Table Squares and Centerpieces: Part One

I'm finally ready to share with you all what I'm doing for my centerpieces.  Reason being, I'm finally done making the table squares!

So let's start from the beginning.  Our venue provides us with circular tables that seat 10.  This includes chiavari chairs, white linens, and white napkins.

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My initial, very first thought was renting green tablecloths to match our colors.  Something like this:

 source unknown

Two problems:  why spend the extra money, when the white are free? And good luck matching my green!  So that was out.

Then I thought about renting green table runners to add some color to the table, like this:

source unknown

But again, there was the problem of finding the exact chartreuse green, and there's just something about renting that I don't like.  It feels like a waste of money to me.

So then I decided it would make more sense to make something that I could later sell.  And there entered the idea of making table squares.  I found green material at JoAnn's that was on sale, so I bought the bolt, not knowing how much I would need, and figuring I could use the extra material for other projects.  So for $50 I was able to make 30 table squares and I still have probably 4+ yards left over.

Here we are just about finished.  I turned the edges in 1/2" and then in again 1/2" so there were no raw edges showing in the back.  It took forever ironing them all in.  But I discovered you don't have to put ironing boards all the way up, who would have thought?!  I would set ours up at the perfect height so I could sit on the couch and iron at the same time.  That way I would do 3 or 4 a night while watching TV.
Right now they're all ironed under and held together with an iron on hem thing.  They'll stay the way they are, but I'm thinking I'll probably actually stitch all of the hems as well just to be sure.

 

In part two tomorrow, I'll show you what's going along with these table squares, so stay tuned!

And just so you all know....the 30 of these will be for sale after my wedding!

My First Cricut Projects

Remember how I said I was getting a Cricut for Christmas?  Well I finally got to put it to good use in these last couple of weeks.  I've just been messing around with it, and I'm still figuring out how it works.

The first thing I did was make thank you cards for my bridesmaids.

And the envelopes they go inside of.

The Cricut cut out the green Thanks! and the white paper is showing through.  It also cut the cute little black trim, and the template for folding the envelope.  Easy enough!

Then today I wanted to play with it some more, so I used it to cut out large letters to make posterboards for work.  We're going to Cheerleading State in Springfield in February and these will be much needed.

It cuts out so quickly!  I could see this being an awesome tool for teachers for decorating bulletin boards in classrooms.  I love this little toy, and I can't wait to start getting into some advanced projects with it.

The Rings: Mine

So as you know, I've been a pretty bad blogger lately, as far as consistency goes.  But I've also been holding out on you guys.  So for the rest of the week, I'll be getting you all caught up to date on what's been going on with our wedding.

And today we'll start with the rings.  I've actually had my wedding band for a couple months now.  We bought it before Christmas, and be we, I mean Mr. T put money in my bank account and I went and picked it up.  I just love the size of my fingers, because I've always been able to walk into a store and walk out with the ring on my finger without having to have it resized or ordered.

You might have seen my engagement ring already, if you've been following along for awhile.  It has a wedding band soldered onto it already because it was Mr. T's great grandma's ring.  So I knew I needed to find a band that wasn't too big, and had a top that went straight across.  And since the diamond in the engagement ring is on the smaller side, I also knew I wanted something a little sparkly.
Here's what I came up with.

I got it from J B Robinson where Mr. T has bought me jewelry from before.  The cost of the ring including tax and all insurance was $266.48 on sale.
Here are a few more pictures to feast your eyes on.

 

You can see how well the bands line up together.

 

I took this picture last weekend at my parents house; their Christmas stuff is still out.

The only thing I don't like about my band, is that it has no surface area on the inside for engraving because of the way the diamonds are set.  But we'll put something on Mr. T's ring and that will be just fine.

My Dress

Okay, so since I've been gone for so long, and I keep promising you guys all sorts of wonderful things, and then continue to fail to produce, I'm going to start off with a bang and show you all my dress!

So if your name happens to be Mr. T and you would like to continue to have no knowledge of what I'll be walking down the aisle in.....definitely don't continue!

I'm Finally Back

And I have missed you all!!!

I've been back in IL for the last two weeks, and for a short time I was doing good posting and reading all of your blogs, and then my sister went and broke the computer so I haven't had any internet access.  I can't wait to go back through all of your old posts and get caught up.  Is it sad that I feel like I've been missing out on everything?! haha

I got a lot done while I was home and I'll be sharing it all with you over the next week, so stay tuned!

A Tentative List of Things To Do

This has been a long time coming, and it probably won't be 100% complete because somehow I've managed to misplace my wedding binder with everything important in it.  Don't ask me how I did it, because the thing is like 3" thick and has an obnoxious front cover on it.  My only guess is that it's somewhere logical and not really lost at all.  But between my apartment at school, my parents' house, and our house in Minnesota I can't seem to locate it at the moment.  So this list happens to be coming from the top of my head.

