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Green is definitely a big wedding thing these days. And, while most people would love to have a green wedding, there are also a lot of things that most people aren’t going to do either. Like, you might buy vintage or wedding rings or a pre-owned dress (says the wedding planner who had both), but you’re probably not going to send out plantable invitations. Which leads to another challenge: Getting your wedding guests to join in the greening too. That doesn’t always work. And a lot of green options can be expensive too. Seeking out soy based-inks? Hemp silk bridesmaid dresses? Taking the train to Vegas for your bachelorette party rather than flying or driving? Seriously?
Greening can be simple, and it can cheap, and it take very little extra effort on your part. In fact, it might save you some. Here’s what’s really worked with my brides:
It's easier than it looks.
ThePaperThePaperThePaperTHEPAPER!!! Gah! And it’s flying out in all directions! You’d send out e-invitations but you’re worried about your older relatives who don’t have email. Plus, the invitations are soo….pretty. Yeah, I know.
1. Sign up for a free wedding website that gives your guests the option to RSVP online. Type in “RSVP on your wedding website” on the search engine of your choice for a list. Put the wedding site address on your invitations, plus a contact phone number (this is where Google voice comes in handy). That’s two less pieces of paper that you’ll have to buy per household, plus the cost in return envelope stamps that you can put towards the cake. Or the bar, for that matter. I know what you’re thinking – what if everyone doesn’t RSVP online? Truth? Everyone isn’t going to send an RSVP card in, either. Unfortunately, you’re going to have to track down stragglers either way, so you might as well err on the side of your bank account and the environment.
2. Seek out e-options wherever else you can. I wrote about this a while back. Make cloud computing work for you. When you get a contract, upload into Google docs or the online storage of your choice. I’ve even taken a picture of my signature and turned into a jpb so I can insert it into pdfs and docs, but not everyone is the security daredevil that I am! Weddings can be VERY paper heavy, minimize where you can. Scan and email, baby. Speaking of which, get as many of your guests’ email addresses as you can. They will come in handy, trust me!
3. Ditch the place cards, and use a seating chart on an easel, or framed. Kinkos, Staples, Office Depot can all print these up for you, and you can find tons of discount codes for all of them. And etsy.com has a ton of choices, too. My last couple that did this had their guests sign the chart, too, and it’s hanging on their wall right now. Worried about your guests forgetting their food choices? They will. Make sure your caterer and/or venue manager has a list of guests by table and entree. ALWAYS BACK-UP.
4. What can you recycle and where? Ask your venue if they have recycling cans and if so, to use them. Have your DJ announce that guests can take the centerpieces home, or offer the leftovers to a local friend or family member that gardens. I hear roses make good mulch. If you are going to have place cards or programs, print them on recyclable paper – and then recycle them. I’ve even carted away this stuff for my brides – they conveniently pick up on Mondays in front of my house. This goes for aluminum cans, bottles, and paper goods too. Don’t head for the black trash can if you can get to the green one.
No harm in asking how much it's going to cost...
Gas emissions vs. Your Wedding People love their cars. It’s a problem. We relish the freedom to come and go when and where we please, polluting the air, enriching the oil companies, and otherwise destroying the planet. We mean well, bless our hearts.
5. Wedding Websites are a good place to encourage your guests to carpool, if they’re up for it. That gives them more time to spend with folks they haven’t seen in awhile, and saves time and gas. If you can swing it, rent a shuttle that will take your guests back and forth from the hotel, and emphasize that it can be used by guests that aren’t staying at the hotel too. This will also cut down on the drunk driving. It’s a Win Win, and probably not as expensive you think.
But really, it’s mostly about the paper.
So, what other easy ways have you found to green up your wedding? Are you looking for more options? Let us know in the comments below!
A little while back, real-bride Mallory turned out an incredible DIY or DIE post on origami flowers. I was intrigued. I was perplexed. I was… determined to try them for myself. As a decidedly less-than-innately-crafty chicken, it was a challenge I couldn’t quite resist. Plus, the promise of paper pointy monster fingers with which to play was just too tempting.
