After trying on every single pair of high heels in my closet I've discovered that to keep this dress un-altered I'll need a 4" platform heel. Jolly good.
DIY Accordion Pocket Folders!
1 day ago
Monday, November 30, 2009
More Dress Love
After purchasing a mermaid underskirt (which I'm still not sure about) I had my sister come over so I could finally try on the dress with it, and 1 completed sleeve. It's a little poofier but not much, it's literally the least toule-y skirt I could find. It is unfortunately also very very tight, and causes my dress to ripple around my belly area. Feel free to dissect the picture as I begin my crash diet of celery and carrot sticks.
After trying on every single pair of high heels in my closet I've discovered that to keep this dress un-altered I'll need a 4" platform heel. Jolly good.
After trying on every single pair of high heels in my closet I've discovered that to keep this dress un-altered I'll need a 4" platform heel. Jolly good.
DIY-Table Number Holders
Whew, 2 Thanksgivings is not good for the ol' booty. Or the waistline, as you will see in the following post. Last week I got started on my table number holders. Since I am not having floral centerpieces I'm really free to play with different textures and colors. Anything that goes with my plum table runners is fair game. At first I was all about small footed brass urns or cups, I just love that color. Unfortunately they are hard to find in the size I need.
After seeing a few wedding websites with vintage tea tins on the tables I was smitten, and after a few trips to my local Salvation Army store, I was stocked with some cuties.
Instead of stressing over having everything identical for each table, I'm relishing the diversity. I'm also taking the advice of another crafty bride and using cool items I have around my home, such as the pretty Chinese porceline tea cups filled with dried lavender.
I have a set of 2 of those, plus another dried lavender arrangement in a footed antique creamer.
The cute table number cards have been featured on here before, they are from the fabulous Etsy seller Paper Eclectiques and were a great deal at $8.20 shipped for 8 cards. I'll use florist card picks to secure the number cards in the floral foam I've squished into each tin. The tea tins will sport some nice spanish moss to cover the foam and card pick.
What do you think? Successful DIY?
After seeing a few wedding websites with vintage tea tins on the tables I was smitten, and after a few trips to my local Salvation Army store, I was stocked with some cuties.
Instead of stressing over having everything identical for each table, I'm relishing the diversity. I'm also taking the advice of another crafty bride and using cool items I have around my home, such as the pretty Chinese porceline tea cups filled with dried lavender.
I have a set of 2 of those, plus another dried lavender arrangement in a footed antique creamer.
The cute table number cards have been featured on here before, they are from the fabulous Etsy seller Paper Eclectiques and were a great deal at $8.20 shipped for 8 cards. I'll use florist card picks to secure the number cards in the floral foam I've squished into each tin. The tea tins will sport some nice spanish moss to cover the foam and card pick.
What do you think? Successful DIY?
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
DIY-Catering, Insanity, Loooong Read...
Now that all the craftiness and decorations are sort of under control, or at least started, I can move on to the minor detail of catering for my own wedding. A lot of people tried to discourage me from doing this, and that’s fine-they can be negative I’ll be over here staying positive. Let me say for the record that I have NO IDEA WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT here, all I know is what is working for me. Hopefully my way produces good results, if they don’t I’ll be the first to tell you to hire a damn caterer.
First step for this process is lists, lots of lists. I’ve got myself a food list for each dish, plus a supplies list. There is also a list for drinks and drink supplies. Out of financial necessity we have scrapped the idea of using all disposable dinnerware, and will instead use the nice white dishes the B&B supplies.
The Classic-ware I was planning to buy is pretty damn expensive for something you throw out. $80 for 125 dinner plates. That is no joke in the budget, and cutting out the super high quality stuff has given us over $150 back to spend on more important things like booze.
The menu reads thusly:
Fruit & Cheese trays
Cracker and spread trays
Braised Short Ribs in Red Wine Sauce
Garlic Cheddar Mashed Potatoes
Stuffed Shells in Marinara Sauce
Tossed Salad with various dressings
Local bread/rolls
Tiramisu
Cookies?
My maid of honor suggested that we make the appetizer trays ourselves because they really mark that crap up at the store. I was convinced this would be too much day-before work until my successful recipe test last weekend.
I tested my rib recipe for the second time last weekend with a MUCH better wine. The first trial tasted like good beef in crap sauce, the cheap burgundy wine was overpowering and just plain bad. That wine had a date with the drain later that evening. This time I tried a nice Argentinean malbec, changed the ratio to more stock and less wine, and was very pleased. This was just delicious, rich and beefy sauce with a subtle wine taste. Awesome.
Great, but do I want to slow cook 50 lbs of ribs the day before the wedding? Even with 10 helpers and 2 kitchens the answer is ‘hell no.’ Enter: the freezer. After this most successful batch, I pulled 2 ribs aside, put them in a tall, narrow container, covered with the braising liquid, and froze for 1 week. The following Sunday we defrosted and heated the ribs in a pot on the stove. Reduced the sauce a bit while warming up the meat didn’t hurt things. They were delicious again. I honestly can’t tell the difference between fresh and frozen. If we had them side by side maybe I could think of something, but they were great, so the freezer wins. We will make 50 lbs of ribs with less helpers, and 1 kitchen the weekend before, and freeze. The stuffed shells are perfect out of the freezer as well, so those will be made ahead also. Potatoes are still up for discussion.
