Wedding Invitation News, Etiquette & Planning Blog » DIY

DIY Divas: Dress Up Your Bridesmaids Gifts!

Katie — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:51:10 +0000

I love this project, and not just because it’s a pretty way to present bridesmaids gifts to your favorite girls. Imagine how cute this would look if you made them with leftover Wedding Paper Divas cards and invitations! Visit Design*Sponge for the complete DIY instructions.

DIY Divas: Bridesmaids Cards

Katie — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 16:23:52 +0000

I fell in love with these adorable bridesmaids cards from Once Wed as soon as I saw them on Jolie Jolie’s twitter feed. I can’t think of a cuter way to invite your best friends to share in your special day with you!

You can find all of the complete directions at Once Wed!

Recessionista Brides: Enter to win $1000 from Wedding Paper Divas and Beau-coup!

Tara — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 18:15:16 +0000

Planning a fashionable wedding celebration in the face of a rocky economy can be a challenge, but with a little help from your fellow fabulous recessionista brides and grooms, you can pull off a chic and sophisticated ceremony that won’t break the bank. Share your best money-saving wedding ideas for a chance to stretch your budget even further!

Wedding Paper Divas and our partner, Beau-coup, have teamed up to offer the perfect prize for any bride. Submit your ideas to be entered to win $1,000 in Wedding Paper Divas and Beau-coup gift certificates. Plus, by visiting Resourceful Brides, you’ll find tons of money-saving, savvy tips to help you make the most of your wedding in these rocky times.

Enter today, plus find great tips for planning your wedding!

The deadline for submissions is Monday, July 20 at 11:59 p.m. PST. Winning idea will be posted online on Friday, July 24 at www.ResourcefulBrides.com.

Tropical Bridal Shower

Tara — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 18:23:22 +0000

I took to the Twitter-verse yesterday afternoon looking for suggestions for easy-to-make tropical centerpieces for my friend’s upcoming bridal shower. I couldn’t believe how many helpful, amazing suggestions I received! One helpful tweeter recommended purchasing tall, clear vases and submerging bright colored orchids and some grass in water. For a final beach-esque touch, she suggested adding some stones or seashells to the bottom. Another faithful follower directed us to her website, the Lazy Bride’s Blog, where’s she’s posted some gorgeous ideas using pineapples and watermelons!

I also found a few ideas on my own that were both stunning and fairly easy to reproduce on a budget. Check out the images below and please share any ideas you might have in the comments section or through twitter @WeddingPaprDiva!

From Top to Bottom, Left to Right: Starfish in vase from DC NearlyWeds; Palm fronds centerpiece; Goldfish in Vase from Wedding on a Dime; Table setting from Emilie Inc. Photography; Sandy centerpieces from The Bridal Blog; Palm leaves centerpiece with lanterns from Beach Theme Weddings; Beach centerpiece from Handmade by Allison.

DIY Divas: Conversation Place Cards

Tara — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 23:23:45 +0000

It’s happened to everyone: You are attending the wedding of a friend that you know through work, your spouse or even a networking group. Because you aren’t extremely close with this couple, you are seated at the “random” table, with all of the other people that don’t really know anyone else. An awkward round of introductions happens and then silence prevails until the drinks start flowing.

I have the perfect solution to wedding seating chart awkwardness, and the best part? It’s a DIY project that will cost you next to nothing! These Topic Table Conversation Place Cards will get your guests laughing and chatting in no time:

What You’ll Need:

Computer Printable Place Cards (enough so each guest gets one!)

Your own creative mind

A computer and a printer

Instructions:

The idea is simple. Simply buy your printable place cards and follow the instructions for running them through your home printer. The creative part comes in with what’s actually on the cards! Instead of just printing your guests name and table number, why not add challenging or thought provoking questions to get your guests chatting? Some examples:

If you had to be named after one of the 50 states, which would it be? Why?
If you had to choose one meal to eat over and over for the rest of your life, what would it be?
If you could re-do your wedding, what would you change? What would you keep the same?

What guests will be talking up a storm in no time!

DIY Divas: String Theory Pendant Lamps

Tara — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 20:30:38 +0000

As I was passing through the office last week, I noticed a huge, red see-throughish ball of string the size of an exercise stability ball in our creative department. It immediately caught my eye-I have a strange love for anything geometric with a mess of lines and squiggles running through it- and I had to ask where it came from. It was clearly perfect for a variety of wedding styles; Hang it from the ceiling and you’ll have a unique wedding decoration. String it to a hanging lamp cord and you have an amazing lantern. I can even imagine it in some very modern, edgy wedding photos being held by the bride and groom. Without further ado, I present:

String Theory Pendant Lamps (courtesy of ReadyMade)

You’ll need:

Round Balloons
Crochet Thread (color of your choice)
Fabric stiffner
Hanging Lamp cord and socket
Light bulbs
Ceiling Hooks
Takeout container lids (optional)
Scissors
Drop Cloth
Bowl
Rubber Gloves
Foam Brush
Clothespin
Needle

Start by blowing up a balloon to the desired size of your ball. Begin wrapping the crochet string around the inflated balloon, adding the fabric stiffener as you go along. Wrap until your ball has the desired transparency and amount of string. Let the ball dry overnight, then pop the balloon and pull it out through a hole in the string. Add all the hardware and hang. Voila! An amazing wedding decoration for any budget!

For more detailed instructions, visit the original post at ReadyMade.

Inspiration Board: Wedding Decor

Tara — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 17:46:19 +0000

When I first stepped in to the ballroom where my wedding was to be held, I can’t say I was blown away by its perfection. The panoramic view and huge balcony were definite positives, but the gaudy carpet and huge, plain walls did nothing for me. With dreams of a very modern, sleek wedding in my head, I couldn’t see how this ornate, traditional ballroom was going to become the contemporary wedding I had envisioned.

After months of waiting, I stepped in to my wedding reception and was even more stunned than I had planned to be. Coupled with glamorous lighting, amazing centerpieces, bars, lounge areas and more, you’d never know this was the very same ballroom I had seen in the past. It was proof that with the right decor you can do anything, on any budget, including completely mask the hideous, ornate carpeting that had blinded me months before.

There are endless ways to be creative with your decor. Here, I present you with some of my favorites:

From Top to Bottom, Left to Right: Chanel Pop-Up Paper Decorations; Hanging Paper Ornaments; My Wedding with Photos by Jessica Johnston Photography and Floral by Delux Floral; Chalkboard Wedding Decor from Wishpot; Balloon Decor from Wishpot.

Inspiration Board: DIY Delights

Tara — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 19:13:57 +0000

As the writer of the weekly “DIY Divas” posts on Diva Dialogue, I know just how challenging it can be to come up with new project ideas, especially ones that show uniqueness, talent and creativity. I’m often checking out other blogs and websites to get fresh ideas. And so I thought: Why not put together an inspiration board of those projects that really do inspire me? Tying in with the theme of recessionista brides that we’ve been seeing a lot lately, this post should help those of you trying to cut back by trying some do-it-yourself projects. Happy crafting!

From Top to Bottom, Left to Right: DIY Flower Hair Pieces from Diva Dialogue; Flip Flop Favors from There Went The Bride; Tissue Paper Pom Poms from DIY Wedding; Hanging Chair Placecards (using a Wedding Paper Divas design!) from Style Me Pretty; Wine Label Table Numbers from Martha Stewart Weddings; Coffee Bean Centerpieces from Showers Blog; Ringbearer Book Sling from Style Me Pretty.

DIY Divas: Kettle Corn Favors

Tara — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 00:33:03 +0000

Instead of giving your guests the same old chocolate hearts as favors, why not go for something a little more personal and homemade? My crafty coworker has the perfect DIY project for some tasty treats-homemade kettle corn wrapped in small plastic bags and tied together with ribbon and stickers.

What you’ll need:

Homemade Kettle Corn (without a Kettle Corn Machine!) – recipe below

Small Plastic Bags

Personalized Gift Tag Stickers from Wedding paper Divas

Ribbon or Twine

Instructions:

To start, you’ll have to prepare the kettle corn. You won’t need a kettle corn maker; This easy recipe makes it east to bring the same salty sweet flavor to popcorn right on your stovetop!

Ingredients:

3 Tablespoons Oil
1/2cup kernels
1 ½ tsp sugar
Salt to taste

Makes 3 cups

1) Heat Up 3 TBS of oil and put one kernel in the oil to test when it is hot enough. Once the kernel pops, you will know it is ready for the rest.

2) Turn the heat down to med-low and pour ½ cup of kernels followed by 1 ½ tsp of sugar

3) Saturate the kernels in the sugar otherwise the sugar will caramelize in the pan. Make sure you keep the lid on.

4) Let the kernels pop and kind of shake it around to get even coverage.

5) Once the popping has stopped, pour the popcorn into a large bowl and add salt to taste. Toss and mix a bit and you’re done!

6) Package the popcorn into the small plastic bags. Fold the top of the bag over and wrap a ribbon around it. Complete your package with a personalized gift tag sticker from Wedding Paper Divas.

DIY Divas: The Paper Crane

Tara — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 21:34:10 +0000

A great DIY project requires only one tool: a square piece of paper. With this, you can make any number of Origami shapes that can be used in a variety of ways at your wedding. Today, I’m focusing on the Origami Crane, a symbol of honor and loyalty in Japanese culture.

Instead of recreating the wheel, I’m going to share a great set of instructions with accompanying photos that can be found here. Although there are a number of steps involved, the process is really quite easy. And then…voila! You have a beautiful origami crane.

What’s really special about these cranes is the number of uses for them! DIY Wedding Projects had a great idea for using the cranes as place cards. Eco-Chic Weddings suggest stringining the cranes all in a row and hanging them from the celiing–the look is both elegant and modern. New York Magazine featured a wedding that used the cranes as favors. Twiggs Bakery and Coffeehouse has a cake on their website that uses the crane as a cake topper! And finally, if you want to really put in some effort, Trek Earth features a paper crane lantern. (See all images below.)

I’m sure there are countless other options for utilizing the origami crane at your wedding. Feel free to chime in!