A 'Stylish' Bachelorette

My sister's bachelorette party was this past weekend and there were many moments and details that made the day and night one to remember - and in my sister's case, one not to remember!

We started the day with zip-lining.

Next we traveled from our room at the Hilton Lac Leamy to DiVino Wine Studio for a Food & Wine Tasting. The restaurant is open concept so that guests can see the chefs prepare their food. We were seated at a high-top marble table right in front of the chefs. The entrance was decorated in what is probably the biggest wine rack in the world!! - I could only dream of one day having this in my house! The wine was amazing and the food was even better and prepared like mini works of art.

And no bachelorette is complete without some staple attire to honor the bride-to-be. We all donned black outfits and blue boas (they matched my sister's wedding colours). I also created these lanyards for a personal touch that each girl wore. The night was filled with lots of laughs, bubbly, dancing, and gambling at the casino.
 

To finish it all off we enjoyed a (much needed) picnic in our hotel room complements of Emilie, who also wrote about the evening here.

{Photo © Laura Clarke Photography - shot with my Canon G9} 

So... I Paint

One of my oldest friends got married this year - I've been friends with her for 18 years so you could say we're like "this" (picture me crossing my fingers). For all her wedding gifts I wanted to give her something extra special so I made her artwork for her new home. I had asked her if there was something specific that she wanted and she said "just do whatever you want". Now I love experimenting with my art but when I paint for someone I tend to try to meet their style more than my own - my thought on this is that they're the ones who have to look at it everyday right!? So I knew she liked abstract-ish paintings, lots of varnish, and her wall colours were light green with lots of earth tone accents. This was the outcome:

1. The Engagement Gift:

"Leading Lines" - Acrylic, Gel medium, and Varnish 20" X 40"

2. The Bridal Shower Gift:

"Blue Haze" - Acrylic, Gel Medium, and Varnish 48" X 24"

3. The Wedding Gift:

"Reflection" - Triptych Acrylic & gel medium 4.5' X 3'

For the last painting I went big (go big or go home right!). I made this triptych painting (three panels) that would go up her stairway. Working with green walls I knew the copper and silver would pop. I also opted to skip the varnish because the metallic paints were shiny enough (which you can't really tell in the picture though). This one was my favorite out of them all and I was so proud of it. I wish I could have kept it for myself but I guess I'll just have to make another.


{Photo © Laura Clarke Photography - shot with my Canon G9} 

Stock-the-bar Bridal Shower

 

My sister is getting married this summer and I had the honor of hosting her bridal shower. Both her and I are alike with our opinions of traditional bridal showers, and that is that we don't like them. So we decided to change it up. The theme of the shower was "Stock the Bar from Around the World". Each guest was given a country where they could bring the native alcoholic drink or bottle from and since my sister and her husband-to-be both love to entertain this was a huge success. The entire feel of the shower was more of a party as well with music playing, plenty of drinks and even the games were silly and related to the theme.

1. Fitting in with the "Stock the Bar" theme there were mimosas and a mini bar where guests could mix drinks.

2. I designed the invites to be modern and simple and each invite came with a card stating what country the guest had.

3. Even the napkins fit the theme. I found these witty napkins from Outer Layer in Toronto

4. Each guest was given a mini liquor bottle favor when they left. I made the tags that say "I got dirty at Jen's Shower"

5. Everyone was interested in the gifts. Before my sister opened each one the person who brought it would say what country they had.

6. The bridesmaids brought treats and displayed them in martini glasses

7. Soups shots made by yours truly were a hit! I also made those little indicators stuck in a clementine for each food item.

8. The "guest book" was a signed vintage bottle of wine - props to my mom for this great idea!

9. All the loot! 

Now onto the bachelorette party!

{Photo © Laura Clarke Photography - shot with my Canon G9}