Bohemian Mermaid Palace

Ok, on to the fun part. You know, it took me a while to come up with a wedding dress design. Getting married is just not something I've ever thought about. I know it's typical to have at least passing fantasies about your wedding or dress sometime over the years... but I never did. I never planned on getting married, never wanted to ever before. Funny. So when I finally considered the fact that we might indeed marry at some point, I did some doodling and came up with a plan. In the end, the outfit looked almost exactly like this doodle.  The basic plan was a pseudo-Victorian-ish outfit made up of 3 layered parts - a ruffly jacket, a short dress and a long underskirt. Using the tan and brown as 'beach' parts, and blue as the watery part to fit my Ocean Wave theme. I decided Stu and I (and my sweet little niece Daphne, the ring bearer) would be the only ones to wear blue.  I made a Wave stamp and printed the design around the hem of my overdress, and added a

I made our wedding invitations as simple and cheapo as possible. Like I said, some things I just didn't care that much about. I looked online and folks seriously get into their diy invitations... I didn't have the time or the inclination to get off on them that much. Still, I am happy with the end result. Perfectly acceptable. We also decided to send out an evite, using Purple Trail . This way we were sure to cover everyone... most of my friends are online, most of Stu's are not. For some folks we had emails but no street address or vice versa. So, we just sent both types to everyone. I decided the cheapest way to do the printed invitations, was to format them so they would fit into a standard envelope. I chose the parchment card stock and blue paper to go with my wedding colors and theme. The parchment looks kinda sandy and I liked that. I just cut two rectangles and glue-sticked them together (if I were to do it again, I would use rubber cement for a better stick job)

When we got engaged, I pretty much demanded a ring. Ha. Our engagement was completely unceremonious... over drinks in the kitchen one night, I suggested we throw onto the table  our pros and cons about getting married. We'd been not talking about it for about a year and I could stand it no longer. We discussed it while Stu cooked dinner, and agreed the pros outweighed the cons. I suggested a year from then would be a good time, he agreed. I said,"And I want a ring. Nothing outrageous, just something I can flash around for the next year and say I'm getting married." He said that was reasonable... especially since we'd been together for 7 years and I'd been hinting (not at all tactfully) for some kind of ring or Something for the past couple.  We both know I'm not a gold and diamond kind of girl. I don't need to own shiny things as a general rule... but a sweet sparkly thing from a cute boy is nice to have. So I designed this ring and had it made. I

It's finally done. I'm married now... and months of planning payed off with a kickass wedding.  Man, it's been a busy year! Now that the wedding is done and the shows have finished up for the most part, it's time to switch gears. I'm going to get back to posting projects here and I can't help but start with wedding stuff. I had a blast with the crafty parts of the wedding... but I was mostly interested in the clothing and jewelry. Some other parts I did cheap and simple, some parts my friends took over. In the end our wedding cost very little, and not only did we  cover all of it with gifts, donations and barter, we actually came out ahead! We're planning a trip to Hawaii next month. Ha. Anyway, since I have all these fun details in my head and it worked out so well... I thought it would be fun to post some projects and info on how we pulled it together. Our cheap, fun and crafty wedding. 

(I realize this pic of my adorable niece is irrelevant to my post, but just lookit her in her Mermaid gear!) I needed a little kick in the butt. Oh it's true... I've been snoozin on the blog. I didn't even finish posting about my big road trip. Lame. Heh, maybe later, I'm freakin busy!! I got home from my 6 weeks on the road Aug 14, and 3 days later got sick with a cold. This was me being forced to rest I suppose. Down for a week, that left less than 2 weeks to prepare for Blues by the Bay over Labor Day weekend. Which rocked, by the way. I just love that show... so many friends and beers and tunes and sales. Super fun. Of course, while preparing for the show, I was also making and sending out my wedding invitations. Did I mention I'm getting married in um... less than a month?! Heh. Then, right after the blues thing I had to start preparing for North Country Fair , which is coming up this weekend.  While still doing wedding stuff. And trying not to fre

Man am I behind here! Hahaha... at this point in the Tour, after Renton it was July 26. I was eager to get to my Mom's place in ND and it would take 3 days of driving to get there.  The first day I drove across WA and just over the MT border. I found a wonderful campground (by then I knew National Forests were the best way to go, cheaper and more primitive) that was only $7! I built a fire and enjoyed the silence. I love the different nature sounds and plants you see going state to state camping... it was so beautiful. The second day crossing MT was crazy. It's so flat you can see forever, and there were thunder storms all around. I could see it's raining over there, and over there it's really dark, etc. I drove right into a pretty gnarly storm... in fact I can say it was the worst storm driving I've ever done. There we all were on a 70mph highway going 35. Zero visibility at one point and everyone was pulling over, it was nuts! Just as I decided I would have t

Stilt Lady Originally uploaded by *TheMermaid* ...next to the booth in Renton.

