Tutorial: The Letter M

I decided I needed a little something else to go with the wedding vow canvas we made a while back. So I made an "M" for our initial to place next to it at the reception.

Supplies:

Paper Mache Letter

Paint

Scrapbook Paper

Mod Podge

Ribbon

Directions:

First, I spray painted my paper-mache "M" with black spray paint. 

When the paint was dry, I traced out my letter and then had to decided where I wanted each pattern to be (this was a little tricky because everything is opposite of what you trace). Also, I made sure my paper was a little smaller than the letter so it would seal off properly. Another thing to note, the papers should all be the exact same width so they match up perfectly. This part took me a long time to make things perfect.

Next, I got out the mod podge and went to town. I used the mod podge like glue first. I spread it out all over the letter and placed/glued the paper to the letter. Then, I spread another layer of mod podge over the paper.

Once everything dried, I added a piece of ribbon to finish it off. 

I love the way it looks with the wedding vow canvas! It will match our wedding decor perfectly :)

High Five For Friday!

Yay! The weekend is here. Joining in on High Five for Friday again with Lauren at From My Grey Desk.

1. All week I have been looking forward to our Memorial Day Camping Trip!

2. Movie day at work on Wednesday, CINDERELLA! I think I was more excited than any of the children.

3. I aced the first quiz in one of my Spring classes...96%, no big deal.

4. Adam and I put an offer in on our first house! Haven't ironed out all the details yet, so we are still unsure of what will happen, but it's been a very exciting, yet stressful process. 

(possible future house!)

5. I made some banana muffins last night. yummm.

I hope everyone else had a nice week! Enjoy the beautiful weather on this long weekend!

Three Months!

In three months, I will be a married lady! I am so excited it is not even funny! I still have so much to do though: centerpieces, invitations, a card box, programs, place cards, garter....the list goes on and on. I am loving every minute of the wedding planning though and I can't wait to see how everything turns out.

How did you get through the stresses of wedding planning? Did you do a lot of DIY projects? Share your ideas/projects with me! I would love to hear about them.

Wedding Shoes

I got my wedding shoes and absolutely love love love them!! I saw them a while ago at jcpenney and just had to have them. I searched online for white ones (they only carry black, silver and navy in the store) but I just didn't like them as much as the silver.

My shoes are Jacqueline Ferrar Abigail Peep-Toe Slingbacks in Silver. I got them for $40 as opposed to the $150-$200 I would have spent at a bridal store. Besides I like these ones much better :) I was so excited to find some fabulous shoes and save some money too! Especially since I will probably kick them off as soon as the dancing begins.

SO without further ado...

What do you think?! Did you find a good deal on any of your wedding accessories? How long did your shoes last at the reception? 

High Five For Friday!

Oh my goodness, this weekend couldn't have gotten here any sooner! I am trying to think of some fun ideas for a weekly installment on my blog, but I haven't thought of anything yet. So instead, I have decided to join Lauren  at From My Grey Desk for High Five for Friday!

Here are my five favorite things from this week!

1: I finally found a use for my milk glass vases I found a few weeks ago at a garage sale. Adam bought me these flowers a few weeks ago, a lot of them have died, but these ones are still kickin' it.

2: I picked up around the apartment last night. There was junk everywhere, and I mean EVERYWHERE, but now the place looks great :) 

3: The Bachelorette started on Monday night, and I have loved Emily since her days on Brad's season of the Bachelor. I was sooo excited when they announced she would be the next bachelorette, and I can't wait to see how things turn out for her.

4: We have reached the double digits in our WeDDinG COUNTDOWN! 98 days!

5: I am heading to a wine tasting tonight with my mommy, and I am so excited to sample all of the different Moscatos.

Did everyone else have a good week? What exciting things happened to you? Do you like the idea of me doing a weekly post?

House Hunting

A few weeks ago, my fiance, Adam, and I started HouSE HuNTinG!! We have seen some pretty...unique... houses, but we have also found some pretty nice ones. There was a house where the basement floor was raised, toilets in the middle of basement, green carpet, and wallpaper galore! It's been interesting seeing how other people live...tiny backyards, no dishwashers, etc. But overall, we have really been enjoying searching for the perfect home to start our family.

Now, I would like to think we are pretty easy going when it comes to what we are looking for. We don't really care what the house looks like; we can tear out carpet, rip down wallpaper, paint the walls, redo the cabinets, etc. But the layout of the house is where we become picky. Here is a list of our must-haves for our home:

We need a house that will be big enough to start a family. We don't want to HAVE to move when we have a few kids. So multiple bathrooms, a large basement, and a nice-sized yard for the kiddos to play in. Shouldn't be too hard to find, right?

