Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Look what I found at Elizabeth & Co.!

One of my favorite things about our tag sales is chatting with our customers and hearing about how something they found at Elizabeth & Co. now has a happy new home or just makes them smile! At our summer sale, newlyweds Stephanie and Derek stopped by to say hello. They are so cute! 


And Stephanie brought along her beautiful brooch bouquet to share with us. And of course it has a great story to go along with it! It all started when Stephanie's great-grandmother passed away last December. She left Stephanie a big box of brooches. There really was no plan for them until one day when Stephanie saw a photo of a brooch bouquet in a magazine. That was it. She knew she was meant to have a brooch bouquet for her wedding.


In spite of the large collection, Stephanie still needed more brooches to round out the bouquet. Well if you've ever been to one of our sales, you know that Karla always has a lovely collection of vintage jewelry. So she started collecting brooches for Stephanie. Then family and friends heard about it and and they wanted to get in on the fun too.


Stephanie did not need to purchase a single brooch. They were all given as gifts. And each one is from a special person in Stephanie's life or has special meaning. She attended WVU, hence the Flying W. Her granddad was an optometrist. Did you spot the little eyeglasses? Stephanie had a poodle named Pepper and you guessed it, there's a poodle pin. ... Each one makes Stephanie smile!


Through a whole lot of trial and error, Stephanie's mom figured out how to put the bouquet together and she was sweet enough to share the details. The base was created with a bunch of pink silk hydrangeas. Then she used floral wire to create stems for each brooch and tucked the stems down into the flowers and adjusted them to form a nice round shape. Then she slid a toilet paper roll (love that!) around all the stems, cut off the ends and covered it all with white silk. Then to make it more sturdy, she put a pearl stem wrap around the bottom. ... Now that's my kind of DIY gal! ... And even after the wedding and a whole ot of traveling, it still looks as perfect as it did on day one. And how sweet is this photo of Stephanie and her mother on the wedding day!


And the brooches aren't the only connection Elizabeth & Co. had to Stephanie's wedding. At one of our first sales, I was telling her aunt Beth (one of our very favorite customers!) about all the chalkboards we used at Megan's wedding. Well next thing I knew, Beth was buying up all of our chalkboards and requesting more white ones. Stephanie and Derek used one of them for their save the date announcement.



And just a few weeks ago, they tied the knot. Just look how much fun they had with all the chalkboards!





And now Stephanie and Derek are using the chalkboards in their home as a sweet reminder of their lovely day! We are so honored to have had a little part in it and appreciate them sharing their story with us!

*If you have something from Elizabeth & Co. in your home and would like to share, just send me a photo! I'd love to make "Look what I found at Elizabeth & Co.!" a regular feature. Or if you'd like us to be on the lookout for something special for you, just ask. We do our best to make our friends smile!


I'm linking to...
PhotobucketPhotobucketA Little Knick KnackPhotobucketA Delightsome Life




43 comments:

Korrie@RedHenHome said...

I hope you do get to make this a regular series! Way fun.

Ali Richardson said...

This post made me smile!!! So wonderful, all of it!

Anna Whiston-Donaldson said...

very, very sweet! loved it.

Cassie Bustamante said...

how cute are they and how awesome is that bouquet!

Transformations By Jacqueline said...

What a great story! Thanks for share it!

Emily @ The Diligent One said...

Love, love, LOVE!!! For all ya'll who don't live close enough to visit the Eliz & Co sales, I can ASSURE you that Sharon and the other ladies are even nicer and sweeter than they come across on this blog. (If that is even possible.) Love this story!

Janeofallcrafts said...

I love this!! Such a great story and I love the idea of a brooch bouquet, no wilting flowers!

NanaDiana said...

Sharon- What a wonderful post and what a special, treasured bouquet for the bride. I love the picture of her with her Mom, too. They are just a darling couple! xo Diana

gail@My Repurposed Life said...

What a sweet story, nice couple! Congrats to the newlyweds!
Love the bouquet and the chalkboards!

gail
ps pinning it!

Danielle said...

Sharon, I love this post. The special bouquet and those chalk boards. So nice that you have touched and changed their lives.

Janet - Painted Piglet, BikerChickNews said...

What a beautiful bouquet and creative idea!

Betsy said...

I love the bouquet. It's beautiful!

Yvonne @ StoneGable said...

Oh I love this "BOUQUET"! What a gorgeous idea. Wouldn't it be beautiful if she gave a brooch to her daughter, daughter-in-law etc on their wedding day!
I love the chalkboards too~ so fun!

Yourpost would be perfect to share at TUTORIALS TIPS AND TIDBITS, my new weekly linky party going on now! Come on over and join in!
http://www.stonegableblog.com/2012/08/making-scented-drawer-liner.html

Coloradolady said...

my friends daughter had one of these bouquets...yours is so pretty!! Happy VTT

Rosemary@villabarnes said...

