DIY Wedding

I found this beautiful (and SO simple!) project while browsing Martha Stewart’s website and had to share! These Lacy Votive Holders would be such a beautiful addition to any wedding table setting for any season. I can picture brightly colored lacy votives scattered throughout a summer wedding held outside in a tent under the stars or crisp, intricate white lacey votive holders with some subtle glitter scattered throughout a winter wedding in a frosted ballroom. So pretty!

If you are feeling really ambitious (or you are having a small wedding) these would make really pretty custom wedding favors as well!

All you will need are…

• Tea light or votive candles
• Small Glass Votive Candle Holders (to keep the project safe!)
• Rectangular pieces of lace – 5″ wide by 14-21″ long works well but practice with one first to decide on what size works best with your glass holder. The Martha site recommends guipure lace but says any medium to heavyweight lace will work. (Lace can be found in any fabric store and it can be dyed different colors to fit the theme of your wedding or left a clean white, depending on the look you are after!)
• Balloons
• Fabric Stiffener
• Needle and thread(to match the lace)
• Optional: Fabric Dye (if you are dying the lace), Glitter

Now the instructions..

1. Cut lace into a rectangle in the desired size. Trim one of the long sides, which will be the top of the votive holder, following the lace’s motif. Sew across the bottom with a loose running stitch and connect the 2 ends. Pull the thread, gathering the bottom into a tight circle, and knot. Whipstitch the short sides together.
2. Place a balloon inside the lace, and then blow it up to fit the lace’s dimensions. Set the balloon upright in a paper cup so the lace form is upside down. Arrange the gathered lace to create an even bottom. Spray with fabric stiffener until saturated. Let dry.
3. Pop the balloon.
4. Your votive holder should be all set! Now if you like add some subtle glitter or leave it alone Just slide in your glass votive holder and it is ready to light up your wedding!

These beautiful votives will look stunning scattered throughout your wedding ceremony and/or reception. Your guests will love the attention to detail and you’ll love the cost and simplicity!

As always, please send in your photos if you create these lacy wedding candle holders for your big day. We would love to see!

Credit: MarthaStewart.com

Credit: WonderTrader on Flickr.com

Manzanita branch trees have been growing in popularity in the wedding scene  as both beautiful centerpieces and stunning decor (like a manzanita wish tree!).  Tree centerpieces and decor give your wedding an ethereal, whimsical beauty that can give your wedding a modern fairy tale feel or even a lush green forest!

Buying them already made can be quite costly.. So why not make them yourself? The branches aren’t exactly cheap -BUT- it is much cheaper than buying the whole tree already completed. You could also skip using manzanita branches altogether and gather branches from your backyard for an even cheaper alternative!

You will need (for one tree):

• Manzanita Branch(es) or branches you have gathered in the park/backyard (Make sure you allow them to dry out a bit before building!) Also – If you plan on hanging heavier objects from the branches (like votives) make sure the branches you have collected/purchased are strong enough to hold them without breaking. You don’t want your guests attacked by falling candles!
• Container to use as a base of the tree (A pretty wide mouth vase, a cute pail, a clean flower pot…Use your imagination! Just make sure the mouth of the container is wide enough to allow arranging of the branches.)
• Something to keep the branches in place (I have seen marbles, river rocks, floral foam, aqua beads, etc!) If you use floral foam you will want to hide the foam with marbles, rocks or moss when you have finished arranging.
• Optional: Silver/White paint(or any color you like!), Glitter paint, Glitter & Glue (If you do not want to leave the branches in their natural state!)
• Things to hang/decorate the branches – The possibilities are endless! Butterflies, silk or preserved flowers (preserved orchids would be stunning!), strands of crystal, lush amaranthus, fake petals strung on fishing line, lights and even hanging votives if the branch can handle the weight! Little squares of pretty paper would also look pretty for guests to write their wishes and advice upon to hang.

Let’s get started! It’s SO simple

1. First, if you plan on painting or glittering your branches do this first! Spray paint them in pretty metallic silver or a clean white…You may need more than one coat of paint! Then, add some glitter paint or glue on crystals/glass glitter as well if you like! (Which would be stunning for a winter wedding!) To be safe it is best to allow the branches to dry overnight before moving onto the next step. If you are leaving the branches natural skip to the next step!
2. Add your river rocks, marbles, aqua beads….(whatever you plan on using!) to the container. Add the branches and play around with them until you get them to look the way you want them to look. You may also choose to hot glue floral foam into the bottom of your container and then arrange the branches in the foam. Then just hide the foam with moss, crystals, rocks or marbles!
3. Now all that is left is to decorate them! Glue on silk flower and butterflies, drape sparkling strands of crystals or strands of flowers, hang votives..etc! So gorgeous!

