A Little Update

Hey everyone! I'm so sorry I've been an awful blogger lately, but it has been one crazy, crazy week. Fun.. but crazy. We've got just about everything in place for the wedding, and I am soooooooooo excited. I've been doing lots of last minute things, such as ordering flowers (I know, why did I not order them years ago?), making sure everything is okay with the cake lady and the caterer, packing for the honeymoon -- which, I'll have a packing post up on Thursday woohoo!, making the programs, figuring out what on earth I'm going to give to my mom and my future mother-in-law (I'm just going to make something.. so much more special in my opinion), freaking out because the gifts for my bridesmaids are still being shipped, even though I ordered them back at the end of March, it's ridiculous, and just trying to survive until the wedding arrives, really. Here's a few pictures for y'all, along with a little bit of what I've been up to.

What's that you say? What are those random stripes of fabric doing on a really long pole? Well, it's going to be our backdrop behind our "head table" or whatever. My mom and I just finished it up last night, and it really didn't take all that long either. Well, if you don't count all the time it took my house party/bridesmaids and I to cut all those stripes.. and believe me, we cut way, way too many, but better safe than sorry! All of the fabric used came from old table clothes, curtains, and bed sheets from Goodwill, and then we just glued them around the pole with fabric glue. Easy peasy, and I hope it looks great! We're going to hang a sign in the middle of it as well!

On to the programs! Seriously, they're kind of my pride and joy. I designed them myself, rather than paying someone $25-75 to do it for me, they fit perfectly with my whole theme and color scheme, not to mention.. I saved myself over $200 by creating the design on my own, using card stock paper I had bought almost a year ago on sale for like $4, and getting them printed at Kinko's. Plus, they're exactly what I wanted! The weather forecast looks pretty decent right now, but Heaven knows it likes to get real warm in Texas in the late spring time, so I knew I wanted my programs to be fans from the get-go since our ceremony is outdoors. So, after getting them printed out, all I had to do was fold them in half -- the front side has all of the wedding party info on it, and the back has the actual ceremony program on it, clip of the corners with a corner-rounder I bought at Hobby Lobby for $3.50, and glue the wooden handle in between the two sides, as well as the backsides themselves. Two of my bridesmaids and I worked to get all 130 of them done in one evening, too. Oh, and I'm pretty much in love with this basket I found at Hobby Lobby as well, yeah, it's going in my house after this is all over!

Lastly, Curtis and I pulled out our passports that we ordered back in December (so cool that we actually have passports!) for the cruise, so we could sign up for our boarding pass early online..less waiting in line time sounds like a good plan to me! We haven't picked out the excursions we want to do quite yet, but we know we can't afford to do one at every stop, so we'll probably just choose one big one and then relax at the other two stops. Annnnnnnd, we finally got our marriage license on Monday! It's official you guys, we're really, really getting married! Whoop! Although, Texas has like a 72 hour waiting period from the time you receive your marriage license before you can actually be "officially" married, weird.

All-in-all y'all, I cannot wait to be married in four days. I know it's going to be one of the absolute best things in my life, and I'm so ready to be Curt's other half. God has blessed me with such an amazing man, and I know we've got a lot of fun in-store for us! Hope you all had a fantastic weekend, and are having a great start to your week! It's gonna be a great one, I just know it!

Wedding DIY: Love Birds

Source (sorry, I had this photo saved on my phone, so I can't find the original source)

Once I saw that photograph, I was convinced I had to incorporate it into my wedding. It's my entire wedding in a nutshell -- lace, twin, and glitter (who doesn't love some glitter every now-and-then?), not to mention, I didn't want to put something ridiculous like this on the back of our chairs. Am I the only one in the world that thinks that's just completely tacky? ..probably, but it's just not my style, to each their own, I suppose. So I did what any normal crafty person would do, I made my own. It was really simple, but took me a couple of days because glue likes taking a long time to dry. So, here's my little tutorial so you can make your own word banner.. seriously, you can make it say anything you want!

I'll post the pictures first, and the directions will be below that.

