Cheesecake in Jar

                                   

Here we have yet another option of wedding favors or desserts in a jar.  This time it features cheesecake.  First a layer of graham cracker crust, then the cheesecake, topped with a fruit topping of your choice.  Add a sprig of mint and a lemon curl to top off this pretty dessert.  For guests who are already full from the buffet your served, add a top to the jar so they can take their cheesecake home and have it for a late night snack!  For the recipe go to Emmaline Bride, The Wedding Guide For The Homemade Bride (who quotes their source as Use Real Butter). 

For smaller no bake version using chocolate and heath bar chips visit I Am Baker's web site.  Searching the web will net still more versions of this popular dessert.

Unusual Interactive Centerpieces

I have to admit, I totally fell in love with this idea.  By now you've recognized the pieces to a game of Tetris! Offbeat Bride's guest poster Terra tells you how to make these beauties for your own wedding.  As a fan of Tetris I can see how these would appeal to the gamers out there.  Use your wedding colors or go metallic like Terra did.  You could even put them on a mirror base to give it some more glitz.  Smaller versions could be used as place cards by adding each guest's name along the cubes.  So if you've got game, head over to Offbeat Bride and see more photos and directions on how to make these Tetris-like centerpieces.

Pop Up Wedding Invitations

Visit Offbeat Bride and see how one bride, Melaina, made pop-up wedding invitations! So creative and a great way to individualize your big day! Not for every bride, but if you want something a little bit different be sure to visit Offbeat Bride to see specific directions and more photos of how she created these artistic DIY wonders!

Martha's DIY Invitations and Matching Centerpieces

Martha Stewart has once again shown why she is well known for DIY projects that aren't just creative but that don't look like you did it yourself in a dark corner of your basement! These invitations are pretty featuring shades of pink ranunculus and have matching envelopes and other stationary to go with them.  I fall in love with creative invitations and these are my newest crush! Not only that, but Martha has created DIY centerpieces that match the design on your invitations.  So whether you are a matchy-matchy bride or you want to use just one of the components, either project or both will be faboulous for your wedding.  For directions and other information on creating these wedding projects and other ideas as well go to Martha's web site.

Cookies In Support of Gay Marriage

Diary of a Mad Hausfrau published the directions for how to make these great Gay Pride wedding cookies and I had to share them with you (see the link for her page).  These are a fair amount of work to execute but the end result if well worth it.  These would make perfect favors for a gay wedding! Just bag them in some cellophane bags or serve them on your sweet table.

Back From Vacation!

Glad to be back at my computer and researching wedding DIY projects, but wow did I enjoy a week at the shore.  I left my computer at home and only had my smart phone, hence the lack of posts lately! If anyone is headed to Cape May by all means head out on a cruise with the Cape May Whale Watch & Research Center.  We headed out for a four hour cruise and saw 30 dolphins! Ten pods all at the same time! And I was worried there wouldn't be much to see!  Granted we didn't see any whales but birds and dolphins were plentiful!  Photos courtesy of their web site (link above). 

DIY Art Candles

Make these great looking candles by following the DIY directions at The Gunny Sack.  This site has some kicking DIY projects (for brides-to-be and other crafters).  Start with an inexpensive candle, a computer and printer, tissue paper, glue, an embossing gun and some great clip art (Gunny Sack suggests Graphics Fairy for Vintage Art but you can use anything).  Copy the art, print it onto tissue paper and follow the directions on Gunny Sack's web site on how to apply to your candles.  Let it cool, then wrap for wedding favors.  Great as hostess gifts too! 

Candles can be picked up for next to nothing at your local Dollar Store or acquired using great coupons during the year you are planning your wedding.  You could put your monogram and wedding date on these for centerpieces or use taller candles and use them for table numbers (find some great calligraphy numbers online and go to it!).  The only limit is your imagination (and your ability with an embossing gun and some glue sticks!)  Head over to The Gunny Sack and see all their other fun crafts!

