DIY Wedding

Browsing Pinterest recently I came across a pin for a beautiful centerpiece of frosty looking blue pillar candles sitting in a pretty silver tray of what looked to be snow. Clicking through I found it to be a project by none other than Martha Stewart and I was so excited to see just how affordable and simple a project it was that I had to share! I think they would make stunning, simple centerpieces at any wedding or event with a snowy winter theme.

What gives the candles their frosty look? Epsom salt! Not only does the salt give the candles their frosty appearance but it is also used at the base to give the appearance of new fallen snow. So pretty!

You could also do the project on a smaller scale and frost votive candles to make miniature versions! The votive size would make fantastic guest favors!

Here are the simple instructions (with some ideas from me added in!)

You will need:

• Candles – Pillars work well grouped for a centerpiece but votive candles and taper candles would work too, depending on the set up! You can purchase candles in a color to match your theme (white, blue, etc.) OR I have seen crafters paint a white candle with acrylic paint as well!
• Epsom Salts
• Optional – Glitter and/or food coloring in the color of your choice to be mixed in with the salt (Irridescent snowy glitter or blue food coloring would be pretty!)
• Modge Podge or Glue
• Small Paintbrush
• Rimmed baking sheet or tray (for rolling the candles in)
• Optional – Tray, votive/candle holder to display finished candles on/in

Now the instructions – so easy!

1. Pour your epsom salts into the rimmed baking sheet or tray. If you would like your salts have a touch of color to them you can also add food coloring. I think a touch of blue or green would look gorgeous in a winter theme or do a few different salt trays (plain/blue/green) for some variety! (You can mix in some glitter with your epsom salts to add a little extra customization here as well if you like!)
2. If you are painting your candle with acrylic paint do that and allow to dry. If you purchased already colored candles skip this step!
3. Take your small paint brush and coat the entire surface with your modge podge or glue.
4. Roll your candle in the tray of epsom salts until fully covered and allow to dry.

That’s it! Super easy, super affordable and completely gorgeous upon completion. Just take your finished candles and group them on a pretty tray filled with salt and accented with pine cones, winter greenery, holly, cranberries or even holiday ornaments to create a stunning centerpiece. Beautiful on guest tables or even accenting your winter wedding theme on your escort or guest book table! I can also envision frosty little votive candles lining counters or table tops – so pretty! These simple diy frosted candles will help make your wedding or event a true winter wonderland!

As always if you decide to make some frosted candles for your event we would love to see so please send in your pictures. Your work may be featured on the site!

credit – theinspiredroom.net

My friend Ana from Craftification shared a great idea with me that I thought everyone here would love! Candy Lollipop Centerpieces! These would be great for a candy or sweet themed wedding, a wedding/bridal shower, baby shower or even a birthday party like a sweet sixteen! Use them on the guest tables or as extra decoration for your Candy Buffet Table! Lollipops come in such a huge variety of colors an flavors you are bound to find the perfect combination of delicious sugary goodness that will liven up any table..(And be edible afterwards! A great take home present for your guests.)

You can go as big or as tiny as you like with these lollipop centerpieces depending on your event and table size!

All you will need are…

• Lollipops (or suckers) – The big swirly ones are stunning to look at and add a real POP to the design…But don’t forget you can add in some small ones as well like Blow Pops and Tootsie Roll Pops (or a favorite of mine..Jolly Rancher! Yum!) too. The Rock Candy on lollipop sticks would look amazing as well! Cake Pops may work too! See my post here for instructions on how to make your own.
• A container to display them in – So many options here! A small fish bowl, a chunky glass square vase, a (clean) flower pot, a shallow rectangular tin, a bucket..etc. Use your imagination! If you end up using a bucket or metal tin or bucket of some sort you may want to spray paint it to match the rest of your theme (think bright or pastel colors!). Leaving it as is can look pretty too depending on the rest of your theme. Sometimes a plain metallic finish or clean, simple white will work best. Use your judgment/creativity!
• Styrofoam or floral foam
• A little hot glue (might be necessary if you are using large lollipops!)
• Cotton Candy or Loose Candy to fill the container and hide the foam. Some loose candy ideas would be – Gum Balls, Mike & Ikes, Jelly Beans, Gummies, etc! Chocolate pieces like M&M’s can work too..just make sure it won’t be so hot they will melt!
• Optional - Design or purchase 2″ round labels for the face(s) of your big swirly lollipops with your names and event date! (Many girls seem to be using publisher to make their own stickers and labels. If you don’t feel comfortable doing that you can check out my design site where I offer custom labels/stickers for purchase!)
• Optional - A little ribbon to tie bows on your lollipops for extra pizazz. A little tip if you do – Wrap ribbon tightly around the lollipop stick twice before tying a bow. It helps the bow stay put and look more professional!