So that will free up the day before-my sister will make our wonderful tiramisu cake, and me and the maid of honor will make fruit trays. Yay!
The braised ribs are fantastic because they offer the luxury associated with beef for a chicken price. I can get those puppies fresh from a local farm for $2.60/lb. Since they are braised they hold up extraordinarily well in warming dishes, the longer they simmer the better they get.
Recipe testing is an absolute must. Make that stuff 10 times if you have to, until there are no surprises and you have exact quantities of ingredients. Also choose recipes that hold up well over time, especially if you are doing the buffet route, as I am.
Any other crazy girl out there catering her own wedding? Did people give you the "your're crazy" look?
First step for this process is lists, lots of lists. I’ve got myself a food list for each dish, plus a supplies list. There is also a list for drinks and drink supplies. Out of financial necessity we have scrapped the idea of using all disposable dinnerware, and will instead use the nice white dishes the B&B supplies.
The Classic-ware I was planning to buy is pretty damn expensive for something you throw out. $80 for 125 dinner plates. That is no joke in the budget, and cutting out the super high quality stuff has given us over $150 back to spend on more important things like booze.
The menu reads thusly:
Fruit & Cheese trays
Cracker and spread trays
Braised Short Ribs in Red Wine Sauce
Garlic Cheddar Mashed Potatoes
Stuffed Shells in Marinara Sauce
Tossed Salad with various dressings
Local bread/rolls
Tiramisu
Cookies?
My maid of honor suggested that we make the appetizer trays ourselves because they really mark that crap up at the store. I was convinced this would be too much day-before work until my successful recipe test last weekend.
I tested my rib recipe for the second time last weekend with a MUCH better wine. The first trial tasted like good beef in crap sauce, the cheap burgundy wine was overpowering and just plain bad. That wine had a date with the drain later that evening. This time I tried a nice Argentinean malbec, changed the ratio to more stock and less wine, and was very pleased. This was just delicious, rich and beefy sauce with a subtle wine taste. Awesome.
Great, but do I want to slow cook 50 lbs of ribs the day before the wedding? Even with 10 helpers and 2 kitchens the answer is ‘hell no.’ Enter: the freezer. After this most successful batch, I pulled 2 ribs aside, put them in a tall, narrow container, covered with the braising liquid, and froze for 1 week. The following Sunday we defrosted and heated the ribs in a pot on the stove. Reduced the sauce a bit while warming up the meat didn’t hurt things. They were delicious again. I honestly can’t tell the difference between fresh and frozen. If we had them side by side maybe I could think of something, but they were great, so the freezer wins. We will make 50 lbs of ribs with less helpers, and 1 kitchen the weekend before, and freeze. The stuffed shells are perfect out of the freezer as well, so those will be made ahead also. Potatoes are still up for discussion.
So that will free up the day before-my sister will make our wonderful tiramisu cake, and me and the maid of honor will make fruit trays. Yay!
The braised ribs are fantastic because they offer the luxury associated with beef for a chicken price. I can get those puppies fresh from a local farm for $2.60/lb. Since they are braised they hold up extraordinarily well in warming dishes, the longer they simmer the better they get.
Recipe testing is an absolute must. Make that stuff 10 times if you have to, until there are no surprises and you have exact quantities of ingredients. Also choose recipes that hold up well over time, especially if you are doing the buffet route, as I am.
Any other crazy girl out there catering her own wedding? Did people give you the "your're crazy" look?
Friday, November 20, 2009
Meet The Vendors - Photographer
FH does not like getting his picture taken, I mean really doesn't. I've never met anyone who will go to such lengths to avoid a photo. It's unfortunate, because then he has to get a picture taken he let's the camara know how he feels about it. So when we first met with our photographer we let him know all about our mutual camara shyness. I am the type that will let the picture be taken, but make some stupid face to hide (in my mind) my crooked smile.
I got it into my head that I would do a 40's look for our engagement pictures. Can't give a reason why, I just think it looks great and the makeup would photograph well. Couldn't persuade FH to do the same, but then if I did it just wouldn't be us. All pictures below were captured by Chris Hayes Photography on a beautiful windy day in downtown Harrisburg.
So now meet Chris Hayes, Philadelphia photographer from Australia who managed to capture a hint of smile out of frowny-face FH...
In a the beautiful Civic Club of Harrisburg.
Inside the incredible Capital building rotunda. There was a wedding taking place 3 floors down!
I got it into my head that I would do a 40's look for our engagement pictures. Can't give a reason why, I just think it looks great and the makeup would photograph well. Couldn't persuade FH to do the same, but then if I did it just wouldn't be us. All pictures below were captured by Chris Hayes Photography on a beautiful windy day in downtown Harrisburg.
So now meet Chris Hayes, Philadelphia photographer from Australia who managed to capture a hint of smile out of frowny-face FH...
In a the beautiful Civic Club of Harrisburg.
Inside the incredible Capital building rotunda. There was a wedding taking place 3 floors down!
We went all over the Capital building, finding little treasures like this gorgeous brass elevator.
Love the color in this shot. Are you digging the 40's look I'm trying for?
Lookin sexy!
Riverfront park in Harrisburg.
