Tuesday, August 17th, 2010
Last month I returned from the Peace Corps in Cameroon and promptly ordered delivery pizza. My experience in Cameroon was certainly life-changing for me and hopefully for the friends, colleagues and students who welcomed me into their community.
After “How was Africa?” and “What was the weirdest thing you ate?” the next most popular question I’m asked these days is “What’s next?” For the answer to that I invite you to check out zzilch.com. But in brief, Africa was muddy and dusty, the weirdest thing I ate was viper, and I’m now working at an ice cream parlor (just kidding, I’m a full time freelance designer and yes indeed, I’m designing and printing invitations again).
Wednesday, October 15th, 2008
Hi readers!
It has certainly been a while. As most of you know, I am in Cameroon, Africa in the Peace Corps, teaching computer science to eager-minded Cameroonian children. I left in June, and finished training in August. But as I mentioned back in April, Wedlog is taking a break while I teach and write about my experiences in Cameroon on my blog, Hinge of Africa. Today I just wanted to drop back in because it’s Blog Action Day and this year the topic is poverty. I have written a post for Blog Action Day on Hinge of Africa that I wanted to also share here:
Shades of Poverty, originally posted on Hinge of Africa
Today is Blog Action Day, a day when blogs around the world write about one topic in an effort to create awareness and inspire action about a pressing world issue. This year the topic is poverty. When thinking about how we should approach the topic of poverty in my post on Blog Action Day, I had difficulty because poverty is complex. How do I squeeze such a big issue into a concise blog post? It isn’t black and white—you aren’t just poor or not poor. In my experiences, I have seen different shades of poverty. Since one of the main goals of Blog Action Day is to spread awareness about an important issue by simply getting people thinking and talking about it, all I can really do is write about my own personal experiences around poverty.
I have seen many ways in which a person can be poor. Poverty is not just having little money. Some people struggle to feed their families, while others are not able to send their children to school because they are needed to work. I have students at my school here in Cameroon who want desperately to be able to study in Europe or the U.S. and have asked me for help because everyone else has told them it isn’t possible unless you are rich. I taught art to young people back in Baltimore who didn’t have a home or a family and wanted the same thing but it seemed like an equally impossible dream for them. Poverty can deprive someone of food to eat, a place to sleep, a family, or education and opportunities to work.
There are so many people all over the world in need of so many things, where does one begin to do something about it? The purpose of this post isn’t to make anyone feel guilty for having food, or a car and a home, or an education, or an iPhone, but rather first, to inspire us to feel fortunate about the opportunities and resources we have. I think that feeling positive and grateful for your own fortune while being aware of the world around you is the first step to doing something about any problem.
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed about something as big as poverty and in the face of such a worldwide problem, it’s tempting to turn away from it and focus on the next thing like buying groceries, going to class, making dinner, changing the baby, or paying the bills. But just because you can’t do everything, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do something—something is better than nothing. I certainly don’t think everyone can realistically go and join the Peace Corps and work in a developing country for two years (though I certainly think it’s an awesome thing to do if anyone has thought about it), but here are a few other ideas:
Play the FreeRice vocabulary game and donate rice to the hungry; educate yourself about the causes of poverty; help Millenium Promise end extreme poverty; use your business to fight poverty; help fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria with the Global Fund; join Stand Against Poverty; and find even more resources and ideas for action at Make Poverty History.
Friday, May 9th, 2008
After several days of discussions, debating, and reading the entries over and over, our panel of judges has determined the winner of the Magical Green Photography Give-Away! The winning couple is Joellen and Steven from Charleston, South Carolina (note that location was not a consideration in choosing a winner)!! Congratulations to both of you!
We had some really great entries, and honestly, if I had time I’d be tempted to make everyone a handmade photo album that entered the contest. But since we have less than a week to pack up our entire apartment and are slightly overwhelmed with preparations for Cameroon, that’s not possible. I also want to take a moment and recognize two great contest entries that were unfortunately disqualified because of a conflict with their wedding dates. Diane Stimets is planning what sounds like it will be a beautiful Mexican-style green celebration, and Rachel Epstein is really committed to the environment and has a great DIY attitude as well. I’m sorry to both of you that your wedding dates didn’t work out.
Thanks so much to everyone that entered, and congratulations to all of you on your upcoming weddings!!
