Invitation Book (by IceCreamSocial)

These are the incredible work of the amazing Ice Cream Social. Their work is some of my favorite. This would be a really cool gift for a bride or someone for their birthday. Create a sleeve at the edge for sliding in dates. Option 2 is to have 12 pockets. Each pocket would represent a month and you could give the book with the pages full of cards and birthday dates. A sleeve in the front would hold stamps. A place to hold the cards and the time line for sending them.

Favor Bags (via Poppytalk)

This label is adorable but I think the bag itself, with the string bow is just so cute. Perfect for favors at a bridal shower.

This is from Amy Karol's most recent book, "Bend the Rules with Fabric."

Via: Poppytalk

Lantern Installation (via Snippet and Ink)

I love what people are doing with the round lanterns. Maybe I should start collecting them for my sister's and her fiance's engagement party. This is from Tiffany and Brad's beautiful wedding.
Blog Trail: My Beach Favors, Snippet and Ink
Photography: Lauren Brooks Photography

Etched Lighting (by Melissa Borrell)

Glass etching is really a bit magical. It's much easier than you think it will be. These are the cool work of Melissa Borrell. Thanks to Stephanie Getting Married  for noting these.

Modern Centerpiece (via MSW)

I am a bit unfamiliar with modern weddings and in that my sister has very modern in style, I'm trying to learn visually what that means. A few characteristics I'm finding is bold, strong colors. Not that a modern wedding can't have off white as one of it's dominant colors...but maybe it can't. I take that back. It begins sliding into another category of wedding. I didn't realize the words for what we wanted until practically at the end of the process. It's great that my sister knows her up front.

I love these square (a modern element) vases filled with colorful carnations. I would have never suspected that carnations could look so bold and fresh. Amazing.
Via: Martha Stewart Weddings

Silhouette Play

More fun for my engaged sister.

Such cute heart cards (by Paper & Type)

Oh stitched cards. I love you so much. These are the adorable work of Paper & Type. Those hearts and stitching. Seriously. *sigh*
Via: Mint Design Blog

Cupcake Flags (via Poppytalk)

You can never have too many flags. Not really.
This awesomeness came from the clearly very cool couple Micah and Brooke's blog via Poppytalk.

Favor Boxes (via MSW)

I love the silhouette thing. It's innately designy and can be used in clever ways everywhere. Here it is with these modern favor boxes. Colorful. Pretty. Good for shower take homes or wedding favors.
Via: Sara's Party Perfect, MSW

Men!

If I could throw a bachelor party and somehow could be invisible AND knew anything about cooking a steak, I'd make one of these. B/c yeah. Awesome.
Via: Crafterholic, Instructables

5 carats and counting (via Target)

These are napkin rings. NAPKIN RINGS. I'm not going to buy them but good lord doesn't it seem like they should be used for an bridal shower or bachelorette party or *something*?! Thank you Target for making my day. (If the link dies they are called, Diamond Ring Napkin Rings, and come in sets of four.)

Grey and Lace Party Inspiration (via Grey Likes Weddings)

The inspiration for this shower/party/afternoon tea decor came from this beautiful wedding at Grey Likes Weddings. Shot by Blue Kite Photo.

 1. Table Trim Wide:  SL 57 Corded Lace Galloon with Sequins & Beads.
2.  Backdrop: Springmaid Sierra Paisley Shower Curtain, Target.
3.  Monochrome Mosaic Cup and Saucer, Anthropologie.
4.  Burano Tray, Anthropologie.

Engaged!

My sister is engaged! (Wait, have I mentioned this before?) Time to learn to be a good listener and worker bee!

Candle Hearts Invite

I like the idea of this but I haven't quite hit it. Too much dead space.

Modern Wedding Invite

My sister is getting married this coming July and she wants a modern wedding. My style is not modern at all so it has me thinking about modern shape and design. Here's my first attempt at playing around with modern.

