Wedding Signs and Table Numbers

To continue the ceremony motif through the cocktail hour and into the reception, I created signs and table numbers decorated with paper pinwheels.

Cookie Table Party Favors

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania has many of its own wedding traditions; there is the 'Money Dance' and then the very beloved 'Cookie Table'. Being born and raised in Pittsburgh and hosting a wedding there we had to acknowledge this tradition. As a wink to the cookie table, we created beautiful cookie favors for our reception. To thank our guests for coming, I handmade Thank You notes which we attached to each favor.

The Cookie 'Favor' Table.

Here is how we did it;

Bachelorette/Shower Party Favors

Hello! Just a quick little DYI today; favors for a bachelorette party or bridal shower.

Pinwheel Aisle Decorations

Inspired by a picture I found on theknot.com of pinwheels sold on Etsy, I decided to try to create my own pinwheel aisle decorations for my June wedding.

Initially I had trouble getting started, but each pinwheel I made got better and faster. I ended up making approximately 50 individual pin wheels which decorated the ends of 8 rows of aisles.

Here’s how I did it.

DIY: Wedding!

Recently I was lucky enough to get married. Being an avid craft-ster, a true do-it-youself-er, and a cheapskate I took on a lot of wedding projects myself. My inspiration started when I saw a photograph of pinwheel aisle decorations and a pinwheel cake.

A collage of some of the wedding details.

By the time I finished my crafting I had made; 12 bachelorette party favors, 6 signature drink signs, 15 table number signs, 300 cocktail stirs, 16 aisle decorations, 140 favor tags, one guest book, 45 shower favors, 2 custom quotation signs, and over 110 pinwheels.

DIY Cocktail Stirs

For my latest project I made cocktail stirs for a wedding happy hour. There are many similar stirs for sale on Etsy, but I needed 300 and it seemed cheaper to try to make them myself. I like the way they turned out, and they were even quicker to make than I expected.

Two of the completed stirs

DIY: Baby Shower Guest Book

A few months ago I was asked to help plan a baby shower. In planning the shower we wanted to find activities to entertain the guests and ways for each of the guests to leave their special mark on the shower. A perfect way to make everyone feel involved and give the parents to be great keepsake from the shower is by creating an advice filled baby shower guestbook. There are many many formats for this; words of wisdom for the baby as he/she grows up, advice for the parents to be, or just a normal guestbook.

My finished guestbook card

Here are the basic steps of how I designed, created, and produced my own (cost effective) guest book.

DIY Paper Fan Wheels

Today I made a party decoration I've been eyeing for a while. Paper Rosettes aka Paper Fan Wheels. I think these paper rosettes look incredible and are a cool, unique party decoration. Before I begin you have to know one thing about me, while I LOVE crafting I am definitely a novice crafter. I have no desire to stock a full craft room in my house or spend money on special scissors, cutting tools, glues, etc. For that reason you'll notice I often improvise with what I have around my house; water glasses, twist ties, etc.

My DIY paper rosettes

Here's how I made my paper Rosettes;

Swirl Nail Polish

Right now a big Pinterest trend is 'tie dye' or 'marble' nails. I've seen it again and again and it always intrigues me. Who wouldn't want a really awesome looking nail treatment they could do at home? So, are these for real and can a nail painting novice like myself actually recreate these at home?

Swirl Nails, using water dip technique

Swirl Nails, using 'sticker' technique

Searching around on Pinterest I found two main methods of creating swirl painted nails. The first method, which appears to be most common, involves floating polish on a glass of water and dipping your nail into it. The second method had the user create a 'sticker' of nail polish which was then applied to their nails. I decided to put both of these methods to the test, water method on my right hand and sticker method on my left. See the results for yourself.

Crafty Party Stirs

Recently I was asked to help plan a bridal shower. The hostess wanted small hand made touches to make the party special.

For this shower, I found these stirs online and decided to make my own. In looking at the stirs my first thought was 'ribbon' although the tutorial uses the vague term 'craft paper'. Sounds like its time for a trip to the craft store!

Left Finished Stirs.   Right Top: Paper stir.   Right Bottom: Ribbon stirs.

Here's what I did...

Welcome

Welcome to my first attempt at blogging. Like most bloggers, I'm a jack of all trades looking to share just a little bit of my knowledge in a lot of different subjects. Here are just a few examples of what I hope to write about and hope even more that you find interesting.

Food: I enjoy trying to cook as well as eating out. I am both a wanna-be chef as well as a wanna-be foodie. Thanks to Pinterest I now have an endless supply of recipes test on this blog, as well as being able to share a few of my old standards. I eat out often and am lucky to live in Washington DC where we have many great restaurants. Additionally I'd love to learn a bit about fine wine, good cheese, and other delicacies.

Travel: Travel is my true passion, and I'm lucky enough to have a fiance who feels the same way. Whether its exotic trips to Thailand or a day out in nearby Annapolis we're there. We've had great adventures and discovered amazing hikes, parks, cuisine, and people in all parts of the world and I'd love to share those recommendations with you. Some day we'd love nothing more than to travel, so this blog can become an outlet of not only past travel logs but also trips we are planning.

Crafts: I am a true DIYer. Long before Pinterest I was creating my own wall art and painting anything I could in my apartment. I'm good with my hands and a great visual thinker, so while its not always perfect I ofter improvise with what I already have on hand to finish a project.


I hope you enjoy my blog.