Last Wedding Post!

Bridal Party Gifts

Oh my! It has been such a long time since I've last posted! Over a month!! So many good things have happened but it's made life VERY busy!!!

Jeremy and I got married...

We went on our honeymoon...

My beautiful niece, Sofia, was born...

And Mosby and I headed to Michigan for about a week.

More on ALL of that later! I have big plans for wedding/honeymoon projects!

So, back to the wedding. It was just what we wanted and everything turned out so well. Jeremy and I were so happy to spend our wedding day with the ones we love best. Some of the most important people in our lives and at our wedding were in our bridal party. I wanted to make sure they "felt the love" and the way I know how to do that best is by heading into the "sweatshop of love".

I knew I wanted to make some of my gifts to my bridesmaids, but Jeremy and I struggled with what we wanted to give the groomsmen and ushers. We wanted to give them something they would use and something that was a little different for each of them. My crafty friend, Cathryn, has an awesome pattern that I've used before to make fleece pants. 

So, Jer and I decided that fleece pants would be our gift to the guys. Not so practical in June, but they'll come in handy in the midwest winters. Each of our guys has a different favorite team, so we used the team prints to make each pair unique. Here's the final product.

Jeremy also made some awesome onion jam for the guys. It's great on burgers, pork, or just about anything!!

Now, for the ladies, I knew that I wanted to make them bags to use on our wedding day. I filled them with their jewelry, flip flops for the reception, and a handkerchief. 

I had a design in mind for the bags. They didn't turn out exactly as planned, but I was pretty pleased with the end result, especially as they are one of the first patterns I created.

So, I started with 3 yards of a canvas-y material.

Next, I used a magic marker to mark off the length of the bag. I marked off 22 inches, so that my bags turned out 18 inches deep.

Then, I repeated it a second time and cut. As you can see in the pictures, I had two strips of fabric that were each 22 inches wide.

Next, I cut each strip into three pieces. This gave me 6 pieces of fabric that were each 36 inches long and 22 inches wide.

Then, I cut the remaining fabric into 12 strips. Each strip was about 22 inches long and 2.5 inches wide.

Then, I made all of the straps for the bags. I took each small piece of fabric and used the iron smooth and to crease in each of the sides about a quarter inch.

Then, I folded the fabric so you cannot see the creases and ironed it flat.

I sewed it as close to the open edge as possible to create a solid strap. I repeated until all 12 are done.

Then, I moved onto the body of the bag. Fold the top over twice (about an inch each time) so that there is clean line on top.

I gathered the body of the bag and two straps.

I folded over the bag, so you see the "right" side.The bag was 22 inches long and 18 inches wide.


I slipped the straps in so they look like they were in the center of the bag. They were about 1/2 closer to the folded side, to make up for when you sew the bag closed. Pin them in place.

I opened the bag and sewed them securely to the "wrong" side (or inside of the bag).

Next, I sewed along the top and bottom of the fold to make a secure top to the bag.

Then, using a 5/8 sew, I sewed the bag closed.

The complete bag.

I finished the bag by embroidering each of the girls' names on the top of the bag. This part didn't turn out as cute as I had hoped, but it came in handy on the wedding day with 6 identical bags. 

Hmm...somehow I forgot to take a finished product picture of all 6, so that's it for today!

I'm off to hang out with my sister and the baby!

Until next time, keep crafting!

SB

Wedding Odds & Ends

Photo booth Props

I have a confession to make. I'm a little nervous to say it, as it may cause tomatoes to be thrown at me. Here goes...

I have had an easy time planning my wedding.

Whew...I'm glad I got that off my chest.

I should clarify. There have been bumps along the way. There have been vendors that have been a little hard to get ahold of. There have been some guests who have forgotten to RSVP. There have been some surprises and adjustments (i.e. a VERY pregnant maid of honor). Jeremy and I have had some tiffs. But overall, it's been good. (As to not jinx myself...notice I said PLANNING the wedding. Hopefully the wedding day goes as smoothly).

Yesterday was one of the bumps along the way. I had great plans to get up, get going, get stuff done, then blog about it. That. did. not. happen.

Instead, I woke up. Had a horrible headache. Drove all over. Got caught in traffic. Went to JoAnns twice. Met some very unhelpful people at Menards. Cried. Called my dad to fix things (& he did). Drove all over again. Didn't get what I needed. Gave up.

And that was the short version.

Luckily, today has been a MUCH better day. Things have gone well. I have run errands; I have been crafty; I have gotten my hair cut & colored and had eyebrows waxed and still look normal. Things are looking up. Life is good once again. HOORAY!

Since we got engaged, Jeremy and I LOVED the idea of having a photo booth at our wedding. So, when a Groupon came up for Fotohuis last fall, we were on it like white on rice.

