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to go and view these tents.

Charlie

Our gifts of love should not fund hate

Charlie

An email from Greg Valerio over at CRED Jewellery popped into my inbox today with the subject line ‘Our gifts of love should not fund hate’. Here’s what Greg’s email alerted me to:

Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe is selling blood diamonds on the world market. His army has seized diamond mines, 200 civilians have been murdered, and profits are used to finance political militias.

I’ve just signed an urgent petition urging international regulators meeting in Namibia this week to ban Zimbabwe diamonds, sending a clear message that we do not want the rough diamond trade financing war and violence as we have seen in the recent past in Angola & Sierra Leone.

We have just 24 hours to persuade regulators to act. Join me by signing the Avaaz petition below and let’s get a massive petition together that will be delivered directly to the meeting in Namibia.

I too have headed over to the website to sign the petition, so please take a moment to add your name to the list and support this petition.

If you are looking for ethical wedding rings you should take a look at CRED’s website as they use ethically-sourced diamonds to create their beautiful jewellery.

Image: CRED Jewellery

Charlie

Winter berry buttonholes for a cosy Christmas wedding

Charlie

Recently I have seen so many beautiful ideas for buttonholes that I have been inspired to design my own for this month’s *creative project*. Sometime soon I will pull all the images together and showcase them on the blog as they are well worth sharing.

I have created my buttonholes for a cosy Christmas wedding, choosing some of the vibrant red berries that there are in the hedgerows at the moment combined with dark glossy greens.

On Sunday I could be found stuck in hedgerows on the country lanes of Surrey searching for a selection of berries that I could use in this month’s project – with Mr Rigg sat in the car reading the newspaper wondering what on earth I was up to.

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