Wrapped Vases

Jayson Home & Garden has some of the coolest chairs but they also have these lovely flower arrangements. Looking at their selections makes me realize all the things you can do to dress up a vase. Rich fabrics (velvet) or ribbons wrapped around a piece of fabric would be lovely on any table, any season. I love the wrapped approach because it gives you the ability to change last minute and bring in color where and when you want. Ultimate control.   +-+-+ Via: Creature Comforts

Table Numbers (via poppytalk)

Table numbers are one of those projects that can be last minute or done months ahead. (I say go for it months ahead buuuut we were doing it literally day of *cough*) They also can be really pretty without being super complicated. This vintage frame tutorial over at Project Wedding illustrates that. Speaking from personal experience, Goodwill always has a half dozen small (4x6ish) metal frames. Paint them or use them as is. Our table numbers looked a lot like the "5" in this photograph but with much simpler typography. An absolute GREAT use of all that paper you (and by you I mean me) have been hoarding.

Blog trail: poppytalk, Project Wedding

Paper Leaves (via Once Wed)

Hello paper leaves. The bride (and um paper artist), Katrine, and her mother made a bunch of these to hang up in their tent and between two trees for photos. Awesome.

Photography: Jim McGinley  -+-+-+- Via: Once Wed

Hurrah Cards on Store Bought Cards

Most of the thank you cards I stenciled onto trimmed, 12x12 craft paper. However, when I was cleaning out my card file I realized what I really should be doing is stenciling onto pretty store bought cards I already owned. I have a bad (good?) habit of picking up sale items in craft and stationary stores. I have more than I need. This is a great way to use them! I must remember this for upcoming holiday cards.

Seating Chart (via Laurie Peacock Photography)

What a creative seating chart! Erin and Nitsu put each guest's name with a New Yorker cover, which corresponded to a cover on the table. So great! 

To see more of Laurie Peacock's great photographs of this wedding (and it is a pretty one) go here.

Black and White Bridesmaids Dresses (Via WeddingBee)

What a great choice for bridesmaids dresses. This is from Mrs. Stiletto's wedding on Weddingbee. There are so many places to be creative at a wedding. At times I think that can be overwhelming (and maybe controversial within your family) but yeah. I would love to be a bridesmaid and wear something like this!

Photography: Laurie Peacock Photograph  -+-+-+-  Via: Weddingbee

Heart Punch Scrap Project (Tutorial)

I punched out a bunch of hearts recently and when I threw the scraps into a drawer they plopped onto some pretty paper also lying dormant in my pile. "Hmmmm..." I thought and put aside the Sunday night cleaning and got creative.

The result is a great way to use scraps, as embellishments for envelopes. Simply carefully cut around the outside of the punch, glue onto a piece of scrap fabric or paper, trim and wallah. There you have it.

Flower Bracelet (tutorial)

At some point in a wedding it feels like you're trying to put flowers on anything that moves. You corner groomsmen near the beer and grandmothers at the cake. If they hold still too long you get them with with boutonniere or corsage. It's a fun way to mark the people either in the wedding party or part of the family.

This flower bracelet from Sarah True and Chase Rivers (via SMP) is a great option for your flower covering needs. They use live flowers but I think it would work with a few adjustments with fabric flowers.

Idea: Make these at your bridal shower as either take homes or for the wedding. OR make them before the bridal shower and give them as favors.

(Via: Style Me Pretty)

Hurrah!

Thank you cards are in full production. (And no I did not spill a bottle of acrylic paint all over my parent's cherry kitchen island. What are you talking about?)

Cocktail Party Invite Tutorial (Via 100 Layer Cake)

This would be a great bridal party invite. Or really a fantastic invite to any type of party. Just change the colors of the paper according to the season. Check out the tutorial instructions at Martha Stewart.

Blog trail: 100 Layer Cake, RIFLE, Martha Stewart.

Crayon Table Numbers (Tutorial)

I love the letters, but instead think table numbers. Great for a grammar school theme wedding or bridal shower.

Find the tutorial over at Frugal Life Project.

Blog trail: Indie Handmade, Frugal Life Project

Thank You Cards

Martha Stewart Weddings says that if you want to follow proper etiquette, you should thank someone for a gift within two weeks. This seems like an odd standard. It means that couples are expected to spend their honeymoon writing thank yous. As a guest at a wedding, I don't want my friends spending a single second of their honeymoon thinking of me or some waffle iron I bought them. Silliness!

Jessica Hische (via Oh So Beautiful Paper)

Z and I have started our life as wedding guests. In a way, it's nice that we had our wedding more or less at the beginning. We will be much better guests because of it. But it also allows us to think about what kind of things we would have liked as gifts (not that we did gifts...but you get the idea.)

