Two Random Tidbits

I just couldn't come up with a better title today - It's been a long week already!

Check off the list the tulle tassel strand. I spotted this photo on Pinterest :

And made my own (in the photo it's in work - it's actually now two strands and much longer) :
In house news, the curtains are finally up in Nate's man-cave room and the guest room, and I'm obsessed. Picked 'em up on our Ikea run, and just couldn't love them more :

So there you have it : Two Random Tidbits. I wasn't kidding.

All In The Family

I'm so lucky to have so many creative family and friends.

Case in point, our wedding gift from my Aunt Merrilee :

The photos above were taken before the quilt was carefully packed up and shipped cross-country our way, but it was delivered to us by my parents this weekend.
One-of-a-kind, and handmade just for us - What an amazing gift, not just the quilt itself, but knowing the time spent creating it. So special! 

All The Trimmings

As mentioned, my parents came up this weekend and we tackled putting up moulding in the downstairs powder room.

And by 'we', I mean my dad and Nate.

Now, my mom and I didn't just sit around - We prepped her Mother-Of-The-Bride dress for tailoring, and did one fantastic job of guarding the fireplace and making sure any and all dogs were comfy at all times. Clearly we were an integral cog in the moulding project wheel.

Regardless, Home Depot was visited (and re-visited... twice...), moulding went up, birthday gifts were handed out, and lunch and a generally grand ol' time was had.

Before . . . .

. . . After !

Close-Quarters

Sweet Shiloh, the 80 Pound Lap Dog

Otis Rules !

You may notice that that's a new doggy face in the last picture - Nate and I have a Pug-ly house guest for the next week while my old boss Laura and her hubs Jeff are out of town.

Sure to be a couple more photos of the newly minted 2-dog-household antics... And here's hoping it's all still in once piece when I get home from work today.

White Wash

Talk about a bottle neck.

Those bad boys are still hanging around, more voluminous in number than ever before. Now that there's a garage in the mix, however, they're able to be painted and dried in bulk.
I took down about 10 tables worth one morning last week (wonky work schedule had me starting the business day at 1:30pm - YUCK), and here's the [almost] results :

I kind of love how ugly and hodge-podge they are in the beginning, and what a stellar kind of unified, 'shabby chic' vibe they throw off post-paint.

And see the "FLAT" finish description on that can? That, my friends, is the key. By going flat instead of any sort of sheen, they end up looking more like actual fired porcelain, rather than the high-gloss glass that they actually are. They're still wet in the photos above, but once dry : Glare-B-Gone! Gloss and shine just don't jive with the tissue/tulle/..... homemade thing I've got going here, so flat is just what the doctor craft gods ordered.

100th Post : Cake Plates

And the award for the most unoriginal title goes toooo............!

But yes, it's taken months to get around to finishing a 20 minute job, but the cake plates are done and ready for their big doughnut debut.

The Ingredients

Glued

Ready For Action

The Option for Tiered Stand

Instagr.am Shot . . . Why Not

The Goblet Base, "Right Side" Up

Seriously one of the easiest projects ever - Perfect for any occasion, and for just a couple bucks to make one, I'm going to have to highly recommend it for all of you out there in BlogLand. Easy! Do it! Go!

P.S. My parents are up today, and it's the FIRST TIME my Mom has seen the house since about 3 weeks before we moved in. So today we're celebrating my Dad's birthday and tackling putting up some pretty white trim in my navy blue pet of a powder room. Surely pics to come! 

Details, Details

I feel like I know what you're thinking already... MORE craft supplies? MORE? Really?!

Yes.

Really.

The haul from Michael's :

 

Stencils, string, ribbons, glue, poster board... To become all manner of things (we'll divide it up later as I conquer projects).



 And the wedding-related goods from the afore-mentioned trip to Ikea :

Not one of the above items was on the To-Buy-At-Ikea list, much to Nate's chagrin, but it was such a score to find our center unity candle (under $5 instead of the going rate of $30 at craft supply places), as well as the holders for our unity candle... lighter candles (do those have a title? whatever.), and - who knew - navy blue cocktail napkins to be used with the doughnuts at the reception.

Now I get to check a few things off the list and dive into more! ...Yay...?

I - Kea, That's Comfortable!

(Random 'Friends' quote as the title - There really is one for every life situation.)

I mentioned Monday our trip to Ikea - We hit it hard, and I always seem to forget how infuriating it is to deal with a mass sampling of humanity like that. But! We made it out alive ... And better yet, so did everyone else.

Getting  Unpacked & Sorted Out

Tucker Supervises

This Becomes A Dresser ?

Blessedly Easy-to-Assemble Chairs

Tuck Approves of the Rug Choice

We managed to get everything put together - and didn't even find any extra pieces left over! Always a plus. Now we get to dive into trying to break down the menagerie of paper, boxes, and elephant-sized cardboard chunks before recycling day.

Nifty Gifty

In all of this preparation fun, I sort of forgot about the concept of wedding gifts. I mean, I diligently created our registries quite early on like the wedding websites told me I should, but then it was rather out of sight, out of mind.

