Wedding Decor

   This week has been yet another crazy and busy one! After I got back from my Wisconsin trip I immediately dove into the wedding planning. I emailed vendors, set up appointments, and started some of the DIY projects that I wanted to incorporate in the wedding! Of course I still have a lot left, but at least things are started!

   This Friday I leave to go to Des Moines, IA for my second bridal shower and bachelorette party! I cannot believe it is already August! Where is the summer going? I am not ready for the wedding or for fall! Shouldn't it still be May? I am excited, though! I have so many great friends and family that are going to be supporting me yet again this coming weekend! I feel so blessed to have so many people that want to celebrate this next chapter of my life! However, my bridal shower is not the only thing going on this weekend. First, I have another baby shower to attend Saturday afternoon! I'm excited for yet another one of my friends/family to be having a baby! It has been the year for it, though. I believe this is the 6th baby shower I am attending this year. So tonight I was putting together my gifts and getting ready to finish some baby mini-albums and homemade cards. If I get a chance, I'll post some pictures on here later!

   Tonight, though, I wanted to share some of the projects I have been working on for the wedding. Nothing too crazy, but fun and cute! 

Supplies for wedding projects

   I started by collecting the supplies I needed:  bucket of soapy water, glass cleaner, paper towels, spray paint, frosted glass paint, steel wool (both fine and course grades), adhesive remover, cotton balls, consignment frames, and tea-light holders.

   This first project started after I found these awesome frames at the Bridal Consignment store in Burnsville, MN. It's an awesome place to find gently used wedding decor, dresses, ideas, etc. I have bought quite I few things here already!

Sanded frame on the left and untouched one on the right

   These awesome frames were a great deal, but I was not sure the spray paint would stick. The person before had painted them bright red and with a very shiny finish. First, I removed the cardboard backs off the frames. Those can easily be reattached with hot glue. Then I used course grade steel wood to take the top coat of shine off the frame. After I finished that, I used fine grade steel wool to go over the intricate details of the frame. I blew the excess steel wool pieces off as I went, but the real trick to getting all those pesky pieces of steel off your project is a heavy duty magnet. I simply ran one over the frame and it picked any excess steel pieces right up!

   Next, I cleaned the frames with soap and water to remove any dust or dirty that was lingering. Then I spray painted them this fun yellow color to match the wedding decor! I put 3-4 coats of paint on allowing 1-2 minutes of drying time between coats.

Fun new color!

    I let the frames dry for 24 hours before handling them. I ended up flipping them over and putting another coat on the underside because the grooves on the sides did not pick up the paint as easily from the angle I was originally spraying.

   While the frames were drying, I started my second big project. I bought these tea lights from JoAnne Fabrics. They came 12 per box and have a flare design to them. I did not want them to be clear, though, because we are using battery operated tea lights for an extra glow (and because the reception is in a historic building with lots of fire regulations!).

   I removed the adhesive stickers and cleaned all of the glass first. Then lined them up to paint them with a frosted glass paint.

Tealight holders fipped over and ready for frosted paint!

After two coats of frosted glass paint!

   I decided to put two coats of the frosted glass on these, but I don't know if it would have made much difference. I just wanted to make sure I had all the spots covered with paint.

   The last project I worked on was to paint some chipboard letters. I want to adhere these "M's" to the outside of the centerpieces that I am making for each table. I need about 30 of them, so I bought a couple packs of chipboard alphabets and used just the sheets of "M's" and "W's". Who is going to know the difference between the M and the W anyway? There are all different fonts and sizes of letters, so table will be slightly different.

Spray painted chipboard letters with the same yellow paint as the frames

   I found that leaving the letters in the sheet was easier to spray paint than if you punched them out first. The paint was more evenly coated with the entire sheet. I think I ended up doing 2-3 coats per sheet of chipboard.


   Well that's it! Just getting started on all the projects I have left to finish for the wedding, but I am happy with the results so far! The frames turned out perfectly! Way better than I originally thought! I will try and post more projects as I get to them, but my time is becoming more and more limited! Until next time:

Here's to life, love, and creativity!

Silhouette Giveaway with Heidi Swapp

Silhouette Giveaway!

Anyone interested in crafting with paper needs to check out this giveaway by clicking on the link above! The Silhouette machine is an amazing die cutting machine that allows you to cut a lot of different designs (many are downloadable online!). 

I just wanted to share this opportunity with you! Hope you're having a great day! Until next time:

Here's to life, love, and creativity!

Crunch Time

There are exactly 47 days until our wedding! That's less than 7 weeks! I have way too much stuff to do in less than 7 weeks! This last month, though, has been busy with everything else besides wedding planning. 

I finally am completely finished with taking my MCAT. The first time I took it was two years ago, but I definitely was not ready before I took it then. This time, though, I took a prep course and studied for almost 6 months before the test. I still didn't get as many quizzes or practice exams done that I wanted to, but, given everything else going on in my life this year, I think I gave it a valiant effort. I took the MCAT for the second time last Saturday, July 14th. I completed all the sections and felt pretty good about the content. Of course there were a couple passages that I had to guess more than I wanted, but overall I felt really good about it! I won't get my scores for the test until the middle of August, though, so it's a waiting game at this point.

I also have been busy preparing my medical school applications (darn you personal statement!!!) and applying for a position on Heidi Swapp's media team! I saw the post on her blog toward the end of June for the media team call, but I was not able to start organizing my application or projects until after my MCAT was completely over this past week. So I spent the week frantically answering the application questions and taking pictures of projects. I only made two new projects this week for the application, and they were a lot of fun to do. I was not completely satisfied with my memory file concept because I didn't have time to present a more finished version, but at least I can say I tried my best given the time frame! I will post pictures of the clipboard project and memory file concept for you to enjoy! I will find out who made the media team at the beginning of August on Heidi Swapp's blog!

Decorative Clipboard Project

 

Close up of Butterfly and Border

Front of Memory File Concept

Inside Cover of Memory File

Close up of pages and embellishments in Memory File Concept

I have been in WI since last week Tuesday for my bridal shower and bachelorette activities this past weekend! It was amazing! My family did an awesome job planning it all out and making it very special! I definitely was spoiled by everyone! I just can't believe it's already time to be attending my showers! Where has the summer gone? Shouldn't it still be May? Thank you again, Jenica and Kim! You ladies did a superb job! I still need to get the recipes for the desserts, though:  E.L. Fudge Cookie Torte and a Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough dip for graham crackers! Amazing!

I wish I could stay and hang out with the family a few extra days, but reality calls me back to MN this week! Plus I have a lot to do and catch up on from the last few months of being on hold for my test! I also want to try and post some of the other projects I have been working on the last few months for everyone to peruse! I'll have to wait and see how much time I have this week to get some of those up, though! I hope everyone is having a great start to their week! Until next time:

Here's to life, love, and creativity!