Wedding Wednesday - DIY Bouquets

Hey y'all! Thanks for stopping by for Wedding Wednesday!  Today I have a super-quick tutorial on how to DIY bouquets.  Can I just say that they are super-duper easy and I'm a total advocate for artificial bouquets??  The average cost for bridesmaids bouquets is between $50 and $150 each.  In addition, most florists charge a delivery fee.  With 5 bridesmaids, I would probably spend $300 at least.  That isn't going to break the bank of course, but if flowers are not one of your priorities... save your money by using artificial bouquets!  So with a 20% off coupon and $50 gift card, Mom and I headed to Michaels a few weekends ago and bought everything we needed for bridesmaids bouquets.... for a total of $91.17!  Yeah!

Here is about 1/5 of our supplies (I had already made 4 bouquets when I took this picture):

These are some supplies you might need - floral stem wrap tape, floral wire, wire cutters, sharpie, and ribbon.  One suggestion - invest in some nice wire cutters, because cutting stems can be tough without them!

Start by removing the leaves from the stem (save them, you'll need them later).  Then arrange the flowers in a bouquet until you're happy with it.  Use a sharpie to mark where to cut the stems.  The length really depends on your taste - I would say around 7".

Once you get everything cut and arranged the way you want it, use the wire to hold everything together.  I put it in three places, but two would work fine.  Make sure to put it at the top and the bottom.

 

Add leaves around the bottom.  Then wrap the stem in stem tape to smooth out the rough areas and reinforce the wire.

Finally, wrap the stem in ribbon and use an embellished pin to hold it in place.  I haven't done this yet, but it probably would be a good idea to hot glue it in place as well.  As a side note, I had originally planned to wrap only part of the stem, and leave the bottom unwrapped - I just like that look.  But, the wire poked through the bottom of some of the stems and it didn't look so great.  If you want, you can cut a short piece of ribbon to fold over the bottom, and then use a longer piece to wrap around it.  Once you get to the top, fold the ribbon back before you pin it so you can't see where it frays.

Taa daa!

Then repeat for each bridesmaid!

I still have to wrap the stems of the other four... but you can get the gist!

Don't worry, those vases are only for storing (in a tote so they won't be squished or dusty 11 months from now).  But, you know you like the pink one. HAHA! :)  Even though we're not getting married until June, the bouquets are (almost) finished and paid for.  Doing things way ahead of time spreads out your payments and keeps you from rushing through projects in the last few months.  People might think you're nuts now, but when you're stress free the week before, you'll thank yourself.   :)

So that's it for DIY bouquets - it's way easy and everyone should do it, in my humble opinion!  :)

So stinkin' cute!

My friend Brittany is hosting a bridal shower for an upcoming wedding she's in.  I offered to help her make the invitations, and they turned out so stinkin' cute that I wanted to share!  See?

She still has to put the white paper with the info on it, but we knocked these out in just an hour or two.  We used the same format as I did in this DIY tutorial.  Like??

Christmas Eve Eve

I hope each and every one of you had a wonderful Christmas!  I have so much catching up to do, so I'll start with what we did first...

Parker & I spent time with his family on Christmas Eve Eve.  We had a delicious dinner with his parents, two brothers and their wives, and our niece & nephew.  It was a lot of fun.  With Candice & Jacob and Parker & I are trying to fit his & her family traditions together, and Martha Lynn & Preston adjusting their usual holiday schedule after the recent death of her father, we've had a tough time meshing our traditions in a way that works for all of us.  So this year, it was Christmas Eve Eve and it was a great way to kick off Christmas celebrations.

Can I just say that I love having Abi & Cody around?  It is so fun to hang out with them!

Each year I make some of the gifts that I give.  This year I decided to make aprons for Mrs. Lydia, Martha Lynn, and Candice.  My sweet friend Katherine made me one for my birthday a few years ago and I copied her pattern to make the others.  Are they not stinkin cute?

They took me way too long to make, but I'm pretty proud of them!  I have already vowed to myself & to Parker that next year I won't get any big ideas.... or at least I won't carry them out.  :)

So that was Christmas Eve Eve for us.  Coming up next is Christmas Eve!

Stitch by Stitch

Remember my Grandma's stocking I've been cross-stitching? This is what it looked like last November...
This is what it looked like in August... about 3 months ago...

And this is what it looks like right now...

I still have a lot to do before Christmas. I have another angel, a few snow flakes, a bird, the outlining and the border at the top. Yikes, that's more than I thought. But it looks good doesn't it?

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Update on Mom:

Good news - the scans shows that the back 2 tumors are gone! Praise God! One in the front has gotten smaller and one has stayed about the same. For now, the plan is to let the treatment (& God!) continue to wear 'em down. Her oncologist took her off Tykerb (the preventative medicine) for a few weeks because her eyes have been really swollen and Dr. White thinks its a side effect of the Tykerb. Hopefully, the swelling will go away and she can start it back soon! We don't want this mess coming back - ever - again. To God be the glory!! Another step in the right direction!!

