DIY: Swarovski Brooche

When I was planning my wedding I basically purchased all my accessories. I found that to be a shame since I design jewelry, so to compromise I decided to make my own brooch. I wanted to tie my sash with a bling bling brooch, so I opted for a Swarovski filled packed piece. I thought I would share my DIY… for you DIY brides out their.

The results:

So ladies (sorry guys but I don’t think this post is for you ) … here are the step by step instructions

List of materials:
Cooper Wire (color of your choice)
Swarovski beads (small, medium and one large piece)
Cutters
Pin (for backing of the brooch)
Round nose pliers (optional)

I purchased medium and small cone shaped swarvoski crystals in both greyish-taupe and clear colors. I also purchased a galatic stone (large swarovski crystal) which will be the center of the brooch.

Step 1: I prepared all my materials to be sure not to miss anything. It’s really annoying when you don’t calculate everything correctly and you need to go back to the store.

Step 2: Using the copper wire, start making a base to your brooch. It’s quite simple, pretend you are sewing. Make circular shapes and intertwine the wire in certain places as to ensure its steadiness.

You should stop when you have a shape you like. It needs to be quite steady otherwise the weight of your stones might cause the brooch to bend.

Step 3: Now it’s time to incorporate the swarovski beads. You do the same thing as when you were creating the nesting of the brooch. Simple loop and intertwine the wire, but add beads at the same time to create a pretty shape.

Keep going until you have gone completely around the whole brooch. Verify that certain areas don’t have huge gaps. No worries, this is error proof. If you are missing beads, simply go back and add more.

Step 4: Now it’s time to add the back pin to the brooch. Using wire, simply “sew” it to the brooch using the base of the brooch. Go around several times to ensure it stays in place.

Voila! The brooch is done. I know it looks a little weird in the picture, but if you look at the pic of my wedding, you’ll see it doesn’t simply look like a pile of wire.

Price breakdown:
Galactic Swarovski stone = $6.75
Medium sized Swarovski stones : $4.90 / dozen
Small sized Swarovski stones : $1.85 for 6
Copper wire: $5.75 huge roll (which I already had – for my other DIY projects)
Pin : $1.00
—————–
Total cost: $20.25 (in reality it’s about $18, but don’t forget these are genuine Swarovski crystals and it’s worth at least $60)

Enjoy

{Goodies} Playful Shades

Spring has to be my favorite season of all… the flowers, the sun, the birds plus love is in the air. Now I know Im a little early talking about spring and all… but with the whole spring forward, I am more and more excited and thought some spring goodies would be nice!

Thanks to the Wedding Style Guide you can find neat ideas and great downloads for easy yet beautiful DIY projects.

Images and goodies courtesy of : Wedding Style Guide

Spring’s playful shades come together to grace the table with a look that is filled with femininity. Paper flowers in an eclectic style, where pages from a vintage book are contrasted with contemporary patterned papers–use them to adorn guest’s chairs as an added detail.

Now since spring is all about fresh colors & flowers… the people over at Wedding Style Guide shared their recipe for a refreshing spring cocktail drink : Grasshopper
Pour 25ml of white créme de menthe, 12ml of green créme de menthe and 25ml of pouring cream over ice. Shake until well mixed and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a fresh peppermint leaf and enjoy.

Plus, you can download a easy to use template to recreate beautiful paper flowers and let your wedding bloom for a lifetime. To download the template

Enjoy

{Good Thing} Decorative Medallions

Scrapbooking has been the hot item for the past couple of years. A fun way to keep great memories with a touch of crafyness… even though I need to confess I am not a scrapbooking type of gal, these unique scrapbook paper ideas from Martha Stewart are great for a bridal shower, bachlorette party or even your wedding. I haven’t features Martha Good Things in a while and thought I would continue the series today.

So without further ado, I present you Decorative Medallions

Good thing and Images courtesy of : Marthastewartweddings.com

To set up a writing station, hang these decorative medallions above the table to help it stand out. Then have guests write notes on the loose paper. Once a sheet’s been filled, they can simply slide it into the plastic sleeves of an album. Voila! An instant scrapbook-cum-guestbook that later can be filled with other wedding ephemera.