Steps:

1. Gather the supplies needed: 
• wooden letters (any craft store)
• Regular Elmer's Glue 
• Elmer's Spray Glue (Wal-Mart or craft stores)
• Modge Podge (Wal-Mart or craft stores)
• Hot Glue Gun + Extra Hot Glue Sticks
• Scissors
• Small paint brush (any will do)
• Regular Glitter
• Twine (Hobby Lobby)
• Lace (I found mine at a local store, but you can cut up old curtains from Goodwill)
• Extra Items: Plastic Plate & a Towel
2. Spray the spray glue onto the wooden letter (on top of the towel) - just the top part though, we'll get the sides later. 
3. Place the letter into the plastic plate and pour the glitter on top. Don't be shy about it, be sure to cover the entire letter. 
4. Spread (regular) Elmer's Glue onto the sides of the letter; make sure you don't get too much glue in one place.
5. Sprinkle the glitter on to the Elmer's Glue on the sides of the letter. I patted most parts with my finger to make sure it wasn't too bulgy in one place. 
6. Place the letters on a piece of wax paper to dry overnight (and you can spell out cool words like "blover" if you'd like!) 
7. INSERT: I totally forgot to photograph me putting Modge Podge over the glitter after the letters are dry, so do that with a small paint brush so the glitter actually stays on! After the letters are dry (again), take out your twine, lace, scissors, and hot glue gun. Cut the lace into smaller pieces (all the same length), and fold it in half over the twine. You could also just glue all of the stripes onto the letters and then put the twine through the loops of lace, but I thought this way was a little easier.
8. Take the hot glue and glue the strip of lace down to the back of the wooden letter. I recommend spelling the entire word out before you start glue, I almost put the second letter on backwards -- so watch out for that!
9. Once you get all of the letters and lace glued around the twine, let it dry for a bit (won't take too long..)
10. My letters were really spotty because spray glue is ridiculous, so I mixed some glitter into some Modge Podge and filled in the spots. I also poured on some extra glitter for good measure. Then, let it all sit over night again, and you're good to go! :) 

Here's my final version! I really like the way it all turned out, and I can't wait to put these on the backs of mine and Curtis's chairs at the wedding reception! I'm really glad that my wedding is going to have lots of touches of my handy work in it, makes it much more special in my opinion. 

Hope y'all have a fantastic Friday! I've made it back home (again, gah, I'm not liking this traveling back and forth) to get everything ready for my bridal portraits tomorrow. I'm super excited! 

Wedding DIY: Cardboard Letters all Laced Up

Alright, here's a post of one of my favorite wedding DIYs so far! It's simple, and super cute. Although, I do recommend using a different method of gluing. My fingers are all sticky right now, and its rather annoying. Oh, and I have a beagle staring at me, whining, and putting her paw on my makeshift desk.

 Seeeeee. She's a goof, and always hungry too. I think these early morning classes I have this semester have made her think that dinner time is at 5 and not 7 anymore. Oh well, its pretty cute! (and excuse the messy looking room, it's my fiance's..I can't wait until I actually live here so it doesn't look like a disaster hit. The joys of three boys living together?)

Alright! Let's get to what this post is actually about! Crafty time! :)
I'll show you a picture of the end result first. I planned on putting these either on our table at the reception, or maybe the desert table, not sure which just yet.

I went to Hobby Lobby yesterday and picked up most of what I needed for this project, which is not very much. It's really inexpensive, and if you already have most of the items laying around, like I did, it'll only cost you about $5. Awesome?!

Here's the supply list:

• Cardboard letters - $2.47 each (you can do initials, or just your last name initial, or your name..endless possibilities!)
• Medium sized paper doilies - $1.49 (I got a pack of 8 awhile back for another project)
• Scissors 
• Spray glue or Modge Podge 
• okay, here's my tiff. I used spray glue because its what I had on hand. I left my Modge Podge at my parents' house over Christmas break. Although the spray glue did work, it got everywhere and as before mentioned, my hands, the table, and everything else around the area I used are all sticky. Gross. So if I could redo this, I definitely would use Modge Podge.

That's it! Pretty short and sweet. 

Oops, scissors not in the picture...

Here goes!

Step one:  Place one doily on top of the letter you've selected. K for Kristina! Move it around until you get it in a place that looks perfect for you, and then crease the paper on the edge of the letter (just the straight part, not any other section..we'll get to that.)

