There are numerous wooden wedding signs floating around Pinterest and the blogosphere but I wanted to do something different, more modern and of course more colorful! I pulled my inspiration from this TomandJessFest sign, so cute! I designed five signs to be place on the main street and around the venue. I then used my awesome sauce printer and printed the signs on 13″ x 19″ poster board. Not everyone will have a fancy printer or owns a small stationery design biz so you can also get a local printer or Kinko’s to print the signs for you. Once printed, I used the spray adhesive to attach the poster boards to foam board and then simply used my x-acto knife and a long ruler to cut out the signs.  My signs are 5″ high by 15″ wide so on the smaller side but still viewable from a car.  I found metal sign stakes at Lowes for $.98 each and decided to use them rather than wood stakes for an easier install.

Here is an update to the list of DIYs:

THE DIY LIST:
1. perforated metal hurricanes
2. foam directional signs
3. sand/concrete buckets with poles for cafe string lights
4. ribbons oh my!
5. bunting or tassels for cake background decor
6. groomsmen boutonnieres
7. fabric table runners
8. ampersand for bride & groom chairs
9. succulents planted in mercury votives

I still have the ribbons oh my DIY project to share however it is still not ready for prime time but I plan to work on it this week. I also have included a link above to the succulents planted in mercury glass containers DIY sneak peak! I set up a mock table this weekend to see how everything would look together just in case it didn’t come out like I had been envisioning. Good news: it came out even better! I am thrilled with the look and can’t wait to see it on our actual day. Speaking of mock trials… I went to my hair and makeup trial this weekend, put on my wedding dress and a good friend sweetly agreed to take a few pictures at the NC Art Museum. I am so happy with that look too. eeeee! So much excitement and anticipation. … and Craig is happy because the Giants won on Sunday… and surely excited about our wedding so soon too. What are you happy about on this Wedding Friday Monday? :)

image credit: Nancy Ray Photography

Unfortunately, I didn’t take pictures while creating this DIY project so you will have to bare with me as I explain the steps. It is really quite simple actually but does take some patience. The first step was to print a large ampersand on an 8.5″ x 11″ paper and use spray glue to adhere it to a foam board. Once firmly attached, I took an x-acto knife and cut around the shape and foam board. This is where the patience comes in. ;) Once the ampersand was completely cut out I was left with not the prettiest of edges so I then used a hot glue gun to attach white ribbon around the edges. The next step was to print a reflection or flipped ampersand on another piece of paper, carefully cut it out and then glue it to the back of the ampersand. For the last step, I simply held the ampersand at the height I wanted it between two chairs and tied ribbon to each side and then a loop for the chair. I am very happy with how the finished ampersand turned out and think it will look really cute between our chairs against the white table cloth at the wedding. It’s definitely not perfect, no DIY is ;), but since no one will be be analyzing it closely it will be just fine.

In other DIY List updates, Craig’s sweet mom has agreed to sew the fabric table runners for our wedding! The runners will be sewn from the same teal chevron fabric that was a feature of our wedding invitations. They will add a pop of graphic teal to the white linens. I am super thankful to have her help on this DIY because time is running short before the big day. I promise to share pictures of the table runners and a few quick tips to making your own table runners after the wedding. Another project that I can cross off the DIY list is the bunting or tassel for cake background decor. I decided that the simplicity of a beautiful backyard is all that is needed and that I want the cake to be the main focus, not the decoration. I will have a teal chevron runner under the white milk glass cake stand with a few ribbon touches to add color to the white buttercream wedding cake. Here is an updated DIY List.

THE DIY LIST:
1. perforated metal hurricanes
2. foam directional signs
3. sand/concrete buckets with poles for cafe string lights
4. ribbons oh my!
5. bunting or tassels for cake background decor
6. groomsmen boutonnieres
7. fabric table runners
8. ampersand for bride & groom chairs
9. succulents planted in mercury votives

I plan to share the foam directional signs and ribbons oh my project next week. So much to do and less than 28 days left of time! :)

image credit: Nancy Ray Photography

This DIY is simply to save money and who knows maybe I will be able to sell the lanterns after we use them and get some of our investment back.  I do plan to keep a few for our one day backyard as I think they will be happiness to look at and remember our wedding day.

Now, on to the how to’s for this project.  This DIY was surprisingly easy and the final product looks amazing if I do say so myself. :) On one of my many trips to Lowe’s Hardware (I spend too much time and money in this store – just ask Craig), I spotted sheets of aluminum in fun patterns. Originally intended for radiator covers or such, I immediately thought of my beloved metal lanterns. So on the supply list for this DIY is the following: 1. cloverleaf aluminum sheets or any pattern you like, Lowe’s has a lot of options 2. steel straight snips – borrow from a friend 3. glass cylinders 4. screws, nuts and washers. That’s it!

I purchased the glass cylinders as a template guide for making the lanterns perfectly round and to also protect the open flame from grass during the ceremony. No one wants a fire to start during a wedding ceremony unless it is the fire that burns for the marriage, too cheesy? Sorry. Back on task, I don’t plan to use glass hurricane vases or cylinders for the lanterns that will surround the pool so that will be cost saving.

First step is to measure for your pieces of metal by using the classic math formula, circumference = diameter x pi. Sorry to make you do math two times in a blog post, nerdy Janine. ;) Once you figure out how long you need a piece to wrap around the cylinder then you can determine how tall you want your lanterns. I just figured out how to get the most out of one sheet of metal. The 24″ x 36″ sheet of metal that I bought at Lowe’s for $26 allowed me to make three lanterns and one small votive holder. Mark where to cut with a sharpie and then use your steel straight snips to cut out the metal. The metal cuts surprisingly easy with the proper snips but I do recommend wearing gloves because it will be sharp.