Now all you need to do is put the foam at the bottom of your container, put a little bit of glue on the tips of your lollipops and stick them in. (You may want to play around with the arrangement before using the glue!) Then, when everything is how you want it to be fill up the container with your loose candy or cotton candy to hide the foam used to anchor the lollipops. Done! SO easy and yet so eye-catching! It will have your guests drooling and unlike flower arrangements they are a built in favor (and won’t wilt!). Love it!

As always if you use these instructions to create a yummy lollipop centerpiece of your own please share your photos with me!

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

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!

Cherry blossoms are a beautiful sign of spring across the US. The problem with cherry blossoms is that’s the only time you can briefly enjoy their beauty! This makes it hard for anyone who wants them for their wedding in say..December. I found a solution to that problem with do-it-yourself blooming cherry blossom branches that would be absolutely perfect for centerpieces and decor! These flowering branches are also extremely affordable, since they consist of branches cut from your yard (or a friends!) and some vellum paper. What’s also neat is you can put your own twist on the blossoms, possibly coordinating the colors from the usual pink and white to colors of your wedding! Whether you want to create traditional blossoming branches, or change it up a bit with unique colored blooms..here are the instructions!

All you’ll need are..

• Branches to attach blooms to
• Vellum Paper in Color(s) of your choice (tissue paper works too if you cannot find vellum, it will just be more fragile!)
• Scissors
• Utility/Craft Knife
• Glue

Next is to create the blooms!

1. Start by cutting your vellum paper into 3.5 inch and 4.5 inch squares.
2. Each square is folded into a flat cone, following the image below.
   
3. Use scissors to make four angled cuts to remove the top of the cone.
   
4. With your utility/craft knife, carve out a small rectangular sliver on each side of the cone(s). Snip off a tiny bit of the pointed tip of the cone, and unfold and shape the paper to create a blossom.
5. Take your branches and gently poke blossoms onto the branch tips. You can add a little bit of glue to each blossom to make the blooms a bit more secure on the branch.
6. That’s it! Now all you need to do is find a pretty vase or container and anchor the branch(es) inside it with pebbles, crystals or stones.

Whether you use these branches on every table for a centerpiece, or here and there around your ceremony/reception venue..your guests will be impressed by their beauty. They’ll be even more impressed to know you created them yourself!!

Also, if you love the look of the blossoms, but don’t want to attach them to branches, there are a couple other ways you can incorporate them into your big day. I thought it could look really beautiful to gently thread your blooms through colored ribbons or string and hang them from the ceiling. It would be like the gorgeous raining orchids seen in a lot of celeb weddings..only with your adorable (gorgeous!) handmade cherry blossoms. Another idea would be using the blossoms to decorate your favors! Using a hole punch, punch a hole in one folded corner of the blossom, insert a brad and thread with string or ribbon. Attach to your favor bag, tin..basket..whatever you like! Lastly, and probably most simply..scatter your little blossoms around tables for an additional wedding decor detail guests will love.

As always, if you create a DIY masterpiece with these instructions..we wanna see pics! Make sure you send them in to us

Credit: Martha Stewart Living, MarthaStewart.com

chrisilstrup – flickr

thefeltmouse – flickr

threefishsleeping – flickr

Whether you are having a wedding on the coast..or simply a summery beach themed wedding, these do-it-yourself beach gel candles would be a great favor or addition to your room decor! The completed product is a beautiful, professional look..and the project is so easy!