That should do it! Whether you make one tree or multiple trees for centerpieces I’m sure your guests will be impressed by their beauty…and you can say you created them yourself!

For further inspiration I found this fantastic video on youtube to help you make your tree:

As always please share your photos if you create your own – we’d love to see!

(Photos from Nettleton Hollow Blog and Real Simple Magazine Article)

I found this DIY project browsing around the web and just had to share it with all of you! It would be a beautiful diy project for autumn wedding decor like centerpieces or decorations or even in wedding bouquets! Plus, it is extremely affordable as you can get the leaves just walking around your neighborhood..for free!

Some tips before the photo tutorial…

• Choose bright, freshly fallen leaves – the more colorful the more vibrant your flowers will be! Avoid the crispy dry leaves..they will not fold and form into flowers without breaking.
• It is best to use leaves of a similar color for each flower..a group of yellow leaves make a beautiful yellow flower..etc.
• The original tutorial is not written in english but the translation mentions soaking the finished bouquets in vegetable oil for a few days to maintain color and freshness. I have not tried this though – so don’t take my word for it! Other preservation methods would be dipping the finished flowers in glycerin(1 part glycerin to 2 parts water, left in solution 2-6 days) or spraying with acrylic spray from your local craft store.
• The thread can be covered with a matching floral tape to give the flowers a more finished look.

The full original tutorial can be found on Natalia’s Site.

As always I would -love- to see photos if you create these beautiful autumn leave flowers! Make you e-mail us if you do

I was watching Martha Stewart last week (as I always do!) and she had a beautiful spring craft on that I thought would be absolutely perfect for weddings! She created stunning fabric floral bouquets and it seemed pretty simple to do too. I’m definitely tempted to add another project to my growing list of diy things for my July wedding…fabric hydrangeas!

Here are her fantastic instructions! (If you’d rather watch the video click here!)

You will need…

• fabric (voile works nicely!)
• tray (something shallow like a clean baking sheet)
• medium paint brush
• liquid fabric stiffener
• petal and leaf craft punches (available at Michael’s and Walmart)
• micro hole punch
• floral pips (or stamens)
• contact cement
• floral wire (if making bouquet)
• wire cutters (if making bouquet)
• green floral tape (if making bouquet)
• hair comb(s) or pin(s) (if making hair combs/pins instead!)
• needle and thread and/or a strong glue (if making hair combs/pins)

Instructions

1. Begin by punching your fabric flowers: Lay a piece of fabric in a shallow tray. With a medium paintbrush, apply enough fabric stiffener to saturate, but not soak, the fabric. Let it dry, about 1 hour. Repeat with any remaining fabric.
2. Using craft punches, punch out petals and leaves as close together on the fabric as possible.
3. Using a micro hole punch, make a hole in the center of each bloom. Slip a pip through each hole, and secure it with a dab of contact cement.

For bouquets:

1. To make a stem, cut a length of floral wire, and wrap it around each pip with green floral tape.
2. For leaves, glue floral wire to each one to create veins and stems. Wrap stems with floral tape.
3. Gather blooms and leaves into a bouquet, and either tuck them in a vase or wrap the stems in more floral tape to join them.

For hair combs and pins:

1. If using a comb gently sew your flowers to it with needle and thread, reinforcing with a dab of strong glue (hot glue maybe?) if you like. If using pins place flowers where u want them at the top of the pin and glue with strong glue.

credit: Martha Stewart

There you go! with those easy instructions you can fill your ceremony and reception with your own handmade bouquets and centerpieces that will last forever! Beautiful keepsakes you will cherish. The hair pieces would also look good not only in your bridal hair..but your bridesmaids and flowergirl’s hair too!

Make sur eyou send in some pics if you create your own..we want to see!

Martha Stewart is having her yearly Valentine’s Day workshop right now so her show is full of all kinds of pretty Valentine’s themed crafts and projects! One of the projects she featured this week were small crepe paper roses that I thought would be beautiful for weddings too! While she explains how to make the roses and turn them into barrettes, you could choose to make them into something else too if you like!