-Decide on a DJ We have already signed with our DJ company, but we missed a couple "Meet the DJ Nights" already and have yet to pick out who we want
-Go and talk to the florist We have a deposit down, I just want to finalize what is in season, see what I've changed my mind about since last spring.  And I need her opinion on how to make my hurricanes work as vases.
-Get Mr. T to pick out a wedding band so I can buy it
-Start looking and maybe hopefully book our honeymoon At first we didn't think we could do one, but I've been home working and will do so again in Feb. and March so I've decided to devote that money, plus a large graduation gift to it.
-Finish the invitations and get them mailed out
-Finish the coasters I started I'm about 1/3 of the way through them
-Finish the table squares I have 20 of 30 ironed and the edges are ready to be sewn.  I need to iron the rest and then sew around them all.
-Finish the favors I believe around 200 of the 300 are done
-Put the handles on the totes I made for the girls
-Finish the felt flowers as the finishing touch on the clutches
-Pick up my dress and have Zan alter it It fits perfectly but it needs to be hemmed still
-Get the bridesmaids' dresses dry cleaned and altered
-Finish my guestbook
-Buy and personalize the aisle runner
-Make all of the bows for the tulle swagging at the reception
-Get the rest of the hurricane tops for the vases/candle holders for centerpieces from Jane They're in the basement of the store somewhere, I need to find them
-Get the votive holders and votives from Jane She found tealights for $0.20 when she was at the gift show last week, so I'm going to do that instead of tealights like I originally planned.
-Go and talk to Yvonne about the cake My mom's friend, who is an amazing cake person is doing our cake and I need to talk with her about what I'm thinking.
-Get all of the guys in and get them fitted for tuxes by the beginning of February We're getting them from a local shop in town and our wedding falls during Prom season so we need to get in there early.
-Finish the flower girl dress I'm working on or find an alternative if it fails
-Take the "compatability test" our pastor wants us to do and then go through the counseling with him in MN 
-String the letters inside of the wreaths
-Make more of the escort cards for the people I already know are coming for sure
-Do up some mock wedding programs so I know what I want when it's time
-Get cocktail napkins from the reception I talked to the guy and he said I can get some ahead of time to stamp on and place at the bar.
-Gather the rest of the wedding pictures from all of the family members
-Call the hotel and see how the blocked rooms are doing
-Make invitations for the rehearsal dinner and decide on any decorations
-Finalize the music for the ceremony and reception
-Call the lady who plays the organ at the church and see if she can do our wedding
-Make the pocket squares for the guys
-Get everything together for the out of town bags We have been collecting maps of the downtown shopping area and the town and such from our Chamber of Commerce.  I still want to put together a list of the churches in the area and their service times in case anyone wants to go on Sunday morning.  And then I need to make a trip to Sam's Club and stock up on things to put in their bags.
-Put together the kids' favors
-Finalize transportation plans for the day of My aunt's ex husband owns a bus and he is going to let us use it for the day of.  It fits thirteen so it  could take the wedding party back and forth.  We're also looking into renting a larger bus from my parents' friends that can act as a shuttle to and from the hotels.
-Gather the rest of the supplies for the bathroom baskets
updated
-Figure out what Mr. T is doing for his guys' gifts

That's all I can think of for now.  I'll be adding to it as I remember.  Hopefully it can help you guys remember some of the little things you might be forgetting or didn't think of.

p.s.  Sorry for the lack of posting, and the boring posts when I actually do.  I don't have my computer with me so I don't have any of my pictures.  And I don't have my computer cord for my camera, so I can't share the ones I've been taking while I'm home either.  But after next week things should get back to normal!!

My Dress Is In!

I got some very exciting news the other day!  It seems as though my dress, which I ordered way back in May, is finally in!  And it happens to come at a perfect time too.  I'm back in Illinois for the next two weeks and I need to make one more trip to get the last of my things from my apartment at school.  So while I'm doing that, I can pop in and take a look at my dress.  I think I might go in and try it on, but not get it quite yet.  My parents want to wait a few more weeks so they can get caught back up from the stress on their wallets from the holidays and their upcoming trip to Mexico before they have to pay the remainder of the balance.
So if everything goes accordingly, I'll be making the trip down tomorrow or Wednesday, and I'll come back with pictures to share with you all!  I haven't shared a thing about it with you yet, so I hope you're excited!

Happy Monday!  I'm actually going to be working for the next two weeks while I'm here, so I know again how some of you feel to wake up on a Monday morning and have to actually get up and get going!  Although Chief has made it a little easier on me, since he gets up at 6:30 every morning, so I'm slowly getting into that routine.

Bridesmaids' Gifts

I think this post is safe in writing, since I actually don't have anyone following me that I know, including all of my girls.  For some reason I just haven't shared this blog with any of my friends and family.  Mr. T knows I write and he checks it occasionally, and I've showed my mom a post or two, but that's the extent.

So since I don't have to worry about any nosy girls, I'll show you what I've got going so far for them.

I made them bracelets that match the dress with beads, wire, and toggle clasps from Hobby Lobby.

Here is the necklace I bought for them all from Gordman's that I told you about previously.

You saw the totes I made, that still need a handle to finish them off.  I'll probably get that done when I'm back in IL for the next two weeks.

And the clutches I threw together with Mrs. Peep Toe's tutorial.

