Broken Glass

There is officially less then 6 months to the wedding, and the DIY projects keep rolling. I've decided to copy my wonderful sister-in-law (along with many other brides) and use the bouquets to decorate the head table. After exploring Pinterest, I found the perfect DIY vases for the bouquets, BEER BOTTLES! The problem is that the neck of the bottles are too small. My latest, not entirely successful, project has been breaking glass! After some research, this is what I came up with for the best method!

#1: Materials - Glass bottle, nail polish remover, rock for scoring (optional), lighter, any kind of cotton string

#2: String - wrap the string around the bottle 3 times in the place where you want it to break and tie it in a knot.

#3: Applying the Acetone - saturate the string in nail polish remover and place back on the glass.

#4: Light it on Fire - I didn't put pictures of this step, because taking a picture while lighting and holding a burning object ended up being a challenging and dangerous task.  Holding the bottle on its side, let the string burn while turning the bottle slowly.

#5: Submerge in ice bath - When the flame burns out completely one of two things will happen: 1. The glass will magically break before your eyes, or 2. you will need to bang it LIGHTLY (I learned this the hard way) on the bottom of the sink which should be filled with ice water.

#6: Sand down the edges and decorate as you see fit!

After my first try I had 2 successes, 1 failure, and 2 that just didn't seem to want to break. It looks like I'll need to drink some more! The next step involves rubber bands, spray paint, twine, and buttons. Since these will double as a bridesmaid gift, you will see the final product at the wedding! :-)

Save-the-Date!

Today marks exactly 7 months until our wedding. It's hard to believe that when we got engaged it was 11 months away! As I sit here looking out at the 12" of snow in my yard, while relaxing on my 3rd storm day of the year, I'm beginning to get a little nervous about our June date. At this rate, I'll be teaching right up to (if not past) the big day. It's a good thing I've gotten a head start on a lot of my projects!

My latest "project on a budget" has been my save-the-date cards. Vistaprint will print 100 postcards for free! They try to sell you a million other things in the process, but if you stick to your guns they are free! It cost me $3.75 to add a picture and $6.00 for shipping.

My other area of savings is postage. Sending postcards eliminates the need to buy envelopes and saves $0.15 per stamp. For 100 save the dates, that's a savings of $15.  My next project is the invitations! Stay tuned!

For the Love of School Supplies!

I haven't written for awhile, because things have been crazy with teaching, coaching, grad work, life, etc. Last weekend we picked out bridesmaid dresses for 75% of the bridal party, and after a color change, I am VERY excited.

I'm posting, because I was looking through Wedding Bee blog posts to keep my sanity while students worked on their science projects. Yes, I admit it, I search for DIY projects while at work. I was thrilled to come across the following post: http://diy.weddingbee.com/topic/table-numbers-card-holders

I looked straight past the tacky white ribbon and saw one of my favorite things! BINDER CLIPS! Ever since I stole a pad of sticky notes from the teachers work room when I was in 2nd grade, I have had a fascination with school supplies (I think that is the first time I have openly admitted that). I instantly went into my messy desk and put as many binder clips as I could find into my school bag to take home (for the record these were binder clips I got for Christmas 2 years ago. I did not take OHMS property :-P). When I got home I went to my button collection, found super glue, and my table number holders were born!!!

"Flowers"

Before I start with my thoughts on flowers, I just want everyone to know that I think flowers are beautiful and like any girl, I enjoy getting flowers from a special someone. However, I enjoy flowers when they are in their natural form, growing on a plant rooted in the ground. When flowers are picked, even with the most loving and tender care, they will die in a matter of days. How would you like it if you were cut off from your life source? Here's my question to you: How is this symbolic of what a marriage SHOULD be? (guys keep your comments to yourself) This is what began my search for alternatives to floral bouquet. Here were some of my initial ideas, with my thoughts:

 http://manolobrides.com/2009/04/02/lovehate-the-bride-on-a-wire-edition/

I loved the creativity of this, and thought it would be a really fun craft project, however, it didn't scream "ME!"

http://greenweddingshoes.com/real-wedding-aimee-troys-red-barn-wedding/

I also liked the idea of having everyone carry potted plants. It's "Green," the flowers will not die (as quickly), and it's something the bridal party can take home with them and enjoy. My concern with this was that it's hard to find potted flowers that are all in bloom at the same time.

After thinking more about my choices, I finally found came up with the idea that screamed "ME," would be a fun craft project, had a total cost of $40 (for all bouquets/boutonnieres), and would add a FUN element to the wedding! Here it is folks:

 

http://www.bloomingfelt.co.uk/the-big-one---very-large-fuschia-pink-button-1744-p.asp

BUTTONS!!!!!

I raided my grandmother's and mother's button collection and ordered some in bulk online. I now have a huge button collection and have quickly realized how much fun it is to sort through buttons. 

 Making the "stems" has been very relaxing for me over the past few weeks. I now have 3 bridesmaids bouquets together and am working on my own. My MOH has requested helping to make hers, so that one will have to wait. I'm very excited for the final product! Here is the sneak peak of the bouquets:

 Left: Bridesmaid bouquet     Right: "Flower" made from a pair of my grandmother's old earrings.

The Moose

I know that it probably seems weird that my cake topper was my first wedding project, but boredom set in a few weekends ago. Being practical, I could not justify spending $30-$300 (I couldn't find anything much cheaper) on a cake topper that would probably have very little use after the wedding. I kept going back and forth, while trying to keep the themes of the wedding in mind. I couldn't decide on what to make until I was doing the dishes one day. On the window sill above the sink, I have a clay moose, bear, raccoon, figurine I made in high school. Then it clicked. A bride and groom moose!

I used Sculpey Clay that cooks in the oven. In total, I probably used 3 complete packages. I bought the clay on sale at Jo-Ann Fabrics for $1.60 a package. For those who don't feel like doing the math that's $4.80. If we are getting technical it's $5.04 with tax.

I have a book with a pattern that I used for the moose above, so I used that. All I did was modify the legs, add some grass and flowers, and add a veil and hat. I started to put antlers on the bride moose, and luckily I realized that was not anatomically correct before I put it in the oven! I have also subtly incorporated my two wedding colors. Can you find them? The tulle on the veil was taken from my prom dress from junior year of high school. That keeps the price at $5.04. :-)


I keep calling this a cake topper, but I should mention we are not having a wedding cake. If we are not huge cake people, why have a cake? Desert will be made by my awesome and very talented mother, and it goes along with the moose theme. That is my only clue. Happy guessing!

Welcome

Due to the request of many, I have decided to begin a wedding blog. I suppose I should begin with my wedding philosophy:

• A wedding is a day where you get to share with your closest family and friends your love for one another, and make a very special commitment.
  
• It's ONE very special day. Spending $25,000 (national average) on ONE day is ridiculous. Put that money to better use. Perhaps a car, down payment on a house, put it in savings, etc.
• A wedding should reflect the couple. I'm a strong proponent to the DIY approach to a wedding. It makes the wedding even more personal, while avoiding the $25,000 price tag!

With that being said, I like to consider myself to be a practical bride. Some may call me a budget bride, a frugal bride, even a cheap bride, but just know that I am already having a hell of a time planning! My goal is to use this blog to share with you the progress we're making, my fun DIY projects, and much more! However, don't expect me to give away too much! I still want the day to be a surprise.

Update on our progress:

• Date: June 23, 2012
• Location: Phoenix House and Well Newry, ME (Across from South Ridge at Sunday River)
• Band & Photographer: BOOKED!

With exactly 9 months until the wedding Steve and I are both very excited and well on our way to the perfect day! June 23rd will be here before we know it. More to come soon!