Good thing and Images courtesy of : Marthastewartweddings.com

Step 1:
What you’ll need: Four sheets of paper, each cut corner-to-corner into four triangles (16 triangles total); tacky glue; 1/16-inch hole punch; needle; thread; 1-inch starburst punch. With long edge of triangle facing up, twist the right point to the left once to create a cone. Add a line of glue to left side, and press shut.

Good thing and Images courtesy of : Marthastewartweddings.com

Step 2:
After glue dries completely, punch a hole on each side about 1/2-inch down. If using lightweight paper, reinforce the area you are going to punch with a piece of clear tape inside cone.

Good thing and Images courtesy of : Marthastewartweddings.com

Step 3:
Thread needle, and sew through point of each cone; pull thread together. Loosely pull center; tie off. Sew through punched holes at top. Use a punch to cut starburst shape and glue to center.

Hope you have enjoyed this little DIY project, though I have no credit for this awesome project. I’m simply sharing the love in hopes this will help you and inspire you in many ways. Thanks you fellow reader for sticking with me in moments of bad bad posting (more lack of) It is greatly appreciated and you are way too understanding

New Martha Stewart Weddings

I received an email telling me that Martha Stewart Weddings website was changing address. I thought I would share the info with you since, if you are like me, you are a Martha fan. The new address is rather simple: www.marthastewartweddings.com

I am happy of the move because that way its fast – you type in the address and boom your on the site. Before, nagivating was longer and not as user friendly as I would of liked… but nonetheless its one of my favorite wedding websites. At the same time, they took the opportunity to make a few tweeks. Heres a look:

Image courtesy of : www.marthastewartweddings.com

There are some great ressources on this website and one of my favorites are the free downloadable template. Beautiful and easy to use – making your bridal shower, bachlorette or even wedding is a breeze. Thanks MSWedding Crew. You made it easier for brides out there to have a Martha worthy wedding

Good Thing: Pomegranate Seating cards

I have a little secret to share with all of yous…. I am in love with pomegranates. Now when I mean in love you have no idea what love means in this case. I go crazy for this fruit and when they are in season I have a good 5 in my house…. not to mention I am the pro for preparing them.

So when I saw this good thing I thought it was perfect for a fall place card idea. I present you the Pomegranate Seating cards. Perfect for a fall or winter wedding.

Good thing and Image courtesy of MarthaStewart.com

Create a simple, natural display that’s rich in color by propping seating cards atop beautiful pomegranates. A symbol of eternity to ancient Greeks, the ruby-hued fruit is fitting for weddings. Cut a slit in the blossom end of each pomegranate to hold the card (to avoid staining, make slits the night before to allow time for any juice to dry). To make the cards, print or calligraph guest names and table numbers onto card stock and cut into tags; bend into graceful S-shapes with your fingers before placing in slits.

Good Thing: Take a Number

Happy Monday everyone! Hope you had a great weekend. I have a confession to make…. I’ve neglected Martha Good Things for a while now so I thought today would be a great opportunity to start again. Honestly I haven’t been on the Martha website in a while… and there are some awesome things on there. So to start off, why don’t you Take a Number

Image & Good Thing courtesy of Marthastewart.com

You’ve put plenty of thought into your reception tables: The centerpiece, settings, and linens coordinate perfectly. Why spoil it with a generic table number?

Our understated card-stock model, featuring calligraphy by Maybelle Imasa-Stukuls, lets guests know where they’re seated without stealing the spotlight. Download up to 20 calligraphed numbers and your choice of two scalloped borders.

Slip the card into a place-card holder, and you’ve got a thrifty, tailor-made number fit for your table.

Download the PDFs

{Good Thing} Fall Boutonnieres

To continue the Fall theme, today’s post features beautiful boutonniere ideas for a fall themed wedding. Whether you decided to use colored leaves or acorns, the outcome will be stunning and not to mention out-of the ordinary. Try something new… these boutonnieres could definitely be a good start

Good thing and image courtesy of Marthastewart.com

How to:

1. As foliage for fresh phalaenopsis orchids, jacquard ribbon with a fern motif (from Masterstroke Canada) is cut into leaf shapes.
2. Bittersweet (from Dry Nature Designs) and vintage silk leaves are tied with taffeta ribbon (from the Store Across the Street).
3. Loops of plaid ribbon (from Hyman Hendler & Sons) are a bright backdrop for realistic acorn trimmings (from Tinsel Trading Company).
4. Tiny prewired pinecone flowers (from Dry Nature Designs) and paper ferns (from Tinsel Trading Company), secured with silk ribbon (by Midori), form an everlasting ornament.
5. The stems of warm-hued freesia are wrapped in brown floral tape and tied with taffeta ribbon (from the Store Across the Street).

