Wedding Wednesday

You may not know, if you don’t know me, but I got engaged on Christmas and I am in full wedding planning mode. We have actually been planning the wedding since last spring (you have to book stuff way way way in advance here, it’s crazy!)
I thought I would share with the blog-o-sphere what I am doing, where I found inspiration or tutorials and the true cost of things and doing them the DIY way.
Lets start with my wedding mood board: (click picture to see my Pinterest board)

*The red framed chalkboard became my inspiration for color scheme. Red, Black, Blue & White. And I mean Cherry-fire engine-candy apple red and cobalt blue.
*The alter I found via Pinterest is just what I had in mind. We wanted something that would block the view behind us, have personality, and be something we could DIY.
*I have never been one for flowers, so when trying to figure out what to do for flowers and budget… I came across the paper flower bouquets made from books and comic books… I fell in love with them instantly… bonus: WAY CHEAPER.
*I am personally partial to all things red so when I was trying to find some more blue to bring in I saw the beer bottles that had been glittered/spraypainted/ modge podged and thought about the new Bud Light Platinum bottles that are a really pretty cobalt blue. With the help of my Maid of Honor and one of her friends they drank enough (over several weekends) to get me almost 50 bottles! I will say tho that these are the HARDEST to get the labels off! More on that later
*I definitely want a photobooth. We are still working out logistics on having one setup since my camera doesn’t have a remote. My MoH will def be making the “Grab a Prop & Strike a Pose” sign, she has such pretty handwritting.
*I was looking for venues in our area and kept getting sticker shock for how expensive some places were and the restrictions they had on types of food and drinks. I was talking with my Mom one day and I was in the process of telling her about the prices and she asked where my friend Jexica was getting married (She deserves her own post for all the DIYs we did for her wedding, look for that in the future) and she was getting married outside at her grandpa’s pasture… So my mom just said.. “what about Memaw & Papaw’s?” It hadn’t even dawned on me that we could get married there and save literally thousands of dollars! They have 3 acres out in Lonoke that backs up to a nice big field (occasionally there will be horses or cows out there but rarely). Plenty of room for parking, 3 bathrooms for guests, a nice big deck to put the food on… This is the best idea my mom’s had for the wedding!
** You might notice a lot of I instead of We… in true manly fashion… Scott is letting me do what I want, within reason of course. But I still show him all my ideas and he just keeps saying “whatever you want baby” I will say tho that it was his idea for us to make our own cake… yes you read that right, we are making our own wedding cake. I’ll have a special post for all the tips I found online and our trial run we do to test the batter amounts and things like that.
On the next Wedding Wednesday: Paper flowers. Look for it in two weeks!

Making your own ephemera for art journals

I’m not sure I’m using the right word here… ephemera… Essentially I'm going to show you how to make your own art or additions or elements for scrapbooking or art journaling. ((someone want to help me out with the word I’m looking for here?))

I wanted to make a small journal for all the quotes I love and have been pinning on my Pinterest that I wanted to have to display. I thought about making a small clip board and changing it everyday and then I remembered I have 12 empty half size spiral notebooks. And that would work perfectly for making a quote coffee table book.

I printed them all off into small sizes. I was trying to figure out a quick way to do this, after attempting to put them all into a PowerPoint and arrange them I realized that I just had too many. Then {LIGHT BULB} it hit me! Windows is smarter than I remember. And I’m going to show you how I made these:

First I went through all my quotes pinned and saved the photo files of my favorites. Check what type of quality they are, some of them I saved straight from Pinterest and others I clicked through to the website and saved from there. I saved them all in one separate folder to make this process faster.

Then you select all, right click on any photo, the third selection down is print:

Windows will pop up a photo print wizard. Select the printer you will be using (I tested as a pdf to see how the photos would look). Then scroll on the right hand side the size you want. I selected 3.5x5 to give me four per page. You can play around with all different sizes.

Notice how the preview shows the one in the lower left slightly cropped? That can be fixed by unchecking the box next to “fit picture to frame.”

That looks much better, doesn’t it? Then all you have to do is load up paper in your printer and print away. I used Cardstock for this but you could use anything you wanted.

Here is an example of how one page turned out for me. Then I got out my paper trimmer and set to work.

