Happy Halloween!

Gratuitous ring shot / Happy Halloween Candy Corn Nails.

Hope you have a great evening full of adorable ghouls and goblinettes and an exorbitant amount of treats, not tricks.

WooSah.

Another stumbled-upon reminder to be okay with letting people help (a toughie for this D.I.Y. gal) from a wise bride featured on 100 Layer Cake :

"TIME! Weddings take time, so much time. Don't procrastinate. Get started right away and get help. No one can do this on their own. Also, just walk away. I'm the type of person that likes to be in charge of everything, but no one wants to deal with a crazy stressed out bride. If something is overwhelming you then take a break, get some air, or pass on the task to someone you trust. Everything seems like a big deal, but it really isn't. The best moments from you wedding day are going to be the ones that aren't planned. Enjoy them."

That quote almost makes me squirm it hits so close to home... Thank you to everyone who has offered me a helping hand, and I promise I'll start working on myself to reach out and take it. The offers themselves mean more to me than I think even the actual help would!

Image courtesy of ItsAllAboutWellBeing.com

 "Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are."
~Chinese Proverb~

L-O-V-E

As promised, a few more shots of those L-O-V-E-ly 3-D letters that were whipped up this last weekend. Spearheaded by my dad, the letters were sketched, measured... measured again... cut, and taped within an inch of their lives. It was knee-creaking, back-aching work on a tile floor, but everybody brought their A-game and conception to completion happened in a little over 4 hours.
It all kicked off with some amazing homemade cinnamon rolls - Yes, not only does he engineer multidimensional cardboard masterpieces, he also can bake up a mean breakfast pastry.

 My parent's pup, Shiloh, in her Halloween best.

 One done!

 ... And four hours later, the completed set.

 We hadn't quite gotten the hang of the self-timer ...

 Clearly when we decide to make " crazy faces " only my dad and I are cut from the same cloth.

So : Ta da! There you have it. Like they say in t.v. movie land, this post has been edited to fit your screen and run in the time allotted.

Engagement Pics

Our photographer, Dana, sent us a disc with 217 pretty freakin' great pictures. Now don't be nervous, I'm not posting all 217. But here are a few goodies... Hope you like 'em too!

A Proper Penguin

Not only were 3-D letters acheived last weekend, but Nate and I managed to squeeze in a trip to Men's Warehouse on Sunday and pick out the last thing he'll be wearing as a single dude. We're sweetly referring to it as the Game : Over Suit. Nice, eh?

Anyway. I think our consultant waffled between loving us and thinking we were nuts for making decisions so quickly, but we were in and out in about half an hour. Nate had looked online already, and had a good idea of what he wanted. So without further adieu :

 

Satin-trimmed lapels.

 

Going with the long tie rather than the bow tie - A surprise to me since Nate loves a bow tie. Striped tie, patterned vest. Love the contrast.

 

Ivory shirt to coordinate with my dress.

 

'Smoke' and silver cuff links and buttons.

I think I was sadder than Nate about him giving up his idea of wearing wingtip shoes - They only came in black and white (no ivory) and he wouldn't hear of the shoes and shirt not coordinating. 

All images courtesy of MensWarehouse.com

Lovin' it. I will happily marry this penguin.

Teaser

Super busy, super productive weekend, all somehow achieved in relative fun and relaxation. Magic!

Here's a little tease of what went down while we visited my parents Friday/Saturday:

And just for good measure, I keep meaning to post engagement pics and manage to fill my time with other things, so here's a two-pic teaser of those as well:

More of both to come!

Felt Flower Fiesta: FOTOS!

It's really official now, and I have the pictures to prove it. The felt flower pomanders for my 'Maids are finished, and you can batten the hatches because there's about to be a tidal wave of photographic evidence up in here.

Ready? Okay then.

