Inaugural Address....

I am WitchyCrafter, though Witchy will work for short. I have started this blog to chronicle my various crafting projects. I have another blog, Twisted Yarns, which follows my knitting adventures. Most of the next year's blog posts will be wedding related, as I am getting married in May of 2011 and we are doing most of the work ourselves. I have several projects in mind that I will be working on, most starting at the end of the month. Most of them are either gifts for my Bridesmaids or decor items for the ceremony and reception. I will also be posting about crafts that are not wedding related, but those are going to be fewer than those that are for my wedding. What can I say, a wedding is a lot of work!

Since I have yet to really start any of them, I think a list would be best. Most of these are simple projects that shouldn't take me long once I get them figured out, and some will require a lot of help. A few have already been started but most are on hold for various reasons. I hope that I can share a lot of my crafty joy with any who read this blog, and I plan on posting often and at great length. So, here we go!

1. A "Wedding Curtain" - the area behind our officiant is not the most attractive space, sporting an old fire pit and a few benches. Campers also frequent the area we have chosen to get married in, so a beaded curtain featuring silk flowers and petals will be hung behind the officiant to block such views.
2. A Chuppah and Frame -I am not Jewish and neither is my fiance, but the idea of a canopy to cover us during the ceremony is a great one. My fiance burns easily and I don't like to squint LOL. We hope to make the canopy out of a handmade quilt we will use as a wedding quilt and the frame will be reused as something else once the ceremony is over as well.
3. Wedding Altar - In the ceremony space there is a water mane, covered by a not-very-attractive green dome. My fiance has promised to make me a cylinder shaped table to place over it, which will serve as the altar at our wedding.
4. Fused Plastic Bags - These bags are cute, environmentally friendly and are intended as gifts for my bridesmaids. A friend of mine has shown me how, and I can't wait to get started. I will certainly link her blog when I post the project itself.
5. Memorial Candle - My sister in law, who was also one of my best friends, passed away earlier this year. I plan to make a large memorial candle, including her picture, to be placed at our ceremony.
6. Memorial bracelets - In addition to the candle, I am making a bracelet for each bridesmaid to wear, I will also wear one, and I plan to put an additional charm on my bouquet.
7. Personalized Totes - This project is not for the wedding, but for Yule. Last year I made one for each of my nieces and they have effectively used them to death since. I am going to make them new ones this year, so it should be interesting to see if they want different decorations!
8. Christmas boxes - On top of being a crafter, a witch and a student, I am an environmentalist. The amount of wrapping paper used every Christmas bothers me, especially since most of it is non-recyclable. Until I can find a gorgeous recycled wrapping paper, I have decided to use a more permanent solution. I got the idea from the Make it Green Girl podcast, which is no longer on the air, but she had some great tips. One was to designate a specific box and wrap it in fabric or reusable paper, thus creating your Christmas "Gift box". I am taking this a step farther and painting wooden boxes to appeal to each child in my family, and a catch-all for the adult I choose in our Christmas Lottery.  Certified wood and non-VOC paint of course!

I'm sure there are more but that is all I can think about at the moment. Hopefully I can get cracking on some of these before too long, though there is another wedding in my family this month, so I've put most on hold until after that. I may work on any that I won't require assistance on, but there are a few I need help with and those will have to wait!