RAWR.
And I decided, if I could do it, anyone can. So to prove my point and help you along in your own paper-folding forays, we put together an episode of Broke-Ass TV to teach you how! You can also read Mallory’s tutorial here.
The finished blossoms are pretty bad-ass, dontchathink?
Are you foregoing formal foliage in favor of folding your own flowers? (also, are you a little turned-on by my sexy alliteration skills? Yeah, I thought so.)
Got a video request for us? Let us know, yo! We specialize in making dreams come true, you know.
I am sure you hear this all of the time, but I am a broke ass bride in need of your help. A little background: my fiance and I have two year old twin girls and have decided it is time to officially tie the knot. We are both hippies at heart and have decided to have our wedding at the ski resort where we first met. It is a beautiful mountain venue and “earthy” just like us. The decor will be minimal, just some flowers and such, but I am having a hard time deciding on a dress. I love all of the pirate/hippie style ones you have previously posted, but I am not sure if I am that hard core. Please help, any suggestions would be super appreciated!
Here are some dresses that I think you’ll love. You could buy a new dress…
Oh, if only I could type the word bouquet like Dana says it in this video. You’ll be saying it all day… BOW-kay!? These ain’t yo’ grandmama’s silk flowers, so get ready to put together some awesome budget-friendly and everlasting BOW-kays y’all.
When it comes to video content we’re just getting started, but the only way to catch all our videos and keep us making more, is to subscribe to our YouTube Channel. Sign up and we’ll love ya forever (or as much as you’re comfortable with. We know how to play it cool and keep it casual… or do we?)
But enough typing. Presenting the lovely Dana LaRue….
…And just like your love, these flowers will last forever
Are any of you going the silk flower bouquet route for your wedding?
A wedding in LA for 75 guests for under $20,000? Check out how this couple did it with an eco-friendly mindset too! Oh, and complete with karaoke! Check out the details from their fantastic planner, Arley at www.aalstudios.com:
The bride and groom’s venue, Smog Shoppe, was their biggest expense. Bride and groom spent a total cost of attire was $800 and their wedding party wore their own clothes.
The bride and and wedding planner made the centerpieces by potting small succulents and arranging them on borrowed platters and cupcake tiers. The whole operation cost about $150. The best part is that they doubled as favors, so nothing wasted! The bouquet and boutonniere were done by Sherene at Wisteria Lane, and the bride was able to plant the bouquet after the wedding, she was absolutely thrilled about that. They had no cut flowers in the entire thing.
Since it was a daytime Sunday wedding, they did two kinds of mimosas at the bar, as well as wine and beer that were bought wholesale the day before. The catering was done by Large Marge Sustainables. Her food is ridiculous delicious, and she uses organic and locally sourced ingredients. Both bride and groom are vegetarians, so it was a mostly meat-free menu, which also helped keep costs down.
The groom arranged various ipod playlists to run during the event, and then around 7 they had Ground Control Karaoke come on and the guests rocked the mic all night long. Total cost of entertainment? $300.
Liz Huston from Photomonium, who is incredible, was another bigger ticket item, but the bride and groom didn’t want to skimp on photography.
So while this is a budget-savvy wedding blog about ways that inspire brides and grooms to save money… this wedding, while still having some bigger ticket items, is such a fantastical example of how the bride and groom prioritized for and planned their wedding budget together. They made smart decisions with what they were willing to spend on and where they needed to be creative and save.
I knew that DIY-ing my wedding invitations was going to be a substantial undertaking. And I knew that the paper to make over 120 invitations would stack so high as to shake the conscience of anyone who has ever enjoyed the shade of a tree or syrup on pancakes or breathing oxygen. But I tricked myself into believing the invitations were a suitable use for all that tree pulp, because they were oh so pretty and celebrating our love and la-la-la I can’t hear you crying, mighty forest, because you don’t actually have a voice to sob or eyes to tear.
