One of the first things I made was this yarn wrapped letter.  I thought it would look nice on the guest table next to the sign-in book and then we could display it in our home after the wedding.  It proved to be an easy, low-key DIY project.

I’ve read several blogs about making yarn balls and the different techniques to make them successfully as they can be pretty messy and not dry properly.  My sister and I decided to give it a try and for our first attempt it couldn’t have gone much better.  My fiance, roommate and I made another one tonight which didn’t go quite as smoothly, but we won’t know for a day or two if it was as successful.  Here’s a photo of the first one my sister and I made a few weeks ago.

We’ve chosen to forgo the tradition of tossing the garter and bouquet, but I’d still like to wear a garter.  I searched around Etsy and checked out the ones available at the local shops but didn’t see anything that I really liked that didn’t cost a fortune, so this morning, while watching church online, I sewed a piece of lace together and added an embellishment (the same style I used on the “B” above).  An odd thing to be doing while listening to a church service, right?

Throughout the past year I’ve been gathering lace, ribbon and fabric to create two backdrops.  One really large backdrop will be used to block a door at the end of the aisle where we’ll be standing for the ceremony and the other, much smaller and more colorful one, will be hung behind the candy buffet table to make it a bit more festive.  This looks fun and festive, right?

Then…there are the macarons.  I’ve been talking about them for months.  You’re probably as sick of reading about them as I am of making them with no success.  They’ve been haunting me for months.  I’ve made 5 batches, using 3 different recipes.  I’m to the point where I don’t even care if they are at the wedding (the illogical me thinks they don’t deserve to be at the wedding for the hassle they’ve given me), but I’m so darn stubborn, I’m determined to figure them out.  Here’s the batch I made last weekend, pre-oven.

Here’s that same batch, post-oven.  I nearly threw them across the kitchen when I saw them.  The recipe I tried was from Stella at BraveTart.  She’s got these things down and gives the best instructions I’ve found online, yet I botched the recipe.  Stella is so fabulous that you can tweet her a photo and she can often tell you where you went wrong.  She informed me that I likely undermixed them.  So the next day, I made them again and I’m pretty sure I overmixed them.  I just can’t win.

Running short on weekends to attempt these, I decide to resort back to the first recipe I ever tried and stick with it since I had gotten the best results from it months ago. So, I aged some eggs and went in for Attempt #5 today.  Here’s the batch, pre-oven.  I knew when I was piping them that I whipped the eggs too long.  I suppose that’s progress – I’m starting to understand where I’m going wrong.

I was right about them not coming out well.  Here’s that same batch, post-oven.  They look hideous, but that’s peanut butter buttercream and dark chocolate peanut butter buttercream inside, so I resisted throwing them across the kitchen.  The next time you need buttercream, you’ve got to try this recipe.  It’s definitely not your standard buttercream frosting that I usually scrape off cake before eating – this is to die for!

The next DIY wedding snapshot will include a bouquet charm on my brooch bouquet, centerpieces, boutonnieres, and a few other things.  Were you a DIY bride?  What was your favorite thing to make?

About 10 years ago, I gave my sister and brother-in-law a set of several glass ornaments that I made using their wedding colors (blue and silver) for their first Christmas together. Fast forward to 2009 when I started this business to make similar cherished items that represent special moments in time. I’ve always liked the idea of giving a bride and groom an ornament for their first Christmas as a married couple. I usually do this by making square glass ornaments using invitations, programs, etc. like this:

These ornaments work well the majority of the time, but when an invitation or program contains a lot of text or is really simple with little design or color, I think there’s a better solution. For example, my sister recently asked me to create an ornament using a 4 page all text program.  We worked on it together using the program, ribbon from the program, the couple’s save the date photo, a heart charm, and some heart confetti and this is what we came up with:

Glass Ornament DIY Tutorial

This ornament can be created quite simply. All you need is:

• a glass bulb with a removable cap like these (they can be found at any craft store and often come with a gold or silver metal cap and a variety of sizes)
• a paper cutter, or scissors and a ruler (a paper cutter makes the job easy and quick)
• material to cut and put inside ornament (this could be a wedding invitation, program, save the date, announcement, shower invitation)
• ribbon or strip of fabric (it’s neat if you can use something that’s special to the couple)
• round pencil
• optional items: glitter, confetti, paper punch, color coordinated paper, photo of couple, any additional text you’d want to include such as a Bible verse, their wedding date if it’s not on any of the materials you’re already using

Once you have all of the supplies, the first step is to decide what text/images you want to include so take a look at each item you have and mentally plan out the strips you’ll cut.  Use the paper cutter or scissors and ruler to cut straight sections out of the materials.  I prefer to have varying heights, but cut them however you’d like.  Try to cut long strips so they’re easier to make into spirals or curl in the next step.  Once you have the pieces cut into strips, take the pencil and begin wrapping the paper around it to create different spiral shapes or curl them with your fingers to have a variety of different styles.