(photos taken from realtors' websites)

Well, we have gone through 20+ homes now, and we think we've found some winners. Maybe I'll have a house to decorate by the time I'm married :)

What are some crazy things you have seen while searching for your home?

Wedding Bubbles

Another wedding project can be crossed off my list! The wedding bubbles are finished! I have wanted bubbles at my wedding for as long as I can remember, so I started saving 40% off coupons for Joann's until all my bubbles were purchased. Adam designed the logo with the saying "Blow some good wishes to the Mr. and Mrs." He likes doing that kind of thing, so I tell him how I want it to look and he goes to town. It ended up matching our theme/colors perfectly!

First I got all of our supplies ready. Bubbles, ribbon, and our logo.

**We printed the logo on 8.5x11 white cardstock and cut them all out individually.

After punching a hole in each logo, I looped a piece of ribbon through it so it looked like this:

Then, I pulled the ribbon and logo combination through the hole in the top of the bubble tube. And to finish it off, the tedious task of tying all the bows. Here is the final product!

I also made the bin for the bubbles, but I still need to add the finishing touches, so that will be a different post for another day!

What do you think? Do you like the bubble idea? Did anyone else do/plan to do something fun exiting their ceremony (rice, bells, bubbles, etc)?

Happy Wednesday!

First Day Of Classes

After a year and a half of searching for a full time job in my field, I have decided to go back to school. I like to say that I still haven't figured out what I want to do when I grow up, but that isn't necessarily true. The truth is, I would love to shop, craft, blog, and watch TV for the rest of my life, but society and finances tell me I can't. I figured I need to start doing something with my life (before I start popping out babies), so I have decided that I liked school so much the first time, I am ready to take another go at it.

This past winter, I applied to Saginaw Valley State University to pursue a Master's degree in Occupational Therapy. After pulling a few strings and meeting with the head of the department, I was able to take quite a few courses off my load, but I still have about 10-12 undergraduate classes to take before applying to the Master's program. More undergrad classes... just what every college graduate wants to hear, right?

Well, there's no time like the present, so I registered for Spring classes, and then registered again for Fall classes. If things work out, I will be applying to the Master's program this Winter, and starting graduate coursework Spring 2013. Two years of graduate classes and a few internships later, I will be a Certified Occupational Therapist. At least that's the plan anyways :)

Today is the day! I am was very excited to start a few classes today, until I read the syllabus for each class. Projects...quizzes...papers...exams...But like I said, I love school.

Although I will always be a CHippewa at heart, as of today, I am a Cardinal! Woohoo!

Has anyone else decided to go back to school after taking a long break? Did you find it easy or difficult the second time around? Anyone have any words of encouragement as I start this new adventure?

Tutorial: Canvas Wedding Vows

I figured I would post today about my most popular, and personal favorite, craft on my old blog. It is wedding vows written on a canvas. I originally saw this on Etsy, and immediately fell in love. Of course I didn't want to spend the $100+ to purchase it, so I was determined to find my own way of doing it. I came across this tutorial, tweaked it a little, and this is how it turned out.

I plan to use this first as decoration at my wedding reception, probably on the table with our place cards and guest book. Also, after the wedding, it will find a nice place on a bedroom wall or somewhere else in our house.

For anyone who is planning to do this, I must warn you it is a  L O N G  process that requires a lot of patience. 

In order to make this, you will need:

canvas (12"x24")

contact paper

x-acto knife

spray paint

iron

First, you will need to create a design of how you want the words to be laid out and what fonts you would like. I did this on Photoshop to make sure the sizes would be correct when I printed it. Once you have printed your design, the fun begins! You will need to trace all the words onto contact paper, and cut them out using an x-acto knife (some fonts I found easier to cut with scissors).

Next, lay out the letters as you would like them on your canvas. Then, peel the backing off the contact paper and stick them to the canvas. The contact paper may not stick perfectly onto the canvas, so I ironed the letters to prevent paint from getting underneath. I placed a paper towel between the canvas and iron so it didn't leave any marks.

Once you are certain none of your letters are pealing off the canvas, you are ready to paint. Continue spraying until you have the desired color. You may need to spray multiple times before you are satisfied. Then let dry.

When your paint is dry, peel the contact paper off to reveal your final product!

I love the black and white of mine, but you could make it any colors you'd like. Just paint the canvas first the color you would like your letters, then follow the steps above.

I LOOOVVEEE the way this turned out and I am so glad I decided to do this project. It was definitely worth all of the hard work I put into it. I hope you feel inspired to make this, or something like it as well!