Materials you’ll need…

Pretty Glass Jar or Candle Holder
Candlewick
Scissors
Clear Candle Gel (Found in Craft stores, AC Moore Carries “Gelly Wax” pretty reasonably!)
Aquarium Gravel to match your wedding colors, or a neutral color such as white or a pale brown
Seashells, Beach Glass, Rocks and/or marbles (NOTHING flammable!)
Optional – Liquid Candle Dye to tint gel to desired color, Gel Candle Fragrance

1. Pour 1/2″-1″ of aquarium gravel into the bottom of your container.
2. Bury the candle wick base in the gravel. (Note: You can use sand instead of gravel, however if you do this it is important to use a wick safety sleeve or “Flame Stopper” so the flame stops before reaching the sand. This can be any small metal tube that can be slid down the wick and crimped with pliers where the flame needs to stop.)
3. Arrange your small seashells, beach glass or other decorative goodies on the gravel.
4. Heat the gel on the stove top or microwave following directions that came with the candle gel you purchased.
5. Once your gel has been heated to the appropriate temperature, you may add optional candle color tint and/or fragrance. Remember, a little color goes a long way, and if you make it too dark you will not be able to see the scene you created! The best way to add color to the clear gel is with a toothpick, dipping it slightly into the color tint and then into your gel. Discard the toothpick and stir. Repeat with a new toothpick as needed if the color is not how you want it. Do the same with fragrance, but adding it by the drop. It is always better to add a little at a time than to add to much in the beginning! Don’t waste a batch of the gel wax on being hasty!
6. Once your wax is the right temperature, and it is the color and fragrance of your liking, gently pour it into your container(s), being careful not to disturb the scene(s) you have created.
7. Adjust the wick so it stands straight.
8. Set the candle(s) where it will not be disturbed for 12 hours while the gel sets and the trapped bubbles rise to the top and pop.
9. Use scissors to trim wick 1 inch above the gel..and you’re done! You can either set one at each place setting or use it as decor! You could even tie the containers with a small bit of jute string and attach a personalized card with details of your day..or a little thank you!

Tips and Important Notes:

• Seashells that contain air might also rise to the top! To prevent this, put a small amount of candle gel into the shell before placing it on the gravel.
• Non-flammable Fish-shaped glass beads can be pushed halfway down into the gel so that they appear to be swimming.
• Disturbing the gel to rearrange shells or add objects will introduce more bubbles, but they will settle out of the gel if you leave it undisturbed again!

It is a beautiful favor your guests will adore..and they can bring it home to burn and be reminded of your wonderful day!

As always if you use this entry to create your own candles, we’d love to see! I know your creative minds will have some fabulous ideas for these candles!

A floral pomander (sometimes called kissing ball) is a great DIY project that can be used for a variety of things in your wedding! It is wonderful for bouquets, decor and centerpieces.

You may ask, what is a pomander? Simply put, it is a foam ball covered in flowers (either fresh or silk will do!) to create a ruffly floral ball. A ribbon can be attached to use it as a bouquet or hang up as decor. You can also prop it onto a pretty vase and use it as a centerpiece.

If fresh flowers are being used, a sturdy flower such as daisies, carnations, mums, roses or dahlias work best. If you plan on using silk go with whatever flowers tickles your fancy! Keep in mind fresh flowers would need to be created as close to your wedding day as possible, while silk flowers last forever and can be created as soon as you like!

To begin, you will need:

• Oasis Foam Flower Ball (size depends on project)
• Fresh or Silk Flowers (ie. a 20cm foam ball will need 50 carnations to cover, amount of flowers depend on size of ball and flowers being used!)
• Scissors
• Hot Glue (If using silk flowers or if you are attaching a ribbon or rope for hanging!)
• Pins (If creating a hanging pomander ball or want to better secure fresh flowers)

If you are using fresh flowers you will also need some flower food/preservative. Let’s begin!