 Step two: Crease the doily over the back edge of the straight part of the letter. This is so you'll be able to see where to glue the doily in case it moves around accidentally.

 Step three: Next, time for the glue. I'd recommend spraying the actually doily itself so that the glue doesn't cover the entire letter, but you can do it which ever way you'd like. So, spray the glue in the spine section of the letter first, hold that part down, and then do the front in small sections. Hold each section down for about 15-20 seconds so the glue holds on to the letter. Do the same for the back of the letter.

Side Note: If you're going to use Modge Podge, put a layer on the letter in small sections, put the paper down over the Modge Podge until you've got the doily on there. Then put another layer over the top of the doily so it stays! You'll have to wait for the Modge Podge to dry before you can do the back of the letter though.

 Step four: After the glue (or Modge Podge) has dried, cut the parts of the doily that are hanging over the edge of the letter so that you can fold them down and glue them to the side of the letter. Be sure to cut down the middle!

For the backs, I just cut off the edges to give it a clean look.

Step five: Wait for it all to dry, if there are any parts sticking up, just glue 'em down again. Here's my 'K'. Repeat for any other letters you've got. The 'C' was pretty tricky for me because its curvy, and doesn't have anything in the middle.. I messed up the first time, but the one good thing about using the spray glue, I just pulled the doily off and started over.

See, that didn't take too long, did it? I really do like the way the letters turned out, even if I do have sticky fingers. Hope your's turn out just as fabulous, I'm sure they will! :) 

Have a fabulous week rest of the week! I'll probably have more DIY projects up pretty soon. Oh, and I ordered a dress for my Ring Day in April, not what I originally had in mind, but I love it! It should be here today or tomorrow..come on FedEx! I'll post it as soon as it gets here. Cross your fingers it fits..it was in a UK size, so I hope I ordered the right one! Ha. 

DIY: Sunburst Mirror

Okay, so I've seen a TON of how-to starburst mirrors out there in the blogging universe, and I decided to try my hand at one. Plus, mirrors are so expensive, and I'm on a budget here people. I didn't even know what a wood shim was before this project, but they worked perfectly! Alright here's what you'll need.

Supplies Needed:

• 18 packs of wood shims, the shorter ones (you can find them at Home Depot..just ask where they are first, or you'll go down every single isle searching for about 20 minutes). 
• Wood glue & hot glue - about three bottles of wood glue too! Believe me, you will need 'em. 
• A mirror - got mine from Hobby Lobby; any size you want, I used one of the smaller-medium sized ones
• 12-in Wooden Stitching ring - I looked for a wooden floral craft ring, but I ended up using this instead because I couldn't find one anywhere
• Spray paint - any color you'd like 
• Hanging Hardware 
• Hammer
• Harry Potter books (optional, but I definitely put use to them!)

That's a wooden floral ring pictured, I used a stitching ring, it isn't quite as sturdy, but it worked just fine. That's what the shims look like! :) 

Okay, first, arrange the wood shims, 9 at a time, in a bundle - one slightly higher than the other up until the fifth one, and then even with the other side going back down. Use the wood glue on each shim, and once you get the group together, let it dry. 

Once you get a few bundles made up and dried, glue them together. Groups of three's was what I did, and then once those dried I glue them together. Eventually, you'll get to where you have two halves, then glue the two halves together. Once you've done that, take the floral craft ring/stitching ring and put the hanging hardware on it. 

Then, glue the ring onto the shims, and by glue..I mean glue the heck out of it! Use a TON. Then, the Harry Potter books come in handy because I certainly didn't want to stand over and hold down that ring all night long. Place the books on top of the ring so that all parts of it are smushed down on the sun burst, then let it dry over night. 

After its dried over night, you can take it outside and spray paint it. I did two coats, in a metallic silver. Once its dry, hot glue the mirror in the middle! Then you're pretty much done! You can add anything you want to decorate it more, but I liked the simplicity of just the mirror. Then hang it, I'll add a picture of mine up in my dining area in my apartment once I move. 