These Jessica Hische prints pop up as a great possibility. Or they'd be a nice bridal shower gift. Anything really. You can't go wrong with a beautiful letter (or two.)

(Via: Oh So Beautiful Paper)

Erin Ever After Shower

This is the lovely work of one of the bloggers I follow, Erin Ever After. Such a pretty design and execution.

I love that she used the table as it was. Too pretty of a piece to be covered, and it goes so well with the yellow ribbon and the value of the tags.

Via: Erin Ever After (Go there for more pretty pictures and just a cool blog.)

Drink Label Genius

Labels are one of those last minute details that have you running around like a madman.  Print, cut, fold, place. Not to mention sending them off out into the world and hoping they get to the right place while you're putting on your dress. I found a whole stack of drink labels that I never managed to get past the print stage. I realize now this meant none of our guests knew what any of our drinks were. Delicious mystery!

But why don't you just by pass the crazy with this little genius idea? So simple. So pretty. Write directly onto the containers. And don't worry about sharpie on glass. You can clean it off with some warm water and Bon Ami cleaner. (One of our monoprint artists at work taught me that trick!)

Genius from the Tom and Jess (engagement) Fest.
Photography:  Stacy Newgent
Via: Design*Sponge

Animal on a Stick

These are the incredibly cute Felt Stick Animals over at Wisteria. When I first saw them on Oh Happy Day I thought, "Oh FIMO animals! How perfect!" I thought they were for cupcakes or something. Drink swizzles. But they're not. They are the perfect childhood toy. But then it got me thinking, "Hmmmm...now back to those tiny animal heads." And some day soon I will break out the FIMO (or the felt/paper mache) and make teeny tiny animals or teeny tiny animal heads-on-sticks . Maybe birds for a bridal shower. Maybe turkeys for Thanksgiving cupcakes. Endless. Possibilities.

(Via Oh Happy Day)

Birds!

Time to start cutting out the bird silhouettes for the Halloween party. All you need is a bare room, a raw-feeling chandelier and those birds. Mood Success!

You may need vinyl cut decal birds to get the blur flapping effect. If you can't spring for vinyl but are willing to use some serious black ink and about $50 worth of ink jet overheads you might tackle the wings as well.

This incredible work is from Geremia Designs.
Blog Trail: Paper Schmaper, Desire to Inspire

Landed and Running (er, kind of)

I slept last night for almost 11 hours. It started with falling asleep on the floor and then moving to the unmade bed and then having Z make the bed around me and over me and then sleeping half the night in incorrect clothing and I finally brushing my teeth at 7am.

Deliiightful.

Step 1: sleep a lot.
Step 2: reintroduce ideas like "exercise" and "diet"
Step 3: CLEAN for the love of God CLEAN
Step 4: open presents, letters and enact a thank you letter writing campaign.

Most Romantic Room Ever (via The Wedding Chicks)

I also love the grooms shirt and tie combo. See, you can do whatever you want at a wedding. Lynne and Gavin have great taste in a way I do not have taste. Lovely.

Photography: Gavin Casey
Via: The Wedding Chicks

Attacking tasks: finished and unfinished

One of the challenges of doing your own wedding is staying organized. When it's just me organizing me, that's one thing, but as soon as you bring in willing hands, you (I) want to make sure I have things for them to actually do. I hate showing up at something ready to help and then have there be nothing to do.

It's such a delicate game though b/c on the one hand, I want to do as much as *I* can do before people start arriving Thursday. But on the other hand there are several different types of things I'm currently doing and some can't be done once it gets down to the wire. Here are the various tasks:

1. Designing. At some point, I'm still figuring shit out. Does this fabric work like it works in my brain? Will glue hold this together? What changes do I need to make? How would I prep this for mass production? What kind of instructions should go along with it.

Crepe Paper Medallions (via Once Wed)

This is why archives are so fantastic! This is a OnceWed tutorial from 2008 found again via How About the Orange. Awesome!

Check out the Crepe Paper Poms as well through the How About the Orange link. So cute!

