Special Occasions » 2/2 » DIY Inspired
31st Oct2011

Forevermore: A Hallowedding

by Dinah Wulf

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Happy Halloween Everyone!

I also wanted to wish one of my friends from college, Katie O’Bryan and her husband Tony a happy one year Hallowedding anniversary! Or should I say, Hallowversary…no wait that doesn’t quite work.  Scratch that last part.

With Katie’s permission, I received the honor of sharing her elegant and eerie Hallowedding with all of you.  With the help of her wedding planner, Carole Grogan of Bright Blue Events and a lot of imagination and creativity, this Hallowedding was frightfully fantastic to say the least.

The little details are what made the event absolutely perfect. With over eighty hand carved pumpkins and a Magician for entertainment, it was difficult to narrow down a plethora of incredible photographs.

I have to start with the honorees, the bride and groom. To fit the theme, the bride wore a beautiful Etsy feather hairpiece, blue spider earrings, and orange garter, while the groom’s attire was complete with a top hat and cane.  Katie, the eighteen months of salads paid off…GORGEOUS!

The flowers were red calla lilies with coordinating red and orange flowers for the bridesmaids.   I love the black feather accents.

The little ring box was a casket with the words, “Til death do us part” written on top and after the ceremony the guests were instructed to fill out a tombstone place card and “find your resting place”.

The guests could capture a memory in front of a Halloween photo backdrop and could also leave a special message to the bride and groom on the framed board pictured below.

Here are a few pictures of the table centerpieces atop black table cloths and accented with orange napkins.

The blue, black, and white cake was stunning with pink champagne and red velvet layers from Some Crust Bakery in Claremont, California.

Here are a few final details including the candle lighting ceremony in a giant carved pumpkin!

Happy Anniversary, Tony and Katie!  Thank you for inspiring us!

Photo Source: Chris R. Chavira Photography Phone: 310.500.9075

 

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2 Comm
20th Oct2011

Wine Tasting Party

by Dinah Wulf

I don’t know much about wine, but one of my best friends, and bride to be LOVES it.  Her mother, sister, and I decided to throw her a wine tasting bridal shower party. I have to say, it was one of the best showers I have been to.  Between the bridal shower games and the wine tasting itself we had such a great time that all the guests stayed for quite a while.  Here are a few easy DIY decorating ideas for a bridal shower wine tasting party theme.

Wine Tasting Score Cards

I made cards out of card stock and scrapbook paper that doubled as wine tasting score cards and an answer sheet to a “who knows the bride best” game. On the wine tasting score card I had instructions and a rating system for five different wines.  There were five categories including, appearance, aroma, body, taste, and finish. I supplied pencils with the letter “W” all over them, the initial for the bride’s new last name.

Wine Charms

I made personalized wine charms with each guest’s monogram.  For a complete tutorial on how to make wine charms click here.  Each guest took the glass and charm home as a party favor.

Wine Tasting

The wine tasting was so much fun.  I’ve never really done it before at a party.  I went to a local wine specialty store to help me choose the featured wines.  They were able to assist me and curtailed it to my budget.  I displayed the featured wines as part of a centerpiece as well as the wine tasting steps.

Bridal Shower Trivia Game

I wanted each guest to be able to mingle and meet one another, so I had a “who knows the bride best” game. Instead of the traditional ask and answer game, I displayed each question in a wine glass picture frame and placed them all around the room and outside on the patio.  It allowed each guest to walk around, talk, and look at the decorations. Some sample bridal shower trivia questions I used were:

  • What is the bride’s biggest pet peeve about the groom?
  • What is the bride’s most favorite feature of the groom?
  • What is the bride’s favorite sports team?
  • How many countries has the bride visited?
  • What is the bride’s favorite food?
  • Where did the bride and groom meet?
  • Where is the bride and groom going on their honeymoon?
  • Who asked whom out first?
  • Where was their first date?

If you are throwing a wine tasting party only, and not a bridal shower, consider using wine trivia questions instead.

Recycled Wine Bottle Centerpieces

Wine bottles come in so many sizes and colors and are so beautiful when they are grouped together.  I asked my friends to save their wine bottles and collected them to use as party decorations.  Click here to find out more on how to make wine bottle frames.

Hanging Tissue Paper Flowers

I made hanging tissue paper flowers out of cocktail napkins instead of tissue paper.  I decided to do this because it was cheaper than tissue paper, and the color scheme of the napkins fit the décor.  Click here for a full tutorial on how to make tissue paper flowers out of cocktail napkins.