Wednesday, May 7th, 2008
Here’s a sneak peak at some wedding invitations I designed and printed on seed paper, for one of my last freelance projects. Their fall green wedding will feature pumpkins in the decor, so I drew a vine and pumpkin border and printed them with my Gocco in deep red (custom mixed!) and orange. Now the Gocco printer will be packed away and put into storage until we get back from Cameroon. When we return, I’d love to do more invitations, wedding (and other) websites, handmade guest books, and all of that fun stuff! So if anyone thinks they might be getting married after 2010, email me in about 2 years!
Contest update: the panel of judges has been carefully reviewing the entries to select a winner…we’re aiming to choose someone by Thursday so I can announce the winner here on the blog on Friday, and make them their handmade album!
Wednesday, April 30th, 2008
For an outdoor reception, these Shoji Solar Lanterns could be a good eco-friendly investment. They collect light from the sun during the day, and automatically turn on at dusk. Since they are solar powered, there are no power cords to deal with, and can be hung pretty much anywhere. They work similarly to the Solar Sun Jars (I have one of these), Laua Portable Lamp, and floating Solar Light Spheres which could all be used to add beautiful lighting and decoration to an eco-friendly wedding reception. From my personal experience with the Sun Jar, they work best and stay lit the longest if they are in direct sunlight all day. On my windowsill, which only gets partial sunlight, our jar only glows for about an hour or so on most nights.
Wednesday, April 30th, 2008
Rhonda at Our Wedding Plus is also having a give-away! You could win USB flash drives to give to your bridal party, and a free one-year subscription to Our Wedding Plus premium wedding websites. These days, nearly everyone could use a USB flash drive, and they make pretty cool and unique gifts. To enter, just visit the contest post and leave a comment answering one of the questions listed.
Tuesday, April 29th, 2008
Just got back from a beautiful wedding in Ashville, North Carolina! It was so lovely, but we actually forgot to bring our camera to the ceremony and reception…so you’ll have to take my word for it. But just imagine a small pavilion by a lake, surrounded by misty mountains and a gentle afternoon rain.
I also want to remind everyone that your entries for the Green Wedding Photography Give-Away are due by tomorrow at midnight! We’re all excited to read all of your entries and choose a winner next week! Good luck to everyone!
Friday, April 18th, 2008
I’d like to share some information about a friend of mine who has a great letterpress shop for anyone interested in custom letterpress invitations, thank you cards, or anything else!
Bowerbox Press, run by Val Lucas, offers design and letterpress printing sevices. All pieces are printed individually by hand on a turn-of-the-century Colts Armory letterpress. Specializing in making the perfect impression, Val works from both digitally-designed polymer plates and hand-set lead type with woodcut images.
Digital design allows for a wide range of styles for unique business and personal stationery, elaborate wedding invitations and printed ephemera. Contact Bowerbox Press for pricing and turnaround.
She produces beautiful work, and I can personally attest to the fact that she is an extremely cool person who cares about the environment. She also has an etsy shop, where she sells great art prints, handmade books, letterpress cards, and other stuff. And I might as well mention that she’s a talented fine artist as well, and currently has a map painting in a show at the World Trade Center Baltimore, which is part of the Baltimore Map Festival. Val, you are so cool in so many ways!
Wednesday, April 16th, 2008
Gabe and I have some exciting news to share, but no, it doesn’t involve a new addition to the family…that won’t be for a while. In June, Gabe and I are heading to Cameroon for our next big adventure, in the Peace Corps.
We’d like to invite everyone to check out our new blog, Hinge of Africa, which we will keep during our two years of service. We’re very excited (and very busy) preparing for our departure!
What does this mean for wedlog? Since we may not have regular internet access while in Cameroon, and we will be completely immersed in the culture and our jobs there, I won’t be able to write new posts for Wedlog while we are away. The blog will stay online, and I intend to resume writing for it when we return though. In the meantime, I’d like to offer the opportunity for anyone who is interested in writing about green weddings, to contribute to the blog while I’m away and possibly beyond as well. If anyone is interested, just send me an email at zero [at] zzilch [dot] com. I’ll keep writing new posts until our departure in early June.
This doesn’t affect the green wedding photography contest in any way of course. We are leaving after the contest will be over. Keep those submissions coming!!
Thursday, April 10th, 2008
If anyone is looking for some green honeymoon ideas, this article is worth reading. Ten Green Getaways by Amanda Coggin explores the best vacation sites for the eco-minded, including places like Lapa Rios in Costa Rica, Chumbe Island in Tanzania, Africa, and even places closer to home (for those of us in the U.S.) like Jackson Hole, Wyoming. It’s a great write-up and worth bookmarking for anyone planning a vacation who wants to leave a small eco-footprint along the way.
