Tree of Life Quilled Marriage Certificate

Here's a marriage certificate I quilled for a couple late last fall. The bride-to-be contacted me to create a novel design that would be a surprise for her fiancé on their wedding day. We considered a variety of ideas and she decided on a tree of life. She said they both love vibrant colors and had decorated their home in greens and purples; in fact, they would be wearing green and purple for the wedding! The leaves were quilled in shades of green and the outlined trunk was deep purple.

Quilled marriage certificate by Ann Martin

Riva Brown of Living Letters Studio hand lettered the lyrics of Van Morrison's "Into the Mystic" and drew signature lines where the guests would sign as a pledge of support for the couple in their marriage.

Quilled marriage certificate by Ann Martin

I enclosed a signed provenance paper to be kept with the certificate or separately. A provenance gives details of an art piece - who commissioned it, created it, when, where, and in this case, a brief history of quilling. Sometimes it is placed behind the document inside the frame - a nice surprise perhaps, to whomever reframes the piece and finds it... oh, maybe fifty or a hundred years from now!

Ann Martin
Ann Martin

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Comments

  1. Beautiful, Ann! It's a lovely design, and so sweet, too, that it was a surprise from her.realize the idea of the provenance paper, too.

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  2. So very beautiful Ann, I love the idea of the tree . Pretty colours too .Always a pleasure to see your work.

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  3. Love the design...and the idea to keep the note abt quilling

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  4. Hey,

    This is beautiful, so simple yet so elegant...

    Love the usage of purple for the tree...

    Great Work...

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  5. SO beautiful! I love the colors used. Was that card stock or regular paper? I always wonder what people use for this type of quilling.

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  6. Thanks everyone! Sandy, I used regular quilling paper, but glued two strips together for the tree trunk and branches so it would be better able to stand on edge.

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  7. Ann, what a lovely momento for the couple, purple and green go so well together...and giving them a provenance is such a good idea.
    Licia

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  8. That's gorgeous! I wish someone had thought of giving us such a unique gift for our wedding!

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  9. Felt a little sentimental seeing this post. I recall it was also a marriage certificate that made me chance upon your blog many months ago. And I still recall that sense of wonder at seeing quilling used so beautifully!

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  10. Thanks all, and Lissa, that's so nice of you to say - I'd forgotten that was how we 'met'!

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  11. This is such a beautiful art form and you do it so well! I can never figure out how to make the larger swirls...

    I so wish that I had known about this when I got married last year! Maybe I will have to drop you a not again when we renew our vows :)

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  12. Thanks Lauren, I'll be happy to answer any questions. You know where to find me. :)

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  13. gorgeous work! and i love the idea of a provenance. almost like a time capsule for future generations.
    i love seeing your work on the blog!

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  14. How lovely!! Your quilling and blog is wonderful. I'm delighted to have discovered it via craftgawker. :D

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  15. This is so beautiful! I am sure it will be treasured.

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