I knew I wanted some props. I decided trying to gather hats, sunglasses, and all that stuff would be too much, so I decided to make my own.

First, I went online and printed off props from Accent the Party, Lucky Number 9, and Lisa Welge. I (and by I, I mean Lindsay, my bridesmaid with the colored printer. thanks again, Lindsay) printed them off on card stock.


Then, on one of my trips to JoAnns, I pick up some white foam with a sticky back.


I gathered my materials.

Then, I stuck one paper on the sticky side of each piece of foam and cut them out.

My mustaches were not black, so those were colored in with a permant marker.

Then, using a hot glue gun and some shish kabob skewers, I attached handles.

And there you have it. Photo booth props. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

5 days folks! I'm off to continue crafting & preparing. I'm going to take a couple weeks off for the wedding/honeymoon, but will be back in full force mid-July with some wedding & honeymoon stories and some more crafts from the wedding.

Until next time, keep crafting!

SB

Wedding Handkerchieves

Embroidered Handkerchieves

People are starting to ask me if I am getting excited for our wedding. We are now down to 13 days. I say yes, of course. I am thrilled for our wedding, but in some ways, it's a hard question for me to answer.

Of course, I am so excited to marry Jeremy. To "start the rest of our lives together." But, for us, in some ways, we already have. Jeremy and I live together. We own a dog together (and together we forget that Mosby is a dog, not a human child). We have consider each other's families our own. I love his nieces and nephews as if they were mine; Jeremy was the first person to rub my sister's belly. In all the little day to day ways, Jeremy and I have already committed ourselves to each other.

But, for me, our wedding day is still such a sacred and beautiful day. It is the day that we will stand in front of those we love the most to celebrate our love for each other and dedicate our lives to one another. It is a day of celebration with the people who have shaped us, loved us, and made us who were are today.

When we were newly engaged, I (like most brides) had so many ideas of what I wanted to do to make my wedding special. I had taken an embroidery class, and at first, decided that I wanted to embroider handkerchieves for my bridesmaids. Then it turned into bridesmaids, moms, and grandmas. Then, it turned into bridesmaids, moms, grandmas, aunts, cousins, and close friends. It took very little time for me to realize that every single person coming to our wedding was so special to me.

So, around October, I took the plunge. I bought 90 plain white handkerchieves, washed them, ironed them, and printed embroidery patterns on them (all pictures were lost when my phone died).

Then, I started embroidering. Handkerchief by handkerchief, stitch by stitch, I got them done. I embroidered in the car, at home, at my parent's cottage, and at Jeremy's parents home.

It became a source of stress for the wonderful women around me. Several offered to do some for me. I really appreciated the offer (and still DO! thanks!), but I really wanted to do it by myself.

And I am so glad I did. Jeremy's niece, Erica, is going to handing them out for us as the women walk into the church on our wedding day. When I walk down the aisle and when I look out into the church, at all of the women who have shaped Jeremy and I, I hope that all of the women that I'm looking at will hear the little "thanks" sewn into the stitches. 

In a beautiful twist of fate/luck/my mom's help and planning, the basket that the handkerchieves are laid in is the same one that was used at my Aunt Patty's funeral. My Aunt Patty was one of my mom's sisters, who passed away before I was born. Coupled with my Grandma's legacy of showing love through homemade gifts, I can't think of a better way to honor two of the women who can't be with us on our wedding day.

So, will no further ado...the designs of our handkerchieves...

Until next time, keep crafting!

SB

the one I will carry on our wedding day

We Are a Family

Family Scrapbook

So, as promised, this week, I am writing about the gift that I gave my sister for the shower last week. We have had SUCH a busy week, it seems like it was SO long ago already.

Jeremy & I have been busy little bees getting ready for our wedding. I went to my friend, Cathryn's earlier this week to cut out some material for the groomsmen & ushers' gifts. Yesterday, I played hooky (don't judge!!) and worked on sewing their gifts & the bridesmaids' gifts for 11 hours! WHEW! More on those in another post!!

Also, Mosby met some Boston Terrier friends this week and we proceeded to have a play date right in our new friends' front yard. They lived REALLY close to us and Mosby had a blast. I tried to snap a picture or two, but they were having too much fun to sit still long enough. Good to know that Mos is a completely normal Boston! Here's the best picture I managed to snap. We will definitely be back from more fun & (hopefully) better pictures!

Mos is top left, looking out the fence.

 Anyway, later today, we are headed back to Michigan for our last shower. This trip will also include a make-up trial, a hair trial, applying for a marriage license, meeting with our florist (and good friend) Nathan, and hopefully beach time, Grandma time, and some friend time. Good thing we are staying until Monday!

OK, then, down to business. My craft this week was a HUGE group effort. 

