A Wedding Etsy Treasury

Check out this elegant Etsy Treasury:

For more information about each section just click here

A beautiful hair piece

I came across these lovely hair pins from Royal Princess and I just had to get one. Mine is a deep sapphire blue but they have lots of lovely colors.

They're real roses that are preserved. The petals are flexible and the colors you get when the light bounces off them are exquisite. Here are just a few examples:If you're less of a rose fan and more into feathers they also have a really cool fascinator sample especially for any peacock fans:

Go check them out. I can't wait to show off my little beauty.

Easter clothes for the wedding

Easter is a great time to go looking for dresses for the flower girls and suits and shirts for the ring bearers.

Here's just a sampling of the dresses from Target all under $25:

The boys have some cute stuff too. Easter is perfect to pick up an entire vest, shirt and pants combo for under $25:
So if you know what colors you want you may want to check out some local retailers or department stores to see what they have in stock because once summer comes all those cute shirts and dresses will be gone.

Colored Crinoline almost DIY

Have you seen some of those gorgeous pictures of brides rockin' different bright colors under their white wedding dress to give a little pop?

Always wanted to have dyed crinoline but are afraid that you'll mess it up?

Here comes 2 Bird Stone. For the low price of $17 they'll take your crinoline and dye it one of a multitude of colors. Just look at these options:I love the ranges they have, especially the greens and blues.

I've tried my hands at dying a few things in the past and for the cost of dye and then cleaning products to remove the mess you made, $17 is a wonderful deal and worth the piece of mind knowing you have a gorgeous even pop of color on your wedding day without blue fingers.

Another wedding painting

Big thanks to Rachel and her displaying the painting a made of her wedding dress on her blog (I'd offer you a fruit basket if I actually knew any fruit that was edible at this time of year).

Kelly from My Island Wedding saw it and contacted me. She wanted not just her dress but also one of her husbands tux and then she asked for something I was a touch hesitant on.

She wanted to include a picture of their dog Madchen who had sadly passed on recently. I've only attempted two doggie paintings so far, one looked okay and the other failed spectacularly (hence why you've never seen it). But I really wanted to try.

There has never been a time in my life that I didn't have a dog that was my best bud and I know they always have a little special place in your heart.

So I sat down and through a slight anti-histamine fog (damn trees, stop breeding) somehow I got this beautiful painting out and am still a bit floored that I painted it.

I guess this means I may just be able to paint puppies too. Yay!

I hope you enjoy and love it a lot Kelly. I know I already do.

If you would like your own here is an option for a scene like above with both the dress and tux, and here is one for just the dress. Puppies in there are completely optional.

Hand Painted Invitations

Recently, I stumbled across these gorgeous wedding invitations that are hand painted (using my favorite medium, acrylic) and are only about $4-$6 a piece from Paintings by Sharon.

Each invitation has the image painted on not scanned and printed off and she does all the assembling. Just look at some of these amazing options.
I really love these little blue birds, and the RSVPs have adorable nests on them.
Who wouldn't want to send each guest their own little piece of art.

She also does really adorable maps as well. Wouldn't that make a cute Save the Date?

Paper prettier than the real thing

Looking for something a touch different to carry down the aisle, have your bridesmaids or groomsmen carry/wear, or just to decorate with?

How about a paper rose from La Fleur De Papier?

I really love the long stem roses and at $5.50 each they're incredibly elegant and also economical to carry down the aisle.

You can even have her customize your own bouquet with whatever colors you want.

And each flower has a dash of rose oil added to give a beautiful scent.

They're all so delicate and beautiful they'd make a wonderful addition to a wedding, plus you can keep them for years to come.

Painting of your wedding dress

Time for that announcement I promised I'd make today (it's a good one, I swear).

For those of you that have been reading for a long time you know that early on in my painting spree I sat down and painted out not only my wedding dress but also my husbands tux. Okay so I can't paint people (it's the hands and noses, if we didn't have hands and noses I'd be golden) but I have a good eye for fabrics and clothing.

I really like my two paintings and I got to thinking, maybe someone else would also like a little painting of their own dress. In fact I've already done two of the more prominent wedding blog-o-sphere newlyweds.

The first was of Jenna's Evelyn based upon one of millions of gorgeous pictures she had from her wedding.

This picture of her painting was actually taken by That Wife herself as I have no skills at taking pictures of my own paintings. They always look so much better in real life.She wanted some emphasis put on the brooch and I really am still a touch gobsmacked at how it turned out. Maybe I should get some pins so I can paint angels on them or something.

My other newlywed painting was of Rachel's dress from Girl Learning Along the Way. I worked to capture the fullness of her skirt and also to show how light and airy it was. I love the color purple she picked for the background too, it really set the whole thing off.

So what does all that have to do with you? Why I am offering the same deal to anyone else who wants their own wedding dress painting at my store on etsy. For just $15 I'd paint a small painting keepsake of your wedding dress.

But for all of you my, blogger friends, I offer a better deal. If you'd like your own painting, I'll give you a $5 reduction and only charge you for the cost of supplies and shipping.

If that's still too much, you can get your own wedding dress painting for a whole $5 (so basically shipping price) by mentioning my Etsy store on your own blog in a post.

I don't have to do just wedding dresses either. I could do say a mothers dress as a present, or a series of bridesmaids dresses, or another idea I've had is to do both the tux and dress dancing together. The background is completely customizable as well.

And for all of you who are still waiting on your own wedding, don't worry I'll keep this deal open.

So, totally crazy idea or not?

Ring around the Neck

These made the wedding blog rounds a while back, but Cyberoptix Tie Lab has come out with some cool new ties (I really like the wood one). They're all silk, handscreened and cost about $30.
These would make --if not to be in the wedding-- really cool groomsmen gifts. Or even for the fathers if they are into some of the cool options.

Flowers in your hair

Want to wear a real flower in your hair but worried about it dying and wilting too quickly?

Why not check out Bela Brazilian Designs

They have preserved real flowers and incorporated them into designs for jewelry as well as headbands and hair pins. If you really want a rare or very exotic flower that is hard to find during your wedding this could be a cool idea and you could wear it years after your wedding.

A Ringbearer's bowl?

Not so crazy about the idea of having a ringbearer carrying down an overpriced pillow?

How about a bowl instead? It's sure to get more reuse after the wedding than a tiny pillow.

This wooden bowl is handcrafted and costs a whole $15

More in the mood for something on the wild side? This porcelain bowl with a green and black motif costs $30

This adorable heart shaped bowl comes in at $20.

Want something a bit smaller but also personalized? How about this small ring bowl for $15?

Or for the ultimate in personalization you and your fiance could visit a Paint Yourself Silly type store and make your own little ring bowl painted together. My hubby and I had a ton of fun one Valentines day making our special wizard bowl (it's very important as it holds all our stamps now).

Flower girl dresses, Target Style

I'm not a big fan of dresses that cost over $150 for a bridesmaid much less one for a 5 year old that is more than likely going to get into something sticky 2 seconds after pictures are done and outgrow the thing a week after the wedding.

So for my wedding we went a bit more non traditional route and found the flower girls dress for a whole $15. Where, I hear you asking. Why at Target of course.

This is just a sampling of the dresses the have. If you're having a more wintry or darker hued wedding wouldn't one of these just look amazing and best of all every one of them is under $25.

As Regal as Purple

1 Lavendar Earrings $19 2. Lavendar Necklace $40 3. Lavendar Bracelet $20
4. Deep Purple $28 5. Amethyst Comb $48 6. Light bracelet $32
7. Purple Earrings $28 8. Burgandy Pearls $44 9.Gold crystal $40
10. Rose Hair pin $8 11. Copper pearl ring $18 12. Wild Berries hair pin $35

The birthday cake

This weekend for me was spend creating the best birthday cake a 4 year old farm kid can possibly imagine. I have a few tricks up my sleeve after 1 year of doing some cake decorating (though I did very few cakes during that time). Most of all, don't be afraid to try something. Oh and watch Ace of Cakes on a regular basis. They are super creative.

Anyway on with the story. I baked the cake last weekend actually. I allowed it to cool and got rid of some areas where there was some excess cake, such as between the wheels (which were all but connected). I then did a skim layer of frosting (mostly so I wouldn't get crumbs in the rest of the icing when I did the actual decoration). After this I promptly stuck the cake in the freezer until Saturday morning when the mess began. Ok, I lied, the mess actually began on Friday when I made the icing and blended the coloring into the icing.

Coloring icing is a challenge, especially if you want vivid colors. I used gel icing colors, but it still took a LOT, especially the green and black. Hint: go easy on the yellow though, it does not take NEARLY as much.

I stirred for a while and then decided to create the engine compartment. This was a real challenge. Although most people wouldn't care, my husband is a Technician at John Deere and felt that I had to do everything to a tee. I failed, but I really liked the engine (recreated from a blurry picture found on google). I also realized from that picture that the cab corners should have been black, but I wasn't about to scape the frosting at that time.

Well, after about 2 hours of frosting and starring and starring some more, this is what I came up with:

The "dirt" around the tractor is a mixture of oreos and graham crackers that I smashed in my food processor. I got the idea from watching Ace of Cakes about 1 week before when they were creating a sandcastle cake and using graham cracker for sand.

Lesson for the day: "Try it, it may work!"

Yellow as a Daisy

1. Earrings $16 2. Butterfly Necklace $38 3. Teardrop earrings $16

4. Golden Bracelet $30 5. Paisley Pendant $68 6. Tulle Hair comb $20

7. Drop Earrings $23 8. Jeweled Comb $15 9. Pearl Necklace $72

10. Flower Earrings $10 11. Freshwater Pearls $38 12.Daisy Ring $7

Green to envy

1. Rose earrings 2. Green Apple earrings $14 3. Heart glass Necklace $32

4. Leaf Earrings $27 5. Daisy Pendant $16 6. Peredot ring $50

7. Green comb $48 8. Ivory & Sage $10 9. Hair vine $26

10. Julia Necklace $46 11. Sea Sparkle Necklace $32 12. Green Bracelet $36

For the daring bride

Some red jewelry options:

1. Crystal Earrings $20 2. Cranberry bracelet $30. 3. Ruby Crystal Pendant $19

4. Hair Comb $16 5. Musical Earrings $12 6. Fascinator $20

7. Pearl set $45 8. Love pendant $30 9. Garnet De'esse $35

10. Siam Earrings $14 11. Floral Choker $35 12. Red berry tiara $35

Something Blue-Jewelry

If you're looking for a little color on your wedding day but still want to have a white dress why not try it in some jewelry. I'm going to create different boards for all the colors of jewelry options. First one is my favorite color, blue.

1. Blue earrings $14 2. Necklace $30 3. Blue skies earrings $46

4. Earrings with Mother of Pearl $16 5. Sapphire earrings $16 6. Dainty bracelet $27

7. Blue Skies Necklace $18 8. Necklace and Earring set $34 9. Hawaii Titanium Ring $125

10. Pearl Bracelet $25 11. Triple pearl Necklace $45 12. Crystal Bracelet $24

Eco-budget-friendly: Part 1 - In general

This is the first of a series about how you can plan an eco-friendly wedding that won't break the bank.

First, I must dispel the myth that eco-friendly X means tacking an additional cost to X: in fact, I'll argue that if you're paying more, you're not doing it right!

Simplicity is inherently eco-friendly. It usually takes a small army of bakers to make a cake, for instance. Factor in all the gas burned by each of their cars coming in to work that morning/afternoon to make your cake, the heat of the building in which the cake was made, etc and you start seeing some real eco-savings if you decide to make your own cake (or have it made by a friend/family member who will be coming to the wedding anyway).

Instead of going through one of those green wedding sites and ordering orga/loca/etc invitations, buy recycled paper, and have it printed with a refillable ink cartridge.

For favors and centerpieces, buy things that can be reused. Don't buy 100 tiny cardboard boxes, tie them in bits of ribbon, and fill them with individually wrapped candies - all things which create a lot of waste - instead give each of your guest a small packet of seed in a tiny pot, or even a magnet they can use for many years.

Try to reduce the waste of your wedding by doing small things. Order a keg or two of beer for your guests instead of having an open bar where they purchase individual bottles. If possible, use the hall's linens and cloth napkins, which they will clean and re-use. Rent tuxes instead of buying them. Buy a used wedding dress, take care of it, and then resell it on eBay or Craigslist.

Purchase in-season flowers from a greenhouse, where you can pick them up directly at the location. This way you don't need to have them shipped from far away, which will increase your carbon footprint. Even be bold and use living plants and not flowers - purchase small planters and use ivy, or tiny roseplants, and then give your plants away at the end to your guests. That reduces the waste of all those dead flowers.

I will have individual posts on the items mentioned above in the future - namely, how to make your cake in an affordable and timely fashion, making your own reusable favors and centerpieces for largely eco-friendly materials, and so forth. Stay tuned!

Bridesmaids gift

They were there for you for the highs and lows of wedding planning. So why not find them something cool?

This cute little bowl is $14 from Elms Studios Online

These delectable cupcakes are actually soap at $4 a piece.

This clutch is only $18 and would make a great makeup travel bag.

And my favorite advice for the reception in pendant form for $6.95