For these pretty roses, you will need…

• double sided crepe paper (choose colors to match your wedding theme!)
• rose template (download here!)
• stapler
• scissors
• toothpick
• 28 gauge wire
• bamboo skewer
• hot glue gun and hot glue sticks
• smooth-cast 327
• piece of styrofoam
• pruners
• krylon clear matte finish spray
• small scrap of green felt
• pencil
• barrette or pin backing (optional, you may choose to use them as decor instead!)

1. First, cut out three 6.5″ by 2.5″ rectangles from your doubl sided crepe paper.
2. Next, print the template! Then cut out the rectangle containing the petal shapes and stack them on top of the three paper rectangles. Staple into place.
3. Now, cut out the petals! You will end up with three tear-drop shaped petals and nine heart shaped petals.
4. To shape the petals: Cup in center; Wrap left and right top edges around a toothpick to curl.
5. Build the flower by placing the tear drop petals first, and then the heart petals around eachother, holding onto the bottoms.
6. Fasten the petals in place by wrapping wire around the base, then wrap the wire around a bamboo skewer. Secure with glue.
7. Mix Smooth-Cast 327 according to manufacturer’s directions. Dip the flower into the mix and shake off excess. Insert bamboo skewer into Styrofoam while the flower hardens. Repeat for a second coat.
8. Use pruners to snip off the “skewer stem”.
9. Finally spray both sides of the flower with the krylon matte spray and allow to dry.
10. To complete the rose, cut out the leaf shape from the template and trace it on your green felt. Cut out your leaf!
11. If you are making a barrette or pin, glue the barrette or pin backing to the back of the flower and then cover it by gluing on your green felt leaf. If you plan on using the roses simply as pretty decor, skip gluing on the barrette or pin and just attach the felt leaf!

Here’s the video if you would rather watch the roses created first hand than read the instructions

That’s it! When complete you will have a pretty crepe paper rose that is actually pretty durable since you sealed it with the smooth cast and the finish spray.

Some ideas for their use..

• Pin it into your pretty wedding hair, make one for each of your bridesmaids hair..or put some in the hair of your flower girls!
• You may choose to scatter them around your cake on your cake table for decoration, or even around the center of the guest tables as an addition to your centerpieces!
• Something that may be worth trying would be threading the backs of the roses with monofilament or clear fishing line, securing with glue..Then you could have  pretty strands of raining crepe paper flowers to hang as decor! You may need to thread them before sealing them though..I’m guessing the seal may make it hard to shove a needle through! You may be able to avoid the threading all together and just glue them directly to the monofilament and hide/secure the glue job with your green felt leaf!

These are just a few ideas..If you create these pretty flowers for your big day we’d love to see!

credit: Martha Stewart

My previous post I featured a project by David Monn, an event designer featured on Martha Stewart. This is another fantastic autumn project he created that would add some warm autumn colors from an unexpected place! Sure, you have autumn florals and centerpieces..but how about some fall decor cascading from the ceiling? These Cascading autumn leaves are extremely affordable and easy to create and would look stunning in a number of places on your wedding day! Hanging around doorways, above tables or maybe just above the cake table to make your autumn wedding confection pop out even more! Let’s get started!

You’ll need…

• Monofilament (a fancy word for clear fishing line!)
• Scissors
• Pressed Leaves from your yard or faux silk leaves from the craft store
• strong craft glue that dries clear

Now is to create these dandgling beauties!

1. Take your monofilament and cut it into lengths you want the cascading leaf strands to be. Make them as long or short as you wish!
2. Mark the monofilament with a pencil where you want each leaf to be spaced on the strand. Place a spot of glue in the center of a leaf, and then attach it to the monofilament strand where you made your mark.
3. Add another spot of glue on the leaf now glued to the monofilament and push another leaf on top. Double facing the leaves will hide the spots of glue used when attaching!
4. Repeat gluing 2 leaves on each premarked spot on your monofilament strand until each mark is covered.

That’s it! make as many strands as you wish and hang them at your ceremony/reception site to add rich natural warm colors of autumn from an unexpected place – the ceiling! I think they are an absolutely perfect add on to your fall wedding decor..Every little detail personalizes your big day!

Make sure you send in your pics if you use these leaf cascades at your wedding!

David Monn (a Nyc event designer) was on the Martha Stewart yesterday and he did a wonderful presentation of easy fall table decor that I thought would also work beautifully in some cases for a fall themed wedding! One of his wonderful creations was a perfect autumn centerpiece, a pumpkin filled with colorful autumn leaves. It’s an extremely easy centerpiece to assemble, and also extremely affordable this time of year – especially if you have rich autumn leaves laying all over your yard or park that can be used for free!