How To Present Your Menu At Your Wedding

Tired of the same old way of presenting a menu at weddings?  Why not try the menu cutting board idea (above left).  Rustic and charming, it adds to the look of your tablescape and is easy to make yourself.  Just purchase cutting boards with a distressed finish, print your menus on some creamy paper, and run a leather thong through the paper and hang it over the handle of the cutting board.  Another 'So Simple Even Nancy Can Do It' DIY Wedding Project.  Photo courtesy of Enjoy Events Company blog.

Stirred Not Sucked???--With What???

Stirred, not sucked is the catchphrase that goes with these liqueur lollipops. No more 'shaken not stirred,' instead stir your drinks with these liqueur flavored suckers. As you swirl them around in your champagne glass, let them diffuse and dissolve adding flavor to your champagne. Use liqueurs like blck currant, raspberry or peach to make these grown up lollipops for your wedding reception. Photo from Mattha Stewart.

The recipe is Martha's as well:

Makes 24

• 2 cups sugar
• 2 tablespoons corn syrup
• 6 tablespoons water
• Flavoring extracts (black currant, peach, raspberry)
• Food coloring (burgundy, ivory, red)

Directions

1. Cook sugar, corn syrup, and the water in a small pan over medium-high heat, brushing sides often with a damp pastry brush, until mixture measures 300 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat. Stir in flavoring and coloring. Pour into lollipop molds; add sticks while still hot. Let cool completely, then unmold. Store in a single layer in an airtight container with a silica package.

Buy Blooms at BJs!

I just got an email today from BJ's Wholesale Club. It was promoting everything from great prices for flowers to wedding rings and engagement rings. This might be a good time to sign up at BJ's Wholesale Club--after all, saving money is the name of the game!

I remember talking to a very upscale florist in Philly about where to get your flowers--he admitted they bought them at one of the local grocery stores! Yikes! I didn't ask what he charged his clients for them! So don't feel bad about buying yours from BJs!

The Wholesale Club also offers some deals on travel, so stop in today and see if they can help you balance the budget for your wedding!

Lacey Water Bottles--SIMPLE DIY Project!

This is one of the easiest DIY projects I've ever seen! (And if you are a regular reader of this blog you know how I worship at the altar of EASY DIY PROJECTS.) And while I'm not personally wild about the color scheme on these I'd love them in some hot pink or lime. 

How do you make these? Simply remove the label from your bottled water (my favorite is Aquafina but ...choose your choice), cut out a new label from a yard of lace material, and then use some double-sided tape to attach it to your water bottle! Voila! Perfection!  You've changed an ugly plastic bottle to a romantic cool bottle of water, perfect for a wedding or shower.  Inspiration from A Subtle Revelry photo by Carly Taylor.

Download and Print Has New Templates Available

Download and Print is my favorite site for inexpensive invitation design.  Your cost? Anywhere from $24.95 for unlimited access to all templates for a year plus tech support for them down to free templates.  You sure can't beat the price! Of course you still need to pay for paper, ink, and assembly items (like a cutter and boner) but if you are a crafter you may have these already or know someone who does.  (This is where you fall in love with your mother-in-law to be who is a crafter from way back and knows all the ropes! Or your sister-in-law to be etc.)  Have an invite assembly party--a little wine (AFTER YOU PROOF THE TEMPLATE), some good food, and some good friends make this DIY project a winner all the way around.  I haven't tested the new templates yet (there's a Retro Pocket Fold Invitation Template, a Flourish RSVP card, and a Diamond Enclosure Card Template that have just been posted).  Visit Download and Print and fall in love! Why pay high invitation costs if you can DIY?

My favorite template is the Hydrangea template (and aside for the aesthetics of it, IT IS FREE).  Lots more options to suit every bride so visit today and tell us which you favorite is and why.  Templates are announced via email or on their Facebook page every Friday.

DIY Wedding Maps

DIY Map

For brides with an unlimited budget they can hire an expert like Laura Hooper to make one of these cute maps to enclose with their invitations or put on their web site. 

Laura Hooper Map

But if you are on a budget The Wedding Bee has solved your problem and offers step-by-step directions on how to make your own map.  I've provided the link so you can get the simple directions, it may take you awhile to get all the icons just the way you want them but it's so worthwhile once it's finished! One of those DIY projects that really accents your wedding.

Even if you aren't planning on making your own maps, The Wedding Bee is well worth visiting for inspiration for your wedding plans.

