Baby Gocco Steps

A little while ago you may remember that I purchased a Print Gocco machine to make our engagement party invites. It didn't arrive in time, so I used other methods... and then I found myself with a lovely package of Gocco goodness with nothing to print. Until now!

With the party over, I took off to Brisbane with work, and then we decided to move house. So it was only yesterday that we took the plunge and set up the Gocco for his first trial run.
...Am I pleased? Yes - to get the initial testing out of the way. Did I have problems? Yes, with photocopies sticking to the master, and ink bleeding. But overall, I like our little design - even though it may look a bit "rustic" - and I think that there is vast room for improvement. I have read so many inspirational blog posts of savvy ladies tackling the Gocco for their wedding invites, and I really want to be one of them!

A bit of crafty goodness

A few weeks ago, I purchased a Print Gocco. A dying breed, yes, but I found it just too tempting when I started thinking of engagement invitations and wedding stationery.

So, I pulled out my Ebay hat and took the plunge. Jon and I designed a little invite to print based on the Mexican tradition of papel picado, or cut paper flags. Very sweet and quite detailed, these flags are used for many celebrations in Mexico, hung as bunting across the space.

However, it soon dawned on me that my precious Gocco parcel wasn't going to make it in time to learn the basics, test, print and send engagement invites. After some pacing up and down the living room and considering several mad alternatives (potato stamps, anyone?) I decided, last weekend, to pull out all the paper-crafty stops I could think of and make the papel picado the traditional way - but in miniature. Madness, but I am soooo pleased with the result.

Tools ready to go - notice the awesome paper punch to do the scalloped edging!

Testing out the detail with a pattern and scalpel

Piles and piles of papel picado!

Stuck on the cards and ready to trim

...and here's the finished product. Lovely! What do you think?

The proposal

In the next few weeks I will be sharing with you some details of my engagement - the ring and plans for the party, and also some thoughts about decorations and ideas for my wedding (still a while off yet, but you can't help thinking about things).

So, before I barrage you all with the minutiae of ribbon widths and seasonal winter flowers, I thought I would share with you the day it all happened. The Proposal.


We spent the day on hired bikes, whizzing our way around Kyoto. By the time we got around to eating our picnic lunch, it was nearly three in the afternoon, so we stopped at 7-11 and bought a bottle of champagne to have with our food. The idea was to partake in the cherry blossom festivities by camping out under a tree and basically staying there til the evening.

The tree we picked

Looking up

Our picnic food

After we had eaten, we were relaxing in the sun, enjoying the peaceful park and the falling cherry blossoms, and that's when Jon proposed. Lovely :)

Updates

I'm back!
Japan was AMAZING. I could make a post every day for a year about all the different aspects of the country and I still couldn't cover it. It was just the most vibrant, crazy, traditional, polite, and beautiful place.

Also, I have some Big News. While we were in Kyoto Jon asked me to marry him. I am now engaged :) More about the engagement later, and I'm sure this blog will be something of a wedding planner eventually, as I share my DIY details with you - and I do plan to DIY a lot!
In the meantime, I thought I would share some moments from our trip.

First stop, Tokyo - what a city. We spent 7 days of pounding the pavements, eating some outstanding food, seeing crazy sights and buying some lovely souvenirs.

Top photo - a rainy day at Shibuya crossing. This is one of the busiest shopping districts of the world. Japan has a massive umbrella obsession - ladies have fancy ones to match their outfits, and no-one is seen without an umbrella. So when the neon, the rain, and lots of people combine, it makes for quite a sight.


Dinner one night at a tiny tiny bar in Shinjuku serving yakitori (food grilled on sticks). The menu was a challenge - pointing and some drawing skills came in handy. We now call this "The Bladerunner night" as it felt like we were in the movie. Tiny dingy alley, rain, smoke, neon. Great atmosphere.


The first sign of sakura - cherry blossom - in Naka Meguro, a suburb full of great quirky craft and design shops and little cafes.

We arrived at 8pm on the first night. Ditched our bags and practically ran out into the street of neon and excitement. This was the first photo I took of Tokyo. Pretty great first impression huh!