Lost Inspired Gift Wrap

I have never once received flowers from The Boy on Valentines Day and probably never will

Instead of getting them on the most popular day of the year he gets me "Happy New Year" flowers....or a "Just cuz it's Tuesday" bouquet.....and I like it that

Instead I'm lucky that I get something far more creative....like last year I got a "Whitneys Sampler" box.....get it?

Instead of Wittmans?

I know....he's kind of funny and stuff

And again like last year he gave me an assortment of small goodies...cuz that's what I like!  I'm not the type of girl who expects jewlery or Coach purses....nope

I like these little boxes of random stuff because they remind me of stockings....my most favorite part of Xmas EVER!

This years theme however was.......

LOST!

I know all the true Losties out there can appreciate this.  The show may have ended in 2010...but the show never dies in the heart of a true fan

He made all my gifts look like Dharma drops....

Do you like how he drew on it to look like the package was stamped?  I thought that was so clever!

Here was some of the contents...but there was more

To make it sound all  "Dharma-like" everything had to have a very generic name like "Blu-Ray Disc"  (it couldn't be Peter Pan) and "electrolyte beverage"  

And of course he couldn't leave out our beautiful daughter.  She may be a cat but she still gets Valentines presents from her daddy...so she got a little Dharma drop herself

Her feline version included Seafood flavored cat treats, cream cheese, and a string cheese snack

Momo was a very happy girl

And so was I =)

Wedding Centerpiece

If you're still trying to decide what to do for the centerpieces at your reception....I have some ideas for you

First off....my venue provided ALOT.  I know not everyone has the luxury of that from venue to venue but luckily mine let me come in and hand pick what I wanted out of their inventory

The first one I chose was this big candelabra with hurricanes

I liked it because it was seemingly big to be in proportion with the larger tables that I chose

It was so funny because the owners of the venue were super pumped when I decided to mix up the traditional round tables that seat ten with these big square tables that seated 12.  I guess not many brides before had chosen it and they were excited to finally get to break them up

I just really liked the look of it being mixed up and since I didn't have assigned seating I thought having a few larger table options would help big groups of friends to get to sit together

Then for the round tables I did this.....

The venue provided the mirrors, the vases, and the coffee beans.  They just told me to have my florist bring extra flowers for the vases....but since I didn't have a florist and made my own coffee filter rose bouquets I bought these from Hobby Lobby

And funny story behind those cute pink candle holders.  I saw them at Michaels over in the $1 bin a few months before my schedule decorating meeting with the venue.  So without having any clue what stuff they had to offer or what I would do with them I bought them knowing I would figure out something.  I went to 3 locations myself and sent my sister to one as well and bought every single pink one I could find.  I basically wiped out all the Michaels of West Valley Phoenix

As I was in the meeting with the venue owner for my decorating meeting I saw they had the same ones on their shelf but in green.  I told her "oh I have these same ones in pink!"  She goes..."did you buy them at Michaels?"  Of course I said yes.

She then says  "Oh so you're the one who bought them all!"

Apparently one of her employees saw them and reported back to her that they should buy them because they would be a good thing to add to their decorative inventory....but by the time they got around to going to buy them a few days later all the pink ones were gone. 

 I was the hoarding culprit.  But its every bride for herself man!  What was I supposed to do?

It actually worked out swimmingly though, the still wanted them so badly that they offered to buy them from me as soon as the reception was over for exactly what I paid. 

They got what they wanted, I got paid back every penny I spent, and it was one last thing to get packed up and brought  back to my house.  Win, win, & win!!

Another shot of the centerpiece

Oh and apparently I bought waaaaay more of those flowers then were needed, so they took it upon themselves to add it to the chairs at the ceremony which I loved

Moral of the story here....don't rule out cheap things like coffee beans and always check dollar bins!  You never know what gems you may find

DIY Wedding Aisle Runner

Here is a project I completely shoved onto my dear seester Kinsey....who was my maid of honor.  Or my "MOH" (Mo) as we referred to her as

A personalized monogrammed aisle runner was one of the first things I fell in love with very early on in my wedding planning....but it scared the loving bejesus out of me!

I am no artist and I sooooo do not have a steady hand....like at all

I'm constantly shaking like a stripper....and that's without coffee.  Add in a cup of jo and just forget about it....I go all Micahel J. Fox

And by that I mean I travel around through time with Christopher Lloyd and I was a wolf as a tenager.....what else would I mean??

Anywho....I gave this project to her.  Whether she was thrilled about it or not she was a good MOH and went with the flow

I bought a aisle runner online (much cheaper than ones in the store)

I had created a monogram in Word that we used for multiple projects and sent it to Kinkos to have it blown up to a size that would fit well across the aisle runner

 I wasn't there for the rest of the process so I don't have pictures but I know what she did

Tape the monogram in place and put the runner on top of it, positioning it where you want it to be.  Trace the monogram lightly onto the runner

Then take out the print from underneath and replace it with wax paper so that when you start painting it doesn't seep through

Then carefully and steady handily paint the letters 

Now here's where there was a problem....apparently she had some issues with something sticking and it caused the runner to rip a little bit

But being the amazing MOH that she is she fixed the problem without ever even letting me know so I wouldn't go into a crazy bride panic attack

And I think her fix was BRILLIANT!  She cut the "S" out of felt and glued it to the runner to cover the hole....I loved it!!