Flower Design Made Easy

The Easy Arranger by Annabelle Noel Designs, available on Daily Grommet takes floral arranging from the hands of the florist and puts it into your hands in your own home. If you're looking for a way to make your floral arrangements for your wedding look more professional and fuller, this product is for you. Watch the video and you'll see that even a klutz of a DIY'er like me can make these work! Ah my favorite kind of DIY product--klutz proof, or nearly! I guess you could still knock over the vase!

Wedding Card 'Cake' Box You Can Make Yourself

When is a cake not a cake? SURPRISE! When it's this gorgeous paper cake from Tracey Mason.

While this cake looks good enough to eat, it's actually meant for guests to deposit their gift cards for your wedding in! You can see it and the story behind it at Tracey Mason's Studio.

Tracey is a creative DIY'er who has a creative web site filled with fun to make crafts that will knock your socks off. She also created a matching card to go with this cake. Why not create a memorable gift for the bride and groom to use at their wedding? Tracey also offers how to directions for the paper rosettes that decorate this 'cake.'

Bathrooms and The Bride

OK, I know this isn't exactly a DIY project, but it is a concern of many brides.  After getting into that fancy white lace dress how do you manage to use the ladies room?  Horrors! The Wedding Bee has it covered and I'll directly quote them so there are no errors.  Our thanks to them for testing this out! It's been too long since I got married and I don't have a gown to test it out with! My additional suggestion is when you are checking out venues be sure to check out the bathrooms! You want to be sure they have a ladies room that will accommodate your dress or a dressing room you can go up to if they don't.  It amazes me how many venues I looked at that had dingy and dank ladies rooms that most brides wouldn't fit into unless they were wearing a very tight dress! So plan ahead is my tip, now here's the tips from The Wedding Bee.  Be sure to visit their site for other tips on the fun parts of wedding planning!

FROM: The Wedding Bee:

"On arrival at your venue
* Open the door of the ladies' room and look in.
* If the floor is not clean, call the venue staff and ask to have it cleaned.
* If the floor is clean, walk into the ladies' room and open the door of the handicapped stall.
* If the floor of the handicapped stall is not clean, call the venue staff and ask to have it cleaned.
This ensures that you will not later get the train/back of the dress dirty just by having it touch the floor."

In addition:

"When you need to go
* Walk into the handicapped stall. Remove (don't just pull down) your underpants.
* Facing the toilet, pull up the front of your dress to your waist.
* Walk straight forward, so you are straddling the toilet, and sit down that way. The train/back of your dress will now be away from the toilet, so you won't get them wet or dirty.
* Lean forward before peeing. That way, even if you drop the front of the dress onto the seat, you will not pee in its direction."

OK, now that we've solved that problem... on to the fun stuff!

Brown Bagging It? Or Is It?

Make fun fruit or candy filled favors for your wedding guests!  Made to look like humble paper bags these crunchy and sweet bags are an elegant way to give your guests their favors.  Martha Stewart comes through with these incredible looking favors for you to make yourself!

Fill the containers with your favorite fruits or candies and give them to your guests.  Just adding them to a table setting will give your table an elegant look.  Add fruit/candy that fits your season or your wedding theme.  For directions on how to make these great container go to Martha's web site.  Way to go Martha!

All Wet Wedding Photo

Splash back and relax! Not sure I could destroy my wedding gown this way, and if he rented that tux...there goes his security deposit! But it does look like fun!  Photo posted on Calligraphy by Jennifer's Facebook page.  Photo taken by Christofe-flers Photographies.

Cupcake Toppers

Calligraphy by Jennifer shows off their new cupcake toppers for brides-to-be to use to ask bridesmaids to be in their wedding.  Pretty and pink--but think you could probably make something similar yourself with some materials from Michael's Crafts and some practice with calligraphy.  For brides who lack the DIY gene visit Calligraphy by Jennifer.  

DIY Butterflies

Use paper butterflies in a variety of ways at your wedding.  Use these pretty paper butterflies to decorate lanterns, thank you notes, centerpieces, make mobiles or add them to make garlands or wreaths.  The only limit is you imagination.   For specific directions on how to make these pretty DIY butterflies visit Home Made Simple's web site.  Butterflies are one of the top decorations for weddings and these are SO EASY! GREAT DIRECTIONS!

