New Hair Accessories For Summer 2012

My new collection for 2012 was inspired by Fairies, as a hobby I love to create greeting cards for friends and family and the recent revival of all things vintage and fairies came to me.

With the vintage inspiration and the fairies stories I read to my little girl at night the designs were born!

The image below is of the

"Faery Dew Flora"....

 This design is made with mother of pearl flower (Calla Lilies and tiny hydrangea flowers) and in the centre of each flower are swarovski crystals also some tiny pearls.  This hair comb has extended branches on either side, giving the bride an option of having the illusion of a hair vine on with the security of a hair come to hold it in place.

The basis of this design has been altered to two brides this summer, one bride wanted extra wires with fresh water pearls and swarovski crystals so that they could be entwined into the hair style with only the pearls and crystals popping through the hair style with the illusion of floating beads in her hair.

For another bride the changes were the crystal detail that is dominant in the original design to just pearls  and that included a bespoke design of a round brooch as the focal point and all the extra flower flourisher to be extended on the top and base of the design on the hair comb.


See below the two different designs (both are with Ivory accents)

Here is an image of the original design on a model ......

 You may ask why fairies? Vintage you understand as so many bridal gown designers are designing delicate lace gowns...
Fairies to me mean, light movement like a ballerina dancing, Fantasy, Untouched Beauty....like many brides want in many ways on their wedding days!
All the names have old Irish fairy names and some are very literal.....the above image of Faery Flora Dew
dew is depicted on the extended branches....little tiny crystals that hand like a dew drop on a leaf after a rain shower! (Faery - is the old Irish spelling of Fairy)

Below are  the other designs that I created, 

Faery Naida

(water fairy)

The Swirls of Swarovski Crystals inspired the design for me of a river whipping over rocks. Thus I called it Faery Naida.  Below you can see how well it looks on the model...

Faery Rowan

(Tree Fairy)

As I have long been inspired by nature, I do think winter is the best time of year to really look at trees,  you can really notice the form of branches and how when it rains (we get alot here in Ireland!) the bark glistens,

This inspired the Swarovski vines on this piece, they are my impressions of water droplets on a branch in winter.

As you can see on the model it really sparkles and it does cover quite a large area on the hair style.  If you did not want to wear a veil and just have a statement design for your wedding this design would really suit.

Faery Guinevere

(Queen of the Fairies)

For as long as I can remember every queen must have a crown. As so many "Tiara's" are heading to the side and I was inspired by the 1920's flapper style of the "Brow Band".  One of the main elements in the flapper style brow band was pearls ( normally these were a choker style) but during the flamboyant times they moved a little higher. Velvet neck chokers were also often used as it was a more comfortable to wear.

With this style in mind I was inspired to design this lovely brow band with a side detail spray of mother of pearl flowers and crystals along with a row of pearls and mother of pearl daisy flowers detail along the band.

This style is held in place by hair pins.  It can be worn on either side and also a little further back on crown of the head if so wished.

These are the tiny flower hair pins to hold this design in place.

Floral Hair Accessories

Recently over the last year I have been designing floral hair accessories for many brides as they have tried to acquire flowers to compliment their bridesmaids dress.

As I now hand make Deco Art clay flower - what is this exactly?  Well Deco Art clay is an air drying clay that can be mixed in any colour of the rainbow and any type of flower can be created petal by petal.  In many ways it is like sugar paste flower but with a more lasting colour and also they are water-proof!

The up side for many brides is that they are very affordable...which is a plus when you are organising a wedding and keeping it in budget!

Below is a selection of what I have designed and created....

Pink Gerber bobby pins

Set of three Hydrangea Hair Pins

(colour is Diamond White)

Two Large and one small pin

These lovely Hair Pins are in Cream and Hot Pink

As the colour of the Bridesmaids dress are 

Hot Pink in colour and this tonal combination will

Look Stunning (Wedding June 2012)

Some of the other Floral accessories that I have designed for brides to be is a floral Pearl Brooch to 

compliment the brides sash  on her wedding gown.

The image below shows the brooch design in Ivory, but like all designs by Cel Design

these are available in many colour combinations.

Brides Of Cel Design

Here is a selection of designs that I have created for brides to compliment their wedding gowns.

