DIY Wedding

credit: rockYOface on flickr.com

Sometimes when all is said and done the bride and groom are left with a bunch of favors left behind by their guests. This won’t happen if your favor is an edible! I found this delicious recipe for diy oreo truffles on the kraft website ad thought it would be a perfect diy favor idea for all of you planning your own wedding!

They only require a few ingredients so they are extremely affordable and they don’t take very long to make! Here’s the recipe!

Oreo Truffles (Makes 42 individual truffles!)

• 1 pkg. (1 lb. 2 oz.) OREO Cookies, finely crushed, divided
• 1 pkg.  (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
• 2 pkg. (8 squares each) BAKER’S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, melted (Milk Chocolate, Dark Chocolate, White Chocolate..Choose your fav!)
• Optional – Candy sprinkles for additional customization – find some in your wedding colors!

1. MIX 3 cups of the cookie crumbs and the cream cheese until well blended. Shape into 42 (1-inch) balls.
2. DIP balls in melted chocolate; place on waxed paper-covered baking sheet. (Any leftover melted chocolate can be stored in tightly covered container at room temperature and saved for another use.) Sprinkle with remaining cookie crumbs. (Here is where you can also add some of your candy sprinkles to add some color! You could also wait till after refrigerating  and further decorate your truffles with different colored chocolate by piping pretty designs or swirls on top!)
3. REFRIGERATE 1 hour or until firm. Store any leftover truffles in tightly covered container in refrigerator.

credit: Kraft Foods

That’s it – you will only need to wrap them up for your guests! Some cute packaging ideas would be individually wrapping each truffle in cellophane (clear or colored) with a pretty bow to match your theme and a favor tag. You could also put them in pretty favor boxes!

If you make truffles for your big day using this recipe please be sure to send us the pics! We would love to see!

credit: talekinker on flickr.com

credit: ladybugbkt on flickr.com

credit: cakewalkbu3 on flickr.com

I found this fantastic video on youtube by MakeupbyTiffanyD, showing how to create your own brown smokey eye for your wedding day. If you are looking to really play up your eyes on the big day and want to do the makeup yourself I think this look would look beautiful on anyone! I like how it is a brown smokey eye which is more subtle than black or gray..so it has a more natural, fresh feel to it..while still being glamorous! Just remember, if you play up the eyes it’s best to not go too crazy with the lips too. A subtle glossy lip would be best!

Click here to watch! (she has disabled embedding of her videos!)

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

If you are taking on the task of making your own wedding cake for the big day, this great video I found on YouTube by realmeals is just for you! It’s a fantastic step-by-step video showing how to bake your own simply lemon wedding cake and frost it with buttercream icing. They go over the wedding cake recipe very thoroughly – including mixing the batter, filling the pans, baking, mixing the buttercream frosting  and even showing you how to assemble the cake one it is baked (including creating multi-colored buttercream roses)! The women teaching how to create this delicious wedding cake are truly cake divas! They make it look so simple!

The lemon cake sounds like it would be a delicious flavor for a summer wedding, especially with the addition of passionfruit puree to the buttercream icing..yum! Who am I to kid..this cake would be delicious year round..I could really go for some right now..heehee

(Here is a quick mock-up so you can see what they look like, I’m sure you can do a prettier job embellishing! )

I found this fantastic video on youtube by tommr1 showing how to make your own wedding favor seed envelopes very easily and affordably! You only need a few items to craft these cute little envelopes. Your guests will love these little seed favors and can think of your wedding every time they see the little plant they grew from your special favor.

You will need:

• 8 1/2″ x 11″ Paper (Standard printing paper size) – You can use parchment paper, scrapbook paper or plain colored printing paper. Choose something that would compliment your wedding theme or colors!
• Scissors
• Seeds
• Optional: Embellishments such as a rubber stamp, pens/markers, glitter, crystals etc. to adorn your envelope with after folding

Here is his informative video showing how to fold your paper into an adorable seed envelope…

Once you fold your envelope you may choose to embellish the envelope with your names and wedding date, a themed rubber stamp, your monogram, or even a little wedding poem pertaining to seeds and growth. (Click here for an excellent group of wedding seed favor poems that would work great on your handmade favors!)

The seeds you use can also reflect your wedding colors and/or theme. For example, if you are using gerbera daisies as your main flower for the day then daisy seeds may be a cute favor! Another idea may be pumpkin seeds if you are having a fall wedding.

Here are some other ideas for seeds…

Daisy Seeds
Pumpkin Seeds
Wildflower Seeds
Sunflower Seeds
Forget-me-not Seeds
Carnation Seeds
Love-in-a-mist Seeds
Evergeen tree Seeds
Herb Seeds

These handmade paper seed envelopes are not only affordable and cute they can also be considered green favors, especially if you go the extra mile to get recycled paper for your envelopes!

Make sure you send in pics if you make these seed favors for your big day, we love seeing our visitors beautiful work!

