To kick things off here, I’m thrilled to finally share some projects I put together specially for the latest issue of Utterly Engaged! The goal was to create three projects that could be used during the wedding using mainly paper cups. I love the concept of taking inexpensive staples and transforming them into pretty wedding details. As we all know, weddings can add up quickly so finding ways to cut costs without it looking like it is a win win!

I ended up creating a simple wreath to be used during the ceremony or as decoration throughout the reception. By simply sliding the cups inside of eachother and securing with hot glue, this was a surprisingly easy craft.

For the second project, I wanted to create a centerpiece that would be both inexpensive and multi-purpose. I wrapped espresso cups in fabric and used them as planters for small plants. At the end of the event, guests could take these home and transfer them to their own gardens.

Lastly, 8oz. paper cups were dressed up with a simple paper wrap, filled with hot cocoa powder, marshmallows and adorned with a wooden spoon! Serve with hot water and encourage guests to warm up and take a cup home!

All the detailed instructions and more images can be found in the latest issue of Utterly Engaged along with a plethora of other amazing articles and contributions. Cheers!

As promised, I’ve got another wedding DIY for all of you today! Better yet, this Book Cover and Bookmark coordinate with yesterday’s DIY Favor Bags. Adorned with the phrase “True love stories never have endings” this bookmark says it all. What better way to celebrate your big day than with a beautiful book to remeber it by.

Weddings are a day shared with family and friends and a brief moment to express your gratitude and feelings for one another. Sometimes it’s hard to say it yourself so let your favorite book or collection of poems say it for you. Simply cover a book with paper in coordinating colors and weave a bookmark through for the perfect favor. The best part, the bookmark doubles as a seating card with space at the bottom for a name or note.

A book favor would be lovely at an intimate wedding or at a book themed bridal shower. These would also make perfect gifts for your wedding party as a token of thanks. Don’t have a favorite book? Cover a journal or album of photos instead. It’s a simple way to add a personal touch to just about anything.

Materials
Decorative Paper (Like these from Snow & Graham, Elum or Hello Lucky)
Color Printer
Card Stock
Craft Knife
Ruler
1/8″ Craft Punch
Ribbon

Instructions
Download the Bookmark Template and follow directions within the template on how to enter names, cut and construct. Punch hole at top with 1/8″ craft punch and thread coordinating ribbon through hole at top. Add a little more detail by adding an eyelet to the hole before tying the ribbon.

Pre-cut and fold your decorative paper to wrap around your book. If the book already has a cover, use as a template for the new one. If creating one from scratch, make sure it’s the same height as the book and remember to leave at least 3 inches on either side to fold in to the inside front cover. Once wrapped, firmly crease the spine and edges with fingers.

To weave the bookmark through, you’ll need to create two slits in the center of the book cover using a craft knife. The slits should be slightly wider than the book mark; approximately 2″ wide. I recommend making a sample one to practice and use as a template for the remaining book covers. After slits have been cut, wrap cover around book and carefully weave bookmark through slots.

Create a simple and tasty brunch tablescape for Mother’s Day with these little fabric wrapped cheeses as a starter. All you’ll need is some fabric, a scalloped rotary cutter, waxed linen twine and enough Mini Babybel Cheeses for everyone. Place in the center of each plate and you’ll have instant decor and a delicious appetizer to get the meal started. Serve with flat crackers, bread and apple slices.

These little favors could easily be used for a bridal shower lunch or even a casual afternoon wedding! Just find a coordinating fabric and you’ve got an easy and inexpensive favor that everyone will enjoy!

Materials
Fabric
8″ Circle Template
Scalloped Rotary Cutter or Pinking Shears
Waxed Linen Twine
Mini Cheeses

Instructions
Download the 8″ Circle Template and cut out along dotted line. Use the template as as a guide to cut out each of the fabric rounds and use a scalloped rotary cutter or pinking shears to create a decorative edge.

