melissa's beach wedding tote bags and a look back in time!

A few weeks ago, my college sweetheart and I celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary.  A decade!  Two full time jobs, one professional degree, two kids, two mini-vans, and a mortgage later...life could not get any better!  I am the luckiest girl alive!  

Last summer at our 10 year college reunion.  How things change in 10 short years!

What, you say?  You thought this post was about beachy wedding tote bags?  Sorry, I digress.  Seriously, my wedding and 10 years of 'unity candle' is relevant, I swear.  

gosh, we look so young and well-rested.   :)  

me and my maid of honor, Melissa!

Exactly two weeks after our wedding, one of my best friends married her college sweetheart, in the same town, in the same beautiful campus chapel that we got married in.  

Melissa and her groom Shawn.  Yes, that's a kilt.

Melissa.  I've mentioned her before.  She is the designer behind Melissa K. Hoy Jewelry Designs.  Also the artist behind the logo for my little business, zero7one9 designs.  Melissa, her husband, and their 3 sweet children had a ceremony two weeks ago in Cancun to renew their vows and celebrate their marriage (can you say, jealous?  i can).  

I couldn't be there with them, but a little piece of me was (actually 8 pieces): 

Melissa filled the inside and the two front pockets with gifts and gave them to family that made the trip to share the event with them. 

I used Anna's (Noodlehead) Summer Madras Tote tutorial and absolutely love how they turned out.  

pay no mind to the collection of light sabers drying on a towel after being left out in the rain!  real life.

Love you, Melissa.  For letting me make these and for loving them (as much as I do).  


In case you were wondering: 

• the pink polka dot fabric is Premier Prints Oxygen Dots in Candy Pink (from Fabric.com)
• the interior paisley is Riley Blake Sweet Nothings Paisley Cream (from Fabric.com)
• the exterior diagonal stripe is from JoAnn Fabrics' Keepsake line: Gerbera Bias Stripe 

linking up here and at others listed on my Linky Party page.

a snarky glass etching tutorial

here's a little background on this to paint the picture for you.  
setting:  a meeting in a conference room at work
characters:  

• chris (getting married that weekend)
• tim (an *ever-so-slightly* bitter recent divorcee)
• the rest of us  

tim, unaware of chris' upcoming nuptials, was venting a bit about the division of things in his divorce.  all the pots and pans stayed with his ex-wife, among many other items of basic living.  when it was pointed out to tim that chris was getting married on saturday, he gave the following marriage, er...divorce, advice to the groom-to-be:  "put your name on everything".  it was all in good fun, though.


and because we think we are funny, this is what we gifted later that week at chris' at-work wedding shower:

here's how we did it. 


supplies:
pyrex glass pan (size of your choice)
glass etching cream (available at craft stores)
contact paper or vinyl
silhouette or other craft cutter (or an exacto knife)


step one:
create your design either with software or freehand and then cut it.  *you have to mirror image this*.  remove the vinyl from the design that you want to show as etched glass (see mine in black vinyl in upper left corner).  also prep your glass by washing with soap and water. dry thoroughly. 

apply mirror imaged design to the bottom of the pan (not inside)

  
step two:
apply the vinyl to the bottom of your glass pan using transfer paper. be sure it is straight! 

haven't peeled away the transfer paper yet.

with transfer paper removed.  ready for etching cream.  

step three:
add etching cream following the directions on the bottle.  i was lucky enough to have a friend at work who had some at home already so i didn't have to buy any.

here he is...carefully applying the etching cream. 

tip:  do not get cream on your hands or anywhere on the glass that you do not want etched.  this stuff is fast-acting!  wear gloves, if you have them.  apply scraps of vinyl or contact paper around your design to prevent disasters.

yes, the 1's in 2011 are little forks.  :)

completely covered in a 'thick layer'.

step four: 

wait.  (follow directions on your etching cream - ours took 5 minutes). 

step five:

wash!

tip:  glass etching cream can be reused...so carefully scrape off what you can (without smearing any on the glass outside of your design) and put it back in the bottle for next time.  

put on your gloves and rinse the pan clean under running water.  dry it and check to see if your glass is etched to your liking.  if not, reapply etching cream and repeat steps 3, 4, and 5.  we were happy with our results; no reapplication needed!

step six: 

the reveal!  remove the vinyl or contact paper. 

there you have it: a personalized, albeit, slightly inappropriate wedding shower gift!

  
(btw, chris is a great sport and he absolutely appreciated the humor in our gift!)