Not sure why but this is my favorite shot of the day, I love how we look and the gorgeous weathered copper roof in the background.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
DIY-Table Runners
Whew! After a crazy week, diy weekend, and almost through another crazy ass week I’m beat! No more ranting about feminism for now, I promise. Besides I’ve put together an awesome tutorial for diy no-sew table runners (or table squares) that don’t suck!
Ok, start by finding some sweet, sweet drapey, gorgeously plum fabric...or whatever you are using. Then calculate how much fabric you will need for your runners, don’t forget to include 1 inch per side for seams and about 10% extra if you’re like me and have crappy scissor skills. This method will only work for non-transparent, iron-able fabric. Also pick up some stitch-witchery, and fabric pins-available in craft stores, walmart, etc…
Lay out your pretty fabric flat on a big table or floor, and measure for each runner including however much you want for your seams. Seam width will depend on the width of your stitch-witch, I got 5/8 inch so my seams were 1 inch to be safe. Mark your cut lines with pins or tailor chalk and start cutting.
Working on an ironing board or large surface that can be ironed on, measure, fold and pin your seams, don’t forget to do this on the underside of the fabric! I did this by measuring in 1 full inch evenly on one side, then folding over the other side and laying a ruler down across so I could measure the actual runner width to keep it consistant. Once I folded enough to get the runner width, I would pin, regardless if it was an inch or not, as long as it could hold the witch.
After all your seams are pinned up iron over the edges (the plastic pin heads will not melt) to create a nice crisp edge. Take your pins out, you will now have nice 1 inch wide flaps all around your runner.
Cut pieces of the stitch-witch and tuck into your flaps.
Get a big piece of fabric (I used a pillowcase out of necessity), dampen it, and lay it over your target area of seam. Turn your iron on high, no steam and iron the damp fabric. This was the direction my stitch-witch gave me, not sure if they are all alike, read your package.
After ironing let the fabric cool for a second and then lightly tug at the finished seams, if any area pulls open, exposing non-melted witch, repeat the process until all seams are secure.
For the record I do not sew other than the occasional button replacement, so if I used any terminology that didn’t make sense, sorry. These take me 1 hour each minimum, between measuring everything 3 times and re-ironing any non-melted witch. To me they are worth it, I paid about $13 for my supplies, and I'm getting 8 13x72" runners that are exactly what I want. Hopefully this helps you tackle homemade table runners that aren’t the tacky, shiny, rumpled, overpriced crap we are all so used to.
Table Runner Cost Breakdown:
Fabric: $10
Stitch Witch: $1.5
Pins: $1.5
Hours of my time: incalculable
Total per runner: $1.625
Ok, start by finding some sweet, sweet drapey, gorgeously plum fabric...or whatever you are using. Then calculate how much fabric you will need for your runners, don’t forget to include 1 inch per side for seams and about 10% extra if you’re like me and have crappy scissor skills. This method will only work for non-transparent, iron-able fabric. Also pick up some stitch-witchery, and fabric pins-available in craft stores, walmart, etc…
Lay out your pretty fabric flat on a big table or floor, and measure for each runner including however much you want for your seams. Seam width will depend on the width of your stitch-witch, I got 5/8 inch so my seams were 1 inch to be safe. Mark your cut lines with pins or tailor chalk and start cutting.
Working on an ironing board or large surface that can be ironed on, measure, fold and pin your seams, don’t forget to do this on the underside of the fabric! I did this by measuring in 1 full inch evenly on one side, then folding over the other side and laying a ruler down across so I could measure the actual runner width to keep it consistant. Once I folded enough to get the runner width, I would pin, regardless if it was an inch or not, as long as it could hold the witch.
After all your seams are pinned up iron over the edges (the plastic pin heads will not melt) to create a nice crisp edge. Take your pins out, you will now have nice 1 inch wide flaps all around your runner.
Cut pieces of the stitch-witch and tuck into your flaps.
Get a big piece of fabric (I used a pillowcase out of necessity), dampen it, and lay it over your target area of seam. Turn your iron on high, no steam and iron the damp fabric. This was the direction my stitch-witch gave me, not sure if they are all alike, read your package.
After ironing let the fabric cool for a second and then lightly tug at the finished seams, if any area pulls open, exposing non-melted witch, repeat the process until all seams are secure.
For the record I do not sew other than the occasional button replacement, so if I used any terminology that didn’t make sense, sorry. These take me 1 hour each minimum, between measuring everything 3 times and re-ironing any non-melted witch. To me they are worth it, I paid about $13 for my supplies, and I'm getting 8 13x72" runners that are exactly what I want. Hopefully this helps you tackle homemade table runners that aren’t the tacky, shiny, rumpled, overpriced crap we are all so used to.
Table Runner Cost Breakdown:
Fabric: $10
Stitch Witch: $1.5
Pins: $1.5
Hours of my time: incalculable
Total per runner: $1.625
Friday, November 13, 2009
Girls are Stupid...
Warning: major Rant ahead.
I just read an unfortunate blog post over at Weddingbee that totally reinforces my idea that either I am a total freak of nature, or everyone else sucks and I’m doomed to feel emotionally isolated from my peers for the rest of my life. That post is not an isolated incident. My mom and I have had a lot of rough patches in our relationship, but I really have to thank her for raising me to have intelligence, and a spine.