{Good Thing} A Scattering of Leaves

Its officially fall and what better way to celebrate than by posting about a great Autumn Martha good thing. If you are having a fall wedding and the leaves change color in your area, why not opt for a different kind of flower basket… maybe a leaf basket with all the bright yellow, oranges and red? This good thing from Martha is easy to do and very cost efficient too.

Good thing and image courtesy of MarthaStewart.com

As a fitting nod to the season, substitute dried leaves for petals in your flower girl’s basket. If fall foliage isn’t abundant when you wed, you can order pressed leaves online (from drynature.com). We lined this pint-size basket with a cotton fabric. Using scissors, cut a large round of fabric and a slit on opposite sides to accommodate handles, then place in basket. Wrap silk ribbon around, and tie in a bow.

DIY : The (Fake) Wedding bouquet

Since I did quite a few Do-it-Yourself projects for my wedding, I thought the info might help out some of you brides-to-be. Now, you must understand that I am no where close to being a professional and if your attempt does not come out to your liking… I am not responsible Just kidding.

Since I had an after-wedding shoot (more on that to come) I realized I needed a bouquet. I didn’t feel like spending an arm and a leg for a fake wedding bouquet so I decided to attempt my first DIY bouquet, and I was really happy with the results.

We had peonies for our wedding blooms, but that was out of the question for this DIY bouquet since they are no longer in season in July, so I opted for inexpensive off-white miniature carnations. They are full-bodied flowers so they look similar to peonies when you cluster them together.

Here are the steps to making your own bouquet:

Materials:

• Flowers of your choice (miniature carnations – $10)
• Floral tape ($1)
• Corsage pins ($1)
• Wide satin ribbon ($2.79)
• Scissors or Cutters

If you buy your flowers several days in advance, I would suggest putting them in a cool place. Since Marc LOVES the AC, our apartment was as cold as a freezer which was perfect for the flowers. If your fiance isn’t an AC fanatic, it’s best that you put the blooms in a fridge (preferably food free, otherwise your flowers will grab the smell of yesterday’s meal). I prepared my flowers the day before the shoot; that way, it was less work the day of.

Step 1: Remove all thorns, leaves or bruised petals on each stem. If you have more than one bloom per stem, you can separate them (but make sure you have a long enough stem with a minimum of 5 inches).

Step 2: Make clusters of about 5 blooms and wrap the stems with the floral tape. Make sure you stretch the floral tape so that it sticks well. Leave at least 1.5 inches of the stems at the bottom floral tape free. That way you can put them back in water and your flowers won’t wilt.

Step 3: Once you’ve completed all of your clusters, start bunching them together to make one big cluster. Use floral tape to secure the clusters into one big handle. Again, leave a 1.5″-2″ free at the bottom.

Step 4: Cut all the stems to the same length, so the bottom is clean cut.

Step 5: Starting at the top, wrap your handle with satin ribbon, overlapping each turn. Once you’ve covered all the floral tape, take your corsage pins and poke them in at an angle (towards the floor). You can make any pattern you like, I simply went all the way down in a straight line.

Voila, your bouquet is done. Place it in water until the very last moment. You have a professional looking bouquet for the fraction of the cost. This bouquet cost me only $14.00 to make. Beats what a florist would charge, don’t you think?

{Good Thing} Mini Bouquets

While I was surfing Marthas website I came across this idea and loved it. Even though it hasn’t made its way to the official Good Things list, I thought it was worthy of the praise. These beautiful Mini Bouquets are a great way to give your guest a piece of your wedding as a thank you.

Image and Good Thing from MarthaStewart.com

Give guests sprightly bouquets of their own: arrangements of ‘Ping Pong’ mums, chamomile, and lady’s mantle (or other blooms to fit your color scheme). The flowers are held in small plastic floral tubes filled with water. Cones of decorative green paper hide the tubes (for how to, see below). Then, pairs of the bouquets are propped in glass cylinders customized with bands of grosgrain ribbon around their bases. Narrow bands of green paper wrapped around the napkins and taped in back serve as place cards.