Now you can start dropping the spirals into the glass ornament, arranging them however you’d like.  Of course, by shaking the ornament, the paper will shift but you do have some control over how the spirals lay inside the glass.  Depending on how large the ornament is, you may be able to reach your finger into the opening and move pieces around or you can use the eraser end of your pencil to shift the pieces around as you drop them inside the ornament.

If you like the way it looks, you’re almost done.  If you think it needs more color or it’s missing something, feel free to throw some glitter, confetti, paper cutouts, etc. into it.  You can also cut thin strips of colored paper and wrap them around the pencil to create spirals and drop into the ornament.  Another idea would be to fold the strips into small accordion shapes and drop them into the ornament.  Once you’re happy with the way the ornament looks, place the metal cap back on, tie a ribbon or piece of fabric around the loop on the cap and it’s done and ready to be gifted or hung on your tree!

Here’s another example of an ornament using a wedding invitation, purple floral scrapbook paper, ribbon, and a heart charm:

This concept could be used for a baby’s first Christmas as well by using an ultrasound image, a baby announcement, a baby shower invitation, etc.

I think this is a fun project to complete, but I know many people aren’t crafty or just have no desire to mess with creating items like this so Remaking Memories will gladly create an ornament for you to keep or give as a gift this holiday season.

If you create a similar project, I’d love to see it – feel free to post a link in the comments.

I’ve been on the hunt for pink shoes to wear with my wedding dress for some time now.

I’ve found a few pairs, but none seem to be quite right. Unfortunately, in the search, I’ve found a few other pairs that could serve different purposes….completely none wedding related purposes.

I found these beauties on Nine West‘s website for 75% off! I couldn’t resist. If I could only figure out how to walk in them.

Then I stumbled upon this pair. I’ve always wanted cowgirl boots, but never had a need to buy them. I still didn’t have a need, but I had an excuse. An upcoming country concert!

After buying those boots, my friend found these:

At first glance you might think, who needs a bubble gum pink pair of cowgirl boots, and you’re probably right. That’s exactly what Coach said too. But…what other time in my life can I pull off pink cowgirl boots than at my reception. Let the line dancing begin!

Then last weekend I wandered into DSW, again looking for pink heels, and found these in the clearance section.

The madness must stop!

Please send help.

Sincerely,

The Shoeaholic

This:

This:

This:

And a yellow shirt.  Can you guess who I went as?

Are you dressing up this year?  I hope everyone has a safe and fun Halloween!

Start by collecting a few glass jars, I like the look of these but they’re a little trickier to use than your average mason jars due to their contours.

Wash them well and remove the labels.  Soak them for several hours and they’ll usually peel right off, but if there’s residue remaining you can scrap it off.  A razor blade works well to remove the stickiness, but I actually prefer the little pan scrapers from Pampered Chef, like this:

Once the jars are clean and dry, pick out what color(s) of tissue paper you want to use.  Hobby Lobby and Party City have quite a selection with numerous colors to choose from and some really fun designs depending on the look you’re going for.  I’m planning to use mine for our wedding, so I chose our wedding colors – gray and pink.

Now it’s time to select the glue/sealer you want to use.  I’ve read online that several types of glue work, here are the ones I had available at the house so I tried a couple to see if they worked differently.  If you use Elmer glue you’ll probably want to dilute it with water, but the others can be used straight out of their containers.

At this point you can cut strips of tissue paper or tear pieces if you like that look better.  I cut small strips, like this:

Then I took a foam brush and used Mod Podge to coat the inside of the jar, section by section, as I placed a piece of tissue paper down over each coated area.  My big hand didn’t fit into the jar, so I used the end of the paint brush to push the tissue paper up against the glass in the places it didn’t stick right away.

Once the entire inside of the jar is coated with sealant and paper, let it dry for a day and the white sealant will disappear.

Once it was completely dry I tore off the top edges of the paper, but you could cut it if you prefer a cleaner look.  To finish them off you could tie a ribbon around the lip or even spray paint the lids and put them back on.  I would only recommend using flameless candles in these jars, as I’ve found the paper isn’t completely sealed and I don’t believe all types of sealant are flame-resistant.