So many of my girlfriends are in bad relationships with a$%holes. These are pretty level-headed girls in all other facets of their lives other than men. What is it about dudes that makes seemingly reasonable women say, think, and do the dumbest sh@t? It’s like when a guy walks into a girl’s life she changes into this ugly, simpering thing that puts herself aside for this ‘prize’. Why do women let their own morals and beliefs be trumped by the whims of her current prospect? Why do they waver, cower, silence themselves in front of their men in order to please either him or society in general?
I hear a lot of chicks talk it up like they are all about equal opportunity and feminism and all that jazz, but they don’t actually DO anything except b#tch about the state of things. So when I read the above mentioned post I got pretty pissed about what women-in-general think is acceptable and beneficial behavior for our sex, and what is acceptable from the opposite sex when it comes to marriage proposals. It IS, apparently, acceptable to discuss proposing to your boyfriend with him, only to have him shut you down and warn you that you had better not do that, since it’s ‘his job’. It IS apparently acceptable for your man to criticize one of your female friends for proposing to her boyfriend. It IS apparently acceptable for a woman to put her life on hold while her man ‘figures things out’ in regards to their relationship and eventually proposes to her when he’s decided she’s the best he can get. In fact, “not taking that away from him” is often bragged about amongst these women, worn like some sick badge of honor.
Wtf ladies? It is 2009 right…hold on let me check my calendar, yes indeed it is. Why, in the midst of all the ground we have taken in becoming viewed as equals do we continue to let historical societal norms dictate such a huge part of our lives? Why would you stay with a man that views marriage as something he alone has the right to request, and who would retaliate to your initiative in anger or scorn? Why would you risk so much, put so much on the line just to “wait” for him. Ah yes, “waiting,” enough of a phenomenon to warrant it’s own special board section on Weddingbee. These aren't stay-at-home moms I'm talking about here, most of the women on these boards are highly educated, med students, lawyers, businesswomen, which makes the whole thing even more baffling to me. Between my friends and these chicks I’m just at a loss for words. Almost.
Am I wrong? Are there truly strong independent chicks out there with goals and dreams they refuse to give up? Am I hanging around wedding blogs too much? Perhaps they harbor an inordinate amount of the dismal creatures I am complaining about?
My own sex frustrates me to the point of desertion. Can I denounce my sex without becoming a dude?? There is just nothing that I seem to have in common with these walking doormats, these faux “independent” women. After all of this debating within my head about what is right/wrong, normal/abnormal I can only come to one conclusion…
There are two types of women in this world: women with the chutzpah to ask for what they want, and those who let the decisions be made for them. The End.
I just read an unfortunate blog post over at Weddingbee that totally reinforces my idea that either I am a total freak of nature, or everyone else sucks and I’m doomed to feel emotionally isolated from my peers for the rest of my life. That post is not an isolated incident. My mom and I have had a lot of rough patches in our relationship, but I really have to thank her for raising me to have intelligence, and a spine.
So many of my girlfriends are in bad relationships with a$%holes. These are pretty level-headed girls in all other facets of their lives other than men. What is it about dudes that makes seemingly reasonable women say, think, and do the dumbest sh@t? It’s like when a guy walks into a girl’s life she changes into this ugly, simpering thing that puts herself aside for this ‘prize’. Why do women let their own morals and beliefs be trumped by the whims of her current prospect? Why do they waver, cower, silence themselves in front of their men in order to please either him or society in general?
I hear a lot of chicks talk it up like they are all about equal opportunity and feminism and all that jazz, but they don’t actually DO anything except b#tch about the state of things. So when I read the above mentioned post I got pretty pissed about what women-in-general think is acceptable and beneficial behavior for our sex, and what is acceptable from the opposite sex when it comes to marriage proposals. It IS, apparently, acceptable to discuss proposing to your boyfriend with him, only to have him shut you down and warn you that you had better not do that, since it’s ‘his job’. It IS apparently acceptable for your man to criticize one of your female friends for proposing to her boyfriend. It IS apparently acceptable for a woman to put her life on hold while her man ‘figures things out’ in regards to their relationship and eventually proposes to her when he’s decided she’s the best he can get. In fact, “not taking that away from him” is often bragged about amongst these women, worn like some sick badge of honor.
Wtf ladies? It is 2009 right…hold on let me check my calendar, yes indeed it is. Why, in the midst of all the ground we have taken in becoming viewed as equals do we continue to let historical societal norms dictate such a huge part of our lives? Why would you stay with a man that views marriage as something he alone has the right to request, and who would retaliate to your initiative in anger or scorn? Why would you risk so much, put so much on the line just to “wait” for him. Ah yes, “waiting,” enough of a phenomenon to warrant it’s own special board section on Weddingbee. These aren't stay-at-home moms I'm talking about here, most of the women on these boards are highly educated, med students, lawyers, businesswomen, which makes the whole thing even more baffling to me. Between my friends and these chicks I’m just at a loss for words. Almost.
Am I wrong? Are there truly strong independent chicks out there with goals and dreams they refuse to give up? Am I hanging around wedding blogs too much? Perhaps they harbor an inordinate amount of the dismal creatures I am complaining about?
My own sex frustrates me to the point of desertion. Can I denounce my sex without becoming a dude?? There is just nothing that I seem to have in common with these walking doormats, these faux “independent” women. After all of this debating within my head about what is right/wrong, normal/abnormal I can only come to one conclusion…
There are two types of women in this world: women with the chutzpah to ask for what they want, and those who let the decisions be made for them. The End.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
DIY-Favor Tags
So glad these worked out, it could have gone pretty wrong.