Remove the plastic wrapper from mini cheese wheels but keep the wax wrapper intact. Place two mini cheese wheels in the center of the fabric and gather fabric up and around cheese. Tie shut with a piece of string or waxed linen thread and finish off with a bow!

It was so much fun to read all of your favorite Mom stories and see what everyone’s favorite tapes were. A big congratulations to the lucky winner Tong for winning our latest contest! She’ll recieve a combo pack of her choice along with another one to give to her Mother or friend! Shoot me a message with you choice and address and I’ll pass it along to the ladies at TapeSwell.

If you didn’t win, you’re still in luck! TapeSwell is offering a %15 discount now through May 15th by entering code: MDAY at checkout. Thanks for playing everyone and thanks to TapeSwell for the great giveaway!

Today over on Style Me pretty Abby is sharing my latest DIY project on how to make inexpensive table centerpieces. With the help of a little paint and some flowers these miss-matched thrift store finds make for a bold and cheap focal point for a wedding or special event. Best part, once the wedding is over, you have loads of beautiful vases to give away as gifts and decorate your new home!

Today is my birthday (Woo Hoo!) and I can’t think of a better way to celebrate than finding out that I was a finalist in the DIY Wedding Crafts Contest with Etsy and Martha Stewart Weddings. The Sparkler Cards that I entered are one of 19 other finalists and one winner selected. It’s a huge honor to be a part of this fabulous collection and I couldn’t be more thrilled! The winner and finalists are featured in a slideshow on Martha Stewart Weddings. A BIG ol’ Thank You to Etsy and Martha Stewart Weddings for making this one of the most exciting birthday’s ever! You can see the adorable winning Cake Topper here and the rest of the finalists here.

If any of you are curious, I am now selling a downloadable PDF template for the Sparkler Cards along with coordinating Coat Check Tags in my Etsy shop. I’ll be sharing more details soon but feel free to check it out in the mean time. I’m taking the evening off from blogging to spend some computer free time with my husband so I’ll see you all back here Monday. Have a great weekend everyone! xoxo

This was a truly handmade made affair and the details were impeccable! Chris made all the wine for the event while Terri designed and created all the extras. I just couldn’t wait to share their favors and beautiful cake with all of you. Hopefully I’ll be able to share the rest once they get their professional shots but in the mean time here’s just a taste!

The favors were little glass vases of suculants and canvas bags filled with soil to plant at home. The suculants served as a simple and elegant canterpiece that ran down the center of the table and at the end of the evening we each took a vase to plant and remember this sweet event by.

The cake was not only yummers but a real stunner as well! (Not sure who made it but I will update the post as soon as I find out.)Displayed on a wood round and adorned with a tree motif from their wedding invitations the cake tied all the elements together. Love the two little birds! Congrats again to Terri and Chris and thank you so much for sharing your special day with us. xoxo

I haven’t been able to stop thinking about these Menu Wheels by Anna Bond since I spotted them on Design Sponge earlier this week. What a lovely and personal touch to add to a wedding dinner or special event. I’m all for the extra touches so these are right up my alley. To see the full post and to get complete how-to instructions check out Design Sponge here.

The menus coordinate perfectly with Anna’s other recent DIY project for Once Wed. Her Pom Pom Vines are equally as charming and lovely. Stop by Once Wed for all the how-to deets and of course check out Anna’s blog, Rifle, for updates on her incredible work. I can hardly wait to see her feature in the next Martha Stewart Weddings!

I’m still blushing from my mention in Bride & Bloom magazine this month, so you can only imagine my glee to recieve the latest issue of Memory Makers Magazine to find a whole page dedicated to the guest room gifts that I made for our wedding! It’s such an honor to to be included in this edition of DIY wedding projects. Thanks again to Abby of Style Me Pretty for listing my project as one of her favorites and providing this oppertunity. Pick up your copy of Memory Makers Magazine today, it’s chock full of great wedding & craft projects!