Still, I was not prepared to confront the trimmings from our invitation paper. A Broke-Ass does not abide waste. And here I am, only halfway through cutting our invitations, and I’ve filled a hat box with larger pieces of excess card stock and a shoebox with the little slivers I trimmed off to attempt to correct all the rough or slanty cuts I made on the first try.
So I’ve been brainstorming ideas for how to use the paper trimmings from my invitations. Here’s what I’ve come up with so far:
For the larger pieces:
My first thought was wedding-friendly uses like place cards and labels for the dessert table. Unfortunately, our printer won’t take such small pieces of paper, so I’ll have to convince someone whose handwriting doesn’t look like they currently are recuperating from two broken arms to write out that stuff on these scraps.
I’m always looking for scrap paper when my buddies come over to play a game of Celebrity. Wouldn’t it be awesome to play on linen-finish gold cardstock instead of the backside of whatever solicitation is at the top of our mail pile? My only concern is that my friends will try to class up the celebrities they put in the bowl to match the paper, so instead of having three Ke$has in the bowl we’ll have a bunch of European royals. And I have no idea how to mime Queen Margrethe II of Denmark.
Similarly, I suspect I’ll dramatically improve my diet if I start writing my grocery lists on some of the biggest scraps. Because it’s hard to imagine besmirching such nice paper with items like “snack cakes” and “ramen noodles.” I’d probably end up buying a lot more fresh produce.
Then again, I have a least one low-brow idea for my extra fancy paper: a small stack of card stock is surprisingly effective as a shim. My favorite local dive bar has ridiculously uneven tables. Maybe they’ll poor me a free beer if I wedge some cardstock under those table legs to level things out for them?
And for the small slivers:
If you can handle additional cutting (and if you can, you have a stronger constitution than I), with these little slivers you’re halfway to wedding confetti.
If you’d rather vent some of your frustration out in a constructive manner, how about using these extra bits of paper as kindling the next time you go camping.
Or better yet, line your pet hamster’s cage with the slivers.
Or mix it in with your shredded financial records to thwart would-be identity thieves.
I’ve seen people DIY bird nests out of strips of paper. And I’ve seen people use bird nests in their weddings, for some reason. Unnecessary birds are just part of the absurd zeitgeist of this nascent decade. If you’re hip to bird fever (the cute trendy kind, not like, the avian flu that kills people) this could be a great way to use those extra strips of paper and alleviate your guilt about killing so many trees that could have provided twigs for actual birds to use to build their nests.
Anyone else horrified by the waste from their wedding paper projects? Did you find any creative ways to use your scraps?
Be ye warned: This project is a little more complicated in the sense that it’s tedious, but the end product is 100% worth-it.
Once again, pulled from Playing with Books, I tackled the construction of a flower that has a little more structure and a little more heft to it. And, like before, I didn’t end up using storybook paper {or, sheet music, as the book calls for}. Rather, I opted for lightweight scrap-booking paper and newspaper. {I also lightly skimmed the directions, which was probably not my best move, as this is the most complicated craft project I’ve tackled. But after one glass of wine and two angry crumplings of failed attempts, I figured it all out.}
To be honest, I bought the scrap-booking paper for a different flower project without checking to make sure that it was two-sided. It was not. And then I had a $30 pad of paper that was 300 sheets strong and could not use it for the other flower project for which it had been purchased, and The Groom was not half as amused by this as I was. “Oh, stop bristling,” I told him, trying my best to think on my feet so he’d stop looking at me like that. “I’ll use it for something else.” And then, when the frowny-face did not go away, I added, with enthusiasm. “… Something better!”
But what could possibly be better than swirly roses? I wondered once he stopped glowering. Well, that’s simple. Flowers that look like they could have been made by ninjas, of course.