The herd.
I picked up the 2.5" tag punch used from a lovely bride on Weddingbee for $7, totally worth going this route since brand new it's around $20. You can find these little 2" stamps at Michaels, they have bins full of them and they are all $1. I found a couple that said 'Thank You' in different fonts. I sat there sorting through this huge bin for twenty minutes, but totally worth it. Also got the stamp pad at Michaels, around $5 with a 40% off coupon. This ink works great on the Stardream cardstock, which I scored as leftovers from another lovely bride on Weddingbee. Let me tell you that classified section is pure gold for a Cheap-Ass like myself!
Tools. That 'Brilliance' stamp pad is specifically made for use on coated/metallic cardstock.
Loving this Ruby cardstock, it looks absolutely great in person, sort of hard to photograph though. This stuff is going to be used all over the place, on our invitations, these favor tags, seating cards, and anywhere else I can squeak out.
Method: Just punch the tag, punch a hole for the ribbon, stamp, let dry at least 30 minutes. Done.
The herd.
I picked up the 2.5" tag punch used from a lovely bride on Weddingbee for $7, totally worth going this route since brand new it's around $20. You can find these little 2" stamps at Michaels, they have bins full of them and they are all $1. I found a couple that said 'Thank You' in different fonts. I sat there sorting through this huge bin for twenty minutes, but totally worth it. Also got the stamp pad at Michaels, around $5 with a 40% off coupon. This ink works great on the Stardream cardstock, which I scored as leftovers from another lovely bride on Weddingbee. Let me tell you that classified section is pure gold for a Cheap-Ass like myself!
Tools. That 'Brilliance' stamp pad is specifically made for use on coated/metallic cardstock.
Loving this Ruby cardstock, it looks absolutely great in person, sort of hard to photograph though. This stuff is going to be used all over the place, on our invitations, these favor tags, seating cards, and anywhere else I can squeak out.
Method: Just punch the tag, punch a hole for the ribbon, stamp, let dry at least 30 minutes. Done.
If we go ahead with the local honey for the favors I'm going to print out small logos of the business name with their contact info and glue these on the other side of the tag.
Hopefully this tag punch is big enough to also tackle our seating cards. Not sure how small I can write yet so we'll see.
Anyone out there have cool ideas for diy favor tags?
Monday, November 9, 2009
Harrisburg...
This picture is mine, ALL MINE!
Isn't she just lovely? I'll have more loveliness soon when I get our engagement pic CD.
Etsy Obsession...
I've said it before and I'll say it again: Etsy is the best thing to happen to me since I met Future Hubs. Speaking of Future Hubs, I think to save time I'll be referring to him as "FH" from now on. Moving on.
Image courtesy 1ofmykind
Hmmm, while the 1ofmykind earrings are slightly cooler, and use vintage glass pieces, they are 3 times the price. So with my budget, looks like I'll have to be a cheap ass and choose the less expensive, but still awesome pieces.
Anyone else suffering from Etsy overload?
Hot AND affordable!
I cannot believe how lucky I am to be finding all this PERFECT jewelry, it's getting to the point where I don't want to look anymore because I've got too many favorites! The above beauties are courtesy of MorningGloryDesigns, a wonderful Etsy artist that makes truly gorgeous vintage style jewelry for good prices. Looks a bit familiar right?
Image courtesy 1ofmykind
Hmmm, while the 1ofmykind earrings are slightly cooler, and use vintage glass pieces, they are 3 times the price. So with my budget, looks like I'll have to be a cheap ass and choose the less expensive, but still awesome pieces.
Anyone else suffering from Etsy overload?
DIY Do-over: Twine Lanterns
Well I spent one solid day removing all the lace and glue shmootz from the vases. Goo Gone is great, it smells like delicious oranges so you sort of forget it's toxic. After all that I could finally start rebuilding them with my awesome twine edging I scored at the lovely PA Fabric Warehouse for 55 cents per yard. The future hubs helped me with this step, until he got bored which happened quite quickly. Boo.
Same procedure as the lacey lanterns, except using a lot more glue. Wrap the edging evenly around top and bottom, loops facing the middle of the vase. You could use any looped ribbon or edging for this, by the way, just get coordinating weaving material. I went heavy on the glue because I will be using these pieces as support for the woven string. I also tried to keep these pieces from overlapping or gapping at the ends, this will keep the number of available loops even and make it easier to keep to my pattern.
Let these dry for 24 hours so the glue is nice and strong. Now comes the fun (tedious) part: weaving. I found knitting yarn in the exact color as the twine for $2 at Michaels. This was easier for me than trying to find skinny twine which I couldn’t find anywhere, but whatever you get the following procedure will work for it.
The best way to start the weaving process is to draw out your pattern on paper. After you glue on the trim count how many loops are available to you. Draw these out flat on a piece of paper with the bottom trim and start making up patterns. It might take a couple tries but it’s much easier than trying to figure it out on the vase itself. My pattern requires 4 separately woven strings. I’ll be going through the pattern I decided on, but there are simpler and more difficult ones that would also look great! Experiment!
Start by cutting a piece of your weaving material, here-forward to be called ‘yarn’, about 6 times the height of your vase. Take one end and knot it on the loop to the left of the one you glued together (the intersection of the cut ends of the edging).