Although I realize I only took detail shots of  'Maid Melissa's, each has a bead initial near the ribbon handle for a little personalization. Oh and yes, that is the lace I wrote about recently scoring on eBay in the background. Handy stuff already and I haven't even sliced into the yardage yet!

In other news you can't use, we also wrapped up our pre-marital counseling sessions last night. Ahhh, what a happy little list checker I am. 

A Stumbled Upon Reminder

Came upon this on the blog 100 Layer Cake. I'll just let it speak for itself:

"Try not to get too wrapped up into the details to where you forget about the meaning of why you are there. It can be easy to get too focused on themes, color stories and DIY projects to prove your creativity. Select aspects of your event that are most important to you and prioritize, remembering that your centerpieces and welcome baskets do not define you. Let go of the little things that may “not go right”, nobody will remember them anyway. The planning of the wedding can be fun but stressful – decisions, budgets, timing, differing opinions, etc.  Take a step back and remember what it is all about & work together to achieve your goals.  Eric and I felt so satisfied and proud of each other for all of the hard work it took for us to get the day that we wanted. It taught us so much about our potential as a team to achieve our goals. Enjoy the journey!"

Image courtesy of PeacefulPose.com

 

Celebre-DJ

So we hired this dj for our wedding in a sort of a friend-of-a-friend cutting us a deal situation. He's wonderful as a guy and as a professional - We attended a friend's wedding who is also a part of said larger circle of pals, and the dj skills kept the party going and the crowd laughing.

His name is Tiger Budbill. Sound familiar?

Well if you've tuned in to this first season of The X Factor on Fox, you've seen his face and heard his voice. He's become a bit of a story on the show, pulling at the root-for-the-underdog heartstrings of the viewing public. Judge L.A. Reid shot him down in his initial audition, but Simon Cowell (seriously) came to the rescue and kept him in the game. He's been going strong ever since.

Image courtesy of XFactorOnFox.blogspot.com

So yeah, a semi-celeb is dj'ing our wedding and I get to upstage him. You know, no biggie. ;)

He can be seen as a part of the "Over 30's" group on the show. Check your local listings and root for Tiger! See his YouTube clips here. He's the real deal.

Felt Flower Fiesta: Finito!!!

I'M DONE WITH THE POMANDERS!!!!!

Oprah is excited too.

Image courtesy of LauraGraves.com

I don't even have any pictures. Just so excited I had to share. Those little bastards beauties are all in their happy little styrofoam homes, each personalized for their specific 'Maid.

I plan to take pics this weekend and get 'em up soon for all to see and offer me appropriate compliments. So go ahead and prep those now, mmkay? One less project in Nate's apartment, so he may just throw a party all on his own for reclaiming a few square feet of floor space. Woohoooooo!!!

Lace 'Em Up

Found my lace!

I mentioned here I was on the hunt for some lace to chop up into bunting and other bits. Success! I found a lovely bit for $4.90/yd on eBay. I'd given myself a budget of $25 including shipping, and as lace by the yard tends to be expensive I didn't expect to get more than 3 yards out of that deal. How very convenient that loads of eBay sellers are offering free shipping in order to up their sales and donate a portion to breast cancer research this month: Five yards later, and I've only spent $24.50.

Boomshakalaka.

Here's my score:

Should be arriving in the next few days. Woohoo! It's stretch too, so if I have any left over it may just accidentally work it's way into a lil' garment design for yours truly... Bonus!

I'm also meeting with Yessie, my makeup artist, tonight for the first time at a local coffee shop. I've got a stack of makeup pictures on my Wedding-O-Rama Pinterest board I can show her on my phone, but really it's just a meet-n-greet kind of deal. Should be a good time.

Felt Flower Fiesta: We're Getting Warmer...

Making some super exciting (in my world) progress on the felt flower pomanders. In fact, such progress that I hope to will be done with them by the end of next week! Can I get a yeehaw!!

