Wedding crafts for Romania

This past week we were away in Hunedoara, Romania to photograph a friends wedding. It was a brilliant week- a beautiful combination of  Romanian and Australian culture and full of displays of astounding generosity. I'm really looking forward to editing the photos, and soon you will be able to find them on our website and facebook page.

But today I wanted to show you a couple of things I made for the wedding, things that were very simple but felt quite genius (if I do say so myself). The flower crown above was made with wire, strips of an old silk scarf, pearl beads, a cheap hairband with flowers, gold thread and a cream ribbon. It suited the bride perfectly and cost £1.50.

Below is a wedding cake topper that Rosie (the bride) and I made together. She knew exactly what she wanted and it was my job to figure out a cheap way of making it. This is made from two 50p wooden spatulas from wilkinsons, two kebab sticks, some twine and material. The groom handily had a jigsaw so he cut the spatulas into the bird shapes, we then did some pyrography of 'We Do' and used a glue gun to attach the sticks and twine. So simple yet successful and only cost about £2.

I feel like I'm a little out of touch with the world recently. I'd love your comments/human connections- tell me your extravagant dream wedding cake flavour?

xx

How do you give when you have nothing?

         

I've been asking myself this question a lot. At the moment I have no time, no money and no energy. It's challenging and it's been a little journey of changing my attitude.

 I've come to realise it's not about what I can give from myself- it's about being generous with what God has gifted to me. And when you have nothing yourself you see how everything you have comes from Christ's provision. 

A consequence of this is you stop giving because you're great, but rather because God is great.

And He is.

Ps. See that church at the top, it's our new church. If you're in Spitlfields at 5 on Sunday come check out Christchurch- it's beautiful in many ways.

London

Sewing at the foot of the city

Coming back to London is often daunting. We hop off the tube at East Ham and are instantly confronted with homelessness, gambling addiction, alcoholism and  broken lives. Not to mention my pet hate, certain cultures believing it's fine to spit and throw rubbish on the street (arghh). It's like constant culture shock, each time we come back from visiting elsewhere. 

This past month we have been given the choice of moving, partially out of necessity. We prayed a lot, made lists and really dug into the reasons we are here. 

We realised that we feel ownership over this place we live, we care about these people, we want to see their lives  changed. It may mean we can't buy a house like lots of our friends, or that friends who stay from out of town will never be able to sleep in our noisy flat. That we may have someone living under the stairs in our block. We accept that the black soot that rests on our white windowsills is probably also inside of our lungs. I may not get to have a vegetable patch in my non existent garden!

But over the last few days I've caught glimpses of sights that you can't see anywhere else, that you don't get the joy of if you live out of the city. Orange sunsets reflecting off skyscrapers. The haze that falls over the docks.  Friday afternoon as all the children are let out of mosque. Houses lit up with lights ready for a wedding, and all the beautiful clothes that follow. Walking to the nearest shop at 11pm and the street still being busy. Having so many things and opportunities at your fingertips. The feeling of ownership you get when you pass people in the street you know and say hi. The smell of curry that drifts through our windows.

I just need to remind myself of this, often.