Last one! Cut another piece of string, knot if off 1 loop to the left of your previous string on the bottom trim, replicate the pattern, knot off the end.
Same procedure as the lacey lanterns, except using a lot more glue. Wrap the edging evenly around top and bottom, loops facing the middle of the vase. You could use any looped ribbon or edging for this, by the way, just get coordinating weaving material. I went heavy on the glue because I will be using these pieces as support for the woven string. I also tried to keep these pieces from overlapping or gapping at the ends, this will keep the number of available loops even and make it easier to keep to my pattern.
Let these dry for 24 hours so the glue is nice and strong. Now comes the fun (tedious) part: weaving. I found knitting yarn in the exact color as the twine for $2 at Michaels. This was easier for me than trying to find skinny twine which I couldn’t find anywhere, but whatever you get the following procedure will work for it.
Stand your vase up and let the yarn fall to the table, or whatever you’re using. See the loop on the bottom trim that the yarn falls in front of? Count 3 loops to the left of that loop and weave your yarn through it.
Now bring the yarn back up to the top trim and count 6 loops over from your starting knot, weave your yarn through that.
Take the yarn back down to the bottom trim and count 6 loops over from your previous bottom loop, weave through that. Continue until you meet up with your original knot, gently pull the yarn tight so everything looks straight and knot it off next to the original.
Now cut another identical length of yarn and knot it off 1 loop to the left of your original on the top trim. Wrap this piece in the exact same pattern as the first, the woven loops will always be 1 to the left of the original, so you don’t have to count anymore!
Now start your bottom trim pieces. Cut another piece of yarn and knot it off at the loop on the bottom trim that is directly below your very first knot on top. The pattern is exactly the same from here, you are just going bottom to top instead. Go up, count 3 loops to the left of the original knot, loop, continue until you reach your beginning knot for that string, knot.
Congratulations you are done!! How long did it take you? Was it worth it? Go light a candle in it and tell me that’s not gorgeous!
Friday, November 6, 2009
TGIF, and Cool Vase Idea
Seriously, I need the weekend. What am I going to be doing with myself during this glorious fall weekend? Stripping all the crap I glued on my cylinder vase lanterns and redoing them with my original idea. The more I looked at all that lace, the more I hated it. It's pretty lace, and it's pretty purple ribbon, and they look great...for a baby shower, or a damn tea party. They are just too girly, too frilly, too not me. Thankfully I'm only losing $5 worth of supplies, but the Goo Gone to clean up my craftastrophy cost me another $5. Boo.
Brides-to-be: your initial gut reaction is usually the best one, also: tunnel vision makes you miss the bigger picture.
I will be re-wrapping the vases with my original favorite edging, it's a pretty looped twine edging that I've never seen anywhere but my favorite store-PA Fabric Warehouse. Incredible selection and clearance prices, what's not to love? Hopefully Monday I'll have at least one redone so I can post a pic!
Awesome Blog and Idea:
Take 1 can.
Make something delicious out of the contents.
Remove the lid and clean thoroughly.
Coat the outside with spray adhesive.
Wrap with twine to cover completely.
Fill with water and pretty flowers and show off to all your friends!
Thethriftycrafter blog kicks ass, easy projects, realistic instructions, anyone can do this stuff and it looks great! Instead of hanging mason jars with flowers from my shepard hooks, it's going to be these cuties. A big ball of twine costs $2, and you are essentially recycling your can, everybody wins...well, except whatever was in the can. Another idea I'm getting from this is to use funky shaped glass bottles or vases instead of cans, hot hot hot!!
Brides-to-be: your initial gut reaction is usually the best one, also: tunnel vision makes you miss the bigger picture.
I will be re-wrapping the vases with my original favorite edging, it's a pretty looped twine edging that I've never seen anywhere but my favorite store-PA Fabric Warehouse. Incredible selection and clearance prices, what's not to love? Hopefully Monday I'll have at least one redone so I can post a pic!
Awesome Blog and Idea:
Take 1 can.
Make something delicious out of the contents.
Remove the lid and clean thoroughly.
Coat the outside with spray adhesive.
Wrap with twine to cover completely.
Fill with water and pretty flowers and show off to all your friends!
Thethriftycrafter blog kicks ass, easy projects, realistic instructions, anyone can do this stuff and it looks great! Instead of hanging mason jars with flowers from my shepard hooks, it's going to be these cuties. A big ball of twine costs $2, and you are essentially recycling your can, everybody wins...well, except whatever was in the can. Another idea I'm getting from this is to use funky shaped glass bottles or vases instead of cans, hot hot hot!!
Thursday, November 5, 2009
DIY-Save the Dates
To everyone who calls these "STD's", please stop, you all confused (and worried) the hell out of me on the Weddingbee boards until someone spelled it out in a post.
If you have Photoshop or some other software you can easily make a design for these yourself. There are free templates all over the internet that you can alter to your liking. Clip-art sounds cheesy but there is some beautiful (and free!) stuff out there, especially from The Graphics Fairy.
If you don’t have Photoshop, do your best to set things up in Word, save it and any clip art files on a USB and take it to Office Max, or Kinko’s and ask them to lay it out for you in Photoshop. They might try to charge you a ‘layout fee,’ you can usually avoid this by explaining that you already laid it out and just need your Word file transferred into Photoshop. It doesn’t take them more than 5 minutes if they know what they’re doing. If you’ve bought cardstock to print on, make sure you pick card sizes that make the most of your paper. Our save the date cards were 4.25x5.5”, I only had to pay for 13 pages of color printing since we squeaked out 4 cards per page.