If you are having a ringbearer at your wedding (and I’d assume you probably are!), you are going to need something for him to carry the rings(or faux rings..) down the aisle. While browsing around online, I found fantastic DIY instructions for making your own ringbearer pillow from scratch on Weddingbee by Miss Spring Roll. If you have the time to make one, it’s definitely something you can create to save some money and further customize your ceremony.

Her tutorial helps you to create an elegant lacy pillow using silk fabric, chantilly lace, ribbons and fiber fill.

To see the full tutorial, complete with pictures visit Miss Spring Roll on Weddingbee!

What I love about this detailed but simple tutorial is how easy it really makes it for us to create our very own custom ringbearer pillow. You could use colored fabric or ribbon that would compliment your wedding theme colors instead of sticking to just plain white or ivory too!

Make sure you send in pics if you sew your own adorable pillow, we’d love to see!

A lot of brides have recently started a trend of buying or making their own custom hand-painted parasols for their wedding. They are a cute way to personalize your day and can be perfect for a photo-op and/or reception decor! What’s fantastic is how affordable they are to make your own and how easy they are to make too. They are generally under $10 a piece, but the more you make..the more you save!

Some brides choose to make only one or a few for their bridal party with their monogram, date, initials or even simple messages like “Love” and “Thank You”. The “Thank You” parasol in a photo would make a great thank you card for after the wedding Another idea is making a small hand painted parasol for your flower girl(s) to carry!

Other brides make smaller ones for their guests as a favor. I’d only suggest this if you are having a small intimate wedding..or if you are really dedicated and have enough time on your hands to paint a bunch of parasols. (Which I doubt..you’re planning a wedding after all!)

You’ll Need..

• Paper parasol in your choice of size – just make sure that the paper is slightly transparent to allow you to see your pattern through it, most brides go with a simple white parasol (See Paper Lantern Store or Oriental Trading (bulk purchase) to order online)
• Acrylic Paints
• Pencil
• Tape
• Fine Paint Brush (Don’t go too cheap here, you’ll want a soft fine brush able to glide along the paper and paint intricate lines…In other words, don’t use the paintbrush from a kids watercolor paint set!)
• Computer/Printer to print pattern
• Optional – Embellishments such as swarovski crystals (and glue!)

Some suggestions for designs…
Just Married
Flowergirl
Bride
Groom
Bridesmaid
Groomsman
We Did!
I Do
Thank you!
Love
Your Monogram
Your Wedding Date

Making the parasols are extremely simple! Just gather your materials and steady your hand..here we go!

1. Decide what you want on your parasol. You will want to prepare your pattern on the computer to use as a guide for painting. How you do this depends on the programs you have available on your computer, however most brides seem to use Microsoft Word to type out the words/letters they want in the font style of their choice. Enlarge the font size (or design) till you get the size you want – you’ll have to play with this (and test print) till you get the size you are looking for. If the lettering/design is small you may be able to fit a word per sheet of paper. Some designs may require one letter per sheet..and some designs (a monogram perhaps?) are so big they may require several sheets of paper taped together. When you’ve successfully printed the letter(s)/design(s) for your parasol in the size you want you are ready for the next step!
2. Take your printed sheet and some scotch tape and GENTLY tape it to the underside of your parasol where you want the design on the sheet to be. The printed design should be face up so it peeks through the see through paper of your parasol – this is why your parasol -must- be see through to some degree and not opaque! This will act as a guide for painting onto your parasol.
3. Gently trace the design with a sharp pencil using the pattern you taped underneath as a guide.
4. Next, begin painting! Take your fine paint brush and begin painting your design using the pattern you traced. guide. Don’t rush this! Be very slow and gentle to fill in the pattern you traced. Some suggest using small strokes to avoid botching the design when you paint over the parasols ridges/bumps. If you are painting with more than one color, be sure to allow the first color (and each thereafter!) to dry before starting a new color.
5. Once your painting has dried you are done! You may now choose to further embellish your design to further customize your parasol. (Some swarovski crystals glued in select areas of the design could be very pretty!)

That’s it! These beautiful custom painted parasols will be a gorgeous personal detail at your wedding. Make sure you send us pictures if you create your own custom parasol…we would love to see!

If you are making your own wedding cake for your big day and want to decorate it with edible roses I found a perfect video for you on YouTube! It teaches you how to create them with Marzipan, step by step!

Marzipan is a sweet dough made of ground almonds, sugar and sugar syrup. Once mixed it makes a perfect edible modeling clay perfect for molding decor for your cake. (Marzipan can usually be purchased at your local grocery store or where cake items are sold!)

Donna (djcssp) is clearly a professional at making these beautiful sugar flowers and her video is very detailed to make creating the roses very simple, even if it’s your first time working with edible modeling clay.

Send us your pics of handmade flowers if you create some! We’d love to see

Signature cocktails are very trendy and popular in the wedding scene today. Some brides use them to further personalize their wedding day by creating a signature drink that reflects both the bride and the groom and the theme/feel of the wedding itself. Others like to incorporate signature cocktails into their bar when they have opted for a more affordable beer and wine bar, but want to add a little something special as a drink option for their guests.

