Wedding Day Emergency Kit

Everyone needs one. Usually I raid the target travel section for a bridal shower gift for a friend (I know it sounds cheesy - but it's one less thing to worry about before a wedding, and peace of mind is a great wedding shower gift!).

This time, I did it for myself.


And yes, everything is there. Fingernail clippers? Check. Static cling remover spray? Check. Lactose intolerant? I got you.

(Well, plus there is will be vegan dinner and dessert options. That's just how us violently lactose intolerant folks roll.)

It's all organized by type.


I'm loving the clear bags! You can see it! (Although there is a small flashlight in there - just in case!)






And these velcro into a larger travel bag that will be coming with me day-of.

I plan to put these in the ladies room during the wedding so that if one of my beautiful guests might need some mousse or perhaps some floss (ok - *I'm* the one who always needs floss) it'll be there for their use! There will also be a list, so that people will know if what they are looking for is actually in there. But, I promise. It is.

Cost of all the miniatures: Probably something ridiculous like $80 - I may have gotten a tad carried away. Feeling prepared for anything on your wedding day: Priceless.

Fluffy Letters Tutorial!

Well, I've survived Christmas, and I'm only slightly traumatized. If I ever start blogging about my family, you all would understand. I suppose I just have to mention "family" and many of you are already nodding your heads...or banging them against the wall. Just me? Ok, then.

So, I'm back to wedding crafting and I still think it's about the best thing I can do with my time. Surprised? Me neither.

I love monograms. I see them all over weddings nowadays. Like these from Martha:


And, of course, I love these fabric poms:


I wanted to combine these two loves into ruffley monograms. I managed to do so, although I'm not sure that I'm madly in love with the results. I wanted to be madly in love with the results, but these things happen.


These ruffled letters are certainly cute enough to make their way onto a dessert table or a guest book table, where they will happily show off their ruffleosity and announce that this is, indeed, Chris and Kerissa's wedding.

For this project you will need:
* Wooden letters (I purchased mine at Michael's. They were painted white, which helped because I knew I would be covering them in a cream colored fabric, so they would blend well. They are approx. six inches tall.)
* Fabric (I used inexpensive cotton)
* Hot glue/gun
* Circle Cutter (Optional)
* Scissors

Here are the letters pre-fluffiness:


I knew that the fabric ruffles had to be short enough that you would still be able to tell that it was a "K" at the end of the project. So, I took my circle cutter and cut out a one-inch circle out of paper to use as my template. You could certainly freehand this as the circles do not have to be perfect.


Then, I cut some inexpensive cotton into a zillion teensy circles.


Next, I put a dot of hot glue in the center of the circle like so (but hopefully with a hand that was more steady than mine when I took this blurry photo):


and stuck it to the letter.

Repeat 50-hundred times. :)

To give it the ruffled look, I stuck each circle up tight to the one before so that it would fold the edges of the other circle up in random spots.




Sometimes the cat helps. But she looks irritated when you explain to her that she cannot nestle in that fabric. See the look?


Here are my tips, also known as "what I would do differently next time":

(1) I ruffled the whole letter. This probably isn't necessary but I thought perhaps I would hang them, so I wanted ruffles all around. However, I think I liked the less cluttered look of the letter when only the front was ruffled, like this:


The fabric was able to hang over the side and look gently ruffled. But, then I ruffled the sides and it looked like this, which I wasn't as thrilled with:


(2) So, if you do want to ruffle the whole thing, I learned that it is best to start with the back and sides first. I ended up flipping the "C" over and using the back as the front (thank goodness it was a symmetrical letter!) and making the ruffles a tad less crowded on that side. As you can see, I had perfected my ability to use a little less fabric and make it a little less ruffly by the time I got to the "K."


(3) I also trimmed the edges of the ruffles in the center of the letter to make sure that the edges were still defined and the "K" was identifiable, instead of a ruffled blob. :)

I do love me some ruffles!

These are the smallest letters I've purchased, so some ginormous monograms are certain to follow.

Biting off more than you can chew. Mmmmm...

I've been hemming and hawing (sp?!) about what to do for prettiness behind us during the ceremony. I've seen a number of things, but most just don't seem right. A big floral arrangement...meh. I detest many of those. I've seen displays using branches, but at the end of September, who wants to be reminded of fall and winter? Plus, dead branches make me kind of sad. I want something neat-o, but not overly ornate and not too...alter-y? Clear as mud, right?

My current insane idea is stolen from Martha but then changed up a bit to make it more fancy (read: difficult). I want to make this out of fabric garlands (the paper ones seem a little cheesy to me):


I know...I know...I'm crazy. I'm a little concerned that I won't be able to make garlands that are long enough, but maybe I'll be able to pull it off. Stay tuned! :)

Awash in Yo-Yos

I love these easy-as-pie to make fabric yo-yos that I've been making out of dupioni silk. So far I have about 75 of them, but I'd like to have at least 200-250. I can see these being used to decorate around the flowers on the table, attached to glass jars for a little cute-bling (that's totally a thing), and wherever else they may fall. I have so much crafting to do, but I'm really enjoying the process! Yay!

On Your Mark, Get Set, DIY

I did it. I knew it would start early. I went to the Pacific Fabrics in Northgate and stocked up on lovely creamy, ivory, champagney fabrics in an array of textures: muslin, cotton, polyester silk, dupioni silk. (Thank goodness for friends that will compare fabrics for 3 hours.) I can't wait to start making silk flowers, muslin "yo-yos" and cotton poms. We don't have a date or a venue, but it's never too early to begin crafting. (If I were Chris, I'd write: "that's what I always say" - man, I can't get that guy out of my head. Good thing I'm marrying him.) And, yes, I've decided on a simple, monochromatic color scheme of off-whites, ivory, cream and champagne colors. This is sure to disappoint some folks, but I'm in love with the colors and that's all that matters right?

I guess I wish that were the case, but despite not having discussed a budget or picked a date, the wedding politics have already started. I've been involved in enough weddings to know that it really is a lot about friends and family, rather than just about the bride and groom, but the selfish bridezilla buried deep inside me (who I will punch in the face if she comes out) sometimes wishes it were just about us.

Also, while I'm so excited to start planning for my wedding (this may be the job I was born to do), I wish I could also say that I was working on my relationship and preparing it for the joys and the hardships involved in a marriage. I can't say that I'm doing that just yet, but it's at the top of the "to-do" list (and there it shall stay).