Monday, April 7th, 2008
It’s been a while since I checked out Vintageous, so I looked at the site again this morning. They have such cute dresses, most of which are sold out immediately upon being posted. But I looked at a few anyway and found that even some wedding gown-type dresses are still for sale. It would also be fun to pick a color range or style and have bridesmaids choose vintage dresses that they like. And of course, I’m a personal fan of the practice of changing into a short dress after dinner at the reception, because dancing is more fun when you aren’t worried about stepping on your gown! A couple of other sites for vintage dresses are Posh Girl Vintage, Vintage Vixen and vintagewedding.com.
Thursday, April 3rd, 2008
We got a call from Gabe’s cousin who spotted this little mini-column in the new issue of Bridal Guide about the upcoming Big Ideas for a Small Planet show that features our wedding! Although I haven’t read through the whole magazine yet, it has a lot of green wedding articles that I’m looking forward to reading. Flipping through it kind of made me want to plan another wedding…just kidding…well actually it kind of did (call me crazy but for the most part, I really enjoyed it).
Also, if you’ll notice there is now a button in the sidebar that links directly to the contest page for the Green Wedding Photography Give-Away. So now when the post below gets buried under new posts as the month goes on, you can click on that fancy button and get the info.
Monday, March 31st, 2008
My ears still haven’t fully recovered from yesterday’s plane ride, but we’re back from my best pal Virginia’s wedding! It was beautiful, she was beautiful, and we had a great time, AND I didn’t drop the arrhae coins or allow them to jingle when I took them from Virginia, which according to Filipino wedding tradition is extremely bad luck! I’m so happy for them! Virginia and have been best pals (which in our view is the highest level of friendship) since we were both in the 6th grade at Davidson Fine Arts School in Georgia. We were inseparable, until of course college separated us. In the same year we left for college though, we both met our future husbands. Seven years later, we married them within a year of each other, fulfilling our childhood promises to be each other’s maid/matron of honor! It’s almost too perfect a story of childhood friendship and love, but it’s true.
So she and Ryan are enjoying their honeymoon in Costa Rica, and I am working on an awesome surprise that Virgil of CVI Photography (who you may remember was our photographer as well) and I cooked up this weekend. More details later this week!
Monday, March 24th, 2008
My best pal Virginia’s wedding is less than a week away! Making things for her wedding has been so fun, and it makes me feel good to help such a good friend. Last weekend I made her guestbooks. I covered them in one of my favorite handmade papers, which of course is green to match her wedding colors, and wrapped some pretty green and brown ribbon I had saved, underneath the inside covers. Then I wrote their names as pretty as I could and tipped on the nameplate. I made her a mini-guestbook for the ceremony (based on an idea she saw somewhere), and a regular guest book. (more photos on flickr)
I also made some other things while I was making books (I had some leftover book board to use up, and it’s generally easier to make a bunch of books at once while all of the supplies are covering my living room floor), including our “official” wedding photo album, and another album (that could also be a guest book or scrap book) that I will put in my etsy store to sell. Photos coming soon!
Tuesday, March 18th, 2008
This is a method for how to tackle the potentially arduous task of designing seating arrangements for your reception, that I graciously borrowed from my office-mate Jessica. One might say that I did a lot of extra work for our wedding to reduce the environmental impact, and keep within a tight budget, and perhaps because I just like making things too much. One thing that I did not want to make though, was individual place cards for each seat, nor did I want to spend the time deciding exactly where everyone was going to sit. But we didn’t just have a free-for-all. Instead, we did the hybrid method: assign each person to a specific table, but allow them to sit anywhere they like at that table.
This took so much less time than assigning everyone specific seats, and I feel that the freedom it gave our guests to sit where they like at their table was welcomed. Instead of needing to make individual place cards, we only needed table cards to identify each table, and then a seating chart which showed the layout of the room, where guests could find their name and their table.
As a fun little detail, we decided to divide our “love story” from our wedding website (which has “Gabe’s version” and “Thryn’s version” side by side) into sections, and print part of the story on each table card. Each table was named after a highlighted noun in the story, giving them odd names like “pajamas”, “drums”, and “chemicals” which our guests found amusing (so we hear). They had to visit each table in the room if they wanted to read the whole story.