Here's my finished mirror, in terrible lighting thanks to my wonderful ceiling fan (can't complain too much, I love that thing at night! Keeps me nice and cool in these HOT Texas days!) 

Enjoy! :) 

xoxo, 

Kristina 

DIY: Flower Paper Lantern

Soo, I sort of took this idea from Crafty Nest, head on over there for some more fabulous ideas. But its an adorable way to revamp those paper lanterns that you just seem to be attracted to, but can't exactly figure out why..or what you'd do with them in your apartment/house. I fell in love with the flowered one instantly and had to do it! Unfortunately, well, rather fortunately, its not Christmas or anywhere near it, so there aren't any faux poinsettias laying around anywhere in the craft stores. But I thought white daisies would look just as good, so I got a few bundles of them from Walmart. Also, I couldn't find any of the pom pom fringe, so I just bought little pom pom balls in a baggie from Jo Ann's Fabric. I think the smaller balls look better, by the way. I bought the paper lantern on sale in a pack of three from Hobby Lobby for like $2! All in all, this project cost me about $7, not too shabby if I do say so myself, but I did already have the cord set and light bulb needed for hanging lanterns.

All you'll need for this project:

1. Paper lantern, any size will do. 
2. Faux flowers, white for this particular project, but you can do any color you want! 
3. Pom pom balls
4. Hot glue gun, with glue
5. Scissors 
6. A cord kit
7. Light bulb

Here's some pictures & a link to the website, along with instructions right HERE.

Enjoy!

This would be mine! Excuse the background..I'm made it for my future apartment that I won't be moving to until the middle of August! 

The two that Crafty Nest made, gorgeous!

xoxo,

Kristina

DIY, lovely hair-things, Part I: braided headband

Well, all is not going as planned for the chictopia adventure. I can't seem to figure out how I'm going to take pictures of my outfits. Ah, well, I'll figure it out. By the way, I'm laying in bed and my beagle girl is under the covers, two blankets, and a pillow. I don't know how she got there, but she managed it pretty well.

Okay, now to what this blog's really about! I have a couple hair clip/headband ideas I'd like to throw out there to the world! The first part of this 3 part series is one that I figured out on my own; there was a girl I know that was trying to raise money so she could go to Nicaragua on a mission trip with our church, so she sold these cute little braided headbands to the girls in our church. I personally didn't buy one (I sort of feel bad for stealing the idea and not helping her out, but.. she still got to go and plenty of girls bought some anyway!), but I did figure out how to make them. Its really simple, and takes about 20 minutes to do. Here's a picture of the finished product, modeled by my awesome friend, Denise!

Items needed for braided headband:

• 1/2 a yard of fabric (it'll be more than enough, but you'll have lots of extra fabric to make more things!) 
• Woven elastic (its generally sold at any crafts store near the fabric section)
• Scissors
• Pins
• A needle
• Thread 

1. For these, you'll need about a 1/2 a yard of fabric, choose any color you'd like, any pattern, anything will look awesome! Then, cut three strips about half an inch thick.
2. Pin the three strips together with one of the two pins at one end of all of the fabric, one on top of the other.
3. You might need someone else's assistance for this next part, or a very heavy book; braid the three pieces of fabric together until you reach the end, then pin the other end of the fabric together with the second pin.
4. Thread the needle with the thread and tie the thread so that it won't slip off of the needle while you are sewing, and then take the strip of woven elastic and place it onto of one end of the pinned together fabric.
5. Start sewing the fabric and elastic together; I like to make lots of loops around the outside of both sides to make sure the fabric and elastic are sewn together well. Also, make sure to get all of the fabric sewn onto the elastic. Then, cut the thread that is connected to the needle (leave enough so that you can tie it in a few knots), and then cut the thread that is still connected to the spool, then tie those two strings together in about four knots.
6. Next, place the braided fabric around the top of your head, like you would a headband, and measure how much elastic you are going to need for the back of the headband around the back of your head. I like to pull it tight so that I know the headband is going to stay on my head while I'm wearing it. Hold the place where you've measured with your finger, and then cut the elastic.
7. Repeat step five on the other side of the fabric.
8. Cut off any excess fabric that may be on the ends after you've sewn on the elastic, and you are good to go! :)

xoxo,
Kristina