Felt Flower Fiesta: Bridal Update

My what a super un-clever title. But an update it is.

Remember this pic?

Well now that same box looks like this :

Yep, those roses are covered with dahlias, and my flower making days are numbered. Woohoo! Thank goodness for a long weekend with a few minutes of downtime to spend with a glue gun and a sewing machine.


Geez, seeing that in print makes me realize how work-like that sounds, but I've actually enjoyed most of my time spent with those felt-y little nuggets. Excited to stick them in some styrofoam and be done with it, all the same.

Name Changer

On the never-ending jewelry hunt (Yes, I got the earrings from ModCloth and no, they won't work . Womp womp.), I found this initial necklace from BaubleBar... And it just happens to be my exact new initials in their example :

Since a $115 necklace isn't exactly in the budget for a self-gift right now, I had to post it so I can look at it whenever I like.
Super random, I'm aware. It's Monday after four days off... It's a wonder I even remember how to type.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing all y'all a very happy turkey day! I am STOKED to report that my parents are coming up to share in the festivites at Nate's parent's home, where they will be as well as some aunts and cousins. Can't wait to have everyone together, not to mention having my 'rentals meet some of Nate's extended fam.

Oh, and I found these hilarious pictures that just demand to be shared, so a Happy Thanksgiving post just had to happen (who knew you could Google "thanksgiving bride" and get something...) :

Image courtesy of MotheroftheBridezilla.blogspot.com

And not to be outdone :

Image courtesy of nobodys-opinion.blogspot.com

 

Who's hungry.

Felt Flower Fiesta: They're Baaaaaaaaaaaaack!

I know. I KNOW.

More .
Felt .
Flowers .

But hey, a bride needs a bouquet, right? I decided to go with a more traditional form for my own lil' blossoms (meaning : not a pomander), so I have to figure out how to make some sort of supporting 'stem' system.  I'll have to work something out with more felt or integrating my lace to cover the crafty looking base of them all too, but I think I am wrapping my mind around all of that successfully so far.... I hope.

But! Whipped up all the roses this weekend, and the dahlias won't be long behind with the holiday weekend coming up.

Sparkley white on top, with white and cream (not so creamsicle in person)

Layers o' Felt Roses

On A Silver Platter

I said I'd post pics of my Value Village cake-stand-makings haul what seems like ages ago, so apparently I'm going to make up for slacking with a barrage of pictures. Ready? Go :

Goblets in a range of sizes/finishes, plus gold and silver chargers.

 

 

Chargers on their pedestals.

Three heights of goblets = Staggered heights for stands

 

Apparently Value Village uses the extremely personal Personal Ads to wrap glassware... Yikes!

So I think my plan for the time being is to let the gold and silver just be, but perhaps paint all the glasses bases the same turquoise shade for continuity. I may also do a paint-meets-lace treatment on parts of the chargers, but we'll see. ... Per usual. So far so good!

Bejeweled

I have been on a mad hunt for earrings to wear on The Big Day.

Of course there's criteria : I'm not really planning on much other jewelry... perhaps a bracelet if I can find the right one, but no necklace and a less-than-giant hair piece. They have to be big/long, they have to throw a bit of an art deco vibe, and ideally they would be mixed metal.

So, with that said, I found some earrings at ModCloth.com for the price-is-right sum of $14.99, so decided to give 'em a go. All the rest I've liked have been in the $100 range (ow.), so I figure even if these aren't the ultimate winners, I really like them and would have bought normal earrings for that price anyway.

What do you think?

So Not Wedding Related

But I don't care.

Because take a gander at the text in the upper right hand corner of this pic :

PENDING! That's us!! Money is down and inspection is tomorrow.... Crazy.

Shoot... Does this mean I'm a grown up?

Taking A Breather

This weekend had a few productive moments, but mostly it was filled with some drinking of this :

Walking in this :

And a little snuggling with this :

On the productivity front (you know I love my lists) :
* Hit Value Village and scored a dozen chargers for 99 cents a pop plus all the goblets I need to make cake stands for our doughnuts, which 'Maid Emily will be lending a hand with in December.
* Submitted ANOTHER counter offer to the bank on the house.
* Made more tissue/tulle/lace flowers and I think perfected the assembly process/stem length conundrum.

I'll post some pictures of the goblet-n-charger haul once they make it out of the car. Haven't yet fully decided whether they'll be painted all to match or I'll go with the gold-silver-clear that they are now... We'll see. I think it will depend on whether I can find a food-grade sealant to cover the spray paint or not. Not looking for my wedding favor to be lead poisoning. 

At about $34 for the whole shebang we're coming out massively ahead on the financial front - To RENT (as in borrow for a day) a single tiered cake stand from my doughnut vendor runs almost $150. Horrified? I was. Especially since we'd probably need more than just one. So here I'm getting twelve keep-able/gift-able stands for $30 and a little elbow grease.

And an additional little sanity saver : Found a 100% silk Banana Republic boho-style dress amongst my thrifting for $9.99. A little web research tells me it retailed for $98 in it's day. Neither here 'nor there, but it makes me happy.