First, the idea for this craft was stolen. Yup, that's right. I'm a thief. But an honest thief, at least. My VERY crafty friend, Lizzy, comes from a VERY crafty family (which is often the case). When her sister had the first grandbaby, her other sister made this cute craft for her. I loved this idea and stored it away for this very occasion. 

Now, the basis of the craft is this. In families that are spread out all over the country (like Lizzy's nephew's) or all over the world (like my future niece/nephew), it can be hard for the baby to know/see/recognize all of the family members. So, gathering pictures and putting them together in one book is a cute way for the baby to keep everyone straight.

As you can probably guess, here's where even more of the group effort came in. Tony, my sister's fiance, is from the Seychelles (a group of islands of the coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean). His family, much like Tony, are world travelers. There are family members in Europe, Australia, New Zeeland, and back home in the Seychelles. So, I commissioned Tony to gather pictures of all 9 of his siblings, their significant others, and kids. He came through beautiful and thoroughly (as Tony always does).

Then, I used the magic of Facebook & Snapfish and a little help from my parents to gather pictures of our family. 

Finally, I put them all together in a scrapbook. Here are some of the results!

The cover

First page

Mommy/Daddy page

Favorite aunt/uncle page :)

Tony's family

last page

The pictures didn't turn out great, but it's really sweet in person. 

Off to the Mitten! Wish me luck on sneaking in some beach time!

Until next time, keep crafting!

SB   

Diaper Cake

Duckie Diaper Cake (& Other Shower Fun)

This weekend, my mom and I hosted a baby shower for my sister. I had an awesome time doing this for several reasons.

• I am SO excited to meet this little baby. And see if it's a boy or a girl. I must drive my sis crazy with asking about the baby's name/gender EVERYTIME I see her.
• My parents stayed with us ALL weekend! We had so much fun hanging with them (as usual).
• My mom is SO cute, creative, and crafty. Not to mention a great host/cook. It was fun to work with her to put the shower together. 
• We got to stay in CHICAGO (I haven't been in Chicago for a weekend since April). Although, we did head to the burbs to a baby shower for friends today.

Anyway, like I've mentioned before, my sister and Tony (her fiancé) are not finding out the gender the baby. So it's all yellows and greens for this little guy/girl. Which works out well, since my sister REALLY likes duck stuff for babies.

Of course, you tell my mom and I a theme, and we will RUN WITH IT. There were duckie invites, duckie napkins, duckie cupcake toppers, and duckie presents. Duckie decor galore! 

I decided to make a diaper cake for my sister for a center piece for the food table. I checked out a couple websites for ideas, but in the end, decided to wing it. 

I started with just about 100 diapers. Now, if you are going to make this project, be sure to check out the diapers before you leave the store. The vast majority of diapers have Elmo or Mickey or some other shenanigans all over them. I went with a Naturals brand, and it had less on it.

So, when you get home (or are on a car ride to Michigan), wrap up each diaper and secure it with a rubber band.

Then, gather about half of the diapers (about 50) to use for the first layer. I borrowed a cake stand from my mom. I started off by using a larger rubber band to secure a few together.

Then, I used a bigger rubber band, and added more layers of diapers.

Then, for an even bigger rubber band. I added the rest of the diapers using this rubber band. 

Once everything was secure, I used a stip of 1/2 inch white elastic to make the cake more round and also to hide the rubber bands.

Make sure to adjust any diaper so only the rounded, smooth part of the diaper shows on the outside of the cake.


Next, repeat these step with about 36 diapers for the second layer and 10 diapers for the top layer. I ended using less and less rubber bands to secure the diapers together as I went up in layers.


It should look something like this.

Since I added the elastic to cover the rubber bands, it looked really nice when I wrapped the yellow ribbon over top of the elastic.

Then, I went on Etsy. I love any excuse to buy for small business and browse Etsy, so I went hunting for cute duck stuff to add to the cake. I found cute stuff from PrettyPaulaProducts, BabyBeatrini, Shelithas, and IdenticalSAM. Then, my mom and I added them to the cake.


Here was the finished product.

And here's some other photos from the party!

Main table set-up. The banner is French flashcards as the baby will learn French & English

Drink Station. Mimosas & Punch.

Cupcakes

Decor. My mom makes the button bouquets.

Ladies enjoying the shower.

Food Spread.

Watermelon basket.

7 layer dips (thanks Pinterest!).

Examining diapers. Candy bars smashed into the diaper. Guests had to identify each candy bar.

Sister got really into it!

All and all, it's been a wonderful weekend. Next week, more wedding planning then back to Michigan for our last shower and some last minute wedding stuff. T minus 27 days!


Next week's blog: My shower gift to my sister.


Until next time, keep crafting!


SB