May

20

Strawberry Centerpiece from Tara Wilson

Event designer, Tara Wilson, shares with us this lovely – and easy – edible centerpiece idea. This is perfect for a cozy, casual outdoor wedding, your bridal shower, or a brunch for your wedding party.   Steps: 1. Wrap each of the wreaths with the red ribbon, making certain that none of the Styrofoam is visible. NOTE: if the ribbon is too thick it will be challenging to push the pins through. Selecting a ribbon that is not tightly woven will make this process easier. 2. Attach the (2) largest wreaths together using the floral cleats to form the base of the cake. 3. Remove the stems of each Driscoll’s strawberry, making sure to create a clean even cut. Then cut the each berry in half length wise. 4. Begin to cover the outer edges of the (2) largest wreaths with berries in a circular pattern until outer ring is covered. 5. Attach the (2) medium sized wreaths together using the floral cleats to form the second layer of the cake. 6. Repeat steps 3 and 4. 7. Attach the (2) smallest wreaths together using the floral cleats. This will form the top layer of the cake. 8. Repeat steps 3 and 4. About the Expert: Tara Wilson is the owner of Tara Wilson Events, a full-service event company committed to providing creative, well-executed and memorable events for individual and corporate clients. Photographer: Stacey Reeves Photography • Berries: Driscoll’s



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Mar

24

Paper Rosettes

Pretty paper rosettes are a lovely way to add whimsy and style to your wedding or shower decor. Not only are they cute, they’re easy and inexpensive. How could you possibly resist their charm?

 

Supplies Needed

  • 3 sheets of 8 1/2 inch x 11 inch decorative paper. Text weight or scrapbook weight work well.
  • 1/4 inch double-sided tape. We like the kind with a red liner, found at craft and scrapbook stores.
  • 1/8 inch hole punch
  • Ribbon or twine for hanging the rosette
  • Scissors

 

Directions

 

  1. Accordion fold the 3 sheets of paper along the long side of the paper. The folds should be about 1/2 inch to 3/4 intervals. [img]
  2. Once the paper is creased and folded, fold it in half. [img]
  3. At the “v” junction, where the folded sides meet in the middle, add a line of double-sided tape and secure the two open sides together.[img] Do this for all 3 pieces of paper.
  4. Now connect the 3 accordions together, securing the sides to each other with double-sided tape.
  5. Punch a hole at the top of the rosette, about 1/4″ down, and add ribbon or twine to hang it.

 



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Jan

15

Felt Flower Wreath From Purl Bee

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Have I mentioned how wreath-crazy I am? I love wreaths year ’round, for any and every occasion. When I saw this uber adorable felt wreath over at Purl Bee – I admit it – I squealed. Wouldn’t this look adorable at your wedding? Perhaps on the church/venue doors. Or mini ones on the backs of the bride & groom’s chairs? Hmmm…. felt flower wreath 1a 425 Felt Flower Wreath From Purl Bee Check out the full tutorial at Purl Bee: http://www.purlbee.com/felt-flower-winter-wreath/



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Jan

11

Fused Plastic Table Numbers

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final Fused Plastic Table Numbers So you haven’t quite changed over to canvas and reusable bags for your grocery shopping. Now you have, oh, 30o or 400 hundred bags stuffed under your kitchen cabinets and aren’t quite sure what to do with them. If you’ve got bags, an iron, and some spare time have I got a solution for you! James from Plastic Rapt (etsy shop) shot me an email that pointed me to his terrific tutorial for creating table number from fused plastic bags. I thought it was quite clever and wanted to share this eco-friendly project with you recycling types! You can find the full tutorial over at Firefly Bachelor & Bachelorette Parties.



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Dec

07

Ruffly Felt Garland

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Kristen, over at the uber-cool Domestifluff blog, posted a tutorial for a gorgeous ruffly felt garland. Wouldn’t this be a lovely addition to wedding decor? Tutorial here.

felt ruffle wreath 225x300 Ruffly Felt Garland

From Kristen at Domstifluff



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Sep

30

Project Makeover: Yarn Mum Wreath

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DSC_2596

Our first Project Makeover comes from frustrated (and newly broke) DIYer Mindy. Due to downsizing at both her and her fiance’s companies this summer Mindy is in a bit of a budget bind when it comes to her decor. Mindy adores bright green kermit mums and had hoped to make her own wreaths for pew and reception hall decoration. Her initial budget had been $30 per wreath. It is now $9.00 to 10.00 per wreath.DSC 2596 300x201 Project Makeover: Yarn Mum WreathI wanted to give Mindy a kermit mum feel while using materials she could pick up at her local big box craft store. My solution? Kermit mums made out of yarn! Using modified yarn pom poms, pearl-headed pins, and a styrofoam wreath blank, I whipped up a super duper easy wreath that’s easy on the budget. Mindy happens to be an avid knitter so this was a fun surprise for her.