Decorate Your Own Wine Glass

This party game was a hit!  I had a wine glass decorating station.  At the guest’s leisure, they were able to sit down and anonymously get creative.  The bride chose the winning glass. At the decorating station I had craft markers in all colors especially made for glass, gems in all sizes, shapes and colors, googly eyes, ribbon, and other embellishments. The winner received a prize and each guest took their glass home to remember the occasion.

Other Simple DIY Decorating Ideas

I framed the letters of the bride’s new last name, “Mrs. Walker”.

I used recycled wine corks to labeled the food by cutting a flat side and a slit on top with a sharp knife.

I made easy DIY cupcake decorations with the couples monogram.

I placed framed pictures of the happy couple everywhere.

I picked up recycled wine crates from a wine specialty shop to use in the décor.  Check your local wine shop.  They sell them for about $5.00 a piece, or give them away for free!

I used scrapbook paper, ribbon, and twine to embellish recycled wine bottles.

P.S. Today is the bride to be’s birthday! Happy birthday, Sara! I love you!! Thanks for always being an inspiration in my life!

 

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22 Comm
26th Sep2011

Boarding Pass Invitations

by Dinah Wulf

DIY Invitations add a personal and creative touch to any event.  These cute Boarding Pass invitations are perfect for a bachelorette party, birthday party, or destination wedding.

What I love about these, is that there are limitless fonts, colors, graphics, and free clip art that is available to fit any theme, destination, or travel plan.

I made these invites for a bachelorette party.  We are driving to Las Vegas; however a few personalized and altered touches made it work. For example, on the bottom I put “Full capacity.  Please one small carry on only.”  For the brides invite, I wrote “shotgun” as her seat number.

When designing these boarding pass invitations on your computer, consider adding the following information to make your boarding pass invitation look realistic.

  1. Name of the airline. I used “Lady Luck Airlines” because we are traveling to Las Vegas.
  2. The words “BOARDING PASS” in all caps and in a larger font.
  3. The passengers name is, of course, the invited guest.
  4. The date of the event, “boarding” time, flight number, gate number, and boarding “zone”.
  5. For the departure enter the place you are meeting.  For the arrival, enter the destination.
  6. I also added a perforated line to the right on the boarding pass and on the bottom of that section I wrote “Passenger Ticket and Baggage Claim” in a small font.
  7. Add a barcode.

I also added a free Las Vegas Sign clip art that I found on Google Images. I printed the invitations on cardstock and cut them out.

These actually didn’t cost me a dime because I already had the cardstock and black envelopes… super cute, easy, and free!

Check out my other DIY invitations with full tutorials including a Rocker themed VIP pass invite and a simple invite to fit any occasion!

Here are a few more pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

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4 Comm
19th Sep2011

Do It yourself Wine Charms

by Dinah Wulf

Did you know that September is California wine month? Me neither…

Since writing a DIY blog, I’m constantly looking for DIY projects both big and small.  One of my best friends is getting married and her family and I are hosting a wine tasting theme party for her for her bridal shower.  For the favors, I decided to give away the wine glass with a personalized wine charm with each guest’s initials.  Making custom-made do it yourself wine charms is an inexpensive way to personalize a wine tasting party.

These disposable do it yourself wine charms are very quick and easy to make. The materials needed are as follows:

  • Decorative paper and blank card stock
  • Craft punch in two sizes (I used a 1” diameter circle and a ½”
    diameter circle punch
  • Small hole punch
  • Decoupage medium
  • Paint brush
  • Wire earring hoops
  • Computer (optional)
  • Double sided tape (optional)

I have also made blank charms as well.  That way, your guests can write down or initial their own name.

Step One: Punch out desired amount of 1” circles.

Step Two: Punch out desired amount of ½” circles.  For this tutorial, I printed and punched guest initials for the front and a personalized message and date for the back.

Step Three: Use double sided tape or decoupage medium to adhere 1/2” Circles to 1” circles.  I find it easier and less messy to use double sided tape.

Step Four: Punch small hole in the top of each charm and fasten an earring hoop onto each charm.

Step Five: Use decoupage medium to seal each side.  Paint two coats on each side, allowing the glue to dry completely in between each coat (approximately 15 minutes).

Note: When applying the decoupage, the circle will curl, however after two coats are dried on both sides, the charm will flatten.

Tip: If you are making blank charms, skip step three. Then after you paint on your second coat, lay the ½” circle on top of the wet second coat and allow it to dry.