This slide show, it I think very helpful for brides to be to see how a veil or hair accessory can enhance a brides wedding gown.

New Veil Collections from Cel Design.....

Unlike many shops on-line selling wedding veils not all use illusion tulle.  This tulle is extremely soft and sheer. I hear from many brides who are  buying cheap veils on-line but once they get them in the post they wonder why the fabric is so hard and stiff. 
The reason for this most of the time is that the manufactures have not used illusion tulle, they have used a cheap alternative, which is more commonly used in the under-skirt of weddings and dress to give fullness.  This is why these veils on line are so cheap, and why so many brides to be are disappointed in their "cheap buys".

Illusion tulle is what all designers use when designing their wedding veils The reason for this is that the softness and sheerness of the illusion tulle and  also the way in which it drapes the wedding gown.

Many brides to be do complain of the cost of veils in many bridal shops. There is a couple of answers to this question,
firstly ft you are buying a designer veil, well it will have the designers price tag attached to it...

Secondly it may not be illusion tulle, it maybe silk tulle,(this is what HRH The Duchess of Cambridge wore on her wedding day). This is very fine natural tulle but the most expensive tulle as it is 100% Silk and can if caught in a breeze rip!.....
Fine silk tulle veils look stunning but do have some of the problems as mentioned above, but also in Irish weather, if they get in anyway damp they absorb the fine mists of rain drops and become very flat against not only your gown but also your fabulous hair style.

Cathedral Length Silk Tulle Veil

Image courtesy of ANN GUISE Silk Wedding Veils
 www.annguise.com 

Thirdly depending on the accents used in the design of the veils this can run up the costs, if it has lace, this is more than likely French Alecon Lace which is very expensive, as it is hand embroidered and any extra accents on this lace will also be hand stitched.
Or it may have Swarovski crystals hand sewn through the design or along the edge, or fresh water pearls,(these are much lighter than plastic or swarovski pearls).

The Beautiful Bride

I have in the past year started to design wedding veils to help brides to be with their costs.  I design and make illusion tulle veils to any length or width, and with many accents. 
As in many bridal shops they may only have the standard length of veils for Chapel and Cathedral which run from 90inchs in length to 98 inches or with Cathedral it is only 120 inches available.  Unlike Silk tulle, illusion tulle will not absorb rain mist as it is a very fine nylon, you veil will not cling to your hair style it will still have that floating effect. 

Cathedral Length Veil with scattered crystals & 3mm Ribbon Edge

This is where the designer veils come in to the picture, as most designers will have designed veils to fall the right length for their wedding gown trains, this is where a bride will fall into there catch!  To have everything looking right on the Wedding day, the poor unsuspecting bride then thinks she has only two options either go for a shorter veil that is slightly cheaper to show off the detail or structure of her gown or go for the long veil that is designed by the designer!  This is where Cel Design Veils can help.

A beautiful Single Tier Diamond White Chapel Length Veil

As I buy the illusion tulle in large quantities I can design whatever length or width the bride may require. Plus I design the veil to suit the bride, if she is a small petite lady, a full Cathedral length veil at 108 inches wide , The bride will be lost in the fabric, especially the length, as I have mentioned before, the length of a cathedral veil is normally 120", but this maybe a little long on a petite bride, so I can make it to say 115 inches or whatever is needed.

Bespoke Length Single Tier Cathedral Veil 108" by 115"

New Mini Bird Cage Veil Hair Accessory



French Lace Side Detail with Ivory Pearl Accent



Here is a New Inspired Mini Bird Cage Hair accessory, for October 2010 from Cel Design. The main rose is a hand made Satin Ivory Rose, and accented with French lace with tiny pearls. Although you may think this is looks quite heavy it is actually very light and sits snugly to your head by a hair band which is wrapped in Ivory Satin.
The veils just tips the top of either your left or right eyebrow. If you would prefer this veiling to fall lower over your face, just ask!


This style would suit a bride getting married abroad or even a winter wedding. This lovely Mini Bird cage offers you the elegance of a veil yet you do not have to remove it as you would do so with a traditional veil.

Have you ever wondered what type of fairy you are!

Your fairy is called Thorn Elfwitch

She is a cheerful sprite.

