3 months and 5 days

My gosh.

The days seem to be FLYING by. My excitement grows with each day that passes! And despite how insanely busy we've been at the store doing and preparing for events- we've actually managed to stay (somewhat) on top of wedding tasks!

We've been meeting with everyone through the church, we've picked out our wedding bands (so exciting!), we've gotten tons of yards of burlap (and I mean tons!), and I've been trying to keep up with all of the crafting! Tonight, I've just about finished up the escort cards, minus the actual table numbers, which will happen after the rsvps come in and I know for sure where everyone is seated. Wow, those are some long sentences...sorry! 

It looks like a lot of tags there but that isn't even half! Just what I worked on tonight. I've gotta wash tons of mason jars and add the drink tags, make burlap table squares for the middle of the tables, make burlap pennant banners, and so much more that I can't even think about! Whew! Good thing I love crafting :P

Earlier this week my mom and I were checking out a barn sale in Frederick and picked up a neat bird cage for cards to be put in. Just needs a little cleaning up and it will be just perfect! Clearly I'm not afraid of a little rustic touch at our wedding :)

Happy Father's Day!

M

Drink Tags- the final touch!

Good Morning!

First I must tell you that the craziest thing happened last night. I awoke to the sound of running water in my bedroom at 2 am. Uh oh! When I turned the light on, I saw it...water GUSHING out from around my air conditioner. "BOWLS!"

Kc and I race to the kitchen finding the largest bowls we can and stash them under the river flowing from the wall. I look in Kc's room. MORE WATER! The bowls were filling up in a matter of about 30 seconds! It was a blur of commotion as we are running back and forth between the bathroom and the rivers. WATER. Everywhere there was water!

And the craziest thing- I could not stop laughing it was just so ridiculous. Seeing the water spilling out of the wall. I was hysterical. I was even more hysterical after I discovered that the emergency maintenance number was no different than the leasing office number which led me to a voice mail! Not good. I think I should win voice mail of the year because it was pretty fantastic. I wish I had my own recording of it. 

Needless to say, they came and sucked the water out of the apartment, and gave us the magnet that has the emergency maintenance number...why that is not online is still beyond me. But they were very sympathetic as they do not want to lose a resident. This is certainly a memory Kc and I will share forever because it was rather unforgettable! We will look back and laugh at the time a river was flowing through our walls and out of the air conditioner. Good times!

Anyway, I really came here to share the finished, finished product of the drink tags! I decided that they needed a little something on the back. Here's what I came up with:

What do you think? :)

M

DIY Drink Tags/ Place Cards!

Hiya!

Today I completed my first DIY project today! At each seat will be a Mason Jar with a tag tied on with some twine, so not only will the drinks have tags on them so they don't get mixed up, but they will also serve as place cards. This way we'll cut down on materials and cost and time! 

I used the circle hang tags with metal on the edge. They were a little pricey but much cheaper than the ones that have string (instead of the little metal ring). I'm not really sure why but the string ones were really expensive, I liked the metal ring anyway! I got them from staples but you can find them other places too.

I didn't like how white they were. I wanted them to have an aged feel. So I dyed them! I used a mixture of tea and coffee. I left them in for 15 minutes and then laid them out on a paper towel to dry.

Ahhh, much better :) Now they look old and rustic! If you leave the rings on they add a little extra grunge, they sort of stain the tags as well, which i may or may not have wanted. BUT I am way too impatient to sit there and pull them all off to put them right back on. I also got impatient waiting for them to dry so I pulled out the iron and in between two towel i ironed them. It helped some but they were still a little damp when I was writing the names one...but my super thin marker didn't seem to mind, I just had to be a little careful. 

Here is the finished product!

I'm rather pleased with myself! I decided to keep it simple and hand write everyone's names on them. I may eventually make a little stamp to put on the back. Yes, you know, I think I will do that!

Happy DIY-ing!

Mary

AMAZING DIY Seating Tags!

I am soooo excited to share these with you! I finally got the supplies to make these adorable Seating Tags. All you need to make these is:

-Rubber Erasers

-Shipping Tags ( I used 2 3/4" x 1 3/8"...the small ones)

-Ink Pad

-Exacto

And this literally took me like 15 min to do...it is soooo easy! I will show you my process through pics of course:

To follow our theme I did a mustache for boys and a bird for girls!

Cut around your outline 1/8" deep.

Start at the corner for this part and work your way toward your shape.

HOW AWESOME, RIGHT?! You can tell I'm very excited. I may write the names, I may use little typewriter style alphabet stamps if I can find small ones. I'm not sure yet. And then on the back it will say the table number. I'm not sure yet if I'm going to do numbers or something a little more interesting to name each table. I am just so pleased with how this turned out and how EASY it was! Kc was quite impressed with my skills as well and loves the mustache of course! 

PS We carved these awesome pumpkins today and I would also like to share them with you because no one is ever going to see them but us otherwise:

 

They're pretty great :)

Happy Carving,

M

Study Break Inspiration

I have been researching and reading books on George Balanchine (for a design project) for about 3 hours now and decided it was time to take a little break. The lack of creativity reading entails drives me a little crazy and eventually leads to ADD. This is the perfect time to set it down, and relax my brain by pulling up my handy dandy Green Wedding Shoes, my most favorite wedding blog. They always feature pictures of the most beautiful and creative weddings that inspire me in so many ways. 

Probably my most favorite image I have come across yet:

 

Ok, It's obviously several images but they make such a beautiful grouping and completely capture the feel that I'm going for and admire. Thanks Mom, I now LOVE old things. :) 

You should see my apartment...

How adorable is this? This would be so easy (and cheap) to recreate in your own way!

And there's my little tag things that I want to make for seating cards. Love love love it.

The brides dress is so gorgeous and yet simple which I just love. And the plaid shirts
with the navy blue dresses is brilliant. They look so casual and comfortable, and yet very well put together. That is exactly what I hope to achieve. I want our bridal party to feel comfortable but not look disjointed. Thank you GWS for inspiring me to do something different. Afterall, who wants to have a traditional standard wedding, right?! 
Your wedding should represent you...and your soon-to-be Husband. Just kidding, Kc!
Really though, it's your celebration so make it yours.

 Happy Inspiration Hunting!

Mary

DIY seating cards and favors!

Now that I'm back at school, starting a few new jobs (no big deal!), and attempting to get situated in our new apartment (not to mention starting classes) I am just just over my head in STUFF. I keep thinking when will I ever get a break and then I remember that is what those last 3 months were supposed to be HA! Sometimes it's hard balancing current life with plans for future life and when you begin to get overwhelmed it's tough to stay motivated. In times like these I refer to my handy dandy INSPIRATION BOARD! And i dig deep for that inspired feeling. 

In the midst of all that digging I came across a few ideas involving DIY mustache/bird seating cards and DIY Sweetheart Tea bags that are cute as can be. Here are some pics of what I found:

The cards are made using a hand carved rubber stamp, I would do mustaches for boys and birds for girls! You can find the tutorial on this great blog called Lovely Indeed.

 

The handmade tea bags would make adorable (and delicious!) favors and were found on one of my favorites, The Sweetest Occasion. I love how easy it would be to personalize them using the birds and mustaches instead of hearts or by using our wedding colors instead of pink and blue. Sometimes it's ok to steal someone else' idea and add your own touch...right? ;)

Happy Planning...and good luck balancing!

Mary