Click here to view the DIY tutorial for the matching invitations for this wine tasting party.

 

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7 Comm
05th Sep2011

Easy DIY Invitations

by Dinah Wulf

 Easy DIY Invitations

do it yourself DIY

I made these easy DIY invitations in a jiffy. If you are a fellow crafter, you probably already have these items in your craft closet.  These invitations are perfect for any party, and cost less than pre-packaged invites.

Do it yourself blog

Materials Needed:

  • Card stock and/or decorative scrapbook paper
  • Light weight Computer Paper
  • Hole punch
  • Ribbon
  • Double stick tape
  • Paper Cutter
  • Computer
  • Pre-packaged envelopes 4.75” X 6.5”

 

Step one:  Start by choosing the wording for your invites and type up the information in the desired font, style, and color on your computer.  Print on a lightweight paper and cut out.  The size of this information page should be 3.5” by 5.5”.  Another option is to use vellum paper.

Tip: There are several websites online with wording samples for any occasion if you get stuck!

Step two:  Prepare the rest of the paper by cutting out 4” X 6” base card stock for the bottom piece and 4” X 1” strips for the top strip.

Note: Three sheets of scrapbook paper will be needed for the bottom layer in order to make 24 invitations.  Less than one sheet of scrapbook paper will be needed for the top strip.

Step three: For 24 invites, cut 24 pieces of ribbon at 12” in length.

Tip: To save time, wrap your ribbon around a twelve inch ruler and snip each end.

Step four: Create an assembly line. Layer the 4X6 card, then 3.5X5.5 info sheet, then 4X1 strip in the desired position and adhere with double sided tape, on the top of the invite only.

Step five: Using a small hole punch, punch two holes approximately one inch apart in the top center of the invitation, thread a ribbon through the holes, and tie a bow.

 

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8 Comm
25th Aug2011

Kim Kardashian Wedding

by Dinah Wulf

Kim Kardashian Wedding

Let’s face it.  Most of us can’t afford to have our dream weddings in a $29 Million Dollar Estate or spend $10K on the wedding cake alone. Kim Kardashian, reality superstar and Kris Humphries, NBA NY Nets basketball player got married on Saturday, August 20th in Montecito, California.  This fairytale formal black tie event was filled with A-list celebrity guests like Justin Bieber, Jennifer Lopez, and Will and Jada Pinkett Smith.  Oh yeah, did I forget to mention that the two million dollar engagement ring was 20.5 carats?

Here’s a photo of the cover of People magazine.

My motto is copy the look for less! Who knows how much this wedding actually costs, but the best we can do is get inspired and work with our individual budgets.  This no cell phone policy high security wedding is so exclusive that I could only catch bits and pieces online and on the news.  The E! online photo gallery helped (a little). Here is what I came up with.

The Invitation

The invitation was all black and white encased in its own box with hundreds of black crystals.  It had scrollwork and script writing.  Can you imagine what the postage alone for these costs?  Geesh! Here is a picture from People online.

The Colors

Black and white!  From the table clothes to the flowers, everything was black and white.  The guests were even required to wear black and white attire only. There were black place settings and black menus with white writing.  The tables were draped in black table clothes and the chairs were covered in white fabric.

The Flowers

The flower bouquets were white flowers only. All white floral centerpieces with little moss and hedge like greenery on the bottom and 3 tall white hanging floral arrangements covered the long rectangular tables.

The Decorations

Hollywood glamour best describes this wedding.  There were chandeliers, crystal, and twinkle lights everywhere.  A black pattern lattice print stretched across the table tops and white fabric draped the walls and ceiling.  Small white tea lights graced and sparkled throughout the tables (probably the least expensive decoration of the entire wedding).  Large shiny black Hollywood regency style partitions stood in front of the tented walls.

The Cake

Oh the cake!  A dimly lit spotlight displayed the $10K black and white (what looks like) seven tiered round wedding cake. It stood alone on a round table covered in white flower petals.

The Bride

Good day LAsaid that the bride wore three different wedding gowns!  One, if not all three, was designed by Vera Wang.  My favorite part and BEST idea of the whole wedding???  Kim had a heart shaped piece of one of her dad’s old t-shirts sewn into the inside of her dress.

E! has the exclusive rights to the wedding.  The special will be aired on October 9th. We’ll have to wait to get more inspiration until then!