It gave it depth that I thought was really cool and different and made the S really pop

 Pretty cool huh?

DIY Photo Envelope Liner

I couldn't go through all the work of making the invitations myself and then have average envelopes now could I?

Of course not!

I think photo envelope liners are a cool way to incorporate a picture of the both of you without actually dropping a 4x6 into the envelope

And the picture invitations with the vellum overlay are ok....but I'd seen it a million times and wanted to do something different 

Here's what you do

Find a picture of the two of you that will lend itself well to the shape of your envelope...keeping in mind that you probably don't want anything too close up 

Have the pictures printed out in black and white onto normal everyday computer paper....fancy stuff isn't necessary here.  You want thin paper so it folds easily and won't bulk up the envelope too much

Next you need a template that fits into your envelope

We used my friends Cricut to find one that was the closest match...but it still wasn't spot on

Envelopes vary alot...some come to a triangular point, some are more squared off, some rounded....etc etc

We found a template on Cricut was close in shape but a bit too long

 We just trimmed the bottom so it would fit inside our envelope nicely

You don't need a cutting machine to do this though, you can make your own template by and by unfolding your envelope and cutting and tracing the insides to make one that fits

Then just move the template around the picture figuring out what part you want to be the cut out

And cut, cut, cut!

Then just glue them into the insides of your envelope

Sorry the picture is so flashy....and it's the only one I could find.  If only I had known back then that I would end up blogging I would have photographed EVERYTHING...and relatively well

Now I know what you're probably thinking....what if your guests are the type pf people who don't "open" envelopes but instead just rip across the top?

I thought of that and I was mentally prepared for that to happen quite a few times

But I figured (in my crazy ass head of mine)  That if they did do that, they would soon realize the mistake they made and feel like a huge asshole for ruining my hard work =)

I joke I joke, I kid I kid!

Sorta. ;)

But really...it did happen.  A coworker of mines husband opened it the wrong way and once he saw what he had done he panicked and taped it all back together nicely

When she got home and saw it n the counter he explained what he did and was super apologetic  about it....which I find quite amusing

But I figured even if they did open it wrong the effort still wouldn't go unnoticed and they would see how it was meant to be....which they did....so it's all good

I got countless compliments on them and I'm so happy I did it. I'm all about small touches and details and this was one the guests got to see before the wedding even started!

DIY Kangaroo Pocket Style Wedding Invitations

Well.....Wedding Week turned into "Wedding Over 2 Weeks Worth of Crap"

And then I fell off the face of the earth

Shit happens man.....but just know I was dreaming of blogging everyday...I really was

Work has been a real b-iatch lately and it's wearin me out

And not in the typical I'm working a ton of hours kind of way...but in the whole "I can't believe I work here surrounded by these idiots....are freakin you kidding me?,..... Can anyone do their job right?.....can I please stop getting screwed over?.....how bad would it be if I quit my job right here right now?  if anybody says one word to me right now I'm going to lose my shit .....kind of way

Like I am emotionally and mentally exhausted!  That place is killing me.  I go home everyday with a massive headache and it takes everything I  have in me just to make dinner and do my yoga session before I crash out....so my poor blog has suffered

Maybe if my coworkers stopped sucking so bad I'll have a smidgen of energy when I get home....a girl can dream right?

Anyways....after a long hiatus I am bring back Wedding Week!

I still have a few things I want to share with you...like my invitations

I really wanted my ivitations to have a nice handmade feel....I didn't want them to look like the kind you buy at Michael's over in the wedding section that have the two silver hearts that are linked together.....just not my style  (no offense to anybody who used those invitations)

So I ended up making mine completely....I have zero pictures of the process so I don't have a full step by step tutorial for you..sorry!  But I can show you pictures of the finished product and tell you the dimensions I used

I decided on a Kangaroo style....so with a pouch for anybody out there who is confused by this seemingly random reference to zoo animals

We didn't use any tutorials, we just figured it out as we went along based off the size envelopes I bought 

Here's the front with the basic information

And here is the backside that has the pouch with the information card

 

The card lead them to our wedding website that had more specification information about the location as well as maps, pictures, and introducing the bridal party

The envelopes we bought were 5x7

So we cut our brown cardstock into 5x10 in. long strips

The reason you cut it 3 inches longer is because that 3 inches is what is folded up to create the pocket in the back.  Make sense?

So you measure 3 inches from the bottom and use a boning tool (whether it's a hand held one or the kind that attaches to your paper cutter) to make a clean fold up

Then use glue dots (or something similar) to glue down the edges to create your pocket....it's that simple!