Friday, March 14th, 2008
I don’t want to take away from the Etsy Handmade Weddings post below, but I also want to mention that today is Pi Day (that is, 3.14)! This got me thinking that next year, Pi Day is on a Saturday, and wouldn’t it be fun for someone, perhaps a math professional, or just anyone with an appreciation for the magical language of math, to have an organic pie-themed wedding reception? Maybe some people would think it’s a big geeky, but most likely no one will get it anyhow, and those that do will surely appreciate the subtle celebration. You could have an organic pie dessert buffet, or try these mini-pie favors from Martha Stewart. I am seriously craving some pie now…
[Images from Martha Stewart Weddings]
Friday, March 14th, 2008
It doesn’t get much better than this! Etsy, the best place to shop for all things handmade and vintage, has recently launched the Handmade Wedding series. This series will feature stories from the recently wed, guest bloggers from our favorite design and crafty blogs, lots of tips, info, and of course handmade wedding stuff all over the place.
The best news in my opinion, is the re-launching of Alchemy, the service which allows buyers to request custom orders. This is absolutely perfect for someone who wants something specific for their (eco-friendly, handmade) wedding, but doesn’t have the time or feels they won’t be able to make it themselves. This could be hair pins, custom invitations, jewelry, bags, gifts for your bridesmaids, guest books, flowers, anything!
Head over to Etsy for more information and details about this exciting new series!
[featured above: Eyelett lace letterpress cards on 100% cotton Crane's Lettra paper by pistachiopress; Handmade 0.50 ct Diamond Pebble Ring by chrisparry; 100% cotton Snow White bouquet of roses by therussian.]
Wednesday, March 12th, 2008
Last week I received an email pointing me to Huppahs.com, a site that has you covered if you need a green huppah for your wedding ceremony. They sell handcrafted 100% organic cotton huppas which look so natural and beautiful, and the canopy is designed to serve as a table cloth for the happy couple after the wedding. They also have other organic cotton accessories like a glass breaking pouch, ring pillow, and organic table napkins which will coordinate with your huppah turned tablecloth.
Monday, March 10th, 2008
First order of business, the blog has now been moved to a much easier to remember address: wedlog.zzilch.com. For those that subscribe, there should be no need to do anything, since I’ve updated the feed url with feedburner. There is also a permanent redirect on the old url so if you have it bookmarked, you will automatically be redirected to the new url. Anyone who has linked to WedLog on their own blog should update their links so wordpress can update the incoming links.
Next, portovert has declared March DIY Wedding Month, AND eco-chic weddings reminds us that March is Indie Wedding Month! So much excitement in one month! In honor of these designations, both sites are having great contests that are worth entering.
First, portovert’s DIY Wedding Challenge invites you to send them five images and 500 words about your DIY wedding taking place in the last 12 months, telling them what makes your day a winner. The DIY projects must have an eco-friendly element. The prizes include organic pampering products, eco-friendly table settings, and a DIY library. Deadline is March 31st, 2008.
Second, eco-chic wedding’s Indie Wedding Month Contest invites you to enter a wedding favor work of art made from recycled materials. Entries will be voted on at the end of this month, and prizes include gift certificates to some great eco-chic shops. Deadline for submission is March 19th.
Tuesday, March 4th, 2008
It’s been a while since I looked at a wedding magazine since I’m not planning my own wedding anymore. But I do enjoy looking through Martha Stewart Weddings (the perfect magazine to read in line at the grocery store) because there are so many DIY projects, many of which can be adapted to use recycled materials or organic resources, and the ideas can be easily modified to fit into any color palette or theme. Here are two favor ideas from Martha.
First, these mini sacks of seasonal fruit are a great idea for a spring or summer wedding, and is easy on the environment, especially if you get some delicious organic cherries. To personalize the bags more, a pretty pattern could be stamped or screen printed on them, but they are simple and beautiful on their own as well.
I also love favors that double as place cards, and this bundle of herbs is beautiful, soft and natural. It’s suggested for use at a bridesmaid luncheon or rehearsal dinner, but I don’t see why this wouldn’t make a perfect favor/place card for a green wedding reception. My only personal criticism is that the tag in the photo is too big and takes away from the pretty form of the bundle. I think it would look better with a smaller, long rectangular tag but of course that’s just one person’s opinion. They are quite beautiful, and would be perfect made from organic herbs from your (or your family’s or a friend’s) garden.
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I also want to mention that this week I’ll be doing a bit of maintenance to the blog. I’m going to update it to the newer version of wordpress, and also move it to a better, easier to remember url (like wedlog.zzilch.com or something like that). I’ll make an announcement when it has been moved, update the feeds in feedburner for those that subscribe to the rss, and by email, and post a redirect at this url which I will leave up for a while.