 

 

 

 

 

DSC 2582 300x201 Project Makeover: Yarn Mum Wreath

Supplies Needed

  • Blank foam wreath, about 12″ in diameter
  • 1 skein of green yarn, about 256 yards
  • 1 package of pearl-headed pins
  • Scissors – make sure they’re sharp!

Instructions:

  1. On the middle three fingers of your non-dominant hand (if you’re right-handed, use your left), hold the end of your yarn down with your thumb and begin wrapping the yarn around and around your fingers,  about 32 – 35 times.
  2. Cut the yarn when you’ve finished wrapping.
  3. Cut a length of yarn about 3″ and tie it tightly around the middle of the yarn wrap you’ve created on your other hand. It sounds trickier than it is. I’m confident you’ll get the hang of it pretty quickly. You’re smart cookies.
  4. Hold the pom-pom yarn bundle and use your scissors to cut through all of the loops on the pom pom – be careful not to cut through the piece of yard that’s holding all of the pieces together.
  5. Fluff up your pom pom with your fingers.
  6. Now, trim it up with your scissors, making it even and pretty.
  7. The last step is to attach the “mums” to the foam wreath with the pins.

Cost Breakdown: $10.00 (note you’ll have leftover supplies to get started on more wreaths)

 
  • Wreath: $5.00
  • Yarn: $3.50
  • Pins: $1.50

Notes:

  • For a 12″ wreath, I used about 60 pom/mums of varying sizes. I did 2-finger and 3-finger mums to keep it interesting.
  • The lighter the weight of the yarn, the more wraps you’ll need.
  • The size of the mums will vary from person-to-person as our fingers are different sizes. I have chubby little fingers. Your digits may vary.
  • Mum-making took about 1.5 hours for this project.
  • I used about 3/4 of the skein of yarn.
  • If you’d like to make yarn pom poms, increase the number of wraps from 30-ish to 70-ish.



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Oct

17

Darci's Table Numbers

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darci_table71

As you know, in my search for some unique table numbers I came across this wonderful idea on OnceWed.  Laurie Cinotto originally created the idea for the blog and I sort of ran with it (thanks, Laurie!)  The supplies that I used are relatively easy to find and I pretty much stuck with the original instructions except to use larger notebooks and white stick-on numbers instead of gold.  Here are the supplies:

•    5.25 x 8.25″ Plain Moleskine Notebooks (sold in packs of 3)
•    Decorative paper
•    Glue Stick
•    Ribbon 1/8” wide
•    4” White Stick-On numbers (I bought these at Office Max and wound up having to purchase 3 packs to make sure that I had enough numbers for all the tables)
•    Double-stick tape
•    Paper Trimmer
•    Make Your Own Rubber Stamp Kit (I’ve already used this for other projects – its so versatile!)
•    Bone folder

The hardest part for me was deciding on paper – after that it’s really pretty easy!  Since we’re using damask runners I decided to keep the paper rather simple and just use shades of green with some polka dots thrown in for good measure.  So first, cut a length of ribbon about 3 inches longer than the book itself, and glue one end onto the top portion of the book.  This isn’t the best picture, but you want to put the ribbon running upwards, so that it will go down through the book as a placeholder:

I just used a glue stick – a little on the binding and the ribbon stuck right on.  Then take a piece of paper and cut it so that it’s the same length as the book and about 2-3” wider.  Lay the design side of the paper down and place the book onto the center of the paper so that there is extra paper on either side that you can fold over like a flap:

I used the tape roller to put tape on one flap of the paper, then fold it so that it would stick to the book.  Then be sure to actually close the book and use the boning folder to make some nice creases before doing the same to the other side – if you secure both sides of the paper while the book is flat, the paper will be too short for the book to actually close.

I went through and covered all the notebooks first, then went back and added the sticky numbers to the front and stamped the inside.  Here they all are stacked and ready to be stamped:

I stamped a few of the pages on the inside of the booklets, one of which was “Advice for the Bride & Groom.”  It’s really easy to manipulate the letters on the stamps, just remember that you have to write it out backwards!

And here is the finished product!

darci table71 Darci's Table Numbers

Contributed by Darci L.
Blog: http://www.with–this–ring.blogspot.com/
Used with kind permission from the author.
Copyright 2008 • All rights reserved.

posted by m.s. for k.c.