Here’s what you will need…

• Low, Squat Pumpkin (if you want this to be a nonperishable centerpiece, the craft pumpkins would probably work from the craft store too as long as its low and squat and can be scooped out into a bowl!)
• Fall leaves from outside, pick a rich variety of colors – reds, yellows, orange and green! (like with the pumpkin, if you want them to last you can use silk leaves from your craft store)
• Carving knife
• Floral foam (Oasis)
• Floral Wire
• 3 inch floral sticks

Now let’s start!

1. Cut your pumpkin in half, scoop out the seeds and carve your pumpkin into a bowl.
   
2. Cut your floral foam to fit inside your pumpkin bowl and push into your pumpkin.
   
3. Attach five leaves of different sizes to a floral stick using floral wire to form a branch.
   
4. Push your branch into your floral foam and repeat until the foam is completely covered. You will end up with a pumpkin bowl with an overflowing colorful abundance of crisp leaves.

Now just repeat as needed until you have the number of centerpieces needed for your reception! These would also look beautiful as randomly placed decor throughout your ceremony and reception. Maybe place one near the guest book, or a couple around your altar! It would bring the beautiful crisp autumn colors into your big day to compliment a wonderful fall theme.

Credit: Martha Stewart and David Monn for the idea and images!

These floating tea light candles are extremely easy to create, and so very affordable too! They would make a beautiful centerpiece addition, surrounding your main centerpiece..or even used in a group (maybe in differing heights?) to be the main centerpiece. I got the idea when I was watching Get Married this morning, tried it out with some of my chunky candle holders..and it worked beautifully!

All you’ll need are…

• Small Clear Glass Candle Holders (Square, Round, tall, short..whatever fits the style of your day!)
• Water (tap water is just fine!)
• Food coloring in your choice of colors to fit your wedding theme
• Small tea light candles or small floating candles (I used plain old tea lights!)

Now all you need to do is fill each of your candle holders with a bit of water and add a drop of food coloring. A little bit of color goes a long way, I only used one drop per holder! If you put in one drop and still want to go darker, add another drop and stir. If you add too much you can always pour it out and start over again!

Once you achieve the color(s) you like in each holder, gently place your tea light or floating candle into the water and you’re done! Just light the candles and they are ready to glow all night!

If you like, you can fill an empty gallon milk carton with water and add food coloring drop by drop to get the color you like. Then just bring the gallon(s) of colored water, candles and candle holders to your ceremony/reception site so you can quickly set your candles up there (or get your friends or family to do it! You’ll probably be busy getting beautiful.. )

That’s it! Have any ideas to make this project more unique please comment! And, as always please send in your pics if you create this candle project.

credit: ThalloDesign on flickr.com

Do-it-yourself hanging jars are an extremely affordable project you can incorporate into your wedding! Very few materials are needed, they cost hardly anything and they can be created in minutes. Once completed they can be used either with candles to make glowing lanterns or with fresh flowers to make hanging colorful vases. They can also be customized beautifully with ribbons and trinkets to fit your theme..and a multitude of items can be put into the jar to further add to the customization.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Jars (Any size will do as long as they have a rim. Any color will do too if it will fit into your theme!)
• Your Choice of (choose one, or mix them up jar to jar):
  - Fine gauge metal wire, wire cutters and needle nose pliers OR
  - Ribbon/String/Raffia and Scissors
• Tealights/Votives OR fresh flowers (daisies, dahlias, whatever you like!)
• Optional: Fillers for the jar such as sea salt, gravel, marbles, dried peas, sand and shells, candy sprinkles, river rocks..etc. (Be creative but keep in mind – what you choose here also depends on if you are using the jars with candles or flowers… Salt would work wonderfully for candles, not so much with fresh flowers!