Image courtesy of NevverNude.com

The Wicked Witch of the East

Remember her? This was her fate :

Image courtesy of kdudeartz.blogspot.com

And that is exactly why there may be a day or two before I post another craft entry.

 

Confused? Well, pretend those ruby-shod feet are mine, and that pile of siding is the house we just put an offer in on yesterday.

 

Oh... Because we did. We found a house - THE house! 

 

Well, if the bank that owns it says so. Regardless, SUPER FREAKING EXCITING. And scary. And Kansas-tornado-like. Cue the "da dum da dum da da da DAAAA!" wicked witch music.

Our potential humble abode looks like this :

And oh.em.gee.... I love it. So cross any and all available appendages - Those of you with a sixth toe or something, now's your time to shine.

Oh and P.S. if you're in my neck of the woods and need a Realtor, have I got the gal for YOU.

Trying Tissue

Thought I'd throw up some pics of my first attempt at grouping my tissue/lace/tulle flowers in their destined home - The puff-painted/spray painted bottles (remember those guys?). I decidedly need to work out a few kinks - 'stem' length, speed of creation, etc., but for the most part I like them.

...Although it took leaving them assembled and sleeping on it for me to do so. Something about how long I'd been messing with them Saturday night made me hate them, but by Sunday morning they were back basking in the glow of my acceptance.

So (and as always, excuse the cell-phone-in-dim-apartment pic quality) :

 

And lastly, I pulled in one of my taller bottles too for a photo op. I've decided there will be three per table - Aesthetically, threes and fives look better in groupings as opposed to even numbers of twos/fours/sixes. There. Now you've learned something and reading this blog has all not been for naught. You're welcome.

I'm quite happy with how the three materials work together - That wispy little addition of tulle makes me happy in my craft-nerd way. 

***Perfectionist Side Note : The bottles pictured haven't had their final coats of paint, so they'll look better in the end... I hope. Oh the joys of figuring it out as you go along.

Table Tissue

Tissue on a table usually only shows up at a 3 year-old's birthday party or at the senior center during craft hour. So, bascially I've got my work cut out for me trying to make it chic.

Image courtesy of OrientalTrading.com

But tissue paper is this amazing medium. It doesn't have to only live in gift bag and box interiors - It can be folded, twisted, torn and tszujed. It can be thin or voluminous, round or square, flat or textured. AND it's cheap! My 520 sheets were about $24.
I know I sound like I'm gunning for Tissue Saleswoman Of The Year, but come ON! Get on this bandwagon and roll with the crafty kids.

Making a Case for Tissue, Exhibit A : The flowers I played around with making Wednesday night :

All of this with ONE SHEET of tissue. So that means I have 519 sheets left to play with... I'd say I'm stocked. Those packs of clear beads and floral wire pictured yesterday are in use here too : A couple inches of wire, a bead in the center, and the "petals" are strung on and finger crimped for texture. I thought the lace added a nice color break, so the next step of mixing in the turquoise tulle should put it over the top. Each flower is about the size of my man sized large-ish palm, give or take a little depending on the flower.

So I think we're getting somewhere. Flowers are a pretty dreamy thing to craft since nature thrives on imperfections equaling beauty. None of them have to be the same, and none of them need to be "perfect". Which, ironically, is pretty much perfection for this girl.

Trip to Michael's #456,324,321

...Okay, I may have exaggerated that number a smidge.

But I've been to craft stores more in the last few months then ever before... And I'm crafty!! Anyway. Here's the latest haul :

Those beads in front and all of the floral supplies (two kinds of wire and tape) will be used in the centerpieces, and the pile o'white-toned felt is - ta da! - for my own bouquet (MORE FELT FLOWERS. I know. Gross.). That sparkly turquoise stem of leaves I found for a "pre-Christmas" discount rate of 30% off, and it will be clear-coated so it stops shedding glitter like freaking rain, then cut apart and used in the boutonnieres for Nate and his dudes.

I started playing with scraps to get the feel for what I want the table 'arrangements' to look like last night, and although I haven't busted into the tulle yet (maybe tonight if I'm on a roll...), I'm starting to be pretty happy with my tissue and lace creations. But more on that tomorrow!

I'm With The Band

We put our money where are mouths are and went and picked out wedding bands this weekend.

We'd looked at Nate's before but hadn't pulled the trigger, and now after sitting on the decision for a while he was sure. Me, on the other hand... I had decided that I didn't want or need a wedding band ages ago. I love my engagement ring, and was afraid that since it wasn't sold as a 'set', a wedding band would detract from it's original beauty.

More diamonds a bad thing? I know, what was I thinking. So of course, after ogling other womens' hands for a while, I decided I wanted one after all. And since Nate is great and I am spoiled..... Voila :

And, for those wondering, here's Nate's choice:

I bought his outright, but he put mine on a layaway plan so I'm "not tempted to try it on before the wedding".
Super annoying How adorable that he knows me so well.