1. If using fresh flowers you will first need to condition the flowers to allow them to last as long as possible once in the foam ball. Clean a larger bucket and fill it about 1/4 full with warm water and flower food (at ratio explained in flower food instructions). Remove all lower leaves from your flowers and cut stems at a sharp angle to allow for maximum water absorption. Allow flowers to sit in the water at least 10-15 minutes.
2. Next, if using fresh flowers you will also need to gently soak your oasis foam ball. Place the sponge/ball in warm water with flower food dissolved in it. Allow the ball to submerge itself. Avoid pushing the sponge down into the water as it can cause bubbles within the ball. These are air pockets that wouldn’t allow your flowers to drink!
3. Now you’re ready to start assembling! Remove your flowers from the bucket you were conditioning them in and cut stems at a sharp angle to about 1″-1.5″. Starting from the top, push the stem of your first flower into the foam ball, making sure it is pushed firmly(but gently!!) into the foam base. Continue in a straight line until you have created a ring all the way around your ball. Then, make a line halfway around, and fill in the quarters. If you feel your flowers aren’t secure enough, you can pin them in with greening or boutonniere pins.
4. If you plan on using your ball as a centerpiece resting on a bowl or vase, you’re done! If you plan on hanging the ball for decor or using it as a bouquet, you will need to attach some ribbon or jute.
5. Measure desired length x 2 and add 3 inches for the knot. Tie into a loop (double knot). Hold in place with greening pin. You can then add some hot glue and another greening pin over the top for an extra secure hold.
6. If making a hanging pomander, an additional detail you may like is attaching a corded tassle to the bottom of your ball, for a pretty dangly effect. To do this, attach the corded tassle loop to a wired pick. Dip the pick’s unwired end into floral adhesive and press the pick into your pomander.

Here is a fantastic video I found, creating a floral pomander with carnations.

It is such a beautiful finished look! I am thinking of trying to find some tinted blue and green carnations to make some hanging pomanders for my big day. Please send me your photos if you make some diy pomanders using my instructions!

Wheat grass is extremely easy and inexpensive to grow. It looks great alone or with some added flowers (roses for instance…as seen above!) creatively tucked in here and there. It makes a great living centerpiece for a spring or summer wedding, especially if you are going for a garden wedding theme..or simply going green!

To make your own centerpieces, you’ll only need a few things..and a 2-4 weeks of time! You will need some pretty containers for planting the grass in, some wheat grass seeds (found in a health food store or online at websites such as wheatgrasskits.com – 10 pounds of seed should make 25 small centerpieces), and some soil (miracle grow potting soil works great!). If you are adding flowers you will also need flower tubes, flower preservative and fresh cut flowers (preferably bought within a few days of wedding). Silk flowers may also work..it’s worth a try, and you don’t have to wait till right before the wedding to add them! Ready? Let’s get started….

1. Wheat grass seeds are sometimes prone to mold, so some choose to soak their seeds in water and mold control solution for no more than eight hours before planting. Mold control solution can be found at most garden centers or nurseries. (This is however optional, your seeds may not mold at all!) If you do soak your seeds, be sure to rinse them well before planting or the solution may stop your seeds from sprouting.
2. Fill your container(s) with soil until the soil is about 2 inches from the top of the container and moisten well.
3. Scatter your wheat grass seeds evenly across the moist soil all the way to the edges. Press the seeds down firmly, and then mist the seeds with a fine spray of water.
4. Now just wait! Within a couple of days to a week and a half your grass seeds will begin to sprout. Once the sprouts have grown an inch or two, move your containers to a bright spot, such as a south facing window.
5. Within 2-3 weeks your beautiful centerpieces will be thick with bright green wheat grass(4 inches tall!) and ready for your big day! If you need to trim the grass, that’s fine! Just grab some sharp scissors and give it a haircut.
6. If you decide you want to further your centerpieces with flowers you will now need your fresh cut flowers (tulips, roses, daisies, lilacs for example), and flower tubes. Cut your fresh flowers with a sharp clean knife or pruners at a height that would allow them to peek out of the grass.
7. Slide them into your flower tubes (filled with premixed water and flower preservative) and place them in your centerpiece(s).

Here are some more beautiful examples…

That’s all you need to do to have extremely inexpensive, diy centerpieces! Make sure you send me your pictures and takes on this diy centerpiece craft..I can’t wait to see how they turn out!