You could use this for your own journaling digital elements, photos in smaller formats for mini-albums, or for quotes in wallet size to keep with you at all times!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the artwork shown, for links to who does please see my Pinterest board. I am making no money from this tutorial or the finished album I am making.

 

Hope this helps you make some custom elements for your scrapbooks!

 

Much Love,

Tamara

Key lime cupcakes

Here is how I made the key lime cupcakes from this weekend.
I found this pin which took me to this blog post.
I had to improvise a little bit when I realized that I needed lemon cake and I was using just yellow cake mix... BUT I had some lemonade drink mix! So I added 2 of those, in hindsight I might only use 1. I followed the blog for the rest if the cake ingredients (oil, lime jello, oj).
Them comes the icing. I didn't think the cream cheese would be what I was looking for so I made a buttercream and mixed in some oj. It was a major fail! It kept separating...
Plain cupcakes it is!
They were perfect for after spicy crawfish and sausage. Just the perfect amount of tang.
~ Tamara

Pinterest

I have seen this done several times on Pinterest so I decided to try it. Just take yogurt and dot it on some wax paper and freeze. It is supposed to be better than Dots.
Review on it later when they are frozen!

Edit: they were frozen enough to try before I left to go back to work. YUMMY.

Hair inspiration

I've been trying to decide if I want to go back to my hair being red and so many pictures on Pinterest have inspired me to seriously consider it. And I saw this today and I've decided I want my hair like this. Lots of red highlights on my naturally dark base.
Thoughts?
(ps. I totally plan on trying the style too)

Arr Mateys!

One of the very first things I pinned on Pinterest was some sailor inspired nails. Then a few dresses. Then a few outfits... I love the crisp clean patriotic colors and the whimsy that comes with Sailor Pin Up girls. I rounded up a few of my favorite items.

 (all images from Google image search)

 

1.       Polka dot mary jane heels?! OMG I want a pair!  

2.       I love the rope and knot work on these wedges. Wedges are just so much easier for me to walk in.  

3.       This shirt could be an awesome DIY. Start with a blue shirt – add some trim and buttons in white! 

4.       This slightly high waist and then the buttons are just sexy.

5.       I have a blue and white striped shirt, who wouldn’t love a red skirt with a bow to go with it?  

6.       These dresses look so cute. I wonder if I could get my friends to throw me a sailor themed birthday party? Everyone dress up? 

7.       I love baby doll dresses and this simple detailing on this one speaks to me. 

8.       Polyvore is awesome, I’ve tried using it but I just get so overwhelmed by the options, but with pinterest it’s become easier. This blue and white striped dress has so much movement. Love.

9.       This is an outfit I could wear everyday. I may try to make that bracelet. (Stay Tuned)

10.   Seersucker in blue and white stripes on a wrap dress? Classy! 

1.       Inspiration bracelet cuffs partially dyed. 

2.       Friendship bracelets, I love the chevron pattern. Make it Nautical using red, white, and 

black or use a natural color for an earthier look.  

3.       I love this simple loop bracelet and the anchor clasp detailing! 

4.       Layer leather, rope, and chain and braid it up. Hoist the sails!

5.       This looks so easy to do, would be great for an activity to do on a boat or at the lake/beach. 

6.       This is how to braid leather but what about some vinyl? Sparkly Red vinyl to match the boat seats?!

7.       This headband is so adorable! Make it bigger and use it as a belt over a flowy summer dress. 

8.       Double up on the rope and do the simple loop. Do what they did and sparkle it up using metallic rope. 

1.       Anchors Aweigh! I like the little dot of gold, makes it look like buckles.

2.       Stripes with a little heart!  

3.       Fishtale braid seems so appropriate for a day at the beach. /

4.       Or you could have perfectly curled beach hair. http://pinterest.com/pin/140174607121695652/

5.       Or a cute braid to keep it off your neck in the breeze. http://pinterest.com/pin/140174607121578613/

6.       This rope placemat would be awesome with a book and a drink sitting on top of it.

7.       Upcycle those old flip flops and make braided sandals. So many ideas!

8.       This necklace could be easily made with some stripes and a design of an anchor in the beads.

9.       Sequin trim and some glue give so many options! 

Hope you are as inspired as I was! ~Tamara

Pinspiration

I love this. I want this. Ahhh. Love it.

Source