Thursday, May 14, 2009

A Peek at some Custom Creations

I love making custom creations that cater directly to a person's tastes and wishes. I do a lot of custom orders and it's wonderful because it prompts me to create something I never would have thought of on my own. Like the gorilla and bear musician duo in the photo above. Who would have thought? It's actually a wedding cake topper and the base is a stage with a curtain. Even the sheet music paper I used was so appropriate for a pair of musically inclined love birds...or animals I should say... This piece really reflected the personalities of the people it was made for.

And who would want a rat on their wedding cake? This is certainly something I couldn't have dreamed up on my own...but look how cute they are in their wedding garb! The bride mouse actually did end up with a wedding dress but I didn't get a chance to photograph it. Who knew rats could look so proper and charming?

This is an example of a totally custom face cake topper. This bride and groom opted for custom faces (they send photos and I digitally re-size and antique them to match). They even sent photos of the backs of their heads to use instead of the usual mirrored image. Her dress is made to match her real dress, their wedding colors were incorporated, they chose the style and color of his suit and they even wanted their two precious pugs to be present on their topper! So cute! My favorite part? The base inconspicuously doubles as a box for storing wedding keepsakes. I've done many of these types of cake toppers and it's so much fun! Plus I feel so special getting to be a part of the happy couple's special day. :) I have recently made up custom wedding cake topper order forms. You can download them here.

I don't often do books... but a wonderful gal and her hubby to be wanted a guest book to go with their customer cake topper. I found an old book on trees in a shabby outdoor bookstore right here in Boston. The book has to be from the 1800's...and it was in dire shape...the binding was totally ruined and the book was held together with a rubber band. This was perfect for me however! I took about 20 of the prettiest pages (the rest I'll use for future projects) and flipped them over so the blank sides were facing front and the printed sides were on the back. I then rebound them along with the covers and embellished the front with old papers, dresden, ribbon, flowers and two kissing whales! This book will be used during the wedding for guests to sign and give well wishes. :)

These two resting gals weren't exactly a custom order... My two cousins (who are sisters) are each marrying a farmer this summer. Both of their weddings will take place at our own family farm and I thought it was appropriate to make them a pair of spun cotton cows. I modeled them after the first cows they showed at the county fair as kids (like we all did...what great fun that was!). Samantha had "Snowy", a beautiful white cow with lots of polka dots. McKenzie had "Bookie", who's personality matched her own so well. I gave these to them as bridal shower gifts. I hope they like them! :)


These two pieces are probably my favorite custom pieces of all. They were both ordered by the same sweet mother, who wanted seasonal depictions of her with her two little sons. The first one she order last Christmas. It's snowy and white and cozy. The second one she ordered this spring. They have magically turned into bunnies and are so super colorful (you've probably seen this one in a previous post)! I wanted so much to keep each of these peices for myself! But alas, they are in a good home now. :)

Yay for custom orders! Of course if you have a desire to collaborate on a Vintage by Crystal original, by all means, drop me a line. ;)

3 comments:

Johanna Parker said...

Love these custom creations of yours!.... How fun :) I'm off to add you to my blog roll....... Sweet!

~ Johanna

laurie - magpie ethel said...

Super cute as usual...love the gorilla and the bear. Love how a wedding topper can take on the personality of the bride and groom...sure adds to the wedding day. Thanks for sharing!

kerry hawkins art and photo said...

I love the wedding topper. How cool is that