You can find nice 110lb cream cardstock at Staples, $15 for 250 sheets. You can sometimes find a Staples coupon and score 10% off. Keeping a stash of coupons in your binder (which you take with you everywhere) is a good thing. This cardstock will make our invitations, return cards, place cards, table numbers, menu cards, etc… You can save money on envelopes by being normal and buying either white or cream from a Staples or Wal-Mart type store. I found a 100 pack that would fit our save the date and response cards for $12.
I found the corner punch at Michael's craft store for $4 with one of those nifty 40% off coupons you can find here.
Anyone else doing stationary from scratch? How did it turn out?
If you have Photoshop or some other software you can easily make a design for these yourself. There are free templates all over the internet that you can alter to your liking. Clip-art sounds cheesy but there is some beautiful (and free!) stuff out there, especially from The Graphics Fairy.
If you don’t have Photoshop, do your best to set things up in Word, save it and any clip art files on a USB and take it to Office Max, or Kinko’s and ask them to lay it out for you in Photoshop. They might try to charge you a ‘layout fee,’ you can usually avoid this by explaining that you already laid it out and just need your Word file transferred into Photoshop. It doesn’t take them more than 5 minutes if they know what they’re doing. If you’ve bought cardstock to print on, make sure you pick card sizes that make the most of your paper. Our save the date cards were 4.25x5.5”, I only had to pay for 13 pages of color printing since we squeaked out 4 cards per page.
Isn't it cute?
I found the corner punch at Michael's craft store for $4 with one of those nifty 40% off coupons you can find here.
Anyone else doing stationary from scratch? How did it turn out?
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Etsy Obsession...
Boy do I love me some Etsy, as I've gushed before. After losing the second vintage necklace I did more hardcore searching on my favorite crafty website looking for vintage inspired sparkly things. I had set up a custom request for a jewelry set, but wasn't sold on any of the many responses I received. Here are some pieces that I'm strongly considering if I decide to purchase new instead of old:
Seriously? Better than vintage, these earrings are new but made with vintage glass and findings. Etsy seller 1ofmykind has stolen my heart, if only the pieces were more in my price range. I am planning to contact her shortly to request a matching necklace and find out if I can afford this option.
Rediculous.
Seriously? Better than vintage, these earrings are new but made with vintage glass and findings. Etsy seller 1ofmykind has stolen my heart, if only the pieces were more in my price range. I am planning to contact her shortly to request a matching necklace and find out if I can afford this option.
PRETTY!!
Loving this piece by AzureTreasures as well. It has matching earrings, and she can do any color stone, and the 3 piece set is $68!!
However, this girl has really stopped me in my tracks, liliswan knows just want I want and she's never even met me!
Awesome!
This set is just gorgeous. Vintage and a little off-beat without going crazy and clashing with my dress. Matching earrings make the set only $60. That's just one of my many favorites out of her large selection of vintage inspired jewelry. She can also do things in sterling silver!
Love supporting artists, if I can't buy stuff second hand I always check out Etsy! So which one is a winner? Votes?
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Accessorize-Search for Shoes
I’ve found several amazing shoe options online. My biggest hurtle with shoes is that they have to be just the right heel height to keep my dress length un-altered. The problem with this is that every time I have help to get the damn thing on I forget to go through my shoes and decide on a heel height. Kind of crucial no?
I promise, next time I won’t forget!
Also, I’ve got funky wide feet so whatever I buy should be tried on before the money flies out the window. In order to be as weird as possible, I’ve decided I want a colored shoe. Ivory would look very sweet, and if I can’t find what I want in a luscious dark plum, I will certainly defer to the traditional look. I’ve told my bridesmaids they can wear purple shoes if they want, it would look fantastic!
So now, on with the pretty parade…
These Nina beauties are my favorite by far, but the heel is much too high. Pretty sure I need a 3 inch and these are 4 inch. Bummer.
If these had a closed back they would be a very nice, traditional choice.
Photo courtesy Zappos.com
Good god these are some hot soup! Usually I do not like rounded, closed-toe heels, but these are the sexy exception! Those ruffles on the back??? The color??? The covered heel??? All HOT! I cannot have these pretty things because the heel is over 4 inches and I'll fall on my face whilst making my way down the aisle and everyone will laugh at me.
I promise, next time I won’t forget!
Also, I’ve got funky wide feet so whatever I buy should be tried on before the money flies out the window. In order to be as weird as possible, I’ve decided I want a colored shoe. Ivory would look very sweet, and if I can’t find what I want in a luscious dark plum, I will certainly defer to the traditional look. I’ve told my bridesmaids they can wear purple shoes if they want, it would look fantastic!
So now, on with the pretty parade…
Photo courtesy Zappos.com
These Nina beauties are my favorite by far, but the heel is much too high. Pretty sure I need a 3 inch and these are 4 inch. Bummer.
Photo courtesy David's Bridal
If these had a closed back they would be a very nice, traditional choice.
Photo courtesy Zappos.com
Good god these are some hot soup! Usually I do not like rounded, closed-toe heels, but these are the sexy exception! Those ruffles on the back??? The color??? The covered heel??? All HOT! I cannot have these pretty things because the heel is over 4 inches and I'll fall on my face whilst making my way down the aisle and everyone will laugh at me.