Next you will curl the metal around the class hurricane vase and overlap the two ends. Join the ends by placing a screw with washer through two holes that line up and then tighten a nut on the other side.  I used two screws per lantern, one on the top and another on the bottom, but bigger lanterns might need a third in the middle. The next step is there is no next step! How awesome is that?! You can slip your metal lantern over a glass cylinder or leave it bare if you aren’t concerned about fires.

I simply love how the lanterns turned out and I think they look very similar to the inspiration image.  The total cost for three lanterns with glass cylinders was $46.10 which comes out to $15 per lantern. That includes three different sizes and a small votive holder.  If you don’t use the glass cylinders then the price would be $9 per lantern.  A much better price then the original metal lanterns and an overall savings of $250 for 14 lanterns. That leaves a lot of moolah for more DIYs, yay!

THE DIY LIST:
1. perforated metal hurricanes
2. foam directional signs
3. sand/concrete buckets with poles for cafe string lights
4. ribbons oh my!
5. bunting or tassels for cake background decor
6. groomsmen boutonnieres
7. fabric table runners
8. ampersand for bride & groom chairs
9. succulents planted in mercury votives

I will leave you with another project crossed off the list and hope to see you soon with another DIY to share. Have you worked on any fun projects recently? Did you participate in the Pinterest Challenge from YHL? I should have submitted this as a Pinterest inspired DIY.

image credits: West Elm | Home Depot | Lowe’s | IKEA

The real question should be, who rents a tie for $12? Once again add another qualifier to the on going debate.  I ended up doing my favorite hobby (besides my numerous other hobbies) and googled around until I found the ties available for purchase for $20 each.  This was not an easy task even for a pro stalker googler like me. It was right before I called to purchase the ties that I was told that the neckties were pre-tied. I didn’t even really know what that meant but assumed it meant clip-on and hoped it meant just tied before hand and able to be untied.  Off I went to the bridal store to check the ties out in person again. Unfortunately the first assumption was correct and the ties are in fact clip-ons. I wouldn’t have minded this fact if the guys were simply renting the ties but since we are buying the ties as part of their groomsmen gifts, it seemed very cheesy. So that months long trail led to another dead end but I wasn’t giving up without a fight.  With a little searching I was able to find pindot ties in all the necessary colors on Amazon.com.

The ties were 100% silk for only $16 each, victory is mine! We ended up purchasing two of each color for the groomsmen and a red tie for Craig. When they were deliver I was really impressed with the quality and color.  The plan is to have the groomsmen wear a tie color that is different from the bridesmaid’s dress that they will be walking with back down the aisle. That way they don’t look too matchy, matchy and like they are going to prom.  ;) I am pretty happy about what we ended up with and glad I didn’t go with my first instinct. Don’t you just love when that happens?

In terms of money, my goal was to spend way less than $154 to create 11 boutonnieres (6 groomsmen, 2 fathers and 3 grandfathers). Craig’s boutonniere is already included in our florist contract for $14  to match my bouquet. So for less than $40 in supplies and on my way home, I was feeling pretty good about this project.  After taking the picture below I was confident that, yes, this is going to be beautiful.  I thought, not only am I saving $100 but our boutonnieres are going to turn out so pretty that it will be worth the time then to just pay the florist. They will look exactly like this one, right?

Whomp, whomp. Not exactly. After cutting out a few layers of petals, I realized that the fabric was fraying pretty not cute like so out came the Mod Podge. My first time ever using the stuff, pretty surprising, huh? I read that if you spread an even, thin layer on the back of the fabric it would stop the fraying. Awesome sauce, that’s the solution, right? (All together now, “not exactly”.) The Mod Podge made the fabric really stiff and not sweet and soft like I wanted the flowers.  It also left the back of the fabric very glossy and I will take the fraying over that.  Back to the previous petals and it was on to trying to make this thing look like a flower instead of a pile of scrap fabric. I tried and tried but could not get the flower to cup and be a cute little bud like my inspiration image. After $40, 4 hours and loads of frustration, I was able to produce one fugly boutonniere.  Now in supply terms, I probably only spent $4 on this one boutonniere and had leftovers to make more but still, could I guarantee that they would look better? not take as much time? and I still have to buy fabric for the other colors. buggers.

So I weighed my choices… If I cut out each petal individually, sew them together and put clear nail polish on the edge to stop fraying, I could possibly get tight bulbs like my inspiration boutonniere. Or, I could email the florist tomorrow and add the boutonnieres to our contract and move on to other DIYs.  Hmm… Then I saw that my florist was featured on a popular wedding blog, Style Me Pretty, and that her boutonnieres look like this beaut. Game over! Decision made. Because that, my friend, is one good looking boutonniere. It’s the Craig of boutonnieres if I want to get all cheesy on you. :)

At the end of the day, I am happy, Craig is happy and I am ready to tackle more DIYs having grown from this experience. That sounds like a solution to me. Janine: 1, DIY list: less one project!

THE DIY LIST:
1. perforated metal hurricanes
2. foam directional signs
3. sand/concrete buckets with poles for cafe string lights
4. ribbons oh my!
5. bunting or tassels for cake background decor
6. groomsmen boutonnieres
7. fabric table runners
8. ampersand for bride & groom chairs
9. succulents planted in mercury votives

On to the next project, wish me luck and leave comment loves! You might ask why I didn’t try to make the boutonniere look like the image from the DIY List. I think that design is really cute but wondered if my groomsmen would feel silly wearing a first place science fair like boutonniere. I know, I am silly like that. ;)