14 Dec
2008

Posted in: Decor & Design, DIY & Templates, Holiday Parties
By Candice

Holiday Centerpiece: Carnations

Elisabeth from BLUSH floral design posted a fabulous purple centerpiece on her blog and I wanted to share. I just love these carnations in varying shades of purple. Believe it or not, carnations in bulk (like these) can look so gorgeous. The key is to use a lot and make your centerpiece very full. I agree with Elisabeth, too, that with these flowers the you can use the container to dictate the style of the arrangement. You can use square chunky vases, tall cylinders, old candy jars or medicine bottles, or mint julep cups. Although, I really love the antiqued vessels she used. And the sequin balls? Gorgeous! They’ll sparkle too in candlelight and are a touch of necessary glamour.

If you’re too busy for arrangements this season, give Elisabeth a call. Blush is offering holiday inspired arrangements at a really fabulous price. Get all the details here!

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16 Sep
2008

Posted in: Decor & Design, DIY & Templates, Latest Trends
By Candice

4 Comments

Reinventing the Guestbook: Platters, Quilts, Canvas and “Wish Jars”

I was thinking yesterday about the traditional wedding guestbook. I want to ask all my married readers: what did you do with your guestbook after the wedding? My guess is you need a super-sized swifter to lift all the dust off. Most couples file their guestbook away somewhere and never open it again, which is unfortunate, especially for those who spend good money and thought on custom designed covers and binding. So why should you purchase something that will serve little-to-no purpose after your wedding? Sure, it is a keepsake, but what is so great about a bunch of signatures? Nothing. Does that mean you should give up your guestbook? No, not at all! What it means is you should think outside the box, reinvent what the guestbook is at your wedding, and figure out what purpose it will serve after.

Some of my favorites are items that guests sign: platters, a canvas engagement photograph, a quilt made for the couple. These are all reusable items that won’t be gathering dust somewhere or stuffed in an old shoe box. Some of my favorite platters are featured below. I’ve never had a thing for gimmicks or themes, so I wouldn’t recommend your standard platter with a bride and groom in the center. To me, that won’t translate well while entertaining for thanksgiving dinner. However, a platter with your married monogram, initials, or an excerpt from your vows is extremely beautiful!

Be sure to click on the thumbnail to see the full-sized version!
Platter #1: Serendipity Crafts | Platter #2: Say Anything Ceramics

I’ve also seen a bride and groom ask married couples to send in a photograph from their wedding with the R.S.V.P card. At the wedding, the photographs were displayed on card stock which was removable from a book or hung on a tree. The couples left beautiful messages and words of wisdom next to their wedding photograph, and it was used as a keepsake for the bride and groom. Here is an example from Room Service Home:

Be sure to click on the thumbnail to see the full-sized version!

Another idea which has become really popular over the years is to have a “Wish Jar.” This is what I prefer best, because if you’re craftly like me, you can take all those wishes from your wedding guests and display them. You can have them mounted and framed in a fun collage or you decoupage them on canvas , using glazes and paints to infuse some personality. Another idea? Place them in your wedding scrapbook! What is great about the Wish Jar is you can customize the jar and use it in your home for décor or as something functional. Also, don’t get hung up on the word “jar.” As long as you can place a card in it and remove the card with ease, you’re good to go. So vintage jewelry boxes or hat boxes made a unique spin on the “jar”, as do bird cases, ice buckets, and glass bowls. You can also have fun designing the wish cards where your guests will write words of wisdom! You can tie in the design of your invitations, place cards and menu cards, or go for something completely unique. Here are some ideas for your “jar”:

Be sure to click on the thumbnail to see the full-sized version!
1: Birdcage from Anthropologie Home | 2: Crate & Barrel | 3&4 Pottery Barn

Having a fall inspired wedding? What about a pumpkin for your collector, or even some fun hollowed out gourdes.

Be sure to click on the thumbnail to see the full-sized version!
Image from Better Homes and Gardens, but thanks to Jamie for posting it on her blog.