(I think it would be cool to make these, put them in a box and send them to bridal party and mothers post wedding. Instead of a name it would just say, "Congratulations!"  And it would be for having survived the wedding. :)
Blog trail: How About the Orange, Once Wed

Mix and Match Bridesmaids (via Style Me Pretty)

Good morning! Phew! The real countdown began two days ago. GAH!!!

To ease my brain I'm looking at pretty. Here's a great mix and match set of white bridesmaid dresses. Love it!

The bride and groom, Melissa and Danny, clearly have a great sense of style. The other pictures at SMP are great.

Photography: Ahsley O'dell
Via: Style Me Pretty

Final Week: starts tomorrow!!

So back out at August 24th I more or less made a list of the things I wanted to do or have come next week. I thought I'd check back in to see where I was on that list. What stayed. What went.

Flags- not as many as I had planned originally but good enough
Programs- in the final copy edits as I type
Bouquets/boutonnieres- the latter finished, the former, not yet sure. Women may not have much of anything in their hands. Hell, right now *I* don't really have a bouquet!
Tables- flowers, decorations, etc- If the wedding was tomorrow, we'd have these finished.

Altar Type (via Snippet and Ink)

Graphical type is awesome anywhere. I love this idea from the Faux Wedding designed by Grey Likes Weddings and photographed by Bonnie Tsang. I think you could do something something similar by painting painter's paper and then stamping big letters on it. It'd take some time and by the end of it all, may have been worth the price of just buying the signage, but still, sometimes the process is the fun part.

Via: Snippet and Ink

Fruit! (via Style Me Pretty)

I love it when people incorporate something other than flowers into their centerpieces. The centerpieces (and table decor in general) of Beatriz and Dwayne's wedding is a great example of having flowers and something non-flower.

Also, apparently, the bride designed the entire wedding. Wow. Really really lovely.

Photography: Kellie Kano Photography
Via: Style Me Pretty

You know it's time to stop for the night when...(part II)

When you face plant your thumb into a pile of really hot glued while standing 6 feet up a latter entangled in a mess of brittle tree branches being attacked by mosquitos. Put a band aid on your now turning white future blister and go home. Sorry other hand.

Letters! (Via Ramon Lenherr and Florian Brunner)

I love letters. Big. Three Dimensional Letters. This is the very cool work of Ramon Lenherr and Florian Brunner.

Via Oh Joy , Typography Served

You know it's time to stop for the night when...

you spatter small blood droplets across your cutting matte. Sorry finger/fingernail.

 Aaaaand scene.

Triple. Hurray

Tonight feels oddly victorious.
Z finished a solid first draft of our ceremony.
I started the work on our altar decorations.
I have a concept that I think will work for our guest book. (Fifteenth time's the charm!)
I have paper for our favor tags.
The fabric came for the test decorations for our pre and post ceremony festivities.
Tomorrow starts with a trip to the gym and a day of figuring out our programs. We're a hop, skip and a jump from major progress on that front as well. And then there's a long night ahead of me at my parents' gluing felt leaves to a tree with Mom and tracking down more pink fabric for our tables and maybe finishing a first attempt at our altar.
Yay yay yay!

Let the Games Begin

Last night I sat in bed and I could feel my pupils enlarging with anxiety. Anxiety over what? I'm not really sure. It's Roving anxiety. I can feel it looking around, searching for something to latch onto.  Should it be the number of people at each of our 60" tables? Sure was about 30 minutes ago! Should it be where we put those 14 tables? Sure is right now.

I can feel my mind just trawling over all the little details that make up a wedding and assessing each one for it's anxiety viability. My dress, my shoes, how I'm theoretically doing this or that, the 10,000 things I wanted to do but won't for lack of time. It's a fantastic little game and I have a feeling it will grow in intensity right up until Aug 13th.

Oh yay.

Owl Bag (via Paper Crave)

Adorable. Is there enough time to make 100 in two weeks of these with different types of owls? Just joking, but this owl creation by Denise Sharp. Wow. Just add a bow and a heart and it's the valentines bag I'm going to be using for the next decade. Love!

Tutorial at her site.

Blog Trail: Denise Sharp, Paper Crave

Two Weeks

This time in two weeks I'll have a husband. I'll have a ring on my finger and an anniversary date. We've been so busy planning the wedding that I haven't really thought about marriage. Or rather, what it means to be married. I'm no longer scared of the holy matrimony (not like I was 7 years ago good God) but I have this emotional image of what married looks like, feels like, something I've had since I was a child growing up look at all of these marriages and it's strange to think that I'll be stepping into that in just two weeks.