Remember that monster stack of felt? Every bit of it is now a flower. At four flowers to a sheet, that's left me with about 300+ flowers. ....Seeing that number in print makes me feel a little naseous.....

How 'bout a visual:

Sorry for the mini version on the black and white - Can't get a handle on how to email myself photos from Instagram's new update.

So that mountainous pile /sea of sticks will be headed for the styrofoam balls pronto. Through my intrepid tester 'Maid, Emily, I found that my first version of attaching the ribbon handle was not exactly sturdy.

....The tip off was when the pomander went bouncing across the 'stage' at the bridal store during Dress Day. So . Did a little re-engineering, and voila:

 All once piece, supporting the full ball, glue all 'round and several knots to top it off. Those babies are solid.

Last but not least, saw this in my Etsy lurkings and had to share:

 

Love.

The Craft

The craft projects continue! A few new goodies I've aquired of late:

*One ream of turquoise tissue via eBay.

*Ten stems of coral-y and natural-toned 'balls' at 50% off from Michael's ($0.99 each!)

 *Hoarding cardboard like it's going out of style. Huge stack wedged between fridge and wall... And no one needs to see a picture of that.
*New box cutter to save me some 10-year-old-Xacto-knife heartache once I launch into the cardboard project.

Still on the hunt for :
*Lace via eBay or the thrift store to whip up some bunting in conjunction with my turquoise tulle.
*Melamine plates, drawer pulls, and hollow wooden candlesticks to create cake stands for our Frost doughnuts.

DIY Cake Plates 

Image courtesy of GiversLog.com

In other news, a co-worker who knows I am crafty and can sew asked me today if I could add just one more project to my list and whip up him a gigantic custom polyurethane Harley Davidson motorcycle cover.

Because that's super easy. And because I have loads of free time. Totally logical.

...Just a little update from my felt/tissue/styrofoam/cardboard filled world.

It's All Just A Little Too Much...

It's happened : I am STRESSED.

Image courtesy of PlanningElegance.com

I'd been doing so well just going about my business, ticking things off the list.... But today that nice, accomplished feeling has dissipated and a little part of me just wants to hide under my desk and cry.

The calendar next to me has every single Saturday booked from what seems like now 'til eternity, and I know I have even more things to schedule on weekdays. And, yes, I am a crazy dog person, but the thing that has me the most concerned is how little time is currently left for my pup. Feeling like we're pawning him off on Nate's parents left and right is killing me, even though they love him as if he were a real live grandchild.

How can you say no to this Puggle-y face?!

We're also trying to cram in 5 sessions of pre-marital counseling with the pastor that's marrying us. It's required for him to seal the deal, so we're going through it and trying to make it as fun as possible. So far it's not so bad at all, and it is keeping two mothers I know extremely happy. Five sessions didn't seem like so many in the beginning, but now that time with my boys at home is worth more than the current market value of gold, scheduling time to watch videos and talk about ourselves is Making . Me . Crazy . I almost wish we could just go sit there for the 6 remaining hours we owe and knock it out.... Sigh.

If you're still reading (between eye rolls, I'm certain), thanks for letting me vent. I just miss my old day-to-day right now, and knowing it's not coming back anytime soon is a tough pill to swallow.

Meet My Vendors: Frost Doughnuts

Didn't I tell you Friday it was going to be a fun-filled weekend?

This morning we're headed to Frost Doughnuts for a tasting. Neither Nate nor I are very much into very expensive fondont draped monstrosities, so in place of cake : Doughnuts! And let me tell you, Frost is the place to do it right.

 Smokey Bacon Maple Bars. Butterfinger. Bourbon Caramel Pecan. Banana Split Fritter.

These are DOUGHNUT FLAVORS.

 I'll be in such a sugar haze by the end of the tasting I'll probably agree to any pricing the owner throws at me. Nonetheless, my tummy is empty and I'm ready to taste!!

Smokey Maple Bacon Bar

Image courtesy of SeattleMusings.com