 For the front I just used my noggin and made the pink mat slightly smaller than the brown, and the white one that was printed on slightly smaller than the pink

Brown: 5x7 (after the pocket part is folded up)

Pink: 4.5x6

White: 4x5.5

Glue it all down and you're done!  I enlisted The Boy and we watched movies and assembled the invitations....it didn't take that long really.  Way faster than I had imagined

Oh...and I forgot to mention that we created all of the printed items ourself  in Word, then had them printed at Kinkos

We fit 4 of the invitation fronts on a page and 8 information cards

And just to save us time we also had them cut them for us since they can take huge stacks and get them done in seconds as opposed to us doing them all one by one ourselves

I wish I could remember for sure how much I spent on them all together, but I know it was somewhere around $50 or $60...which also includes the photo envelope liners I will be posting about soon ;)

Which if you ask me is a deal for custom invitations that are EXACTLY what you want

Cupcake Liner Valentines Day Wreath

Sooooo guess what?!?

Today is The Busy Broads Birthday!

Yup........my bloggerversary!

One year ago today I wrote my very first blog post

And it was terrible.

No really......god awful!

You can go look at it and laugh if you want....HERE.......I really won't mind.  Promise.

But I started off with a Valentines Day pillow....so I figured what better way to celebrate than with another Valentiney project

That brings us to a wreath.....cuz I'm a wreath makin fool

And for the very first time I think in history.....I made a wreath where the basis WAS NOT the shreddy paper gift basket stuff

If you look under my "Wreaths" tab you will see that pretty much all my wreaths start that way

So I decided to step outside the box and try something new

That something new ended up being cupcake liners

It's pretty crazy that I haven't used them yet considering I'm cupcake crazy. I collect all things cupcake....it's getting out of control actually

So I bought three different cute patterned cupcake liners from the dollar store

Even though the bottoms are totally cute....they don't matter at all

That part gets glued down so find ones with cute sides

All you do is flatten them 

Then fold them inside out and crumple them into a kinda sorta flower shape

And hot glue them all the way around your form.  In my case it's always cut from scrap cardboard

It's not hard, just take a little while

Then I went simple and embellished it with a few hearts that I pulled off of picks from the dollar store

That's all there is to it!

I really like it much better in person where you can better see the mix of polka dot, hearts, and chevron stripes in different shades of pink and red.  I like that it's not as matchy matchy as I usually tend to go

Now I think that since it's our first birthday me and the blog should get to wear a diaper and smash cake into our hair while everyone watches.....what do you think?

Pink and Brown Candy Buffet

Candy buffets today are what chocolate fountains were to weddings circa 2005....everybody had them  

And they actually surpass just weddings. They are at birthday parties, showers, graduations....you name it!  They are definitely a popular trend right now

I'm not at all against trends as long as I know I actually like the idea and I'm not just doing it just because it's "in"

Because of this I actually resisted the idea of the candy buffet for the majority of my wedding planning....now I couldn't imagine my wedding without it!

I figured out why I just wasn't digging it at first

It was because most of the ones I had seen online on different wedding sites seemed to mainly consist of  just...... well...candy.

You're probably saying..uhh....DUH!....it is after all a freakin candy buffet!

I know I know!  But I kept seeing tables full of just gumballs...M&Ms...lollipops....MORE gumballs...Kisses...jelly beans.....and good god MORE GUMBALLS!!!

While those are all good....they just didn't really catch my eye enough to make me want to have it

Then it hit me

One day I was at the Ranch Market (big Mexican market) and I was in the bakery section.  I'm not even sure why I was there to begin with because I almost never go there...but I was drooling over all their amazing baked goods when I saw these GIANT pink and brown cookies

At that distinct moment I realized I wanted a candy buffet....but with more than just hard candies...I wanted the good stuff!

And the rest is history ladies and gents......

If you're wondering why the heck there is a cat on the table click here 

So as you can see, we had the above mentioned gumballs, M&Ms, and a few swirly lollipops...but we also had....


Circus animal cookies. I know....it's pink and white not pink and brown...but they were such a favorite of mine growing up I let them skate past the Match O Meter

And The Boy loves coconut the so coconut neapolitans were a perfect match!

Pink and brown tootsie pop...another one of my faves.

 Rocky candy

The big giant pink and brown cookies that started it all

Mini chocolate donuts

 Pink snowballs.  This was the one thing that made me cringe a little.....but I let it go like a good bride.  They were supposed to be taken out of the packages and they weren't....but what are you gonna do?  I'm over it...............kinda

Chocolate and strawberry wafer cookies....pink and  brown salt water taffy

 

Pink and brown marshmallows.....homemade pink and brown dipped pretzels

There aren't any good pictures but we also had both of these

Strawberry hazelnut cream dippy deals...  I don't know how to describe them but they are creamy and come with a little stick to scoop it out with...they're good!

 And these mexican cookies that are kind of like oreo but with a pink marshmallow piped on top

Here's everyone digging into the  Table O' Diabetes

I had plain pink treat bags with twisty ties to take it all home in

And just a recap of everything I had

*M&Ms

*Gumballs

*Rock candy

*Taffy

*Tootsie pops

*Coconut neapolitans

* Marshmallows

*Strawberry & hazelnut creams

*Chocolate cookies w/marshmallows

*Circus animal cookies

*Pink and brown cookies

*Snowballs

*Chocolate & strawberry wafers

*Mini Chocolate donuts

*Pink and brown dipped pretzels

*A few lollipops