For another butterfly DIY project check out http://diyweddingplanning.blogspot.com/2010/04/butterflies-to-decorate-your-cupcakes.html.  This is one of the most popular DIY projects ever!

DIY Mini Cupcake Tower

DIY Mini Cupcake Towers by Martha Stewart

These gorgeous mini cupcake towers (and yes, JUST MINIs) are easy to make and give you a decorative way to make your own cupcake towers for your wedding or if you're a maid of honor for a shower you are hosting.  Martha Stewart came up with the great idea of having cupcake towers at weddings and needless to say, like most things Martha, it's taken off!  Using hat boxes and downloadable clip art from Martha Stewart you can make these towers with not much more than a few clicks of the keyboard and some glue! How easy can it get?  Pick noted hat boxes on Martha's site so the clip art fits them perfectly.  Fast, easy, useful and beautiful...the perfect DIY wedding project! 

DIY Wedding Gift Bag With Personalized Cartoon of Bride and Groom

These gorgeous gift bags are from Studio Daedre where they were designed and handmade for Trista and Ryan's wedding of Bachelorette/The Bachelor fame. If these are a little too pricey for you consider using them as an inspiration for your own DIY bags. Cut the background out in a pastel color rectangle. Make cartoons at Zwinky web site that resemble you and your groom, and use calligraphy to add your names and the date below them. Use a glitter border and then paste them to the bags. Add some pretty ribbon (see Michael's on sale) and some tissue paper (Dollar Store variety instead of fance design seen in photo). A lot of work? Yes. Gorgeous? Definitely!

Download and Print Floral Wedding Invitations--Easy DIY Project

This vintage floral invitation can be downloaded from Download and Print and customized to suit your color scheme and wedding needs. The web site offers two videos to help you customize your invitations to suit your needs. This makes wedding invitations easy for the DIY'er.

DIY Summer Eye Makeup For Your Wedding

I know many of you are hiring someone to do your makeup. But after watching this video from You Tube and with a little practice most of you can save your money and do it yourself. Makeup for your wedding needs to be natural but with enough oomph to make your face stand out in your photos.  If this makeup doesn't suit you browse through You Tube for other videos that are moer your style.

Creative Table Numbers for the DIY Bride

What a pretty way to make your own table numbers! I saw this on Twitter, tweeted by Soiree Bliss Events! The little blue love birds are adorable.

Easy DIY Vases

Looking for inexpensive and easy vases? These vases shown on Green Wedding Shoes are Starbucks Frappacino bottles spray painted gold! Just take off the labels, paint, let them dry, and you can have a variety of sizes in your vases. 

For directions on making paper flowers visit Green Wedding Shoes DIY department.

Not a Mashed Potato Bar--

Not a Mashed Potato Bar but a Stuffing Bar! How great does that sound? And not your usual turkey type stuffing, no, these could be a variety of stuffing with great ingredients like cheese, bacon, the sky is the limit!  I have to admit this is not my idea.  I got an email from Cupcake Project with a great recipe for Summertime Stuffing Shots and I started thinking about all the different types of stuffing you could make that would make great appetizers! We all have recipes for stuffing casseroles that include good ingredients like sour cream and a can of soup (gourmet I know!) (I never claimed to be a gourmet chef, I just like to eat!).  I know I have a great one that has zucchini in it and stuffing mix and the list goes on! See Cupcake Projects recipe that has Mexican Cheese (with links for other recipes).  So if you're a creative bride who is not afraid to be just a little bit different stuff your guests at a stuffing bar!

Chalkboard Your Love

What a great idea! Green Wedding Shoes sent me this update from their site from Annie and Harrison's wedding that was all DIY! I was so impressed! But this was my favorite! I love the sentiment and I loved the way it was executed! There are other great ideas that Annie and Harrison used for their wedding that you can see by visiting Green Wedding Shoes site.  Obviously the sky is the limit for creative DIY'ers.

Chalkboarding is all over the wedding blogs, Weddzilla also had a group of chalkboards that the bride had used to save some money by doing them herself.  A favorite are below: