DIY Garlands of Lilies by Martha Stewart

Lily Garland from Martha Stewart

Scent your wedding/reception with garlands of lilies.  Lilies are most abundant during the spring wedding season but you can always use silk lilies during other seasons.  For long spaces or double layer strands (see picture), wire several garlands together on the day of the wedding.  Use florist wire and string up 16 blooms each in sections, then cover wire with beautiful ribbons.  Be sure to remove the yellow anthers from the lilies because the pollen from them will stain.  For directions for these garlands visit Martha's web site or see all her other incredible DIY ideas for flowers for your wedding. 

Per Martha Stewart directions for Fragrant Garland of Lilies:

Thread 26-gauge wire through first bloom; attach at base with floral tape (or, for an end, tape wire to base of a closed bulb). Then slide on second bloom, to overlap previous flower a bit; tape base. Repeat until you reach desired length, leaving wire for hanging.

Italian Sodas -- Delizio!

Simply Sweet Blog photo of bright colored Italian Sodas

The designers and caterers at Simply Sweet suggest Italian sodas keep things fresh and fun at your wedding. Guests can choose their favorite flavor(s) and create the beverage...DELIZIO!

If you're planning on making these yourself check out the syrups at stores like Home Goods.  Or surf the web for a variety of recipes in your wedding colors.  Think how much money you'll save not serving alcohol!

DIY Aisle and Altar Flowers

Pink and Yellow Rose Petals make a unique aisle for the bride and her attendants courtesy of Martha at: DIY Aisle or Altar Flowers

Place large hurricane vases (made for floating candles) and add rose petals to the pretty floating candles and use the along the side of an aisle of multi-colored rose petals.  Be sure to fill in any small holes under the aisle area to make a smooth aisle.  Visit Martha's web site for additional ideas for DIY Aisle or Altar Flowers. 

Butterfly Wedding Theme? See This Easy DIY Centerpiece Project

Photo by Colin Cooke/design shown on Sweet Paul web site:

http://sweetpaul.typepad.com/my_weblog/2010/10/decoupage-pumpkin.html

A little paper, your printer, clip art, and craft glue and Sweet Paul (a total genius!) has made these great pumpkin centerpieces that have decoupaged butterflies on them.  Perfect for a wedding with a butterfly theme!  Decoupaging on pumpkins can be used with any theme you can find great clip art on.  Just print out the clip art on thin paper and glue them to the pumpkin with regular craft glue.  Simple and sweet! And the price is right.  An easy DIY project perfect for brides on a budget.

Visit Sweet Paul's web site for ideas for centerpieces and also for great easy recipes to impress!

Marbled Marshmallows to Fit the Season

Make Your Own Marshmallows Courtesy of Kraft Trends

Whether your wedding is during the holiday season, spring, fall etc. you can personalize these marshmallows to suit.  While these have peppermint flavoring you can experiment with different flavor extracts during different times of the year.  These are also great for favors at wedding showers.  Experiment ahead of time with the depth of colors you want.  Package for your guests to take home with them or put them out on your sweet table.  (Can you tell I LOVE sweets?)  Enjoy!  Recipe on http://redhot.bettycrocker.com.

Wedding Cupcake Poppers

Photo from Moogie and Pap's blog; recipe from Betty Crocker Trends web site

Looking for a dessert table item that pops? (Do you suppose that's why they call them poppers?) Betty Crocker Trends at http://redhot.bettycrocker.com/trends gives you an easy recipe to make these poppers from their white cake mix (obviously you add some food coloring).  They also offer a recipe for a marshmallow cream frosting for the centers.  The recipe makes 60 mini-cupcakes for your dessert table.  Simple and oh so sweet! Great for wedding showers as well. 

Cherry Tomatoes - Bocconcini Lollipops

Photo and recipe from: http://moogieland.blogspot.com/

Looking for something a little different for an appetizer? Try this easy to make but attractive recipe that is based on caprese salad.  This pairing of mozzarella and tomatoes is a perfect combination for picnic weddings or appetizers anytime of year. 

Photos courtesy of Dahan Caterers Washington DC

Moogie from Moogie and Pap's web site suggests using black rice inside a tall glass to stabilize the skewers, but you could easily serve this on a base of seen above of grass, inserting the skewer into the field of green. 
Ingredients:

12 cherry tomatoes (stems removed) You can use regular cherry tomatoes or Trader Joe's sells heirloom cherry tomatoes.
12 bocconcine (baby Mozzarella)
2 tablespoons virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon Italian seasonings
1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley

Directions:

1. With a sharp knife, remove the top 1/4 inch of each tomato.

2. Skewer the bottom of each tomato with a large wooden or bamboo skewer. For the most eye-catching presentation, stand the lollipops in tall glasses. (I put black rice inside my glass to help stabilize the lollipops)

3. In a bowl, combine the seasoning and olive oil, and parsley. Drizzle a little over each tomato before serving.

White Chocolate, Peaches, Apricots, Cake...All In A DIY Cake!

All Photos courtesy of The Cilantropist at  http://cilantropist.blogspot.com

Are you salivating yet? There are two kinds of people in the world, those of us who love white chocolate and the ones who well, those other people! This cake is for the former. I posted this recipe for brides who are either making their own cakes or have someone making them for them or for anyone throwing a pre-wedding party. This is a perfect cake to use the multilayer cake stands if you want to make your own cakes and not involve the bakery. The slivered almonds on the outside hide any icing deficiencies you may have and the filling for this cake is indescribable! The filling is part apricot part peaches so for brides having a summer wedding this is a great cake choice.

All Photos courtesy of The Cilantropist at http://cilantropist.blogspot.com

For the recipe, go to http://cilantropist.blogspot.com where The Cilantropist gives you her version of this cake which is adapted from one in Bon Appetit, June 2003 via Epicurious. The Cilantropist also gives you great icing tips so your cake will look as great as these pics! So head on over to her blog to grab the recipe (guarantee you'll spend another hour at least perusing all her other posts! This is one yummy blog!)

DIY Classes In Lansdowne PA

Photo courtesy of: http://www.pendance.us/

Looking for art classes or calligraphy classes? Art Space Lansdowne at http://artspacelansdowne.com/art-classes/#art11001 offers classes in calligraphy as well as jewelry making and other crafts.  Head over to their web site and sign up now.  Deadlines are fast approaching for Art Space Lansdowne's Spring Classes and Workshops. Don't miss this opportunity to be a part of these fun learning experiences. Classes are affordable, convenient, and a great experience for DIY'ers or take your bridesmaids to a jewelry making class as a thank you.

Do It Yourself Felt Bouquets and Boutonnieres

Photo by Claire Marika on Bride's Cafe

Have you ever seen do it yourself felt bouqets or boutonnieres? Are you looking to save money on your bouquet and boutonnieres? Visit The Bride's Cafe and see how to make felt floral bouquets and bouts.  This is a relatively simple DIY project although it may take some time so don't leave it until the last minute!

Or if you'd rather work with crepe paper go to the the Bride's Cafe  for ideas for a similar crepe paper bouquet seen below. And for tutorials on making paper flowers.

Make Your Own Terraium Placecard Holder

Photo and info courtesy of: http://wednesdaycustomdesign.com/

What can you make from the lid of a mason jar and a clear Christmas ornament? Your own custom terrarium place card holder.  Fill with flowers to compliment you decor and add a interesting fillip to your table setting at your wedding or shower.  For directions go to: http://wednesdaycustomdesign.com/blog/P15

DIY Doughnuts for Wedding Breakfast

Photo credits and info courtesy of: http://www.twigandthistle.com/blog/2011/01/page/4/

Planning a wedding breakfast reception? Or looking for something to serve your guests before they leave your evening reception? Try these pretty doughnuts.

I never make doughnuts because I don't want to have to deal with frying them but this easy mix from Sur La Table's web site is baked not fried. You can also find an easy recipe for these tiny bites of heaven at http://bakingbites.com/. Sur La Table also sells the pan you need to bake them in. If you are looking for a less expensive pan try http://myavon.com/cvecchione or contact your local Avon rep, it will save you a lot of money!

The doughnuts come in a variety of flavors so taste test them all (or make your fiance a very happy man and force him to taste test them (sure wouldn't take much force to get the man in my life to taste test doughnuts!). Add some pretty glaze and some custom colored sprinkles for a gourmet look. These tiny delights are only about an inch and a half wide so you'll need to make plenty for a crowd.

Fruit Tree with Blossoms DIY Wedding Invitations

Photo and download at: http://www.downloadandprint.com/

Download and Print has some new wedding invites and response cards ready for customizing and downloading to make diy'ing your invites fast and easy. Highly recommend their products. Not only beautiful but incredibally easy to execute. Additional invites available on web site.

The Glitterati of Cupcakes

Just when you thought you had seen it all, the folks at Bedazzle My Bonbons sent me an email with these photos that one of their creative clients had taken of cupcakes that she had designed using their bonbons.

Mishellle from Mishelle Handy Cakes in Oklahoma City purchased her liners from Wilton products at her local craft store and added faux stones and gems to add some more bling to the cupcakes.  She turned boring cupcakes into a bedazzled and delicious dessert.  For brides who love bling these cupcakes will match you personality to a T!

Choose the way you would like to display these at your wedding either individual or cupcake stands will give you a centerpiece that shines!



DIY Easter Lily Backdrop

Easter Lily Backdrop courtesy of http://ruffledblog.com/diy-easter-lily-ceremony-backdrop and from Veronica at My Hands Made it, http://myhandsmadeit.com/
Looking for a way to turn a plain room into a beautiful backdrop for your wedding ceremony? This Easter Lily backdrop(credited originally to Martha) can be found on http://ruffledblog.com/ on a post from Veronica at My Hands Made It http://myhandsmadeit.com/.

While this would be expensive to make with fresh flowers the directions on the Ruffled blog are for artificial lilies (easier to keep looking fresh for those of us without floral refrigerators too!)

Combine with a spray of lilies for the bride and it will knock them dead!

DIY Wedding Flags

Photo courtesy of http://www.saraspartyperfect.com

Having your wedding in a park or somewhere the signage is poor? Why not make one of these great signs? Perfect to let your guests know they are on the right track.  Use some canvas and paint and pick up a flag pole at your local hardware or gift store.  Makes finding your wedding site easy for your guests with an easy DIY project.  For other great party and event projects visit http://www.saraspartyperfect.com/.

Ribbon Wands At Your Wedding

Photo courtesy of http://www.lovetheshultzes.com/

Want an option to rice or birdseed?  Tired of the ubiquitous bubbles? Why not make your guests some ribbon wands?  Just get some dowels, spray them with cream or white spray paint, add some light weight ribbon to the end (use about three feet of ribbon per wand) and glue the ribbon to the dowel.  Use pinking sheers in a v-shape at the end to avoid fraying.  After glue sets roll up the ribbon around the wand and decorate a couple of pretty containers to put near the exit of the church.  It is a great photo op as you and your new spouse exit surrounded by soft and pretty ribbons.  Use two colors if you like to compliment your wedding colors. 

DIY Rose Frosted Mini-Cupcake Centerpieces

Photo and Credit from The Frugal Girls 

Frosted roses as cupcake centerpieces? Who would have thought? But if you are looking for an inexpensive but unique wedding centerpiece visit The Frugal Girls web site and see the step by step directions on making these great mini rose frosted cupcakes centerpieces. A nice change from a tower of cupcakes as a centerpiece on a table.

Find some interesting containers either at garage sales or Goodwill and fill them with roses for everyone at the table. Be sure you have a container large enough for the number of people at the table.

If you are looking for some inexpensive containers similar to the ones shown, I was in Home Goods on April 1, 2011 and they had some there...easy shopping and a great way to save money!

DIY Ice Scuptures

Ice Sculpture-Heart by Carlisle Photo Courtesy of http://www.galasource.com/

Looking for an easy DIY way to decorate your buffet table or appetizer table? Why not pick up a DIY ice sculpture? Carlisle offers ice sculpture molds in a variety of designs, one sure to suit any bride. They're a one time use only so you might want to pick one up ahead of time to test it out. They are on sale on the GalaSource web site so head over and take a look.