The 3rd jar I made by tearing pieces of pink and gray and pasting them in very haphazardly and I’ll probably do the remaining jars this way.  It has more of an organic feel to it, which works well for our wedding/ceremony venue.

Happy Crafting!  If you make something similar, and write about it or post photos, feel free to leave the link in the comments so others can check it out!

If you like it and would like to enter the giveaway to win it, be sure to go to her page, like it, read the rules and like the image (like the one above) in her 2500 Fans Giveaway photo album.  Be sure to check it out soon though because it only runs until the end of this week.

The other giveaway I’m participating in is with Brianna Beans Boutique – check out these ADORABLE ballet shoes for babies and toddlers!  I can’t believe all of the precious products out there for little kiddos.  I’ve donated another lace pendant, but black this time.  This giveaway started on October 1st and will run until October 15th.  You can access it here and ONE winner will receive NINE great prizes.

The auction I’m participating in is for Project Packages which was founded by a sister of a fallen solider.  She has a strong passion to support the troops so she designed a page to host auctions with donations from fellow businesses all over Facebook & all across the world where all proceeds will go to sending care packages to the men & women overseas.  I’ve donated a custom ARMY framed pendant, to this great cause.  This auction opens on October 13th and will run through October 20th.  There are many great military items available, so be sure to check it out by going to Project Packages’ Facebook page!

Good luck!

Or this:

Or festive drinking glasses like this:

I especially like the look of these, so I decided to try making something similar to spice up the wedding aisle for the ceremony and then have someone (aka my roommate) move them to the balcony to add a little color out there during the reception.

I’ve only made three so far, but with another 20 or so, I think they’ll do the job.  Here’s how they turned out.

I’ll share the really easy DIY tutorial on here next week.  I intend to put white flameless candles in them (in the photo, they’re orange from my Halloween candles).  I know it would make for a really memorable wedding if the fire trucks showed up, but I’m going to play it safe.  Or maybe I’ll plan on them coming a little later in the evening….if I launch wish lanterns into the sky.  JK – not about the wish lanterns, but about the fire trucks!

Seeing as I’m in full-on DIY mode, what’s the latest project you created?  Did you use an online tutorial or did you dream it up yourself?  Do you use glass jars for anything unusual?

Happy Doing!

Thanks to all who participated!

I’ll be giving away a pretty black lace pendant in another giveaway very soon – so keep an eye out for updates on here and on my Facebook page.

Wow…I wasn’t expecting today to be such an emotionally charged day. I woke up a bit too late, after going to bed a bit too late, to make it to the early church service I usually attend so I turned on the t.v. just in time for the first moment of silence for the 9-11 Memorial service for the victims’ families on Good Morning America. My heart still aches for those who lost loved ones on September 11th, yet my heart smiles to see the unity that those awful events created in our country.

My heart also smiled when President Obama read from Psalm 46 this morning?  For the amount of talk about a clergy-free memorial service in the past weeks, I was pleasantly surprised to hear this reading from the Bible.

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Therefore, we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea.

Though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling, there’s a river whose streams shall make glad the City of God, the holy place of the Tabernacle of the Most High. She shall not be moved.

God shall help her just at the break of dawn.

The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved.

He uttered his voice.

The earth melted.

The Lord of Hosts is with us.

The God of Jacob is our refuge.

Come behold the works of the Lord who has made desolations in the Earth.

He makes wars cease to the ends of the Earth.

He breaks the bough and cuts the spear in two.

He burns the chariot in fire.

Be still and know that I am God.

I will be exalted among the nations.

I will be exalted in the Earths.

The Lord of Hosts is with us.

The God of Jacob is our refuge.

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Therefore, we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea.

Though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling, there’s a river whose streams shall make glad the City of God, the holy place of the Tabernacle of the Most High. She shall not be moved.

God shall help her just at the break of dawn.

The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved.

He uttered his voice.

The earth melted.

The Lord of Hosts is with us.

The God of Jacob is our refuge.

Come behold the works of the Lord who has made desolations in the Earth.

He makes wars cease to the ends of the Earth.

He breaks the bough and cuts the spear in two.

He burns the chariot in fire.

Be still and know that I am God.

I will be exalted among the nations.

I will be exalted in the Earths.

The Lord of Hosts is with us.

The God of Jacob is our refuge.”

They went to school for the very first time today.

They live 819 miles away, so I didn’t get to see them with their book bags packed and their new school clothes on.

I suppose it’s for the best though, because if I would have, I can assure you I would have shed a tear.  And I’m not even a “crier”.

Photos by: B. Billick Photography

If you sent little ones off to school this year, how did you cope?