I had designed our wedding cake to match the rest of our wedding theme — simple, white with a touch of red, and incorporates a chinese knot.

Jacques Pastry did a wonderful job with the cake. It looked exactly as I had envisioned it, and most importantly, it was absolutely delicious! Photos of the cake above and to the left are courtesy of Eric Limon.

Below are the photos of the step by step progress of the knot that I’d made for Jacques Pastry.

I wasn’t too crazy about the paper-mache, so I redid the cast, but this time around I used plaster gauze rather than paper-mache. I like working with plaster much better, especially because it is a lot less work. And the final result is tougher and has much better detail.

This is the comparison between the plaster mold of my torso and the resulting cast made from that mold.

The final cast is a fairly accurate copy of my torso except for the slightly extended belly (from wiggling and from a belly full of air because I breathe using my tummy muscles) which is about an inch bigger. The rest is just the extra 20 lbs that I’d put on the past two/three years. (I think this manequin with the love handles hanging out in all its glory will definitely provide good incentive for me to start being more active again.)

As far as the process, I don’t whether or not there is a better way to do this as I could not find any precedence on the Web for making the final casting using plaster gauze. The only draw back to my method is that you have to sacrifice the mold.

1. Prep the molds with vaseline as in the prior post where I made a paper-mache cast.
2. Dip the plaster gauze strips into warm water and line the inside of both molds. (Cast each half separately.) I used about 3/4 layers and it came out fairly strong.
3. Leave the molds for about 1 hour for the plaster to dry enough to hold its shape.
4. Peel the outer molds away from the new casts. The plaster of the outer mold should now be softer because it will have have absorbed some of the moisture. (See photo below)
5. Trim the edges and pair up the front and back pieces to form a whole 3D torso. Compare measurements of your body to the new torso to correct sizing. Trim more edges where necessary.
6. Tie with string to ensure that the pieces will dry in the correct shape.
7. Leave for about 2 days to dry. (This is where I am at right now.) More to come…

I did a test with the back half using Newspaper. It is usable, but I don’t love it.

If you’d like to do the same, this is an overview of the process:

1. Cover the inside of the mold with vaseline.
2. Tear up newspapers into 4″x4″ square swatches with no cut edges.  Cut edges do not look smooth and seamless when overlapped.
3. Dip  the newspaper into wallpaper paste and cover the inside of the vaseline-covered mold, generously overlapping the prior pieces. I covered it with four layers of newspaper strips and it was still a tad bit flimsy. I recommend at least eight layers if you want a stronger dress form.
4. Leave the paper-mache to dry completely inside the mold (about 2 days).
5. Separate the paper mache from the plaster mold.

Paul and I are making a dressform so that I can use to sew my wedding dress.

An accurate dressform would help to ensure a perfect fit. It will also be essential for some of the freehand construction that I will be attempting because there is not a pattern available for the exact style that I want. I will work off a similar base pattern and then cut a new pattern by draping muslin fabric on the dummy.

Last night was our first attempt at casting a plaster mold.

The entire process was much harder than I thought it would be. And it took a lot longer than I expected — over three hours (not counting the setup and cleaning). We had all the precut strips and bucket of water on the floor, which was very cumbersome and hard on Paul’s back and knees. And according to Paul, the hardest part of the entire process was having to cut me out of the mold. Paul was absolutely exhausted after the entire ordeal.

It wasn’t as tiring for me, but it was definitely not easy either. Standing still took a lot of effort and energy. And the plaster was cold and heavy. It got increasingly colder as it continued to dry.

Mistakes we made that we should try to avoid next time (if I can convince Paul for a second try):

• I wiggled too much while the plaster was drying, thus expanding the mold quite a bit.
• The two layers of plaster gauze that we used were not thick enough to hold the shape while it continued to dry.
• We cut me out of the mold far too soon and it fell apart in some places. I had to replaster the pieces together so that it would dry in the correct shape.

Ideally (if this mold is usable), our next step would be to cast the real dressform inside the mold.

If you’d like more information on the process and the final results we will be attempting, take a look at the following websites:

• My Twin Dress Form – Latex Foam
• Paper-Mache Dressform

This Saturday, Paul and I were at the wedding of a wonderful couple who are both good friends and colleagues of Paul’s. It was a beautiful, heart warming, romantic, and very fun wedding celebration. Definitely very inspiring for us bride and groom to be. And of course, we took lots of notes. ;-)

The setting of the ceremony, the style of the wedding party, the very environmentally friendly decor, and the entirety of the atmosphere all strongly reflected their personalities and their amazing creativity.

The photo above shows part of the invitation and is a glimpse into their unique style and theme. In lieu of the traditional guest book, they enclosed a piece of cloth for guests to create “prayer flags.”

