Black and white damask wedding- bouquets

We decided to go with silk flowers for the wedding. We knew that we wanted to use Forsythia because it is such a stunning yellow. Forsythia was in bloom at the time, and we saw it every where we turned. Because they are not often used in weddings, it would also offer more originality.

Rachael chose beautiful white flowers for her bouquet (I forgot their name..sorry) and we accented with forsythia. I added buttons to tie in with the boutonnieres.

For the tossing bouquet, it was fun to tie the lemon theme in. We thought a bouquet of lemons would be perfect. Of course we had to add forsythia and buttons to it as well. I found the lemon bouquet at Michaels, and then added to it

We were a bit worried about the idea of some poor single girl getting whacked in the head with something as unforgiving as fake lemons, but it turned out just fine! So there you have it, our wedding bouquets.

Jungle Baby Shower

A good friend of mine had a baby a few weeks ago. Amongst all the wedding chaos, I didn't have a chance to post the shower that I threw for her in April.

She had a boy, and her nursery theme is jungle animals. I liked the idea of carrying it over into her shower theme, but just focused on animals in general. I also thought it would be fun to use things as decorations that were actually useful to care for little Kaleb instead of things that would be thrown away.

There were a few others who were helping with the shower, and they contributed to a group gift with me. That was how we "funded" the decorations. I got busy looking on the internet for jungle themed items. Most things were toys (which she had a lot of already), or nursery decorating items. Then I remembered a fun idea from family cruises. Towel animals!

I got to work looking for towel origami instructions online, and using new baby blankets, bath towels and wash cloths I came up with these cuties. 

Dog

Pair of monkeys

Elephant

Turtle (which didn't look as turtlish as I had hoped) and a mini Seal complete with a juggling ball

I also made this snail out of diapers combining the diaper cake idea and a towel snail idea. I think he turned out pretty cute!

Then I added in some animal friends that could be played with

And to go with her jungle nursery- a lion laundry basket

and an elephant storage box, which we used to house the rest of our group gift- addressed animal thank you cards, bath items, etc.

I made banners from new clothing. Boy- with sleepers

Kaleb spelled on onesies (both were animal print fabrics)

and a laundry line of socks and newborn hats

These hard to resist pom poms (Martha Stewart) were the only decorations that weren't reusable. But seeing as though the ones I made for my little one's first birthday were then used at two additional events...maybe they are reusable)

The shower was a brunch. I had help making the food. I made these cute signs out of folded cardstock and wooden animals from Michaels- already painted.

We also seved yogurt, Dole fruit juices, and raspberry spritzer lemonade.

The tables had towel animals as centerpieces, and an animal board book.

The monkeys hung over the buffet table.

Each of the guests received a bag with a little book of recipes of the dishes served, and could also put their treat to take home in it.

At first, a few guests passed on the cute little cupcakes. Then someone who knew they were cakepop cupcakes (Bakerella) volunteered to take home whatever didn't get eaten. Someone decided to try one out, and after that, I don't think many made it in the bags....I heard that there was one guest who did well getting them in the bag, but they were gone before they reached home. I just LOVE these cupcakes.

I'm not a fan of most shower games, so we kept it to a minimum. I provided each table with several cards with questions to answer that the mom-to-be would benefit from. They were to be answered on the back. Then for our game, we sat in a circle before the gift opening. Each person in turn read a question out loud, and the person to their right read their answer. Most answers were quite humorous advice-since they didn't relate to the question asked. I collected the cards and put them together in a book tied with ribbon while the gifts were opened.

I bought a pad of cute boy print 4x6 cardstock and glued the questions to the printed side of the paper (it wsa cute rough or embossed paper, so printing onto them wasn't an option). Then I punched two holes in each card to pull the ribbon through. This was done ahead of time, so it was easy to bind and give to the mom-to-be as part of her gift.

I think it turned out really cute, and everyone loved it- especially the recipes they got to take home! Who doesn't love a good brunch recipe?

Wedding Reception Photo Booth

One of the highlights of our DIY wedding was a photo guest book idea I borrowed from this fantastic site

http://www.weddingbee.com/2009/01/23/that-wedding-photobooth/.

In place of a little book with signatures, our bride and groom will have a book full of pictures of their guests giving them personal messages written on a chalkboard. We also provided props, for those interested in using them. I was a little worried that guests wouldn't be too excited about doing it, but that wasn't the case at all.

Here are a few photos from our wedding. It was fun to see all the encrypted messages- via inside jokes, or other languages (any else translating the Albanian??):

We were very happy with how it all turned out. Next, we'll upload the photos to an online printing company and have it made into a leather bound book.

Black and White Damask and Yellow Wedding

Coming soon!!

All the details of our DIY Black and White Damask & Yellow Wedding. We had a very limited budget and did everything on our own (with a lot of help from friends).

I'm waiting on photos- because I know you'll want to see them!

But for now, here are some things to get you started in case you are in the middle of planning your own DIY wedding.

We bought everything we could on sale, using coupons, or used. Joann Fabric and Michael's put their floral on sale for 40-50% off every few weeks (or every week for a short time). Michael's also puts their ribbon on sale 40% off. So watch for that as well.

We also used 50% coupons from the Joann circular. Ask your friends if they can hold onto theirs for you. You can use one coupon per full priced item. These came in really handy for the apothecary jars we needed for the candy buffet.

Michael's prints a coupon after your receipt for either 40 or 50% off. You can't use it until the next week, and it's one coupon per customer per day, so that makes it more difficult- but not impossible. I also bought apothecary jars using these coupons.

I bought the table coverings used from a previous bride.