It's not actually very scary. It's not scary at all.

Summer Bridesmaids' Dresses (via Wedding Chicks)

Suuuper cute bridesmaid dresses. This is from the romantic Australian wedding of Audrey and Ben. Check out their table designs. I'm always excited by things that aren't ONLY flowers. They clearly thought about light as a design element...something I really did not. *cough*

Photography: Nathan Wu
Via: Wedding Chicks

Boutonniere (via Once Wed)

Boutonnieres can be anything. Awesome. This is Ryan of Ryan and Chelsey.

check out the really neat altar they designed as well.  l love weddings!

Photography: Austin Gros
Via: Once Wed

Wire Lamp (via Poppytalk)

We are figuring out lights this weekend. Who wants to make 20 of these bad boys from photographer Ashley Ann? OK, so that's not happening but I'm still playing with the idea of going out and finding a bunch of lamp shades. The likelihood of this happening is also small, but maybe some day for a random party in the summer!

Blog trail: Poppytalk, ReadyMade, AshleyAnn (<--- link to her DIY page!)

Yellow Shoes (via Snippet and Ink)

I love these shoes! They're from Target, which automatically means my hugely wide feet are no match for their dainty adorability. (<---Google says that doesn't exist.) But yeah, I can be a teeny tiny envious of Devin's feet as she married Stephen. I do not however envy the work that must have gone into her 300 person wedding. Looks like it came off without a hitch!

Photography: Meghan Mcsweeney
Via: Snippet and Ink

Seating Chart (via Green Wedding Shoes)

We are hopefully* having our seating chart in our program but I think sometimes the prettiest designs come from how people navigate people to their dinners. This is a great concept from Lisa and Drew's wedding. Clearly a couple that loves adventure.

Photography: Kate Harrison
Via: Green Wedding Shoes 
*Hopefully b/c I still haven't finished the program sooo, yeah.

Popcorn boxes (via Brooklyn Bride)

My sister did some really cute decorations for my bridal shower. These popcorn boxes from Lemon Tree Paperie would be great for exactly this type of thing.

Designed by Sara Hicks Malone but sold at Lemon Tree.

(Via Brooklyn Bride)

Flowers (via Style Me Pretty)

I love the look of abundant flowers. Some day I hope I can have friends over for dinner and do a table display that just feels overflowing.

This is the photography work of Lisa Lefkowitz at a Pride and Prejudice wedding shoot.

Via: Style Me Pretty

Super Creative Wedding (via Green Wedding Shoes)

There is so much to love about Golriz's and Devon's wedding but check out those streamers. Cloth? Paper? Awesome.

Also, don't miss their cupcake display. I love the hanging flowers!

Also (also) their wedding video is really lovely. I never watch wedding videos online but theirs is fantastic. Really nice work by the people at Full Frame Cinema.

Photography: Ryan Lash
Via: Green Wedding Shoes

Doodle Invite (via 100 Layer Cake)

Some day Zach is going to get something like this for an anniversary or a birthday. For some reason it struck me as totally strange that some day we will actually have another thing to celebrate like an anniversary. A holiday I never knew existed but suddenly will.

This doodle invite is for Parusha and Peter's wedding in South Africa. It was created by Rudi de Wet.

(Via 100 Layer Cake)

Owl Boxes! (via Ruffled)

Chinese takeout boxes are a great great way to hold favors of any sort. Plus, when you tape on cute pictures of owls and robots you basically cannot lose.

You can read how much Ali and Rory's wedding was a family affair with the bride's sister doing flowers and the brides mother taking on bouquets and crafty things. I don't know who did the favors but what a family!

Photography: Goodnickels Photography
Via: Ruffled Blog

Side Bun (via Wedding Chicks)

I have to figure out hair! I'm seriously OK with a low ponytail but I keep thinking I should at least *try* and do something different. This may or may not happen. But this woman's hair is sure pretty!

This is actually from an ad over at Wedding Chicks for Tessa Kim who specializes in birdcage veils and other hair adornment. She has some really neat headbands too.

Via: Wedding Chicks