Bath Time

Emerson Louise ~ 9 Weeks

Table Numbers--Cute as a Button

The summer of all things wedding has officially begun!  I'm not worried about getting everything done...yet, but I have a feeling that all of these little projects will add up to a LOT of time.  My first project is getting the table numbers figured out.  Once those are done, I'll move onto painting the wooden crates for the centerpieces.

My inspiration for the table numbers came from these two photos I found on Pinterest.

I liked the added detail of the twine and button on an otherwise simple, paper card.  I also liked the idea of adding the number abbreviation.  After a fair amount of experimenting and convincing the computer/printer to cooperate, here is how the table numbers ended up.

Not too bad for DIY.  Cute as a button :)

Centerpiece Masterpiece

I've been working out how I would like our centerpieces to look for while now...in my head.  But recently, I gathered supplies and created my mock centerpiece masterpiece.

I got the idea for lanterns from our venue.  When we went to drop off our signed contract a few months back, I saw the reception area set up with lanterns and burlap runners.  It was simple and beautiful.  Stevenson Ridge actually has lanterns available to rent for $10 a piece.  It would be so easy to just rent the lanterns, but to me that feels like throwing money away.  So, Jeff found a website that sells all sorts of wedding, decor, and crafting supplies at VERY cheap, wholesale prices.  It's a little sketchy...as in, I was worried that we would pay for the merchandise and never see it...mostly because of the website name.

www.superwholesaler.com

See?  It just sounds fake.  But, lucky for us, it's not fake at all.  We received the 2 cases of 10 lanterns, and only one lantern is broken.  Not bad for what we paid.  Each lantern cost slightly less than Stevenson Ridge's rental price, and we'll (hopefully) be able to sell the whole lot to another frugal bride when we're done with them and make at least 50% of our money back.  We will prop each lantern up on a distressed, wooden box.  (In the pic above, it's balanced on Tupperware I inherited from my grandmother.)  Jeff's dad has graciously offered to make the boxes for us out of scrap wood.

I also found a shop on etsy that sells birch wood pieces of all shapes and sizes.   I ordered 20 table number holders for under $35.

And finally, the flowers...I love flowers, but they are SO EXPENSIVE.  I understand why so many weddings happen without any flowers at all.  Sheesh.  However, a wedding without flowers just isn't for me.  I saw an idea on pinterest that involved flowers in tea cups.  I tracked down a few mismatched tea cups at a local flea market.  I believe I paid a total of $1.25 for all three of them.

I tried it out last weekend, and voila!  It worked perfectly.  My plan is to order flowers in bulk from an online retailer like fiftyflowers.com and have some very nice people help me put them all together 2 days prior to the wedding.

With a burlap and lace table runner and a pillar candle in each lantern, I think our centerpieces will be  pretty amazing.  And the best part is, they'll be amazingly cheap as well!

Guest Bedroom Redo

I'm taking a break from wedding shenanigans to post about my finally finished summer project.  I decided that we needed to do something about our guest bedroom, especially after we sprang a leak in the roof.  The ceiling and wall around the one of the windows was looking pretty rough after the repair, so it had to be painted...and if I was going to go so far as to pick out paint colors, might as well just pick out everything else, right?  And by "pick out", I mean reuse some items I already had and head down to the flea market to see what I could find for cheap.  I did purchase a few new pieces from Ikea and etsy, but the majority of what's in the room were things we already had in our possession.

Here's the finished room:

Here's what's in it:

• Barn windows: Bought about 3 years ago at an antique show for $30.  My dad added the shelves to the bottom of each window for me.  Then I cleaned them up, and painted and distressed them for a shabby chic look.
• White vases: Bought from Target several years ago...I just thought they were pretty!
• Chandelier: Purchased from Ikea for $39.99.
• Lamps: Already had them, but they were black...and Jeff's, but he agreed to let me spray paint them bright yellow.  He's awesome like that :)
• Lampshades: Purchased from Walmart, $14.97 each.
• Curtain rods & drapes: Rods bought on clearance from Target and spray painted to match lamps.  The drapes are from Ikea.  Both were bought about 3 years ago, I think.  I don't remember how much they cost, but I was pretty poor, so they couldn't have been that expensive.
• Wooden DREAM letters: Got these at Michael's.  Over the years, they've been 3 different colors--purple in my first tiny apartment in Virginia, then silver in my second apartment, and now yellow.
• Throw pillows: Inserts from Ikea for $7.00 each, and pillowcases from etsy for $35.
• Duvet cover & shams: Bought at Ikea for $60.
• B&W photos: These are the two best photos I shot for my photo class in college.  I developed the negatives and made the prints myself in the darkroom.  Best college class ever!
• Night stands: Purchased from a flea market for $60 and painted using Benjamin Moore's enamel paint in Snowbound; chevron stripe done in Proper Gray, and new pulls from Target for $10.
• Frames: All from the flea market for 50 cents to $3.00 each...all together probably about $8.50.

Grand Total: Somewhere in the neighborhood of $350-$400 after adding in the cost of paint!  Not bad at all!

I'd like to find a couple of yellow accents to add to the shelves, but other than that--this room is DONE.  If you come stay with us, you'll definitely have the best room in the house :)