In Playing with Books, they’re called Kusudama. I don’t think this project technically qualifies because, traditionally {according to Wikipedia} there is sewing involved, and stacking and building, and the final product looks like a rather magnificent flower globe. I, being of far inferior ambition and skill, just want something that I can stick place cards into, and something that will look pretty dangling from the bottom of paper lanterns.
Now. Bear with me. The book’s directions were a little… I don’t exactly speak multi-directional-arrow-markers {thus the light skimming}. Still, I managed to figure it out and only glued myself to the project once {and I’ll tell you more about that later}.
Materials you will need for this project include: Round heavy objects, a paper-cutting tool with a ruler, scissors {in case something ends up being uneven, or halfway through you decide you’d like to give bangs a shot}, craft clue, bobby pins or paper clips, paper and fuzzy slippers.
Note: I don’t recommend wine and chocolate for this project because you will inevitably end up accidentally eating glue. Not that… uh… not that I know from personal experience. Or anything.
Step 1: Figure out what size squares you want to work with.
Pictured above are 12-inch {the big one}, 6-inch {the red one} and 4-inch {the smallest one} squares. From 3 sheets of 12×12 scrapbook paper {which is what my pad of scrapbook paper gave me for each color pattern} you can get two full 6-inch flowers with 6 petals each. With 4-inch squares, you get 5 flowers of 5 petals each {which still look great} and have two pieces of paper left over to turn into something else. Swirly roses, perhaps! {And if you want that project, come back next week!}
For ease of demonstration, we’re working with 6-inch squares today.
Step 2: Measure the first cut: Pop the paper into the paper-cutter and mark of at the 6-inch mark:
Now. this is where I start to cheat, because if there’s a way to make my life easier and less-wrought with math, I am going to find it and use it.
When you turn the paper to align your 6-inch mark with the blade-path, mark your second cut through the center-strip of the cutter’s ruler-arm:
This way, when you make your first cut in your paper…
… you can easily align your paper for the next cut because hey! They’re already marked for you, you smarty-pants!
All you have to do is toss them back into the cutter and give them one last zip:
Hurrah! You now have 12 pieces of 6-square-inch paper. Take a victory lap around your craft space in your fuzzy slippers! The measuring and math part is over!
Now! Onto the geometry!
Next: One at a time, fold your squares in half diagonally, so they turn into a triangle:
… And make sure to give it a good, sharp crease along the fold so you have a clear triangle:
Then: Take the points that sit on the crease in the paper and fold them both down to the third point, turning your triangle back into a square:
So the smaller square looks like this:
Whew.
Now!: This is where it gets tricky. The two points that you’ve just folded down to the third point are sort of like little paper arms, all flappy and crazy and they don’t want to stay flat. That’s fine. We’re about to fold them backwards so that their inside edge lines up with the outside of the smaller square, so they look more like wings:
Both sides will look like this:
If you’re not crumpling paper up and tossing it toward the garbage, give yourself a reward of some sort. But don’t celebrate too hard, we’re not done yet.
Once you have wings: It’s time to open those suckers up and squash them flat! You’ll notice that the paper inside the wing-fold is doubled up. Pull the inner layer up and out of the wing, causing the wing to flatten out, like so:
Cheat: It all sounds so technical and precise, right? Yeah. To get my wings to open up and flatten out, I stuck my pointer finger between the doubled-up paper and gave a good wiggle, until the paper decided it was just easier to fold outward. You don’t have to be super-gentle here. The creases are already made on the paper, essentially you’re just inverting the inside crease so that the wings fan out, which, when both sides are complete will look like this:
I promise. This sounds a lot harder than it is, and once you try it you’ll see. You’ll have to trust me until then.
Now! More folding: Now that we have nice wings, take the tips of them and fold them back to that you have a square-ish shape once more.
You’ll have small white triangles facing you if you’re using one-sided paper, but they won’t show in your final product. It’ll look like this:
Whew. You’re a trooper. Another fuzzy-slipper victory lap! Or, at this point, if you’re still with me, I give you permission to judge me for my awful manicure.
The last crease: You’re going to want to take the parts of the wings that are outside the perfect-square shape and fold them inward along the crease that runs up their center:
They won’t stay flush, but they’ll look like this:
Hurrah! We are DONE FOLDING! Now, grab your handy craft glue and get excited!
Next: Put a thin layer of glue on one of the folded wing-tabs, like so:
Then: Gently curve the paper into a conic, petal-shape, pressing the wing-tab with the glue against the other wing-tab:
After this point, you’ll see three distinct paper tabs inside the petal. Two of them are folded that way, and the third is in the middle and is made of the two tabs you just glued together. Because you are a crafting bombshell!
Before you start patting yourself on the back again: Secure the newly-glued middle-tab with a bobby pin or paper clip:
Now, better safe than sorry: Run a thin layer of craft glue down the adjoined seam, just to make sure nothing pops open and gives you a fun surprise later in the project.
… And then stick it under a round, heavy object, the tip of the petal under the object, the glued seam facing skyward, so it does not stick itself to anything:
Repeat process for all the petals. Now. Once again, this is the hard part: WAIT FOR ALL THE PETALS TO DRY. You’ll know they’re dry when all your craft glue has turned from white to clear. Do not mess with the petals until all the glue is clear!
Because the next step is…
Pretend you are a monster: {I like to think I am one of The Wild Things}
In all seriousness, grab six petals and stick your fingers inside to make sure no glue oozed into the petal. If you skip this step, you will likely glue yourself to your project in the next step, which is what I did the first two {not once, count them, two} times I went to build my flowers.
The next step: is, pretty simply, Take all the bobby pins out of the center of the dried petals and use them to clip 6 petals together, like a flower:
Sometimes, you will need to push the bobby pins around inside the petals to make sure they’re flush to the inside of the seam you’re trying to connect, and you really do not want to find out in 20 minutes when you go to extract your bobby pins that they are glued to the inside of your pretty flower.
That is why the Pretend you are a monster step is not only fun, it’s also important.
Once you have the petals clipped together: pull them all into a straight-ish line, smooshing them like an accordion:
Holding them like this makes them a lot easier to glue:
Cheat: You’re probably thinking to yourself, “Oh my goodness, there are 78 different seams. What am I gluing here?” To avoid double-gluing a seam that doesn’t need it, or missing a seam that does, here’s my cheat-rule of thumb… Glue the seams directly below the bobby pins. They’re the seams between petals that you’re trying to get to stick to one another.
Once you’ve finished with all the interior seams, which do not require a *ton* of glue, put a healthy dose of glue down the edge of the last petal:
Now: wrap the petals back into a circle, peek inside to make sure that anything that needs glue touching it has glue touching it, and fasten the last two unclipped petals together with one last bobby pin:
YES! You just made that. You deserve another reward.
So, flip that sucker upside-down to dry and go find something delicious to eat, after you wash the craft glue off your hands!
Craft glue is pretty tacky so it shouldn’t drip onto your work surface. If you use too much {which you will only do once, trust me} be prepared to pry your flower off your cutting mat with a pair of scissors or a pen-knife.
Cheat: Glue and dry your flowers over wax paper if you know you’re heavy-handed with the glue. It’s less likely to adhere with conviction to your flower, and less devastating to chip away from your project than, say, your cherry-wood table.
For an added effect, you can use Newspaper for these flowers {which is much more cost-effective}. I also coated some of the flowers with a translucent gold acrylic paint, which let the newsprint show through but gave it a more whimsical feel. I plan to use the same trick to add a little shine to my scrapbook flowers over the white bits that show around the center of the flower, and along the tips of the petals:
As always, if there are any questions or concerns, of if anything is unclear or impossible-to-understand, please don’t hesitate to e-mail me or harass me in the comments section. And if you’ve come across another origami flower, comment and let me know about it! If you try this at home, I want to hear about your successes and what cheats you came up with to make the project work for you!
Don’t forget, you crafty minxes… we’re all in this together.
So, there you are, DemiGoddess of DIY! You are sitting there, glossy-eyed with excitement at the pile of crafting stuff you just acquired from Michael’s Arts & Crafts. You… you are a magnificent creature. And I have a project for you.
Today, we’re making Delicate Paper Flowers and celebrating how amazingly crafty we are!
But first, I have a couple DIY or DIE {tips!} First and foremost — don’t ever buy anything at Michael’s for full price, unless it’s a true CraftMergency. {And it rarely is.} If you go online, you can print out their “Make Your Own Sale” coupons {click on the flyer, then click on the coupons} and always get at least one item at 40% off. {The catch is that you can only use one coupon per person, per day… so if you have a lot of stuff to grab, and more than one big-ticket item, drag your hubby along.}
And Tip #2: Start Small. I know, looking out at your new collection of sparkles, and paper, and glue {OMG, THE GLUE!}… All you want to do is reconstruct the Eiffel Tower the way they should have made it in the first place — With glitter! If, however, this is your first foray into the land of CraftDom, take my advice… Start small. First of all, don’t let the Kindergarten name fool you: crafts are hard. Moreover, they tend to activate what I like to call my Toddler Energy, where I get really into them for oh, an hour or so. Then my eyes glass over and I get distracted by popcorn and one of the cats and the next thing I know, there are 27 half-made, sparkly Eiffel Tower support beams, but there’s not more creative energy to be found, no matter where I look. {Not even under the couch, or in my bed, where I often find a nap instead.}
Miss French Fries over on WeddingBee really summed it up nicely in her phenomenal post: How to Create Your Own Wedding Decor, in 27 Easy Steps! It’s so easy to get started, it’s harder to coast once you’ve ruined half the flowers you intended to make, and you have ribbon somehow glued to your forehead {where the hell did that even come from? You don’t even remember cutting any ribbon…}
Set yourself up for success. Let your first craft project be a simple one. You’ll get through it, hopefully with all your fingers, and you’ll feel like the true DIY DemiGoddess you really are! And — and this is the important part– you’ll be under budget.
Before we jump right in {put those scissors down; I can see you there, with fire in your eyes, just looking for something to cut into tiny pieces and decoupage back together}… Before we get started, there’s another DIY Article that I think you should take a look at. It’s by Design Guru Amy Beth Cupp Dragoo, who is not only a creative genius, she’s also a truly exceptional human being, full of warmth and talent and charm. What she speaks to, and the really important take-away for us DIY Brides, is the fact DIY doesn’t mean Duplicate-It-Yourself. There is a huge difference between playing Monkey-See-Monkey-Do and creating personal decor for your wedding day. Get inspired. Read the instructions. But be sure to make it your very own.
And, on that note, without further ado, I present to you: Dogwood/Cherry/Little Pink Flowery Blossoms.
The original idea for these flowers came from the book Playing With Booksby Jason Thompson. The idea is to repurpose old storybook paper into fabulous crafts that you can then use to decorate your home. I was desperately searching for a pretty flower that would be small enough to work in the groomsmen’s boutonnieres.
Playing with Books had a craft project that looked easy enough, and like it might work for the project. So I bought it. It looks like this:
{Image via Rag & Bone Blog}
Now, yes, the idea is to make the craft out of storybook paper. But I’m a nerd, so the idea of chopping up books makes me nervous. I fully intended to use the 16-week subscription I ordered of the Wall Street Journal, back when I was vowing to become a more globally-conscious person. They’re all sitting, still in their plastic wrappers, waiting for me to “do” something with them.
Alas– newspaper was too flimsy for this project. And drawing paper {from a standard drawing pad} was too heavy. It didn’t bend the way I needed it to without doing this horrible creasing thing. This morning, determined to get it right, I rounded up every supply that I thought I would ever possibly need for the project {yes, yes I did completely disregard the directions, but hey… I was making it my own}.