 

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2 Comm
29th Jul2011

DIY Centerpiece: Paper Cherry Blossom Display

by Dinah Wulf

DIY Centerpiece: Paper Cherry Blossom Display

Martha delivers yet once again! This Paper Cherry Blossom Display is a great DIY Centerpiece from Marthastewart.com. Something like this paper flower centerpiece would be perfect for a wedding or baby shower.  I actually had a cherry blossom theme for my baby shower, a pleasant whimsical theme and perfect for the summer or spring. These simple yet elegant paper flowers are embellished with wood branches and a vase.

Materials Needed:

  • Scissors
  • Vellum paper
  • Utility Knife

 

The complete steps from diagramed on Marthastewart.com are as follows.

To create five-petal blossoms, start by cutting pink or red glassine or vellum into 3 1/2-inch and 4 1/2-inch squares. Fold a square into a flat cone, following steps 1 to 4.

Using scissors, make four angled cuts to remove the top of the cone as in step 5.

With a utility knife, carve out a small rectangular sliver on each side of the cone. Snip off a tiny bit of the pointed tip of the cone, and unfold and shape the paper to yield a blossom. Collect branches from the yard, and poke their tips through the centers of the blossoms. Place the decorated branches in a tall vase filled with pebbles to anchor the display. For favor bags, fill colored-paper bags with token gifts of your choice, and fold down the closed tops of the bags twice. Punch a hole through one folded corner. Push colored brad through flower, then hole in bag to fasten.

Source: Marthastewart.com

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Also, check out these Sweet Treats, perfect for any party:

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1 Comm
30th May2011

Asian Themed Baby Shower

by Dinah Wulf

My family and I are throwing an Asian Themed Baby Shower for my beautiful cousin, Maria. Because she was having a boy, I suggested doing the party in hues of blues and greens instead of the traditional red, black, and gold colors typically associated with an Asian theme.

Here are the centerpieces I came up with. I used Chinese take-out boxes in blue and green, and embellished them with coordinating ribbon, beads, and charms. I printed out Chinese characters for “mother”, “father”, “baby boy”, “family”, and “happiness” and glued each one to the front. I layered the characters in black scrapbook paper.

I filled them with goodies for the mother-to-be to take home and added a set of chopsticks that I happened to find in my junk drawer from Chinese take out a few weeks ago!

Here are some baby shower gifts that will fit nicely into these takeout boxes:

  • Baby socks
  • Newborn onsies
  • Bath Rags
  • Small Stuffed Animals
  • Travel sized baby toiletries
  • Small books
  • Baby Bottles
  • Pacifiers
  • Rattles
  • Small Toys

These were so fun and easy to make. Maria and her husband loved them and thought the creativeness was a nice touch.

 

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10 Comm
11th May2011

Paper Flower Week: Paper Dahlia Favors

by Dinah Wulf

Have you OD’d on paper flowers yet?

Here are Paper Dahlia Favors from Martha Stewart Weddings. Group a few on your tablescape to create flower bouquets.

Read the How-To at Marthastewartweddings.com: Paper Dahlia How-To

You may also like:

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2 Comm
06th May2011

LA Laker Cupcake Decoration

by Dinah Wulf

So it happens to be NBA Playoff time, and my Los Angeles Lakers aren’t lookin’ too hot right now. I figured I’d better inspire myself and make a good luck cupcake decoration to bring to a Laker party tonight. This was quick and easy and I did it in less than a half an hour. Go Lakers!!!

Materials:

• Computer and printer
• Colored paper
• Circular punches (1” and 2”)
• Glue stick
• Hot glue gun
• Toothpicks

Step 1: Google Images is my best friend. Look up your team’s logo and copy and paste it (as many times as you have cupcakes) on a Word document at 1” in diameter and punch them out.

Step 2: Punch out your team’s contrasting color with a 2” punch.

Step 3: Glue the logo onto the 2” circle and hot glue a toothpick on the back.

Step 4: When the glue is dry, insert them into the center of your cupcake (mine are deliciously store bought) and enjoy!

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6 Comm
01st May2011

DIY Crafts: Parasol Topiaries

by Dinah Wulf

One of my favorite Blogs for party ideas that I stalk daily, Hostess With the Mostess showed how to make these adorable DIY paper parasol topiaries out of inexpensive drink umbrellas. They would make cute decorations for a summer or Cinco de Mayo party (or as my friends would call it, Cinco de Drinko).

Need More DIY Party Ideas? Try:

Check out these Sweet Treats, perfect for any party:

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