Congrats to the happy couple. That bouquet is awesome.

Stone Cottage Adventures said...

'Love the bouquet! What a lovely post! Thank you! -Marci

Linda @ A La Carte said...

Love the brooch bouquet! The chalkboards are really clever! Fun post!

Linda@Coastal Charm said...

What a beautiful way to bring so many memories into your wedding day...great post!!

Blessings,
Linda

Little Miss Maggie said...

Love that bouquet. Gorgeous.

Keetha Broyles said...

I've seen broach bouquets on various blogs and other places. Thanks for sharing this personal story about them with us.

I am fascinated by them, and this story just makes them all the better.

Our Pinteresting Family said...

What a gorgeous bouquet! That is a beautiful idea. I love the chalkboards too..what a cute couple. Megan

Anonymous said...

that brooch bouquet should be featured in Bride's Magazine. That is just absolutely amazing with so many memories attached to it. Just beautiful!....... the jewelry and the memories!

LV said...

What a wonderful post. I never saw anything like this bouquet. What a brilliant idea and treasure.

Peggy said...

Wow Sharon! I love everything about this post! From the bouquet to the chalkboards - it just makes me smile.

Hetty said...

Love the brooch bouquet - beautiful story!

Curtains in My Tree said...

love the wedding bouquet

I have lots of vintage pins think I will make me one however no wedding in my future LOL

Shannah @ Just Us Four said...

What an awesome story! I love the bouquet and the chalkboards are to die for! Wish I lived close enough to make a sale...

Tami Von Zalez said...

I just might be able to fill out one of those brooch bouquets, I collect sparkly, colorful, fun pins! Great idea, thank you for posting.

Popped in from Time Travel Thursday ~

thriftshopcommando.blogspot.com

Adorned From Above said...

This is beautiful. I have a link party on Wednesdays, and I would love it if you would link this post. It is called Wednesdays Adorned From Above Link Party.
http://www.adornedfromabove.com/2012/08/apple-cinnamon-roll-pull-aparts-and.html
I hope to see you there. Have a great Day.
Debi Bolocofsky
Adorned From Above
www.adornedfromabove.com

RobinfromCA said...

I love everything about this post! The brooch bouquet is so gorgeous and I'm so happy Stephanie's mom shared the method for making it! The chalkboards are also just wonderful. What a joyous thing to be so intimately involved in their special day!
Visiting from VTT
Robin

Jennelise said...

Oh wow! What an incredible bouquet! So much detail and I love how personal it is. Just lovely!
Jennelise

Bliss said...

I got all bleary eyed about the brooches. What a wonderful keepsake.

~Bliss~

Betty Stapleton said...

we are an auction company and always piles of broaches. Back in Feb. a customer had bought a pile of them for her daughters wedding. She was to bring me pictures but keeps forgetting. So i was excited to see it. Gorgeous. Hope I can find it when my son gets married.

Cynthia said...

Love that pin bouquet. The fact that each one came from someone special in the bride's life is really sweet. And I love the chalkboards! How clever to list the bridal party! Great, great ideas. Congratulations to the happy couple, and God Bless!

Stacey said...

Very nice to see the follow-up on a customer! I love that - it makes it all worthwhile!
Thank you for sharing this week at the Creative Inspirations party at Embracing Change!
Stacey :o)

Laura said...

Wow! What a beautiful broach bouquet!!
Love how they used all the chalkboards at their wedding:)

Good Time Charlie said...

This is one of the cutest stories, and how fun you got to be part of it! Thank you for sharing it! I wish I had a brooch bouquet!

Holly Lefevre said...

Darn cute idea with the chalkboards! And oh how I wish I would have imagined a brooch bouquet when I got married...I LOVE them!

Unknown said...

Wow! This is completely gorgeous.. and I just love that each brooch was a gift.. what a beautiful way to create a wedding bouquet and keepsake!
I am your newest follower.. hope you stop by and share at my Pink Hippo Party @ http://pinkapotamus.blogspot.com/2012/08/pink-hippo-party-91.html
xoxo
Amie @ Pinkapotamus

Kathy said...

That's about the sweetest thing I've ever seen or heard of.! Touched my heart - what a wonderful way to celebrate a joyous event and to remember loved ones! The chalkboards are perfect! I appreciate you sharing with Home and Garden Thursday,
Kathy

Megan Gunyan said...

Wow, that is all so beautiful! I love the chalkboard/wedding idea and that broach bouquette is amazing. I love it!

Unknown said...

Beautiful!

www.iheartpears.blogspot.com

Liz @ the Brambleberry Cottage said...

The brooch bouquet turned out beautiful. I love how each piece has significance for the bride. And the chalkboards worked wonderfully to announce special elements of the wedding.

Thanks for linking to Time Travel Thursday, Sharon. It's always a pleasure to have you participate.

Blessings,
Liz @ The Brambleberry Cottage