More DIY Craftiness Going On....

Now that school is just about over, I have a ton of time on my hands - which is a good thing, as I also have a ton of DIY projects for the wedding to do!

Today, I made the first burlap table runner. I ♥ it! I'm getting much better at sewing straight lines, too! It took forever to sew, well what seemed like forever - 2 hours. After finishing the first one, I realized I couldn't just sit there banging them out one after another, so I took a DIY break to... DIY!

I also "made" clothespins for our photograph clothesline. By made, I mean I glued some cardstock strips onto dollar store clothespins. I like how they came out and it adds some purple to the decor, which I felt has been lacking. I'm certain we won't need all 144 for the clothesline - 72 photos? Probably not. - but I'm sure I will find some other way to use them between now and then.

Other awesome wedding related news - the town has blocked off the grange for the whole week prior to the wedding, so we will have plenty of time to decorate! Holy relief, Batman!




Photograph Clothesline Clothespins




(That's Shirley!)




1st Burlap Table Runner











PS-I do have DIY failures, too. I attempted to make burlap bird's nests this weekend and succeeded in glueing a ton of burlap to our cereal bowls. That one has gone back to the drawing board. =D

Budget Bird's Nests.

In my never ending quest to reduce the budget of our wedding I'm constantly searching DIY blogs and sites to find ways to create looks that I love for less.

Most recently, I've been enamored with bird's nests. I'm not totally sure where it came from. It could be because we have a cute pair of birds on our STDs and RSVPs or it could be because birds live in trees and we have a heavy tree theme going on or it could be because of the freedom a bird implies and I've always been a wandering soul. Whatever the reason, I'd like to have bird's nests as part of our centerpiece decor with little, pretty eggs in them. To do this would cost about $40, not a ton of money, but money none-the-less. I'm not so excited about spending money on "stuff" that I am going to either throw out or try to sell to other brides after the wedding. Enter the DIY.

I found a cute little project this week for DIY bird's nests made out of burlap. Well, we're already going to have a ton of burlap to make our table runners and other miscellany from. It would be completely practical to use the scraps to make bird's nests for our table too! But then there are the eggs. I still didn't want to buy fake eggs that were just going to get tossed so I shared this with the brides on a wedding forum and they suggested I check out the post-Easter sales. Well, duh! Why didn't I think of that? I could buy Easter colored jelly beans, put them in my scrap, burlap bird's nests and they would be tasty little treats and not be wasted!

So, I did just that. I bought some chocolate eggs that are wrapped in tinfoil that looks like robin's eggs and some pastel colored jelly beans today for a grand total of $9! I'm halfway to some fantastic bird's nests for our tables. Here are some photos of the DIY bird's nest project. I think when I make mine, I will use a different shaped mold so they're a little deeper than hers.

Centerpieces & Table Decor.

I couldn't sleep this morning. I was up at 430am! So I sat in the dark living room, with a kitty by my side, looking at craft websites for inspiration. I stumbled upon the most amazing website - ever!

www.save-on-crafts.com

This website has just about everything I think i will need for inspiration and supplies for a beautiful, rustic, crafty table decor.

Here are some ideas that I am enamoured with:

♥punched-tin cans and mason jars with lavender votives (I just bought 112 votives online for 25 cents a piece, with shipping!)
♥tallish, cylindrical vases or milk jugs (all from thrift stores?) as the "center" filled with this branch with bird's nest (see below), lavender sprigs, and some other twiggy things (also see below)
♥lavender buds in the bottoms of the vases and mason jars (maybe some sprinkled on the tables, too?)
♥river stones scattered about (that i plan on snagging from/returning to the Fowler River, near my parents' home)
♥burlap table runner screenprinted with some variation of the block letters photo that Dave and I took in the redwoods (runners sewn by me, screenprinting by dave) I think the ink should be dark lavender, to keep tying the purple in.