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Feb

27

Workshop Wednesday: Rub-On Vase

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img_5942

Ok, that title is really bad. Forgive me – I’m nursing a post-bday celebration weekend brain. (Why does it take so long to recover from fab parties? I didn’t even get tipsy and I’m weirdly out of it days later.) Enough about me. img 5942 Workshop Wednesday: Rub On Vase Today’s project uses rub-on transfers and a clear glass vase to create a fun, simple decorative piece. Perfect for centerpieces, a wish bowl, toasting flutes, or even votives this is a quick ‘n’ easy project ANYONE can do. Don’t think you’re crafty? No problem! The rub-ons provide all of the creativity. All you do is … rub. What you need: img 5933 Workshop Wednesday: Rub On Vase

  • Clean glass vase with a smooth surface.
  • Glass cleaner, paper towel
  • Rub-on transfers (available at nearly every scrapbooking shop and craft store.)
  • Scisscors
  • Rub-on tool. (Most rub-on sheets come with a little popsicle stick to do the transfers with…that’s perfect.)

How to:

  1. Clean the outside of the glass with the glass cleaner. Dry the glass completely. Rub-ons don’t work well when there are body oils or dirt on the surface.
  2. img 5935 Workshop Wednesday: Rub On Vase From a sheet of rub-ons, cut out the design you want to transfer to the glass.
  3. img 5936 Workshop Wednesday: Rub On Vase Place the cut design, face (sticky-side) down on the glass.
  4. img 5938 Workshop Wednesday: Rub On Vase With one hand, hold the transfer paper in place. With the other hand, use the transfer tool (popsicle stick) to rub the back of the design. Firmly pressing down as you rub will transfer the design to the glass. Sometimes it takes several passes to get the transfer to stick. Don’t worry. That’s normal.
  5. As you rub an area, pick up the edges of the paper just a little bit. You’ll be able to see where the transfer isn’t sticking. Just go back and rub, rub, rub.

Notes:

  • Rub-ons are available in hundreds (thousands?!) of different designs.
  • Most are available in black or white but many manufacturers also have them in full color. Cool, right?
  • The bummer is that most packages have only 1 sheet per package with several different designs/motifs per page. If you need to have all matchy-matchy vases, you’ll need to buy several packages of rub-ons and that can get spendy.
  • The package used in this project, from Tinkering Ink, cost $6.99 at my local scrapbook store. Not outrageous, but definitely something to consider when you’re budgeting.
  • Rub-ons can be used on paper, metal, class, tile, wood … nearly any smooth surface. And they work on any color surface, too.

Resources: Rub-on designers to check out…. Doodlebug (Great alphabets, pretty colors) Basic Grey (Awesome designs, sophisticated patterns) Bo Bunny (Fun, whimsical, trendy) Cosmo Cricket (Great sentiments) Fancy Pants Designs (Great colors, fun designs) Foof-a-la by Autumn Leaves Hambly Screen Prints (Trendy, hip, fun) My favorite online places to buy rub-ons: Two Peas In A Bucket Lifetime Moments



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Feb

21

Quick and Easy Table Decor: Covered Vase

This is filed under “Why didn’t I think of that?”.  Here’s a quick way to add instant impact to your centerpiece vases: cover them with placemats. Home by Sunset has the step-by-steps on how to do this super-easy, super-inexpensive project to take your centerpieces from nice to WOW. (Found via Heavy Petal – a really cool gardening blog.) placemat vase green Quick and Easy Table Decor: Covered VaseI can picture using some really neat beaded or capiz shell mats or how about a gorgeous shantung? Brocade? Start searching at home & bath stores for interesting finds (especially in the clearance bins). So, I’m thinking how awesome the placemats are and … hmmm, wouldn’t vases be cool wrapped with:

  • Vellum (printed and solids available from Martha Stewart Crafts, Paper Source)
  • Grasscloth
  • Sheets of moss (available at craft stores and floral supply houses)
  • Rich, textured fabrics
  • Hot wrapping papers (think Whimsy Press, eieio, Midori)
  • Vintage wallpapers (eBay!)
  • Modern/contemporary wallpapers (Nama Rococo, Design Public)
  • Sheets of punched tin
  • Tree bark or wood laminate sheets
  • Rows of ribbon in coordinating colors and different sizes. (I love this one! This was actually a candidate for the 1st DIY book but didn’t quite fit.)



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Sep

15

Crochet Wedding Cake

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buttercream_op

buttercream op Crochet Wedding Cake It’s crafts like this that make me wish I were a fiber crafter. Berroco, fashion yarn house, is offering a free pattern/instructions for making this most awesome Crochet Wedding Cake. Can you stand it? I’m dying over here from the cuteness. The layers of the cake are separate. That means you can put stuff inside! Berroco shows putting china under the bottom layer. I think this would be darling for a bridal shower. Or as centerpieces/decor at the reception. P.S. Berroco gives away free patterns every Friday.



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