Let’s get started

1. First, you will need to measure how much wire or ribbon/string will be needed to loop the rim of the jar and also create a loop for hanging. To do this, if you are using wire – wrap your wire around the rim, loop it up to create a handle and back down to the opposite side of the jar. Add an additional inch and cut. If you are using string/ribbon/raffia – Cut enough to wrap around the rim of the jar twice and leave you a handle of your preferred length. Add a few inches and cut.
2. If you are using wire (skip this step if you are not!) – Wrap your wire around the rim of the jar just under the lip, forming a ring.  Using your pliers, twist the wire close to the jar to secure.  Be sure to leave a little room in the ring to allow for attaching of the wire handle!  Bend the excess wire  over the top of the jar and attach them to the metal ring  looped around the rim, securing with your pliers, to create the handle.
3. If you are using string/ribbon/raffia – Wrap the string twice around the rim of the jar and knot tightly, making sure you have secured the loop beneath the lip of the jar. Loop the long end of the string up and around for your handle (the more you leave here, the longer the handle will be!), securing it tightly to the opposite side of the jar by knotting it to the loop you tied securely around the rim. If you have enough left over, wrap the remaining string/ribbon/raffia around the rim of the jar again for extra security, and knot. Trim excess!
4. Now that your jars have secure handles, its now your time to customize. If you are adding candles, filling the jars with sand, salt or the like can look beautiful. River rocks or marbles with fresh flowers can look great too. Or, go even simpler and add a touch of food coloring to the water your flowers will be in for additional color. Another idea could be adding charms that coincide to your wedding theme to the rim with a ribbon or even taking some craft paint and painting little designs here and there on the jar..(little ladybugs would be adorable..or stars!)

That’s it! The jars will look fabulous any way you decide to use them. Hang them from shepherd hooks down the aisle, tree branches or even fake tree centerpieces IF the jars are light enough for the branches to support. (Think baby food jars with tealights!)

Note: Please make sure if you are creating the lanterns and lighting candles and using anything other than wire make sure the string/ribbon cannot catch fire. Safety first!

Please make sure you e-mail us ALL of your pictures if you use this project to create these beautiful hanging jars. We’d love to see your gorgeous creations!

credit: keri and kevin on flickr.com

credit: Mrs. Cherry Pie on WeddingBee

credit: the adventures of f & j on flickr.com

credit: ThalloDesign on flickr.com

Luminarias (also called luminaries) are a beautiful handmade detail for your wedding ceremony or reception, and are incredibly easy and affordable to make. You need only a few basic craft supplies to create customized glowing paper beauties that will add that special something to your wedding day decor.

You will need…

• Small votives or battery operated tea lights
• Small lunch-size paper bags (they come in a variety of colors, even metallic! Check craft stores or online.)
• Scissors, thumb tacks and/or a craft knife, depending on design you plan on putting on the bags
• Small stack of Newspaper
• Optional: Sand for weighing bags down..a MUST if bags will be used outside

Let’s begin!

Once you have decided on a design for your luminarias (google luminarias or luminaries on google images to get a great selection of ideas!), you will need to decide on the method you will need to transfer the design. There are two basic ways – perforation with a thumb tack or actually cutting the design out with a craft knife.

Perforation – Perforating your bags with a thumbtack will allow bright pinpricks of light to shine through in the pattern of whichever design you choose.

1. Place several layers of folded paper on a cutting board.
2. Tape the paper bag (with bottom flap unfolded) to the newspaper with masking tape or any other removable tape.
3. If you have a pattern you have printed or drawn that you are going to be using to create your bag(s), gently tape it into place over the bag so the design is centered.
4. Take your thumbtack and prick evenly spaced holes along the outside of the design, making sure to poke all the way through to the other side of the bag.

Cutting Out – Cutting your design out of the bag with a craft knife has both pros and cons. The larger holes will allow much more light to shine through, so the designs will be more apparent..however, the larger holes also allow more wind to come through which may blow out your candle. This may be where the battery operated tea lights have an advantage! Make sure the designs you choose are no larger than 1 1/2″ as designs that are too large can cause the bag to distort and sag.

1. As above, place several layers of folded newspaper on a cutting board and tape your bag (bottom unfolded) to the paper with masking/removable tape.
2. Very gently draw or trace the design you chose onto the bag.
3. Using your craft knife, cut out your design!

Once you have created your design all that is left is to light your bags up! If you are using the bags outside, fill a bit of sand in the bottom of each to weigh the bag down. If you don’t thing the bags will blow around, you can omit the sand. Then add your votive or tea light to each bag and you’re all set!

Both methods will successfully create gorgeous glowing luminarias to decorate your ceremony or reception venue. There are so many different color combinations that can be used for the bags, and an endless amount of designs..the sky is the limit with customization for your wedding!

Hints and Tips:

• Cookie cutters can create great designs! Simply trace them over your bags and perforate/cut away! Think butterflies, flowers, hearts..stars and more!
• Using two different colored bags per luminaria/luminary can further customize your bags to your wedding theme. Cutting a small design in one area in one color bag, and then another design in another area of another colored bag will allow the opposite color to show through when one bag is placed inside the other and lit.

As always, make sure you send us some pictures of your luminaria creations! If you have any ideas or suggestions to further customize or beautify the bags please comment!