I don’t know about you, but my grade school age self was always a little jealous of the empress from the Neverending Story. Sure, she was sick and reigning over a nearly dead empire. And even back then I knew that the book was so much better than the movie. But she was a tough little bird and she knew how to rock a headpiece.

Jewelry artist Wen Hsu apparently agrees with me, as she was so enamored by the empress’ choice of accessories that she created a replica using firepolished Czech glass beads, goldfilled wire, and a stunning teardrop freshwater pearl.

Frankly, I love all of her work – her hairpins, jewelry, and headpieces are amazingly beautiful. Her pieces are made to order and customizable…and, get this, she doesn’t charge design fees. But that is likely a temporary deal, so go check out her stuff before she changes her mind!

Many of you know my feelings regarding the marriage of browns and blues. Kenzie Kate invitations may yet change my mind. While each of their unique designs can be customized to match your wedding colors, three of their samples feature pretty pairings of brown and blue that in no way offend my delicate color-related sensibilities. Even the web site’s description of each invitation sets my heart aglow…

The Vienna arrives in a carefully constructed box, sealed with an elaborate label created to match the intricate border of the invitation itself. A beautifully hand tied, mocha colored satin ribbon encircles the invitation, and once untied, reveals a silky, sage green linen envelope. The invitations themselves are printed in a matching cocoa brown and willow green on rich, creamy linen cardstock.

For our Seattle package, we’ve chosen a stylish combination of coffee brown and prussian blue. Each piece features the classic charm of antique floral etchings. Complimenting the invitation is a coordinating reply set and enclosure card, bundled together with a matching coffee brown satin ribbon.

Reminisent of the cool breezes and rustling leaves of tropical Hawaii, this invitation is sure to entice guests to any destination wedding, be it a tropical isle, a botanical garden, or your own back yard. Each set includes an invitation card, printed in cool, leafy greens and dark browns on our bright textured stock.

To help flustered brides- and grooms-to-be compose their invitations, Kenzie Kate offers a range of invitation formats that take into account that it’s not always the bride’s parents who are ponying up the dough. And speaking of dough, these gorgeous invitations are best drooled over by those who have plenty of the aforementioned resource to devote to their nuptials.

How about something new for a new year? It’s new to me, anyway, as I’ve never heard of anything like it, and I know for a fact I haven’t written about it before. What is it, you ask?

Wooden flowers. Yes, that’s right. I’m talking about flowers made out of wood. A few weeks ago, if someone had asked me what I’d imagine a wooden bouquet to look like, I would have answered with a description of a “grandma tchotchke.” You know, like a bowl of clunky wooden tulips in an off-color garage sale vase. But I’d be wrong, because the wooden flowers I have in mind are delicate and pretty and look fabulous in photos.

The problem with these lovely bouquets, as I see it, is getting the bouquet made. For about $20, you can procure a hundred or so of these lovely faux flowers. So a wooden bouquet represents a fab DIY project. I’ve only come across a few shops selling wood bridal bouquets and wedding florals. These include Flowers of Wood, which has a small selection of bouquets, corsages, and boutonnieres, and Bergo Designs, which seems to operate on a custom basis where wedding florals are concerned. Definitely worth a look, IMHO.

Photo by Joseph Harlan

Wishing you all the best for 2007!!!!

Photo by Philip Bramhill Photography