All you really need for this project: Tissue Paper, Floral Wire, a very small bit of Craft Glue, and some clear tape. If you’re going to color your flowers, either watercolor paint or chalk. And, of course, chocolate and wine. Oh, right… and scissors.
From there on out, it was pretty simple:
For this project, I think I just used the white tissue paper that came in an Aerie purchase I made at the mall last week. I started by folding the sheet in half {long-way} and cutting it into strips. Then, I cut those longer strips in half, on the crease from the first fold. I did that for about 2/3 of the sheet.
For the last bottom bit of the sheet, I cut bigger strips {about double the size} and then cut those into four pieces {shown above, the little squares}. I snipped the floral wire until it was 3′-4′ long. Don’t let the ruler fool you. I didn’t measure a single thing for this project. But hey! Doesn’t it look fancy?
Right! Now. Take one of those fat little squares, and crinkle it into a small ball. Find a little spot where it looks like the floral wire might feel at home, and dab just a touch of glue in there
OK. The little squares of paper: You now have your glue-filled-crinkly-paper ball. Find one of the pieces of floral wire {it’s probably on the floor. Your cat is probably chewing it. No, not that cat. Your other cat. Theeere you go}. This photo is deceptive: I actually stuck the little balled up piece of paper to the wire before I tented the flat square of paper over it. Then I twisted the flat paper around, until it made a little Stamen for my paper flower, like so. I secured it with a full piece of tape, but found out later that if you cut the tape in half, so you have a longer, skinnier piece, you’re a lot less likely to tape yourself to your own project. ** Please Note: If you push too hard on the floral wire and poke a hole in the top of the stamen, your flower isn’t ruined. You can’t see the middle at the end of the project. This is more to give the petals something to grab onto.
You’re a total rockstar! Give yourself a small pat on the back, take a swig of wine and a bite of cookie. Mint Chocolate Cookies are ideal for this project.
Feel refreshed? Great. Now grab one of your long, skinny strips of tissue paper and snip arbitrarily, every 3/4″ or so. Tall, skinny petals are better than short, fat petals, though. They’re easier when we get to the “fluffing” phase.
Next, round the tips of the little fringes, so they look like petals. Vary height and taper to your fancy.
If you’re going to color your petals, it’s now or never. I wasn’t sure what I was going to use to color mine, but I knew they needed to be light pink. I tried chalk {per the book’s recommendation, but was nervous that it would transfer onto my girls’ navy dresses}, watercolor paint and acrylic paint.
Chalk, Watercolor, Acrylic: Acrylic was disqualified immediately because, well… it looked like I spilled old Pepto onto my project. I ended up really liking the chalk, and it didn’t smudge off, but I ended up going with the watercolor because I really liked that I could control the intensity of the hue much more acutely, and more easily. I used, literally, a very small dab, and diluted it in a tea-saucer of water. And don’t tell my mother in law, because she’d die if she knew I used a tea saucer for a paint project.
Now, it mentions stating here, separately, that if you’re going to use watercolors, you should understand two things. 1. It’s going to show through. 2. It’s better if you watercolor over paper that will absorb the excess. Because the tissue paper I used was so thin, and the watercolors were so diluted, the paper got really delicate when I painted it. I managed that, along with the runny mess of excess diluted paint, by painting over a blank sheet of drawing paper {the rest of the sheet from the strip that I used to determine that drawing paper was absolute crap for this project}.
Once I painted each petal {gently, with a No. 9 round, pointy brush} I would lift it off the drawing paper {so that it wouldn’t stick as it dried} and laid it back down. sometimes, if it stuck to the paper again, I’d flip it over. I’m not sure if it helped or not, but in my mind it did, and anyway… no petals stuck to the paper. So there you go, I am a genius.
Once you’ve lightly colored all your petals, put another small dab of Craft Glue on the stamen. Gently place the petal-strip on the glue. Then don’t touch it. This is going to be the toughest part, because you’re going to want to see if it’s dry. It’s not. It’s not dry, and if you touch it, you’re going to ruin it. So don’t touch it. Go eat another cookie or something. Let. It. Dry.
