Katie and James got married last October, and Katie was one of my first customers almost a year ago! I recently got an e-mail from her with links to their beautiful wedding photos taken by Heather Cook Elliot in Milwaukee.
Katie mixed her felt and button flowers with fresh flowers--daisies and baby's breath--for a super full, wildflowery look. I can really see the difference in her flowers between the work I did one year ago and the types of flowers I am making now!
This weekend, Professor Lasertron and I are making the 14-hour trek to North North North North Dakota for his family reunion. It begins Friday night in Tolley, ND which is where his family first settled in the U.S. from Norway, and on Monday morning we'll start driving back home. We'll all be camping out in Mouse River Park, which is at once exciting and horrifying to me--Marshmallow roasting? Cool! No internet access? OMG WHAT?!
It will be my first time meeting most of his family members and I'm sort of anxious to make a good impression. So...what to wear? We'll be on a parky campsite--no hiking or mud--so I need things that I can get dirty in, but still communicate who I am. Challenging!
Hat: Target Heart sunglasses: Vintage Pashmina: A gift from my aunt Knee socks: Target Black cardigan: Modcloth.com Navy shorts: Forever 21 Grey pocket tee: Target Pocket jersey skirt: Target Belted blouse: Charlotte Russe Twill jeans: Express Sandals: Poetic Licence Flats: Dorothy Perkins Swimsuit: Samantha Sage
I will be back on Monday night and I will probably be exhausted. Although I'll be gone, you will still get something new to read every day--Princess Lasertron.com will just be on autopilot. <3
Just a couple of geeks in love. I loved working with Megan and Bob because they are the kind of people I would love to be friends with. They play Dungeons and Dragons every week (yup), watch Sci Fi and are big Dr. Who fans--Bob even dressed up like Dr. Who for the wedding, complete with sonic screwdriver!
Megan and Bob had a beautiful outdoor wedding on a farm which made for some great pictures. My favorite elements include the Chinese takeout dinner, the blue shoes, the umbrella, Megan's bright blue crinoline, and the post-wedding poker game! Here are a few of my faves--you can see more on photographer Ashley O'Dell's blog! You can also read the original entry about Megan's flowers.
As usual, I'm answering your questions every week. Feel free to contact me any time through e-mail at meg@princesslasertron.com, twitter @lasertron (which is easiest for me), or by leaving a comment here!
Q: I've always got the same burning question: What's next for Princess Lasertron?! (From Elizabeth) A: A couture dress line for 2010. A diy project/idea book about planning weddings as parties. New custom flower cuts in different styles. A website redesign from the fabulous Eric Downs, owner of Downs Design. A storefront. Another employee.
Q: If you could only eat one type of food for the rest of your life (in a world where nutrition didn't matter), what would you eat? (From Rachael) A: Chocolate tempura fried ice cream from Blue Sushi in the Old Market.
Q: What would be the BEST outcome for your business? Super fame? Local business? What are you ultimately hoping for with Princess Lasertron? (From Taryn) A: Well, my big goal right now is to teach how to make boutonnieres out of family heirloom buttons on Martha. My long term fantasies involve having a storefront and design team who can make things happen while I tour the world teaching classes. DON'T LAUGH AT ME.
Q: Have you considered wedding planning? (From Trudi) A: I hate responsibility so I wouldn't enjoy being a "day-of" planner or being in charge of specific arrangements and appointments. However, I think it would be fun to write a series of books about party planning. I wouldn't mind doing consulting.
Q: Where do you get all your buttons? (From Spunkygirl) A: Antique stores, estate sales, eBay, flea markets. My friends and family keep an eye out for button lots to pick up for me--I have a lot of buttons from faraway places like Cambodia, Vietnam, Italy, England, Russia....all corners of the world thanks to my pals.
I keep some of them in jars, but most of them are in clear Sterilite drawer units from Target. The jars are a little prettier.
Q: Does your cat sleep in its own bed? If yes, what color is it? (From Cristina) A: Turbo is a very good boy who sleeps in his bed every night (and most of every day). I don't have a great picture of his bed but you can sort of see it in this picture--it's a small bed made by Boots and Barkley for Target. It's pink with rainbow trim and a big rainbow heart in the middle of it. Turbo is a fabulous queen.
Q: You mentioned in a previous post where you were featured in a magazine that you had changed your way of making your bouquets. What change did you make and why? (From Audrey) A: I have made dozens of little design changes since I started making these flowers almost five years ago. I used to use a rubber stamp to create a template on the fabric, I used to use hot glue to hold the layers together and then sewed over it with sewing thread, I used to use a single layer of felt and now I use at least eight. I used to use polyester craft felt and now I use dyed wool. Over five years, I've learned from a lot of mistakes and now my products are more durable, most customizeable, and the creation process has been streamlined and made much more efficient.
• My days of using stick-on labels are done now that I have seen these affordable rubber address stamps by Paperwink. There are so many ideas on this site--I can see how their custom labels, cards, invitations, and stationery could easily help you brand your wedding.
• Poppytalk Handmade is a monthly online street market created to showcase handmade goods. It's not only fun to browse, but it's a great way to discover emerging design talent from around the world.
Another busy week for the books. I finished four bouquets, got back in touch with several past clients (who have professional wedding photos for me! blog fodder alert!), and connected with some of my most inspirational local friends to talk about what's next in the Omaha creative community.
On the home front, a big box arrived on the porch Monday containing six Warhammer 40k posters. Looks like I'm not the only impulse buyer in the family. Yes, we hang posters of future alien battles instead of designing a photo wall of our babies and pets.
On Tuesday I avoided answering e-mail again (my next fantasy is to hire an administrative employee because the truth is, e-mail overwhelms me so much) and instead began a new order. Eggplant and citron--those were going to be my wedding colors, so I'm excited about this one. Also I have my own custom templates for new flower shapes so I wanted to dig into that!
On Wednesday I needed to do some errands at 2:30 am--and the only place to do that around here is Wal-Mart. I hadn't stopped there in a long, long time, and I was surprised to see some very cute new merchandise design and packaging. Look at this candy in the wedding aisle! It's gorgeous! You should have seen it all, there were rows and rows, carefully sorted in every shape and color. I got the stink eye from a sales associate for using my camera though, so you'll just have to check out your own Wal-Meezy for that eye candy.
On Thursday I went to an awesome social media seminar hosted by Lava Row of Des Moines, which was followed by an impromptu meetup at a local brewery! It was great getting to know these inspiring young entrepreneurs, and they had some great tips to harness the power of social media for your small business. My favorite? "Great things happen to small businesses when they do a little show and tell."
On his way to pick up some brioche for me on Friday, Dave busted up his tire.
The peanut butter sandwich it gave me was worth it though, I assured him.
Other than those bright moments, my entire week was worky worky worky. Luckily the weekend was broken up by 4th of July and we took a break and went to a few great parties. Let's look at some photo evidence.
And if you still have any doubts about my complete irresponsibility or lack of qualifications to become a parent, here is a video of our fireworks finale--a $200 cocktail of artillery shells and bottle rockets set off at the same time.
I'm glad this video captures the spontaneous rendition of "God Bless the USA" at the end.
Home now, safe and sound. Next weekend Professor Lasertron and I will be in North Dakota for his family reunion so it's going to be a huge hustle of a work week up until then to make up for the time I'll spend singing campfire songs instead of chain stitching and handling e-mail.