“The flags do not carry prayers to “gods’… prayers and mantras will be blown by the wind to spread goodwill and compassion into all pervading space… Please place your well wishes on the cloth we’ve enclosed. Feel free to get as artistic as you want… don’t be afraid to bust out the glue, glitter… or anything else you have lying around… Part of what makes this what is is, is the fun you have while making it.”

Ours was indeed very fun to make.

There is not a more fitting blessing and prayer that we could think of for such a loving couple than the Chinese character for “Double Happiness.” It is a blessing always prominent in Chinese weddings. The symbol consists of two individual characters that each mean “happy.” This notion of the joining of two happy individuals to produce “double happiness” is symbolic of love, unity, and great lasting joy. If you look closely, there is even a visual resemblance of two people (wearing hats) holding hands.

I covered the entire cloth with fabric paint, and backed it with red velvet as red is symbolic for good luck in the Chinese culture.

Coming soon… as soon as I can get some photos that Paul took of me while I was painting, I will post step by step instructions. I’m working on retracing my steps and breaking it down so that anyone can reproduce such a painting.

I thought you might find it interesting to see the different design drafts of the Save the Date cards that Paul and I made for our upcoming wedding. I am cleaning out my workspace and am pitching out all the clutter.

The photos show the different stages of the thought/design process, from my initial quick doodle to a first prototype to little tweaks that made way for the final product.

I fell in love with the original prototype where I used a small piece of Japanese origami paper that I had lying around, and we shopped endlessly to try to find larger sheets of such paper. But at roughly $18 a sheet, they were definitely not cost effective. I’m happy with the red and gold speckled paper we went with for the final design.

I quite was surprised to find little to no (good) instructions online for making Chinese knots. I had to order a book to learn, and I played around with a variety of different knots.

When I find the time, I’d like to post detailed instructions on how to make the cards, including the chinese knot. Maybe some future bride elsewhere will find it useful.

Done!

Well, I still need to put on some finishing touches like Scotch Guard Upholstery Fabric Protector and trim some seams here and there. But overall, it is as good as finished.

Here are the before and after shots:

The hardest part was the chair back. I didn’t want the original studded look which would have made it much easier as it simply involved nailing on the outside. Trying to nail under the seam of the back with such a delicate fabric was a bit of a challenge. There were a lot of pinching, pulling, and precision stapling and nailing with upholstery tacks.

It is by no means perfect; however, given that this was my first attempt (and that I was making things up as I went along), I am quite pleased with the final outcome.

The chair adds a nice little whimsical and flowery touch to an otherwise rather clean and simple decor.

Progress on the chair (as well as with everything else) has been very slow as I am still fighting this lingering cold.

The chair now has three coats of Red Mahogany stain and two coats of satin finish polyurethane. Each coat takes only about 15 minutes to apply, however, I had to wait a day for each coat to dry before I reapplied another layer.

If I had to do this again… I would bring a brighter lamp into the basement. The stain was a tad splotchy on the side of one chair leg. I could have easily fixed this if I had been able to spot it during the staining. Fortunately, it isn’t too noticeable.

We’ve been looking for a little chair for our living room. We browsed many shops, from Jordan’s Furniture to Bernie & Phyl’s to Building 19. No luck. But just last week, as I was still moving my stuff out of my old place over to Paul’s (a saga that I fear will never end), I found the almost perfect chair… in my attic.

I had almost forgotten that I had this little old chair. I had it since I was young. Very sturdy, no hint of any wobble, made of solid oak, but it looks a bit dowdy and the faux maroon leather had a sizable tear right on the seat ever since my sister owned it before she handed it down to me.

I had picked up a yard of lovely floral embroidered fabric yesterday in between errands. I started the makeover this afternoon.

The photos above show my progress:

• removed the seat
• removed the back padding and the gazillion studs and upholstery nails that held it in place
• sanded all the wood surfaces with medium and fine grit sanding blocks
• applied an extra layer of batting to the seat cushion
• reupholstered the seat with the new fabric

I am hoping to find the time to stain and finish the wood tomorrow. As for that back… I’m not quite sure what I’m going to do just yet. I am figuring things out as I go…

Paul and I just picked the wedding venue and the date for our wedding. And because it is nine months away, we have the luxury of indulging in many DIY wedding related projects.

I guess I should clarify that it feels like a luxury for me on both the creative freedom and cost savings fronts, and Paul is indulging me with the enthusiastic support and with the actual production efforts. A girl can’t ask for a better fiance. :-)

This is a sneak peak of the first stage of the mass production of the save-the-date notices we will be sending out shortly. We’d finalized the prototype designs of the invitation and the save-the-date cards last week.

In addition, I’m excited to share that I’d just purchased the Bridal Couture: Fine Sewing Techniques for Wedding Gowns and Evening Wear book.

Also in progress is of course… our wedding website.