Since the holidays are fast approaching I thought I’d list a few recipe ideas for holiday signature cocktails for your holiday weddings! Set aside a night with your soon to be hubby to mix up these delicious treats and maybe you’ll choose one for the big day! (Maybe even serve a couple at your holiday gatherings this year!) If you like any of these recipes just give it to your bartender and he/she should be able to recreate it (over and over again!) for your celebrating guests.

Peppermint Patty

Ingredients:
- 1 oz. Smirnoff Vodka
- 1 oz. Peppermint Schnapps
- 1 oz. creme de cacao
- 1 oz. Light cream
Garnish: peppermint stick (red and green)

Mix all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Strain into a martini glass and garnish with red and green peppermint stick

Mistletoe Kiss

Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 oz Smirnoff cranberry flavored vodka
- 1 1/2 oz pineapple juice
- 1 oz coconut cream
Garnish: maraschino cherries

Mix all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Strain into a chilled martini glass and garnish with maraschino cherries.

Gingerbread Applecrisp

- 1 oz Monin gingerbread syrup
- 2 oz Bacardi Big Apple rum
- 2 oz apple juice
- splash of lemon juice

Place 1/2 cup of simple syrup and 4 tablespoons of graham cracker crumbs on separate plates. Dip outside rim of martini glass into simple syrup, then into graham cracker crumbs several times to ensure coverage. Set aside. In a cocktail shaker, combine rum, gingerbread syrup, apple juice and lemon juice. Shake with ice in a cocktail shaker and strain into rimmed martini glass. Garnish with red apple slice.

Yum..they sound so delicious! I may have to make a couple this weekend for my fiance and I..just a taste test! Hehee If my wedding wasn’t a summer wedding these would be tempting additions for my big day. These would be best for you winter wedding brides though. Delish!

Credit: Cocktailtimes.com

Pocketfold wedding invitations have become very popular with brides over the past few years. They look very classy and beautiful upon completion, and are also very functional! The invites are customizable to your wedding theme and colors, and the pockets can hold a variety of cards that include wedding information (such as RSVP, map and directions, rehearsal dinner info, reception info..etc!).

Making the pockets yourself is a more affordable way of achieving these stunning invites! DIY pocketfolds range in price from $2-3 dollars a piece depending on your location and materials purchased. This is much cheaper than paying the typical $8 a piece you would spend online! The biggest sacrifice for these invites is your own time..but if you set up a table in front of your tv or dvr you can just make them day to day while you watch your favorite shows!

I found fantastic step by step instructions on ehow by a user named missmelinda25 who very generously shared how she created her own pocketfolds. Thanks Miss Mel!

You will need…

• 11×17 Colored Cardstock (Each sheet should create 2 pocketfolds)
• Exacto knife, rotary cutter and/or paper cutter
• scissors
• ruler
• Super tape(double sided)
• rotary scoring blade
• embellishments (optional)

Now that you’ve gathered and ordered all the necessary materials..you’re ready to go! Are you ready? Here we go (image intensive!!)

1. The first step in creating your pocketfold is to take your 11×17″ cardstock and cut out the basic shape/size.  It’s easiest if you make a template first, that way you can just trace the remaining pocketfolds using the template (saves you time!). The template MissMelinda made had the following measurements: 14.5″ long x 9 1/16″ wide. To create the L-shape, you’ll need to cut out a rectangle 3″ x 8 5/8″. To make it even easier, you may want to find the shape of pocketfold that you like online, buy just one and use that as your template. You can use either a rotary cutter, paper cutter or exacto knife to make your cuts-whatever is easier for you.
2. Create the Outer Pointed Flap – Find the center of the outer flap and place your ruler there. Line it up with the right edge to form a diagonal line ending your line at 1/2″ from the top and make your cut. Do the same to the left side and make a cut from the center to the left side 1/2″
   
3. Create the Inner Pocket Folder – Here you will do the opposite. Find the center of the inner pocket and go down 1/5″. Line up your ruler with the right edge and make a diagonal cut. Do the same for the left side.
   
4. Score your pocketfold – Your first score will be 2.5″ down from the outer pointed flap.
   
5. Make your second score using the vertical line of the inner pocket. If you look at the picture, you’re cutting on the left side of the ruler.
   
6. Make the final score at the base of the inner pocket. Make the score going horizontally at (what will be) the base of the pocket.
   
7. Fold each of the scored lines. You can use a bone folder tool (or metal spoon!) if you’d like, although that’s optional.
   
8. Place a piece of super tape on each side of the inner pocket. The Super Tape is double-sided so after you stick the tape down, you’ll see red tape that you’ll remove in the next step.
   
9. Remove the red tape and then fold up the flap to make your inner pocket.
   

That’s it! Your pocket is all ready for your invitation mat, inserts and embellishments. Slide various cardstock cards in increasing heights in the pocket for your guests to pull out and explore! Finish your pocket invite by folding it up and banding it with a pretty colored ribbon.

These step by step instructions will help you create a ggorgeous pocket for your invites! I will further discuss customizing inserts and embellishments in a later post Make sure you send pics of your handmade pockets if you create some of your own! We want to see