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15 Jul
2008

Posted in: Decor & Design, DIY & Templates
By Candice

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Brown & Green Bridal Shower: The Nitty Gritty

I love weddings and I equally love to plan smaller, more casual and intimate affairs. When our clients approached us with their décor ideas for a brown and green shower, we ran with it and really made every penny go as far as we could. With a little preparation, creativity, and persistence, you can come up with equally beautiful and affordable tablescapes for your next event. I wanted to share with you where we purchased all of our vases, crafting items & supplies. I also wanted to give you a step-by-step tutorial on how we pulled all these small details together which I’ll follow up with tomorrow.

But first, our shopping list:

8 chunky square votive candle holders
$1.97 ea, Wal-Mart

5 Tall, thin vases
$1 ea, The Dollar Store

3 Tall and chunky mosaic vases
$1 ea, The Dollar Store

4 round, traditional vases (not pictured)
1 ea, The Dollar Store

4 packages (two per pack) of 7 inch & 9 inch tissue “bells” (for the kitschy factor!)
$1 ea, The Dollar Store

6 packages of tissue paper in brown, green & hot pink (8 sheets per pack)
$2.29, Wal-Mart

3 packages of stick-on crystal embellishments
$2.29 ea, Martha Stewart Crafts

3 Rolls of ribbon (thick brown, brown/white polka dot, thin green)
$2.97 ea, Wal-Mart

1 Roll of cooking twine
Free, because we don’t cook!

80 stems of fresh assorted mini gerbera daisies
$79.80 (with overnight international shipping!) farmstogo.com

Grand Total: $135 (give or take some cents)

Items used but already owned by us:
Stampin’ Up! Engagement Stamp Set with rubber stamps and ink pads
Cardstock for tags
Hole puncher
Floral wire
Wire Cutter
Circular paper cutter
Fabric glue
Tealights

Not bad, right? The key to beautiful and affordable décor is to shop around for the best bargain. I recommend looking in the stores we’ve mentioned, plus places like Home Goods, The Christmas Tree Shops, Ocean State Job Lot, Big Lots, Marshalls, TJ Maxx, Target, Michaels, Joann Fabrics, and your local discount store. These are all wonderful resources and you can sometimes find the “find of a lifetime!”

Shopping for discounted flowers can also be really difficult. To be sure that you order the correct amount of flowers, do a trial run of your centerpiece beforehand. It’s always good to have some extra blooms on hand, as the shipping process tends to eliminate a few beauties from the bunch. Also, if you are ordering the flowers yourself, make sure they are delivered no more than two days before your event (unless otherwise specified by the floral company). You want to make sure that the flowers you’ve chosen are at the peak of their blooming cycle and are as fresh as can be (no one likes half-dead flowers!) If your floral budget is limited you can do what we did – tie the blooms together to mimic a bouquet. I think it’s just as elegant as a lush and full arrangement.

Tomorrow I’ll provide you with some tutorials on how to take all the ingredients we’ve purchased and turn them into our décor!

Part of the Brown & Green Shower series

Brown & Green Bridal Shower
Brown & Green Bridal Shower: The Nitty Gritty

Previous in series

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14 Jul
2008

Posted in: Decor & Design, DIY & Templates, Parties & Celebrations
By Candice

3 Comments

Brown & Green Bridal Shower

This weekend I was super busy with an awesome event, where I got to really exercise my creativity and frugality for a relaxed and casual bridal shower. It was a lot of fun and we were able to do ALL the décor for under $200! Tomorrow I’ll give you the details on how we kept costs so low, and where you can get all these amazing items. Check out our pictures below, and be sure to click on the thumbnails for a larger version!

The Tablescapes

All the tables were adorned with a variety of chunky vases filled with white and yellow Gerbera Daisies that we hand wrapped in twine to give an elegant bouquet effect.

The Details

The yard was adorned with tissue paper “pom-poms” (or tissue flowers, if you prefer) that we hand made. They were all jeweled with small crystals for an added bit of bling, which ended up looking like dew on the petals! All the vessels were wrapped in ribbon in brown, brown & white polka dot, and green. We also made the brides monogram and incorperated it into the tablescapes with some twine and ribbon. I especially love the “mr. & mrs.” we created out of card stock and stamps from Stampin’ Up!