Images by me

I was day-dreaming of a vintage candy shop when I created these. This set includes four different patterns so that you can mix-and-match or just choose your favorite. Fill them with sweet treats and they make the perfect favor! Be sure to visit Style Me Pretty for the full post and to download the templates!

For some other exciting news, Abby is featured in this months edition of Bride & Bloom. The article is a behinds the scenes look at Abby’s life as a professional blogger. Being the huge fan that I am, I just had to have a copy of my own. I picked it up over the weekend and to my surprise I discovered that Twig & Thistle received a little shout-out as well!!!! At the end of the article is a section of Abby’s top 5 favorite things for weddings right now and she lists the DIY projects and favor boxes that I’m creating for her!

I’m completly honored to be included in her favorites list. A BIG thank you to Abby for the mention and congrats on her continued success! Be sure to pick up a copy of Bride & Bloom for yourself, it’s a stunning magazine and the article is fantastic.

I simply adored all the details that my sister incorporated into their event. She made dozens of pinwheels which were placed throughout the grounds. The tables were decorated with handmade paper bouquets and the table cloths were embellished with buttons! If that weren’t enough, the favors were miniature mason jars filled with homemade strawberry jam. She topped these off with an assortment of fabric squares and custom made ribbon with their names and the wedding date.

Every aspect of their wedding had a personal touch and really made it a joy to to be a part of. Our parents made a full dinner for the 100+ guests. Two of their dear friends provided homemade beer, another grew the flowers and created each of the bouquets for the wedding party. Ryan’s father took the wedding photos, another friend made their delicious cake and I designed the invitations and details.

This was a beautiful wedding that reflected Allison and Ryan’s taste perfectly, I’m so glad I could be a part of their celebration!

Besides bunnies and chocolate I’ve had weddings on the mind lately; partly because I’ve been drooling over my latest Martha Stewart Wedding issue and mostly because I’ve been working on a few wedding pieces for a freelance client. It seemed fitting to start the week off with a wedding related post. I think you guys will find this project very charming and original.

This fabulous idea comes from the the lovely Ellie of Mint who happens to be getting married in less than two weeks! These pew cards will be passed out to guests that require a reserved seat so that they can simply show them to the ushers to make seating a little smoother. Be sure to check out Ellie’s blog for more of her great ideas and inspiration and you can see more pics of these pew cards here. Thanks Ellie for the inspiration and congratulations on your upcoming wedding!!!

*This project happens to be included in Abby’s latest DIY contest so fingers crossed that I win! To vote for your favorite and see all the projects click here.

Click here to see my other Style Me Pretty contributions.

Click here to see my other Style Me Pretty contributions.

Images: Anna Melcon Bond
From top: Invitation Suite, Wedding Program with illustrations of the wedding party, and Thank You Card

I did a little poking around and discovered that this invitation was from Anna’s own wedding. I found some charming shots from her celebration that were too great to pass up. How great is that cake?!

From top: Wedding Cake by Bake Me A Cake, Flowers by Blossom, Flowers by Blossom and Handmade Tissue Paper Flowers

Besides a Flickr page, Anna also has a web site a new blog and looks like a online shop coming soon! Be sure to check them out for more sweet inspiration.

From top: Wedding Suite, Invitation, Thank You Notes, Thank You Card, Mailing Envelopes
*Note: No longer our address so we won’t be there if you decide to stop by for a visit

The Invitations, RSVP Card, Accommodations Card, Directions Card, Thank You Notes, and Envelopes were all letterpress printed on Crane’s 100% cotton Lettra Letterpress Paper by the very talented Bryce at Bjorn Press.

From top: Accommodations Card, Program, Dinner Menu, Thank You Note.
Photos: Twig & Thistle

The Programs were off-set printed onto the same Lettra Letterpress paper by the lovely folks over at Quality Press using a metallic ink. I printed the Menus on a large format digital printer.

That’s it for our trip down memory lane! It was an amazing experience and I’m so glad I could share it with all of you. Have a lovely weekend everyone and Happy Valentine’s Day! xoxo