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Thank you Veterans and families of Veterans! Thank you to those currently serving in the military and the families of those serving in the military. Your sacrifices humble me and I am forever grateful for the freedoms that my family and I enjoy because of you. God bless you!

Invitations and Stockings

Remember when I made these invitations for my friend & sister-in-law-will-be-in-law, Candice's shower?

Well... I liked them so much that I made these for my friend & old roomate, Katherine's shower...

Cute huh? Katherine is so sweet! She's getting married to her high school sweetheart, Eric. They have been dating for over 6 years! (Yay for the "Six-Years") I'm so excited for them!

So, for the stocking I've been working on for my grandma... (How's that for a change of subject? I tried to come up with a transition, but I've got nothing.) I started it last November in hopes to give it to her at Christmas. Ha! What was I thinking? Cross-stitching takes forever. My grandma cross-stitched a stocking for each person in our whole family - except for herself. So, I thought I'd make her one. This is what it looked like after one WEEK of working on it:

Hahaha! That's garland, a snowflake, and part of an angel.

But this is what it looks like now in August (that's nine months later).

And, in my defense, I didn't work on it at all between the months of February and June. I've started back and think there is a decent chance I'll finish it by this Christmas.

Just in case you were wondering... I did wrap up what I had done at Christmas and I gave it to her with a picture of what it would eventually look like with a letter about how much I appreciated her hard work in all the stockings she had made.

So with that... I'm going to cross-stitch!

Feeling Crafty!

So now that I'm settled getting settled into my new apartment, and I'm trying to get things straight, I wanted to show you some of the things I've been working on! First, my throw pillows for my bed.

Taadaa!

How cute is that front pillow? I got the paper fabric flowers from Michael's and used buttons and ribbon for the centers and stems.

I also built a shelf. Okay, maybe I didn't actually build it, but I did put it together. See?

My class books are going on the bottom shelf, so that's why it's empty now. Ignore the random boxes on the right. I got the book case from Target for $26.

And finally, I hung a bunch of stuff on the wall after being inspired by Edie's Wall of Frames. So, here it is!

I think that I should add something to the bottom right corner, it looks empty to me. What do you think?

Please disregard the random fan string hanging down in the middle of the picture... and don't notice the frame with no picture in it on the left. I know the picture that I want in it, I just haven't printed it yet. So just, imagine that it's there. Also, don't notice the revamp-clock without any numbers on it. I will be putting numbers on it, but I left my white paint at home in Greenville. So, just imagine white numbers on the clock. But DO notice my awesome pillows that I made. Suh-weet! :)

And that's all for now.

Background

I did my background using a program called GIMP. It is very similar to Photoshop but it's free and you can find the download info online. I also used GIMP along with Picnik to make my header. If you want information/tips that I learned through trial and error just shoot me a message/email (lcase@email.unc.edu).

And, if you don't feel up to making your own, but still want a new cool background, I really enjoyed making mine and would be willing to make you one too if you direct people to my blog.

You can also find cute backgrounds at www.thecutestblogontheblock.com.

DIY Invitations

For Candice's wedding shower, I am making invitations. We decided to do the shower in her wedding colors (pink & green) and so I chose pink and green cardstock for the invitations. Are they seriously not the cutest invitations ever? Yes, I am totally bragging haha - I LOVE these invitations!

So, cause Candice said I should do a blog post on them... here it is: A Step-by step guide to DIY invitations!

First, pick out some cardstock and paper. I like to do pattern paper too because it adds a little sumthin' sumthin'. I also added a ribbon because it spices it up a bit. Here are my materials:

I typed up the info on the invitation and made her name and the date stand out in a different font and color.

Then, cut the cardstock to the size you want. I used a paper cutter because it's quicker.

Then, I cut the patterned paper to half the size of the back cardstock so not to overwhelm the invitation.

Then, I used double-sided tape to put it together...

Then, after taping the green paper down, its time to add the ribbon! Punch the holes (I just eyeballed it, but you can measure it out if you want).

Then, add the ribbon! The way I did it doesn't have to be the way you do it - you can tie a bow or knot or whatever tickles your fancy! I poked the ribbon through from front to back like so...

Then cross over the end pieces and poke them back through the opposite holes. Taa-daa...

A couple tips:

I like to do each step all at once, ie. cut all the pink pieces, cut all the pattern pieces, cut all the green pieces, cut all the white pieces, put the pattern pieces on the pink, put the green on that, punch all the holes, then do all the ribbons, and put the white pieces on. Here are the invitations before I put on the white pieces.

Also, fit your cardstock to your envelope, not vice versa. You don't want to put together these cute invitations and then have to search for an envelope that it will fit in!

And for an added touch, address the envelopes in colors that match the invitations.

There you have it! The cutest invitation, ever!

A special thanks to Ms. Lydia and Candice herself for helping me do these this weekend (I know, it must be breaking all kinds of Emily Post laws for a bride to help make her shower invitations... but she really wanted to!)

*Note: I blurred Ms. Stalling's address and my phone number for privacy purposes, just in case you know?