My Best Friends DIY Wedding!

I still can't get over how amazing Luis and Kathryn's wedding was! 

(I also can't believe I'm still recovering!  Weddings have such a wonderful way of knocking you on your ass and reminding you can't hang like you used to, don't ya think?!)  :)

The church and reception venue were both pitch perfect.  That dress - breathtaking!  And the couple?  Absolutely, positively the happiest I have ever seen them!

But guess what else really caught my eye?  All those little DIY details!  I was sooo impressed with both Kathryn's inspiration and execution that I just had to share with all of you!  I of course was along for the ride in the brainstorming process, but seeing as we live a couple hundred miles apart, it wasn't until her wedding day that I got to see her vision become a reality!  And all I can really say is, WOW!

Wedding Sign
Inspiration
I can not think of a more appropriate wedding venue than Kathryn's to have such a beautiful, rustic wedding sign.

  

Execution

I would have loved to see Kathryn in action with a hammer and nails!!

Place Cards / Seating Chart
Inspiration

Chalkboard paint at its finest!  Key requirement: nice handwriting!

Execution

Can you believe one of our college friends found a pair of french doors in the trash on her way home from work?!  Or that she was thoughtful enough to trash pick in high heels? 

This definitely was one of the highlights of the reception because everyone HAD to look at it in order to find their seat for dinner! I think I'd save this forever...

Card Box

Inspiration

I love the idea of alternative card boxes.  How clever to use an old fashioned suitcase!

Execution

What a lovely little sign in table!

Chalkboard Details

Kathryn had so much fun with chalkboard paint, she painted the glass of two picture frames to display the dinner menu and signature cocktails. (And her table numbers, below)

Mmm I could go for a Luis right now!

Floral Arrangements

Inspiration

How simple yet gorgeous are those twine wrapped vases with white flowers...

Execution

Kathryn's tablescapes were stunning!!  And I was lucky enough to snag myself one of the small twine wrapped vases (sans peonies or hyndrangeas, unfortunately!  who just takes home the flowers?).  Perhaps someone will bring me home fresh flowers soon...or perhaps we could fill it with sand and a votive to put out on our front deck?

Favors / Drinks

Inspiration

I love that mason jars are coming back in a huge way.  Who even uses them for canning / jarring anymore?!

Execution

Kathryn invited a bunch of girlfriends over a few weeks before the wedding to help put together these adorable mason jar water glasses / favors!

Personal Flowers / Bouquet

Inspiration

All white peony bouquet.  Gorgeous.

Execution

Here comes the bride!

This DIY bride gets an A+ in my book!!

DIY Nursery Art by Emily!

Check out these adorable DIY nursery decor items my oh so talented sister, Emily made for our new niece!

I would love one of these with my own name!

And this looks straight out of a PB Kids catalog!

Very impressed, Emily!

DIY Birth Announcement

I'll admit, I was a little embarrassed showing up to the hospital to meet my new baby niece empty handed two weeks ago.  But who'd of thought she'd come a week early...and when we were 400 miles away in Washington, D.C.?!  Not me!  Or that she'd arrive at 5am and we'd be there only a few short hours later, still before sun came up?

Plus, it didn't help that my gift was a personalized gift (of course it was!).  And the baby actually needed to be born for me to complete said gift! :)

But hey, we're family!  They'll get over my minor slip in proper etiquette!!

So anyways, when I was back up in NYC this past weekend I got to spend 3 whole hours with Emma and was so super excited to finally reveal my gift to her (well, her parents). 

Drum roll, please!!

I made a handmade birth announcement to hang in Emma's nursery!

I actually got the idea off of Etsy.  At at Christmas party, a friend of mine was showing me some of her recent Etsy purchases, and one of them was a nursery birth announcement.  It looked something along the lines of this:

I kid you not, this is $45 on Etsy

Or this:

$10

Both very cute!  And so thoughtful!  But I took one look and knew immediately that I could make that on my own. 