After getting all peaced out in the forest for a few days, it was time to head back into 'civilization' (blech) and my last coastal show, Renton River Days. I had an idea what to expect... and I meditated extra hard to prepare. Ha.  My first clue was that every time I mentioned the show to another artist in the area they would all react the same way, "Oooooh" with a sort of groan. Also I knew it was very close to the Seattle city limits, and so quite urban for my driving tastes.  I was correct about the driving part for sure. It sucked. I hate the city and I don't know how folks can live that way really. I got lost right away... well not lost, but since the show info was sent after I left home, I had Stu read it to me and um, things weren't clear. So I circled the park 3 times trying to figure out how to get in. Grrr. The 'RV' parking they offered was under the freeway, which also ran RIGHT next to the show. Ha. I found another spot for the other two

Ooooo Pretty! Originally uploaded by *TheMermaid* View from the campground, right on the Hood Canal. Good spot for clamming and swimming... maybe the best camping of the trip so far.

Olympic National Forest WA Originally uploaded by *TheMermaid* Finally found my beautiful camping spot on the water... so many mossy roots.

After the Gig Harbor show and my visit in Portland, I was way past ready to be away from cities. And people. After one luxurious night at the Super 8 in Bremerton (oh yeah, where I got busted by cameras running a red light, heh, my first ticket in like 15 yrs) I headed north toward my wonderful highway 101. In case you aren't looking at a map, Gig Harbor and all those other fake small towns are on a bunch of peninsulas and islands west of Seattle in the puget sound and various canals. It's like the SF bay area on crack. And there are only so many ways to get to these towns. Still, I was surprised at the amount of traffic on these smaller forest highways. Weird.  I drove on and on and thought 'where are all these people going?!' Until I turned off on the 101 to go back south... and I was all alone. Aaaaaaah. It was like home. REAL small towns, not even towns really. A store and a gas station and that was it. I was in heaven again. I was almost to Canada at that point,

After Portland, it was time to move up to the Seattle area... Gig Harbor. Sigh. I have mixed feelings about this place. First a little background... Back in June, when I had first decided to do this trip, I was vending at the much loved Mateel Arts & Music festival in southern humboldt county. Coincidentally, my booth neighbors were from Gig Harbor, which I had never even heard of before. They told me how hard it would be for me to simply hide out camping in my van as I normally do during a show. I fussed and fretted over that quite a bit... but I had a plan. I knew there were big box stores nearby who are known to be ok with overnight parking guests. So I figured, if I didn't find anything close that would be my last ditch plan.  Well, I came to town and right away hated it. I've since learned that there are many such fake small towns in the area... maybe once it had been a quaint seaside town (sound side?), but now packed full of shiny car drivers who commute to one of

Camping in Mt. Hood OR Originally uploaded by *TheMermaid*

Ok, now all my pics are on my phone, so I'll add a couple after... right now I'm at an actual computer. woot.  So after Turkey Rama, I headed east toward Mt. Hood for a couple nights of camping. The rhythm of this trip has been lovely. Work in town and get up to my eyeballs in people contact, then go to the middle of nowhere for quiet time alone camping. Really perfect. By the time I'm getting bored it's time for the next show. The Portland area had been so hot, I was ready to chill... and that's what I did. Since I chose a camp spot near the pass, it was actually cold. Ha. The better to build campfires. I do so enjoy campfire cooking.  A couple nights in a beautiful campground, then back to the actual city of Portland for a visit with my friend Margaret. This was a nice surprise, as I had figured we would only have lunch or something brief. But, she invited me to stay a couple nights in her house, with the ok of her housemates. They live next to a cool neighborho

Turkey Rama Originally uploaded by *TheMermaid* I'm a bit behind on my blogging duties here, where does the time go? Well, after the van adventure I went on to McMinnville, just south of Portland. I was lucky to be able to visit with family there which was great... hadn't seen them for oh 30 yrs. Very fun. And my aunt volunteered to be my booth helper, though I'm not sure she knew what she was getting into. Ha. Still it was fun to hang out. And hot! I didn't know it could reach 95 in that area! That along with the ridiculously long hours made turkey rama a bit painful to do. My uncle & aunt were nice enough to let me han out and recover an extra day... and I was off again.

Van Recovery Originally uploaded by *TheMermaid* We were determined to have our camping night...and were rewarded with a beautiful secluded spot.

Van waiting ... Originally uploaded by *TheMermaid* Waiting next to the river. Also next to the highway, but hidden from view. All in all, not so bad.

Well, I knew it was inevitable... can't take a trip this long and not have SOME kind of vehicle issues. Still, I was unhappy to say the least when I was in the Willamette National Forest, stopped at the ranger station for a map, and the van wouldn't start. Fuel pump. Great.  However, as far as breakdowns go, it couldn't have been much smoother really. So far, my phone works everywhere... I was able to get AAA right away for a tow. Of course, in the middle of nowhere, I wasn't sure what would come next. A tow the 40 miles back to Eugene? A crappy mechanic who'd screw me over or do a crap job? argh.  Well, the guy who towed me turned out to be something alright. (can you tell I'm at a real computer right now? probably the longest post you'll see in a while. ha.)  On the way back to the tow place, I learned quite a bit about him.... first, that he 'feeds' a homeless guy out back who he lets live in an old RV. We stopped for water, beer, smokes and

New Message Originally uploaded by *TheMermaid* Yes, those are rubber chickens in the wagon...

More Art & the Garden Pics Originally uploaded by *TheMermaid* I can only send one at a time... but wanted to share a couple more from last weekend. Fun times.