She lives in brambles and blackberry bushes.

She is only seen in the enchanted moment between sleep and waking.

She wears purple and green like berries and leaves. She has delicate green wings like a cicada.

Get your free fairy name here!

Looking for Inspiration with DIY wedding Invites or just something Special!

I have been at many wedding fares through out my time as a designer, and one of the many things that I like to look at are Wedding Invites. 

I know that over the last few years there has been a huge creative curve by brides to be, making their own.  This is a fabulous idea, maybe cut out the costs but when your guest receives your handy work it then becomes very personal!

Many that I have seen at the wedding fares have been the standard style, either a pocket style or similar to the design here a elegant style!  But imagine if you can  the lace from your gown (if the detail is lace of course!)on the side of this invitation You could pull the whole colour theme together with perfect perfection!



This is a lovely example of what you can get with a Pop-up Style Invitation



Here is another idea for a Wedding invitation, A Pop-Up Style really unusual and quite possibly a talking point when you are getting your RSVP

The link below has a few other designs to consider and the designer will make them too!

http://weddinginvitations21.com/unique-wedding-invitations/pop-up-3d-unique-invitation-ideas/

Here are another few ideas to wet you imagination for designs....some of these you could bring the colour theme of you brides maids dresses into the designs.

Something Purple! This colour is one of the biggest sellers this year 2010!

For something a little different and to bring a smile to the person receiving the invitation, this design below would surely bring a little smile!

The classic Black & White but with a floral theme!

                          
The texture in the paper in this design is very simple but very effective with the detail of the ribbon!

Some Ideas For Wedding Favours!

Here are a few other ideas for Wedding Favour, not all edible!
Feathers are another option for Winter Wedding when the supply
of flowers are not as abundant as they are in the Summer!

Of course you can always combine feathers and flowers for
for a very classy or vintage themed wedding!

Inspiration for Wedding Cakes ....& Favours!

Here is a Collection of Wedding Cakes that could be used in any theme colour!





The wee buckets are favours they could be filled with sweets or what is becoming popular are
tiny cookies with your wedding date iced on!..
Simple but very unusual!

vBlog Episode 3: Setting the date!

Found this website for all bride to be planning weddings, it has a good supply of suppliers in Ireland when planing your wedding...
This link is from a B2B's perspective!

Hope you all enjoy this ....

vBlog Episode 3: Setting the date!

Hair Accessories for Autumn 2010

Vintage feel in designs has got stronger  in the last year and the use of beading designs has grown.  Normally trends in designs only really last for maybe one fashion season.  But the vintage style has stayed longer than most!


The gown designs of the 1930 were very luxurious for that era, when we think about it,  it was a world recession and some designs like this one with the endless material in the train design.
 

While on the other scale of people's monies it was not unheard of to wear a well cut suit in very light pastel colours...with using a lovely suit you would get many more days of wear !

As I mentioned before we can see the influences in the vintage designs being brought forwards to modern day with a contemporary twist...and more beading details on the bodice!

Hair accessories were quite minimal to whats on offer today, Bling was more likely to be found in the glamor of Hollywood not with  general brides...Flowers fresh and made of silk were more common, and maybe some heirlooms of the French Wire work and seed beads...

1920 style hair accessory

1930's style wedding Hat!

1940's Wedding style Hair accessory!

The iconic Hollywood star of the 1950's Grace Kelly,

She along with Jackie Kennedy started the change in the way

for future bridal styles...

This was the beginning of a New Age in Design!

Flamboyant, Glamour were now the inspiring designs of the

Designers!

 Designer like myself now in the 21st Century are now bringing these delightful designs back to life but as beads and designs are now able to be enhanced and coloured beads are more available we can give Brides to Be more choice...here are a few options from my collections...

Feathers of course were the rage in the 1920's and 1030's along with pearls in single and double lengths...

Veils for brides were also becoming longer and the more light and see-through the better the quality of veil tulle's were used at this time Silk Tulle was used but was quite dear to purchase and another option for brides to use were Bird Cage Veils...they too could have feathers attached to them....

Today we as designers can replicate some of these wonderful designs using elements of vintage style in our designs and sometimes I too can incorporate actual vintage clasps and buttons into my designs ...