Plus, since the majority of our guests are incurring travel expenses just to come to the wedding, the presence of those I love is plenty gift enough for me. It's blowing my mind the lengths people are going to to come share in The Day, and I'm moved every time I think about it.

That said....

Man, was it a fun surprise to get a wedding gift in the mail! Nate and I are working opposite shifts last week and this week, so we waited until the weekend to open it together, and I fully looked forward to it every time I passed that box.

From the family of our Flower Girls, the deco-inspired mirror I adore from Target :

Just the thing on the landing of our stairs, and the first thing to catch your eye when you come in the front door. Thank you, Prose's!

"Relaxing"

...The word has taken on a completely different meaning.

These days, a relaxing weekend no longer includes couch time, leisurlely walks, or going with the flow. Nope, this "relaxing weekend" was a non-stop *take deep breath* Carpet-Getting, Ikea-Shopping, City-Lunch-Having, Furniture-Assembling, Craft-Supply-Buying, Taxes-Doing, Sunday-Dinner-Having whirlwind.

Did I forget anything? Probably. But that covers the heavy hitters. I'll re-cap in a couple different posts, but for now - the most exciting: Carpet is in!! Enjoy the photographic evidence while I deeply inhale all the new carpet smell I can get.

First we did a little floor re-sealing - So worth it for future spills.

Naked Sealed Stairs

Get Ready............

YAY!!!

So there you have it. And yes, the carpet is covering the entire upstairs, but for some reason I only took before and after photos of the stairway itself. Blame it on the excitement of not getting splinters in my feet every time I leave the lower half of our house.

For anyone who cares (probably just me...) we went through Home Depot for the carpet purchase and installation, and could not be happier. The cushy deliciousness is Martha Stewart Living Boscobel II in 'Spud', and has guarantees and warranty promises out the wazoo from both the maker and Home Depot.

Mmmmmm, spuuuuuuuud.....

The Dress I Won't Have On...

Even though pearls are my birthstone, here's a dress I WON'T be wearing... !

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Let Them Eat Cake

...Er, doughnuts as the case may be. But either way, dessert needs a perch.

Remember the supplies I picked up at Goodwill for cake plate making? Well, the time has come. A little newspaper coverage of the garage* and a can of Rust-Oleum in 'Lagoon' and the process was underway.

Next up is a little glue action, affixing the gold and silver chargers to the once-bottom-now-top of the goblets. Another project well on it's way to completion, woohoo! 

*A moment to celebrate the fact that I now have a garage, please!

S.W.A.K.

Invites are out the door as of late last week!

Happy Valentine's to all, and thanks in advance for RSVP-ing ASAP, my wonderful friends and fam!

Felt Flower Fiesta: Girly Gifts

Now, you didn't think I'd leave out the kiddos in the Fiesta did you?

These little ladies will be getting a brooch for their sash on their white dresses :

And for these lovlies I'll fashion some sort of corsage/bracelet that's still in the works (sitting in the middle of the below workspace) :

Charlie, our extremely sqeezable ring barer, will be mimicking the big boys with a boutonniere of his own.

This pile of small projects has been such a fun and satisfying chunk to get done. Plus I can't wait to see all the little muffins in our bridal party marching down the aisle with my handiwork attached to them!

Felt Flower Fiesta: Boutonnieres

Time for the boys to get a turn.

I thought creating boutonnieres would take some tedious time and patience, but they actually came together quite quickly and easily.

Remember that glitter-spewing stem of turquoise leaves I found a while back? This is it's time to shine. If you recall, I shellacked it with a matte clear coat to prevent coating the guys with turquoise sparkles, so it was easy to snip off each leaf and attach it to a felt flower.

Finished product at top

Another floral project to check off the list... And a few more show tomorrow from the same session that built the boutonnieres. And at some point I really will take well lit photos with an actual camera so you can see the details of things. Too much to do right now to stage a photo shoot!

Fit To Be Seen

First dress fitting tomorrow evening!

 (image)

Excited to put my dress on again and start to visualize the magic a few nips and tucks can make.

Here's what I'm hoping DOESN'T go down :

 (image)

Wish me luck and good sucking in skills!

Felt Flower Fiesta: Bridal Bouquet

Just when you thought you'd never see a "Felt Flower Fiesta" post again...

You know you missed it. I'll let the pictures do the talkin', but my bridal bouquet is done! Check that suckah off the list. Wooot!

2 36" dowels cut in thirds, glued together, and stuck in 6" foam ball

Dowel Close-Up

Starting In...

Felt Flower Fountain

Time to cut some lace for the 'stems'

Almost done - Rhinestones in place!

close-up of some teeny rhinestone detail

Maternal Grandma's brooch, Paternal Grandma's bracelet

Finished Product

I'm super happy with how it turned out - Happily more projects are coming out as they look in my head then I ever could have hoped for on these wedding crafts. Can't wait to carry this guy down the aisle and have it to look at (sans-jewelry) for years to come.