And I could make it better!

I was very happy with the way it turned out - it's cute, sweet and a great way to remember a baby's birth stats.  (Am I the only one who knows their birth height/weight/time because they have an engraved picture frame in their room all their life?)  And Justin and Sara were thrilled to receive nursery decor, something they said they pretty much forgot about on their registry!

Unfortunately (for you, I'm sorry!) I will not be revelaing my exact DIY instructions...  But if you should be so lucky to be expecting a baby in the near future, you can bet that one of these lovelies will be coming your way.  And yes - I have a boy version, as well!

Doesn't it look so sweet sitting above Emma's changing table?

I promise more pictures when her nursery is all set up!

P.S. I'm taking orders, as well, if you're in need of a baby present!  Message me if you're interested!  :)

Lucky Brew St. Patrick's Day Beer Labels

St. Patrick's day is literally right around the corner.  And how lucky we are that it falls on a Saturday this year!  I have a funny feeling people will be celebrating a little bit harder than usual...!!

Anyways, if you're having a party...or attending a party...I think these free printable labels from Benign Objects might be a cute addition to the festivities!  Just print on full-size shipping labels, cut out with scissors and you'll transform your American made beer (that you know you'll switch to after your obligatory 1-2 pints of Guinness) into an at least Irish looking brew! 

To download your free printable, click here!

Slainte!

DIY Wedding Keepsake Box

I've been trying to figure out how or where I'm going to save all the little "mementos" from our wedding, and to be be honest, it's been a much harder task than I'd imagined!  Where do you put all this stuff?!

My dress found a home in the trunk of my car for a good 3 months after our trash the dress photo shoot (yes, it was still wet and sandy) before I finally decided to drop it off at a dry cleaners.  Its now resting peacefully in a box in the comforts of our storage unit.  (Such a sad ending for something so beautiful, don't ya think?!)

My white shoes are neatly put away in their pretty little Kate Spade box...but are taking up some much needed real estate in my closet! 

I also have a big brown box full of all the other little items: our program, ring boxes, shower invites, menus, invitation, bachelorette swag, etc. that is so disorganized its making me cringe!

Luckily, over the summer (when I was in full throttle wedding planning mode) I came across this wedding keepsake box on Etsy...

Etsy shop: TheMemoryKeepers

...and bought the supplies to make my own during one of my frequent trips to Michael's craft store!

Unfortunately, I had forgotten about my brilliant plan until this past weekend.  I was digging deep into my craft drawer when, low and behold, I found the black photo box I purchased full of scrapbooking appliques and paper!  Better late than never, right?

I had even thought ahead and printed out my own "contents" list (piggybacking off the ideas on this one):

Etsy shop: TheMemoryKeepers

my version of the checklist

While I know I'm not fitting everything into this little box, at least I know what does make the cut will be safe...  And, beautiful memories deserve to be stored somewhere pretty, right?

The best part?  The whole thing cost me a whopping $13...pennies compared to the $45 price tag on Etsy!  (Plus, I think mine's cuter anyways!)

Dare I even say it: another great gift idea!

Font Snobs

This made me laugh!

If you're like me and don't have the most artisitc handwriting--I write small, in all caps and people say it looks like typewriter font--then you know how important a good font selection is (especially for crafting).  I am constantly trying to find a pitch perfect font + interesting card stock to spruce up an ordinary type and print job.

Unfortunately, I'm a PC user...not a mac....so my access to fonts beyond the Comic Sans and Papyrus' of the world is somewhat very much limited.  (You mac users can thank Steve Jobs and his love of calligraphy and type face for this).

Lucky for me all of us, The Handmade Home is featuring 25 fun fonts for font snobs today...and guess what, they're all free! 

I think abermale swash would have been pretty on our wedding menus...and matilde is so light and sweet!

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25

Which one is your fave??

