Tying the Knot

Our save the dates were one of my favorite DIYs of the wedding! They came out so cute, especially when they were all put together and tied up in a cute little package!  I DIY-ed the whole save the date and it was super easy!  Some of my bridesmaids helped assembly line style with all the tying we did with these babies, but I ended up doing a good portion of it by myself while my hubby of the future studied and stepped in when he could and it really wasn't bad at all.  I think it helped to do it in portions of 10-that way the numbers seemed manageable!

 The cutest little package!

My save the date inspiration came from a bunch of different things, but the main look of it came from this post!  When I saw those save the dates I just fell in love and I knew I could make my own after reading their post!  I loved how the whole thing folded up in a nice little package where you just addressed and stamped it right on the save the date-no money spent on envelopes-major win in my book! :)  I also really loved the middle section where it had the save the date.

One summer when I was still in college, I got home for summer break WAY before any of my friends so I spent a good week vegging on the couch watching TLC wedding specials.  I always remember seeing a cute save the date where they put a little heart stamp on the date that the couple was getting married and I guess it stuck with me because I wanted to include that element in ours!

Then I saw this post (which was inspired by the first post I found!) and knew I HAD TO HAVE the tying knot aspect-how fun, different, and cute!!

Finally, I came across this pin and decided that's exactly what we needed for the right side of the tri-fold for it to look complete!  I just picked a cute Instagram picture of the two of us; they came in the mail super fast and looked great!  A lot of people really thought that was a cute and different aspect to our save the dates!  It was fun seeing our friends and family send pictures of them using the stickers to mark their calendars! :)

I started in a plain old Microsoft word document- (I don't have Photoshop so everything I made came right from a regular word document!) I used the same FREE fonts from the "Be my bridesmaid?" post here so everything would match (since I'm crazy like that).   I made three columns and started adding the elements for my design.

The calendar I made by inserting a table and typing out the August calendar.  You could probably find a calendar for your month and year in a google image search, but I really wanted mine to have matching fonts to the save the date as a whole (see above paragraph about my craziness).  I made the calendar in a separate document then copied it over the the save the date document which worked a little easier for me.  I added a heart symbol from the symbols available in Microsoft word and changed the color of the heart via the tools to match our colors (dusty grey blues, sage green, and pops of light pinks).  Then I did the save the date middle design and finally I ended with the blurb about the pictures to add to your calendar.

Then I copied each item in each column and spaced (by counting how many times I hit enter) and pasted them underneath the original until the document looked like this:

The hardest part was figuring out the spacing, but once that's done its really smooth sailing.

Then I printed out the amount I needed onto my cardstock with my regular printer. This is the exact cardstock I bought in the Kraft paper color to stick with my rustic theme.  Then I bought this hold puncher so I could make a small enough hole to only knot the string once on each side.  Finally I bought twine from the dollar store and craft ribbon in olive green and gummed paper tape for keeping the whole packaged closed!  I bought one of each item linked above and it was enough to make 170 saved the dates for our 300+ guest list!

Once I had all my supplies and the save the dates printed I cut on a paper cutter marked where each fold was to go and folded away!  Then I punched a hole on each side and cut twine to size.  Loosely tie a knot in the twine right in the middle but do NOT tighten it.  Then string each end through the punched hole and tie a knot and fold up your save the date.  The string should be small enough to have to pulled tight to open so the loose knot will tied tightly as the guest opens it!  This took a little fiddling but once you get the right size use that piece of string to measure the rest that you cut.

 

The above picture was sample I made to try it out! 

Once your add your string and the sticker pictures (which I added using double sided tape) you can start wraping up your little packages!  I closed it by using the gummed paper which I cut out using a 1" whole punch.  Then I tied the green ribbon around and cut it to size. 

Look how cute! :)

I just added a clear label with the couple's name and or address right on the front.  We finished right about the holidays where we saw a lot of our family and friends so we ended up just handing them out at Christmas parties and such!  The ones we didn't get to see we just stuck a stamp on it with a return address on the back and put them in the mail box! 

Hope you found these as cute as I did!  Please let me know if you have any questions about how I made them! :)

Great Scott!

I'M BACK!