Once it’s dry — you touched it, didn’t you? You totally did. It’s OK… I did, too– you simply roll it up, around the stem. Now. Here’s the catch. All my petals kept lining up with one another. I was going to have a whole handful of lopsided flowers. So every now and then, I’d cheat. I’d either fold petals backwards, to cover gaps aruond the stem, or I’d put little “darts” in the bottom of them, like when you’re trying to pin a shirt to fit around your chest. Use your discretion, but don’t hesitate to pinch the petals and fold the petals and re-fold the petals until you think that you’ll get a good, full flower when you “fluff” them out. {You’ll see what I mean in a second.} Once you’re satisfied with your petal distribution, secure the bottom with clear tape. I found it best to put a corner on the loose edge of the petals I just wrapped, and to pull the tape around the stem in the same direction I was just wrapping. It gave a secure, seamless fastening.
Top view of your wrapped-but-un-fluffed flower.
Now it’s time to “fluff”. Starting with the outermost petal, gently pull the petal back away from the stem, flipping it against the natural curve of the paper. It’s like flipping it inside out. Work your way through all the petals until you find yourself at the middle again. {Try to do them in order. If you go out of order, sometimes they flip themselves back; sometimes they just rip.} Once you’re done flipping, take another swig of wine and admire your work!
Top View of Fluffed Flower. They’re just really pretty, and really delicate.
I wasn’t ready to make the rest of the boutonnieres, because The Groom said he wanted a vote in the color of the pinwheels, so the completed project will be here for you next week. In the meantime, these little beauties are going to keep me company at my desk, as I revel in how awesomely crafty I am. I heartily suggest you do the same!
So there you have it, a great little starter project for the DIY Bride who’s a little intimidated by this crazy, sparkly, glittery Wedding World.
Feel free to ask any questions, and PLEASE if you try this project at home, let me know how it worked for you! I’d love to see your variations, your input, your finished products! Until next week, go add a little sparkle to the world around you, you saucy minxes. And don’t forget– we’re all in this together!
If you’re planning a wedding, you probably have a long list of daunting tasks… including, no doubt, your invitations. That’s a pretty crucial element, eh? We all want the perfect invite, but the cost and time taken to prepare them can be pretty overwhelming. Besides the cost of stationary, you also have to budget in postage, and then the time to stuff and label every invite. That’s both time and paper consuming work, yo! But fear not, there’s a cost cutting and paper cut-less option out there…
Here’s a stylish way to save time, money and be kind to the planet with your invites. Glö is a new company with a snazzy take on e-vitations. Glö provides a solution for couples seeking the sophistication of paper invitations, the convenience and eco-friendliness of online technology, with a touch of wow-factor for doing something different.
Your guest is greeted by a traditional-style envelope…
You know Glö stands behind their product, because it was created for the founders’ own wedding. As Glö’s co-founder Taryn says, “The idea of collecting everyone’s mailing addresses and coordinating all of those RSVPs by hand just didn’t make sense to us in this day and age. We wanted to send online invitations, but couldn’t find anything that looked sophisticated enough for a wedding, plus had the website and RSVP functionality we needed, and thus Glö was born.”
Opening up to a classy invite of your own design or a selected one…
Glö has tons of options for invite styles that link your guests directly to a matching website, giving them the full 411 on your wedding. One of our favorite options that Glö provides is that you can even import your own design! That means you can still rock your DIY style with out having to spend tons of DIY time.
And the invite links directly to your matching website for the full skinny on your big day.
Style, without taking a lot of paper out of the bank, or throwing a lot of paper in the trash… now that’s something to Glö about. Check them out and tell ‘em the Broke-Ass Bride sent ya!
This goes for aluminum cans, bottles, and paper goods too. Don’t head for the black trash can if you can get to the green one.