(Photos via The Handmade Home)

Bridesmaid Gift Ideas

I recently got an email (ok facebook message) from a dear old friend who has been following my blog.  (Thank you so much for reading, by the way! And for your email!)

Anyways, she's getting married (yay!) and was looking for some "don't break the bank" gift ideas (DIY or bought) to give her 10 bridesmaids in addition to their "big" present.  So, I thought I'd share some of my suggestions with all of you.

DIY Ideas
Idea #1 - Photo Coasters
A full tutorial is coming your way soon to teach you how to make these adorable photo coasters.  But the gist of it is: photos, tiles from Home Depot ($0.16 each), modge podge, and felt glides!  

Idea #2 - Paper Hearts
Remember the valentine's day gift I made yesterday?  Well how about using black and white photos of you and each bridesmaid for the hearts?  On the back, you could writing something like "this gift was made just for you using my favorite picture of us" and include the full photo(s).  The accent hearts could be your the color of your dresses with the bridesmaids name.

Idea #3 - Painted Wine/Champagne Glasses

Although I haven't made these (yet!), painted dress wine glasses look fairly easy even for an amateur painter like me!  Give each girl two wine glasses: one with their name/bridesmaid dress and one with your name/wedding dress.  The girls could drink out of them while you're getting ready the morning of your wedding!

Photo credit: ArtsyAsh101 shop on Etsy

Added bonus...you can make beer ones for the guys!

Photo credit: ArtsyAsh101 shop on Etsy

Idea #4 - Nice Bottle of Wine with a Custom Label

Everyone loves a good bottle of wine...and all you need to make your own wine bottle labels is powerpoint, full sheet shipping labels and a paper cutter!  Or, you can buy a design on Etsy and print them out on your own!  Could give this along with #2 or #3!

Photo credit: IDoArtsyWeddings shop on Etsy

Idea #5 - Artwork
Frame an enlarged photo (check out Michael's and AC Moore for their 50% off frame sales) or have a canvas made (there are groupons all the time) of a building / landscape from where you met or know each girl.  I know I would to have a picture of JMU's quad hanging in my house and I think that would make a great gift!  Write a cute message on the back of the frame with a sparkly gold pen so she'll always remember it was from you!


Photo credit: Zazzle


Gifts to Buy

Idea #6 - Monogrammed Button Down Shirts

A week before my wedding, I realized that I hadn't even thought about what I (or my bridesmaids) should wear the morning of the wedding while getting ready! Such an important part of the day!  So many pictures!! 

Luckily, my girls pulled through and we picked up matching silk robes! (And I loved all the pictures of us wearing them!)

But I would have loved to have given them something monogrammed or personalized to wear like these adorable button down shirts.  H&M, Old Navy, and Target all sell affordable basics...and you can look on Craigslist for a local seamstress who does monogramming!

Photo credit: The Southern Aisle

Photo credit: The Southern Aisle

Idea #7 - Garment / Tote Bags

My sister-in-law, Casey, gave her bridesmaids colorful garment bags with their names on them! 

Photo credit: PattyBzz shop on Etusy

Or you could do a pretty tote bag?

Photo credit: L.L.Bean

Idea #8 - Bridal Party Hanger

My other sister-in-law, Sara, gave me a personalized hanger that said Mrs. Torok as an engagement gift...and I have since given this gift to my engaged girlfriends! I think it would be equally as cute to give one to all the girls in your bridal party!    

 

Photo credit: Rockabuycreations shop on Etsy



Gag Gift Ideas

Idea #9 - Custom T-Shirts

Urban Outfitter's has a custom tee shop where you can design individual t-shirts to literally say anything!  You can use Urban graphic or upload your own.  Could be cute for a bachelorette party, too!

Photo credit: Urban Outfitters

Idea #10 - Decopaged Flasks
And because it never hurts to have a emergency flask in your purse! 

Photo credit: LiquidCourage shop on Etsy

What did you gift your bridal party?  I'd love to hear your ideas!