Photo courtesy Zappos.com
Ahh, then there's the Maylie by Enzo Angiolini. I picked up a pair of these in a beautiful copper-hued, beaded finish at Macy's on clearance and haven't looked back. They are the most comfortable, well fitting heels I have ever owned. After 2 years of wearing them every chance I get I've managed to bang them up and have since tried searching for another pair. Unfortunately Enzo doesn't seem to be making them in the beaded finish anymore, they are all fake-ass looking crocodile texture and this weird sponged on paint patterned vinyl. Wack. I have tried looking for these in a neutral finish that I could dress up with shoe clips or something, they are so comfortable I could wear them all night.
The search continues...
Monday, November 2, 2009
Accessorize-Search for Jewelry
I had a rather hot and cold weekend.
Hot=engagement shoot in downtown Harrisburg which will provide sick photographs that will be posted here and turned into our guestbook.
Hot=my sister coming home from school and helping me finish the lacey lanterns.
Cold=losing a bell-shaped art deco camphor glass filigree necklace for the SECOND time on Ebay. The first time was out of my hands, the bidding went way over my budget. This second time was totally my fault for hesitating. This one was a reproduction of an original art-deco period piece. It was also sterling silver instead of gold. I also have a $100 budget for jewelry. This piece was $100 just for a necklace.
This is the expensive gold one. HOT!
I can explain it away all I want, but the point is what I want is not easy to find. I’ve been scouring the internet for 2 months solid and have only found 2 of these pendants. Obviously I’d like gold, it makes a better investment, but the reality is my budget may not buy a gold version. I’ll continue to make my rounds at the local antique shops and continue the search, but I’m still disappointed that I didn’t have the balls to go for the one I found.
Anyone ever miss out on something they really wanted for the wedding? Did it work out for you in the end?
Hot=engagement shoot in downtown Harrisburg which will provide sick photographs that will be posted here and turned into our guestbook.
Hot=my sister coming home from school and helping me finish the lacey lanterns.
Cold=losing a bell-shaped art deco camphor glass filigree necklace for the SECOND time on Ebay. The first time was out of my hands, the bidding went way over my budget. This second time was totally my fault for hesitating. This one was a reproduction of an original art-deco period piece. It was also sterling silver instead of gold. I also have a $100 budget for jewelry. This piece was $100 just for a necklace.
I can explain it away all I want, but the point is what I want is not easy to find. I’ve been scouring the internet for 2 months solid and have only found 2 of these pendants. Obviously I’d like gold, it makes a better investment, but the reality is my budget may not buy a gold version. I’ll continue to make my rounds at the local antique shops and continue the search, but I’m still disappointed that I didn’t have the balls to go for the one I found.
Anyone ever miss out on something they really wanted for the wedding? Did it work out for you in the end?
DIY-Honey Favors
The future hubs and I both love honey, especially tasting really crazy types like white Hawaiian, Spanish heather, etc... So when I told him about this sweet idea I found on Weddingbee he was totally down. I set the favor budget at $50, so the more we spend on containers the less we can spend on the actual honey. I spent hours scouring the internet for affordable glass containers. The test tube idea is great, but I wasn't having any luck finding a local source, and shipping for buying them online was outrageous.
Ebay had the best prices, but it was still going to be $30-$40 for 50 tubes, wack! So I just started searching for 'glass jars' and 'glass vials' and finally found my awesome containers.
I picked them up from guy who used them for dioinized water in a lab, so they will be thoroughly sanitized before we use them. $13.50 including shipping, and they have SCREW LIDS!!! Don't get me wrong the wax over the cork thing is an incredibly cute idea, but when I saw these screw-on lids I realized how much easier it would be for people to re-cap them between usages. Each bottle holds 1 oz. I'm going to cut little squares of cool vintage scarves to cover the lids, tie off with ribbon and a tag and there you go-instant awesome.
We got these for such a good price that we are either going to go nuts and order super expensive, exotic honey (his choice), or stick with a well priced local honey (my choice) and offer a second favor, like a candy bar set-up with bags people can fill and take home. What's a good candy to do this with? We were thinking almond Hershey's kisses (we are less than an hour from Hershey) or those customized M&M's with our initials or something. Any ideas??
Ebay had the best prices, but it was still going to be $30-$40 for 50 tubes, wack! So I just started searching for 'glass jars' and 'glass vials' and finally found my awesome containers.
I picked them up from guy who used them for dioinized water in a lab, so they will be thoroughly sanitized before we use them. $13.50 including shipping, and they have SCREW LIDS!!! Don't get me wrong the wax over the cork thing is an incredibly cute idea, but when I saw these screw-on lids I realized how much easier it would be for people to re-cap them between usages. Each bottle holds 1 oz. I'm going to cut little squares of cool vintage scarves to cover the lids, tie off with ribbon and a tag and there you go-instant awesome.
We got these for such a good price that we are either going to go nuts and order super expensive, exotic honey (his choice), or stick with a well priced local honey (my choice) and offer a second favor, like a candy bar set-up with bags people can fill and take home. What's a good candy to do this with? We were thinking almond Hershey's kisses (we are less than an hour from Hershey) or those customized M&M's with our initials or something. Any ideas??
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