I had this thought to create this blog while finishing my masters, wedding planning, and also renovating my kitchen while working full time AND while my fiance was starting to work on getting his CPA while also working full time.

YEAH.  It was too much. 

But, now I'm married with my masters in Special Education, the kitchen is nearly done (looking at you backsplash) and Chris had 2 measly tests left before he gets his CPA! Phew!

Anyway, now that I have a little time to breathe I plan on writing more regularly so that there are easy directions for some of the DIYs I did for the wedding.  That was seriously my pet peeve while planning.  I'd find all these cute idea on pinterest and then when you clicked the link there was never any directions on how the person made it! GRR!

So I hope to make your wedding planning a little easier, but giving you some directions to make your own wedding DIYs! :) We made everything from our save the dates to the actual invitations to the decor.  I even made my wedding shoes!

We really had an amazing day and you will too!  So if you're in the thick of the wedding planning just remember there is a light at the end of the tunnel and you're day will be so fun and memorable it'll all be worth it!

We had a blast!

BUT since we're getting close to one of my favorite holidays (honestly all holidays are my favorite), I thought I'd share some fun costume ideas I'm currently loving.  Staying true to myself, I tend to DIY my Halloween costumes! :)

Here are some I'm loving this year:

90s nostalgia AHHHH Real Monsters costume!!!

image source: mariea41d8bec4b  via buzzfeed



A classic Forest Gump & Jenny:

Image Source: Instagram user madfrey5 via popsugar


A most hilarious Ron Burgundy & Veronica Cornerstone







image source via pinterest


But I think Chris and I are going to something different this year.  Those of you who get the reference of this post's title will have a pretty good guess.  To hold you off here are of few of our couple costumes over the years:

 Tj & Spinelli from Recess

Popeye & Olive Oyl

Zach & Kelly from Saved by the Bell

These were all DIY no sew costumes! Some purchases were made from thrift stores, some I used paint and some were tape! Hope this gives you a little Halloween inspiration! :) 

Will You Be My Bridesmaid

One of the things I was excited about after getting engaged was asking my bridesmaids to be part of my wedding.  Pinterest has so many great ideas, it's really easy to find 1,000 ways to ask some of your best girls to be a part of your big day!  I must have seen an idea for the card I made on T.V. because I could not find it anywhere on pinterest!  I needed to up making a "rough draft" of the card since I was just going off a picture in my head.  It ended up being really easy and cute, so I went to work on the real thing!  I wanted the front of the card to have a 3-D affect with a "bridesmaid" dress and the girls' name.  Then on the inside I wanted it to say inflate above a balloon.  When the girls would blow up the balloon it would say Be my bridesmaid?! I LOVED the way they turned out and the girls all seemed to really like it!  It was a fun and exciting, but inexpensive way to ask the girls to a part of our special day!

Materials:

• Cardstock
• Glue
• Tape
• Xacto Knife
• Tulle
• Backing paper 
• Scrap booking paper with a fun pattern
• Twine
• Balloon
• Computer 
• Printer

First, I designed my card template on my computer using Microsoft Word.  I just picked fonts that I liked from my computer.  The fonts I used I download from da font, a free font website.  (The font I used is Simon Script.  It's free to download and use for personal use.)  I turned my page to landscape and added two columns.  Then I put the name one of my bridesmaid on the top of the left column.  All you do next is insert a page break and add the word inflate at the top of the left page.  When you go to print take all but one piece of paper out of the printer and print one side, then place your paper back in remembering to turn your paper over so it will print on the opposite side.  I highly recommend printing a practice sheet or two to make sure you print it correctly and that your spacing in your word document is to your liking.

After you print them out either draw or trace your skirt onto your card.  I went on google images and printed out a dress template I liked.  I cut it right at the waistline so I had a bust a skirt. 

Once you trace the skirt use your xacto knife to cut it out.

Trace your bust onto your scrapbook paper, cut it out, and glue it on top of your "skirt-hole" if you will. Haha!

Cut a length of tulle (I think I did about 12 inches or so), fold it in half and accordion fold it.  Then tape it on the inside of the card right above that "skirt-hole".  

Then cover your taped tulle with your backing paper.  I used a thicker grey piece of scrap booking paper.  Cut the paper to size so that it's a little bit bigger than the area the tulle covers and tape it on.  I tried gluing it first but the tape holds better.

I got my idea for the balloon from this pinterest post.  I blew up my balloon, twisted the bottom, and held it with a chip clip so I could write on it and then deflate it (which I saw on this pin-where they did save the dates on balloons! SO FUN!).  Make sure you use an oil based sharpie to write on the balloon! 

 *I practice this on Dollar Store balloons which worked great- then bought the all pink ones from Walmart and for some reason the writing dried and flaked off, luckily they were still read-able.  I also noticed the Walmart balloons remained kind of stretched out after I deflated them.  I'm not sure why but the Dollar Store ones worked great so I would suggest using those!

All you need to do now is deflated the balloon, cut two one inch slits in the paper under the word inflate, string a piece of twine through the slits and tie your balloon to it!

I wasn't going to be able to see all my girls at once, so I needed to mail some of my cards.  I made DIY envelopes out of scrap booking paper I had at home.  This post will give you all the directions you need to DIY your own cards.  I just printed out the addresses from a Microsoft Word doc. using the same fonts in the card so they match! Then I cut and glued them on the card.  Make sure you bring your cards to the post office to mail because they might weigh a bit more so you'll need an extra stamp!

That's it! It's really easy and for the most part fool-proof! The hardest part for me was adjusting my spacing for the printed card! The rest was smooth sailing!  I bought one fun patterned scrap booking paper and one backing piece of paper from Michael's and it was enough for 7 cards.  You'll need one piece of cardstock per card and one piece of paper for each envelope you need.  You can get all the supplies you need from Michaels, amazon, or walmart!

Hope you found this post helpful! Happy asking! :)

**I decided to DIY my own save the dates and invitations, so I made my bridesmaid cards to match those-but you totally don't have it! They're super cute no matter how you choose to do it!

Feyonce

Chris and I started dating six years ago when we were seniors at college.  We moved in together, then 2 years later bought a house together!  We're currently in the process of slowly fixing it up and making it our own.  

---Fast Forward---

April 11, 2015 I got one of the best surprises of my life! Chris had already surprised me with a puppy, Dagney, the previous month (I know--he's amazing and I'm SO lucky! <3) and I'm obsessed with her and want to bring her everywhere.  

This included wanting to bring her on our "date" Chris planned to celebrate my last few days before my teacher spring break was over. Chris found the Witherspoon Grill where Dagney could be with us on the patio while we ate and drank (mmm mojitos!).  I popped in to use the bathroom before our next stop, a nearby park for a walk with the pup! While I was in the bathroom, my sneaky man switched the dog tag unbeknownst to me.

When walking in the park we came to a cute bench surrounded by trees when Chris brought to my attention that he thought Dagney’s dog tag was messed up.  Although I assured him that the tag was fine, he insisted I look at it.  When I bent down to check it I noticed the new writing on the back. “Will you marry my daddy?  Please say yes! He loves you so much!”  Truth be told, I only got through “will you marry” before the realization and tears hit.  As I turned around, Chris was down on one knee with the most beautiful ring shining in the sunlight proposing to me!  Overcome with happiness, instead of saying yes, I said “thank you!” quickly followed by a yes!  As we hugged and cried Chris’s brothers and girlfriend came running up from behind the bushes!  It turns out they got to the park early, scoped out a good spot, and laid a trail of branches so Chris would know where to go! They found their hiding spots and took pictures and videoed the entire proposal!  As we left the park to head back to our house to celebrate we realized that the park sat on a street called Lovers Lane.  We took pictures at both the street sign and a beautiful sign on a nearby house labeled 11 Lovers Lane (perfect since it was April 11^th)!!

  

On our way back to our house to celebrate with Chris’s brothers, Chris seemed nervous and rushed.  I kept trying to reassure him that the surprise was over and I said yes so he didn’t need to be nervous.  Little did i know, our families and friends were back at the house ready to surprise me yet again and to help us celebrate! 

The best day of my life was full of surprises and involved all the people I love the most.  I am one lucky bride to be and so thankful to be marrying my best friend!