DIY Wedding Favorites

Wedding season is in full swing and I've been recruited to help some close friends brainstorm and decorate. Naturally, everyone is on a tight budget so of course we turn to the internets for some DIY wedding ideas. With some time and a few good friends, a DIY wedding can really save you some money as well as make your wedding day much more personal. Rather than make you search all over the web for them, I have generously blogged about some of my recent favorites. You may thank me now.


The awesome DIY photobooth wall found on Ruffled.
Forget those expensive photobooth rentals. With this baby, you get an awesome vintage feel as well as your choice of wallpaper!


Gorgeous DIY feather brooch from How Did You Make This.
This was definitely one of my favorites. You don't need to know how to sew or get messy with glue to create this beautiful brooch. Great for the bride or wedding party.





DIY gold glitter paper scroll / escort card on 100 Layer Cake.
Count on 100 Layer Cake to provide you with the greatest and "why didn't I think of that" ideas for your wedding. I love this color combo of pink and gold as well. I could see other color options like blue with silver glitter. Dazzling!

DIY baby's breath monogram from Bliss!
There was a time when baby's breath was repulsed by brides but we are seeing how resourceful they can be! With a little bit of wire and a few bunches of baby's breath, a beautiful monogram can be created for any wedding or special event. See the rest of the tutorial here.



DIY rainbow coffee filter roses found on Kuchina Pelna Cudow. (Not in English)
This has to be by far one of the most imaginative projects I've ever seen. You may need Google Translator to translate the tutorial, but the outcome is so lovely.


DIY paper flowers on Lolly Chops and Heart Handmade UK.
Oh, so you're one of those crazy brides that wants to make all her own flowers? This section is for you! Check out the awesome round-up on both sites for over 15 paper flower tutorials including a beautiful flower parasol by Martha Stewart. Great ideas for any diy wedding bouquet.




DIY Doily lamp lantern from More Design Please.
I know, those paper lanterns that you want to hang on the ceiling really illuminate the space but man are they expensive! That is the reason I love this DIY. It uses something inexpensive and turns it into something super gorgeous. DIY Doily lamp FTW! I've seen these also done with string.


DIY wedding favor bags from DIY Wedding.
Cute little favor bag pouches to fill with snacks or tossers!


A super easy DIY vintage book ring holder from PaperNStitch.


DIY braided wedding hairstyle on Hair Romance.
DIY hairstyles can save you a lot of money and you'll know exactly what you'll get! Hair Romance's huge collective of hairstyles for weddings makes me want to grow out my hair again. This romantic braided upstyle was part of their 30 Days of Twists and Pin Hairstyles.

♦DiggIt! ♦Add to del.icio.us ♦Add to Technorati Faves

Easy DIY Paper Lanterns

I made some paper lanterns for a bridal shower at work. They are very easy and incredibly fast to make. It is also is very inexpensive; I just grabbed whatever scrap paper I had lying around to make these.

Materials
Paper (any size and color)
Scissors
Scrap booking tape (or glue)


First, fold the paper in half and then cut strips till about 1" to the edge. You may cut the strips as thick or as thin you want depending on the look you would like to achieve. I cut mine a little bigger. (Don't mind my nail polish :))


After you cut the strips, open it back up and bring the two edges together and tape/glue them together and that's it! To make the middle spring out more, you can push it down from the top.


That's it! I hung them with some fishing wire so they look like they are floating.

♦DiggIt! ♦Add to del.icio.us ♦Add to Technorati Faves

Fun Finds in Montmarte

As we went fabric hunting in Montmarte in Paris, we came across a fun store where you can customize your own string of colorful lanterns called le case de cousin paul. They had so many different colors and I just love anything that's you get to pick and design yourself. I thought these might be cute for my friend's wedding since it will be outdoors in a garden. You can pick from different packages of 20, 50 or more which includes a set of lights.

Up next is a post from the original home of macaroons!

♦DiggIt! ♦Add to del.icio.us ♦Add to Technorati Faves

Hanging Paper Lanterns

For my wedding last year, I hung huge paper lanterns ranging from 18"-3o" from the ceiling of the banquet room. I've received numerous emails asking me how I hung those bad boys.

The main issue with hanging anything at a venue is you can't use holes, can't leave any marks behind, etc. Generally, tape also is not strong enough. Fortunately I figured out a way to hang them safely without leaving a mess.

What you need:

• Your lanterns (obviously)
  
  
• Fishing wire (strong enough to hold whatever size lanterns you have.)
  
  
• 3m command hooks (once again, make sure they are strong enough) They have multiple selections. I bought a variety of hooks based on the size of my lantern. They sell some of the smaller hooks in packs.
  
  
• Battery operated lights (optional)
  

What you basically do is hang the hook upside down on the ceiling where you want the lantern placed. The beauty of the 3m command hooks is that they come off cleanly (I'm sure you've seen the commercials for these during the holidays). Make sure you hang the lights inside the lanterns before you hang them =). After you have all the lights in there, tie the fishing wire to the lanterns and to the hook, and viola!


Tips:

• If you are in a larger room, larger lanterns will make a grander impression. You could also get a lot of little ones (and I mean a lot) of smaller sized lanterns enough to fill up the space for also a nice effect.
• Try getting lanterns in different shades of color for depth. For mine, I chose purple, lavender, and cream.
• You could also get multiple sizes and hang them at different heights for more dimension.
• If you don't want to spend that much money on lighting every single lantern, lighting some of them also gives it a nice effect.
  

Hope that helps everyone! Would love to see how it turns out for you!

♦DiggIt! ♦Add to del.icio.us ♦Add to Technorati Faves