Thursday, February 28th, 2008
Well Monday’s nasal revolution turned into a sinus war that is ongoing at this time, and I almost missed the chance to write about Love Is In The Air, an eco-luxe bridal salon taking place tomorrow! If you are in the Los Angeles area, this looks like a great event to check out. Here are some excerpts from the press release:
LOVE IS IN THE AIR is the first bridal event dedicated to bringing together green wedding experts in a fun and intimate environment that allows the earth-friendly bride and groom to learn about the latest trends in glamorous green weddings.
Regardless of whether you have envisioned a classic, vintage, or modern wedding celebration, LOVE IS IN THE AIR will show you that an eco-friendly wedding can be glamorous. Future newlyweds will find sustainable solutions for everything from the ring, the invitations, photography, catering, and hair and make up to the honeymoon. Guests will be treated to a salon style fashion show featuring beautiful wedding dresses, gorgeous jewelry and perfect make-up. The best part? It’s all sustainable. To make sure all brides-to-be feel even more pampered, all guests will enjoy complimentary mani/pedi’s from Veda Organic Spa and make-up tips from supermodel Josie Maran.
Proceeds from LOVE IS IN THE AIR will go to the Coalition for Clean Air, an organization dedicated to restoring clean, healthy air and promoting community involvement and responsible public policy.
If anyone has a chance to go, let me know how it is.
Monday, February 25th, 2008
Reader poll: do you ever sneeze in your sleep? I woke up from sneezing last night and it occurred to me that I don’t remember that ever happening before. Well, I suppose it means that although it doesn’t feel like it today, spring is coming and my nose is very displeased with the contents of the air I am breathing and is fiercely revolting more every day.
Despite my nasal revolution, thinking of spring makes me think of ideas for weddings, like a wedding centered around hummingbirds and flowers. Vintage hummingbird charms could be incorporated into favors or place settings, pretty hummingbird patterns and imagery could lead the direction for invitations and thank you cards, and how cool would it be to do an origami hummingbird and flower centerpiece on each table, like this beautiful piece by my origami hero, Robert Lang? It’s so pretty!
[Images, clockwise from top left: Hummingbird and Trumpet Vine by Robert Lang, Wings on the Water Earrings, featuring vintage lucite beads by thefiligreegarden on etsy, hummingbird notecard on FSC certified paper printed with soy inks by jonesygreetings on etsy, Pewter Hummingbird Charms by avion on etsy, retro Seschat wallpaper from Wallpaper from the 70s.]
Thursday, February 21st, 2008
I’ll have more images (and details about the production process) to come, but here is are a few photos of the invitations I recently designed and printed for my maid of honor and best pal’s upcoming wedding. I printed them on my gocco printer. The invitation is folded into 3 panels, and the bottom of the invitation is a perforated rsvp postcard (I perforated all of them by hand!). She tied brown ribbon around the folded invitation before inserting it into the envelope which had the green pattern printed on the back of the envelope. They are of course printed on 100% post-consumer waste recycled, process chlorine free, fsc certified paper!
Tuesday, February 19th, 2008
I hope everyone here in the states had a lovely Presidents Day yesterday. Even though the holiday is officially designated as Washington’s Birthday (according to the U.S. Federal Holidays Calendar), it’s more widely referred to as Presidents (or Presidents’) Day and is celebrated or ignored by Americans in honor of Lincoln and Washington, and/or all U.S. Presidents–the ones we like anyhow. On this blog we shall honor one of my favorite presidents, Nobel Peace Prize winner and great conservationist, Theodore Roosevelt. He was a bit war-crazy, but had a great respect for the environment, and this was the manliest man to ever occupy the Oval Office, and I will not be convinced otherwise. Here is a link to a Teddy Roosevelt coloring page that you can print and color!
Enough about presidents, in wedding news, Jennifer at Earth Friendly Weddings is giving away a copy of The DIY Wedding! Head over to her blog right now and leave a comment to enter the drawing to win. A winner will be chosen on Wednesday, February 20th (that’s tomorrow)!
Tuesday, February 12th, 2008
The clutch: a bridal accessory that may be essential for some, completely unnecessary for others. Either way, a great place to find one that isn’t made by underpaid children in (insert 3rd world country here) is Etsy, the best source for all things handmade, and sometimes vintage. I found these pretty clutches during my morning Esty exploration.
Clockwise from the top left: a handmade clutch with pretty ivory tassels and lace, $35 by MoxieSaxx; handmade silver satin clutch with magnetic closure–I love the vintage blue fabric on this one, so pretty! $58 by leighannkline; vintage ivory sequin clutch, $11 in MarcellasExcess shop; handmade clutches in fun fabrics–they can also do multiples for bridal parties, $27 by muchachak; vintage white and silver beaded clutch, $12 in MarcellasExcess shop.
