Bells a Ringin'

I had made out a list of things that we needed to order before the wedding and have been order a few things each month to help with budgeting for this "royal day". In my last purchase I ordered bells from hobby lobby. But before I got down with my purchase I had a thought that a cow bell would be really good to have at the wedding. I went back and forth between ditching the traditional little bells and getting all cow bells but didn't want to waste the money.
So I ordered the traditional small bells for the tables and one large black cow bell. When I got it I took black chalkboard paint and painted one side of it. After it had all dried I took a chalk marker and wrote on the front "for a really big kiss". I'll put this bell up towards the front of the reception hall near the entrance just for fun.

Cake Serving Set

So I have been hunting for a cake serving set that I like that didn't cost a fortune.... no such luck. So I decided to make my own! I ordered the serving set online from HobbyLobby because our local store didn't have this set (of course). Then went to JoAnns and found two different sized packages of pearl beads and silver wire. This too was another project I completed while watching TV, just be careful those little beads will end up everywhere if the dog jumps up with you.

I took about a 3 in. piece of wire and strung four small beads on it and wrapped it around the top, holding the pearls in place where I wanted them and tightening the wire with needle-nose pliers. The next section has two small beads on each side and a large bead in the middle. The last section of the set is one big piece of wire ( I cut about 6 inches just to make sure I had plenty to work with). I made the top row with two small beads and one large bead. I then wrapped the wire around the knife and tightened it with the pliers just like I did with the other sections of beads; however, this time I had this really long end of wire left. I did this because it tightens the wire enough to stay in place but still allows you to make the section as one piece. After that I just wrapped the wire around put the beads on and wrapped the wire around again for the next row. For the very last row after I put the beads on I took the wire and did an extra wrap around the knife with the wire to keep the beads for slipping off. The wire is so thin you can wrap it between the rows of beads and it blends right in. Then I tightened the wire in the back and secured with a dot of hot glue!

Burlap Curtains

At the reception we are going to have a mantel behind the cake table and I have been thinking/looking for ideas to deck the mantel up and make it look gorgeous for the evening. I saw a picture of burlap curtains hanging over a mantel and thought it was just what I needed for our big day. Now these curtains were absolutely SIMPLE to make!! If you are thinking I broke out the sewing machine for this then you're thinking wrong!
I went to JoAnn's and got two pieces of 2 1/2 yards of burlap. When I got home I unfolded each and laid them down on the kitchen floor so I could work with them easily. I had a roll of no-sew, iron on tape that I used (brilliant invention by the way) to make these. I took one end and folded it about four inches down, tucking in the no-sew tape and pinning it all together. If you do it in sections instead of all at once it'll work out better and pin where you want it.
Once I had both sections of the burlap pinned then I ironed the tape down. Be careful if you use the pins with the colored plastic tips on them, I forgot and melted one down on accident!

Coffee Filter Wreaths

So I saw on Pinterest where a woman had made a white coffee filter wreath. At the reception I want to have old wooden doors stood up behind the wedding party table and thought making the wreaths would be perfect to have hanging over some of the doors; so I made two. Here is the blog I found for the directions- very easy steps to follow. Only difference for mine is I used the recycled brown coffee filters from the store because I thought they looked more "rustic". I completed both while watching Bates Motel :)

Burlap Banner

A Thank  You banner is the perfect thing to take a picture with and send to all your guests and this one was soo easy to make! Hobby Lobby has pre-cut triangles in their burlap craft section so all I had to do was paint the letters on (of course I used stencils). My plan was to hot glue twine to the back of each triangle to make the banner but as the glue gun was heating up Josh walked by and suggested that I use a big needle and string it through instead. It worked out so much easier! I had a big needle in my sewing box and just thread the twine through. I sewed through the front of the right side of the triangle and came up the back of the left side. Of course make sure that you put your letters on starting with the last letter or your message will be backwards. Sewing it together took about 5-10 minutes, the hardest part (in my opinion) is painting and waiting for them to try.

"I Fall to Pieces"

"I found this darling cake stand online at Save on Crafts. They are a wonderful website with TONS of decorations to order for your wedding or other events. The cake stand went perfect with our rustic-country theme we're having and was good quality for the price.
I was also able to find pearl corsages on their site which worked out perfect for mother's corsages. Keep an eye on their site if you're interested in purchasing because they are always having sales, so don't think you have to pay the full price for anything!

"Shake the Sugar Tree"

My DIY Wishing Tree