The lanterns I found at http://www.justartifacts.net/index.html were the least expensive online that were in the colors and sizes we wanted. I thought the quality was great!

If you're just starting out on your DIY wedding- I have a few tips for you:

Bookmark everything you like so you can find it easily later

Get as much help as you can

Do as much in advance as possible

Shop around for the best prices and buy everything on sale

Keep your receipts in one place so you can easily return what you don't need/didn't use

Look at sites like The Knot to get ideas and find your style- then search using keywords (like lemon wedding- in our case)

Be flexible

Good luck- and check back in a few weeks for the details!!!

Black &White Damask and Yellow Wedding

My daughter's wedding is just a few weeks away, and we've been busy getting ready! She chose black and white damask, and yellow as her colors, and lemon is the theme. We are really pleased with how it's turning out. Her aesthetic is a simple elegance, with a touch of nostalgia.

I've scoured the Internet and magazines for HOURS getting ideas. As I've mentioned before, I'm very good at borrowing ideas, and then adding my own personality to them.

First up: Boutonnieres

Somehow I happened upon a great blog and found this fabulous idea from a blogger named Camille (thanks for the idea!). Rachael loved it! Who would have thought of using buttons for bouts?? Well, apparently more than Camille, because it was also featured in Real Simple Wedding (I LOVE Real Simple)- a different style though. In keeping with our theme, I tweaked it a bit and came up with this:

Groom's

Father of the Bride

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Small fry younger brother

And the remaining four menfolk

They aren't having Bridesmaids or Groomsmen, so all the family men will wear bouts and the family women who are sisters etc will wear matching flowers in their hair and matching yellow necklaces; the "older" women (MOB etc) will wear corsages and the necklaces.

A friend is making the corsages and flowers for hair. I'm not superwoman after all!!

Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree

My favorite season is easily spring. The cold is gone, the trees turn green, and everything blossoms. It doesn't hurt that I live in an area where baby animals are in abundance as well. Bunnies, squirrels, deer, birds...we see all their cute little offspring roaming about.

But we especially love the blossoms!

One of our favorite springtime activities begins with a walk or drive through the neighborhood looking for blossoms. They look like popcorn popping on trees. Some of the popcorn is pink, some yellow, purple, and of course white. We choose a color, then go home and make popcorn balls!


It's something I loved to do when I was a child. I remember making them with my mother, while singing our beloved song- Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree.

Don't know it? Have a listen. And while you're at it...here are the lyrics and hand motions: http://broadcast.lds.org/churchmusic.../words/242.mp3

I looked out the window and what did I see? (Make hands into binoculars)
Popcorn popping on the apricot tree! (Flick fingers open and closed)
Spring has brought me such a nice surprise,
blossoms popping right before my eyes. (Flick fingers open and closed)

I could take an armful and make a treat. (Swoop arms out and bring in)
A popcorn ball that would smell so sweet! (Cup hands together to make a popcorn ball, then bring to your nose to smell it)
It wasn't really so... (Wag finger back and forth)
But it seemed to be... (Nod head)
Popcorn popping on the apricot tree! (Flick fingers out)

The very same recipe my mother used when I was little is still my favorite.
Here is the link to the recipe:

http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/popcorn-balls-50637.aspx

Want to make your popcorn balls even sweeter? Make some and give them to the neighbors whose trees inspired your sweet activity. I'm sure they'll love it!

Getting baby to sleep in their own room

Getting baby to sleep in their own room at night is an occasion celebrated in most homes! Making it happen is often another story.

In our home, getting from point A to point B is several months in the making, but can be shortened if there is a need. We start with the end in mind from the time baby is born.

Point A: The cradle in our room

Point B: The crib in her room

My "Plan" is to have the baby out of her cradle completely by the time she is 5 months, or is too mobile for such a small place. If you want the baby out sooner, just do everything on a faster plan than I do. I like to keep her close until she outgrows the early morning feeding, which is about that time.

Love Bug has slept in our room since we brought her home. I like having her close at night so I don't have to go far to get her and can hear her well. I have a "lovey" for her that we tuck in next to her face when she sleeps. She likes to have something touching her cheek and covering one eye. (btw I bought 4 of them, so that when she loses it as she gets older, we have others to replace it) I also have a CD player in our room that plays lullaby's 24/7. I turn the music up louder during the day and have it at an almost inaudible level at night. If you've spent any time in a house with 4 other kids, you know the importance of teaching a baby to sleep through noise.

I put her in her cradle when she is sleepy but not asleep so she can learn to fall asleep on her own without rocking etc.

After the first month, I start taking her into her room for "visits" a few times a week. We don't use a changing table (rather not run up and down stairs all day long just to change her) so if you have one in the baby's room you won't need to make a special visit (you will want to put baby in the crib for a bit though). While we are visiting her room, I put her in her crib. She just lays in her crib looking at the mobile and talking to the bumper. I usually fold her laundry and straighten up the room while I'm there.

By the end of the second month, the visits are every day. I plan them so they are after she's fed and before she's tired. I want her to be awake and see that this place is just as cool as mom and dad's room.

At three to three and a half months I put her in her room for naps. She has her lovey with her and the CD player goes in her room with her too, making it all more familiar. I like to stay in her room for a while until she's dozed off, so I plan things to do while I'm there for 5-10 minutes. Laundry folding, moving clothes she's outgrown out of her drawers, reading, etc. I don't let her know I'm there and if she fusses too much, I help her calm down for a minute then "disappear" again. At this age, baby is usually too young to pull themselves up and see you there.

It only takes a few weeks to get her napping in her room without any problems. When the time comes for her to sleep in her room overnight, she's already so used to it that there are no problems with it being a strange place.