I also found these green shirts that match on sale for $2 each this summer at Joann's.  I'm going to have them screenprinted or embroidered for them to wear to a shower or some sort of wedding event.

These pedicure sets were in the $1 bin at Target and I had to grab 5 of them.  I'm a sucker for things in my wedding colors!

These aren't as much as gift, as an accessory to their bouquets.  I'm going to put their initial or a picture of the two of us in this little bead frame and string it around their handle.  I found this at Joann's for a dollar or two.

I threw together this little cosmetic bag that I'm thinking would be a cute little addition to the tote for the day of the wedding.  I'm going to have excess of this green material from my table squares so I think I'll make these for the girls as well.  I just made this with what was laying around the house.  For the girls' I want to use a black zipper, and possibly include a black trim/bow across the front.  I'll be sure to show you how they turn out.

That's all I've got going on so far.  Since I've been making most of it myself, and buying cheaply along the way I haven't racked up too high of a bill yet.  I'm sitting around $30 a girl which isn't bad at all.  Since there is a nice variety and amount, I'll be able to give them a little thing or two at my showers and then put together a nice gift to give them at the rehearsal dinner.  I'm also hoping to treat them all to go get a pedicure with me right before the wedding, and that should do it.

What are you doing for your girls?  Have you noticed yourself going a little overboard?

I've Been Doing Some Shopping!

And I wanted to share with you all what I've found.

The other day I was at Menard's looking for some things and I had to take a walk through the Christmas section since it was on sale.  Among other things non wedding related, I found these:

They're called ribbon garland, and it's a 5.5" wide and 25 feet long sheer ribbon.  They were half price and I think they were about $1.50 each or so.  I'm not sure where the receipt is so I can't let you know.

A month or so ago I found this wrapping paper at Hobby Lobby and wrapped all of my Christmas presents in it.  I loved it so much I bought two more rolls of it at 1/2 price.

 

I have no idea what I'm going to do with it, but they were on sale for $4.00 for a roll of 100 feet.  I already lined some of my envelopes, but I'm thinking this might be a better alternative.

Then at my new favorite store in Minnesota, Fleet Farm (also known as Farm N Fleet in IL) I was wandering through the Christmas section and found these white lights that I've been needing to get for awhile now.

12 boxes might be overkill, I'm not sure yet, but we'll see.  They were on sale for less than $2.50 each so I grabbed a bunch.  I'm planning on stringing them with tulle in swags on the front of the head table, cake table, entrance table, etc.

My latest trip was to an awesome store on the way home from our New Years trip to Milaca Unclaimed Freight.  It's a store that has incredibly reduced prices because they sell merchandise that was never claimed by stores, trucks, etc.  We did a lot of wandering and bought way more than we had planned on.  Originally we just went in to look because we had driven by multiple times and were very curious as to what it was.  But we came out with plates, boots, candy, wedding things, and a few other items.

I found nine packages of these envelopes marked $1.99 each.  They have 12 envelopes each, and although it's not quite enough for all the invitations I'm going to need, it's very close.  I'm going to use them for the RSVP envelopes that my guests will send back.  They're the color "Cricket" by American Craft Cardstock.  The two little containers are "Cricket" colored embossing powder at $3.69 each.

I also found a bunch of coloring and activity books that ranged from $0.80 to $0.90 each so I grabbed 10 of those.  The two packages of 64 crayons were $1.19 and then I found the coolest pencils that I used to love when I was younger.  You take the little piece out of the top and shove it into the bottom and then there is a new sharp point of lead.  They were 10 for $1.

So I'd say I've had some success so far!

P.S. On a totally non wedding related topic, I have a short story to share.  My mom just called me 1/2 hour ago to ask me a question about the Bachelor on ABC.  My aunt called her and said there was a girl on their from my home town so my mom called and asked me about it.  I knew exactly who it was when she said her first name and what she did.  So then I turned it on to watch, it was so funny to watch her on there.  She didn't make it, by the way.  I actually went to homecoming with her younger brother my freshman year of highschool.  That's all.  Just thought it was interesting and wanted to share.

My Non New Year's Resolution

In the matter of full disclosure...and because I love you all...I have something to share with you.

I currently weigh about 10 pounds more than when I tried on and ordered my wedding dress.  And it was a sample in the store I tried on, and I ordered the exact same size, which means the one I tried on is probably a little bit stretched out.  Which means I'm probably around 15 pounds from fitting into my dress.  And I was hoping to drop another 10 past the 20 from last spring, so I've got some work to do.

Two things.

One: it has a corset back, so anything after 8 and I'll probably be fine.
Two:  I've known this, and have been planning on fixing this problem and purposely putting it off until now.

Here's how it happened.  Last spring I dropped 20 pounds (all the stupid college weight!) and then ordered my gorgeous dress.  But I did it by simply cutting back on my calories, and didn't step foot in a gym one single time.  So then this summer rolled around and I moved up to MN and spent weekend after weekend camping and drinking and eating entirely too much.  And then it was fall and I was back at school, and more or less slightly depressed from being away from Mr. T and at a school I didn't like all that much.  So it all just kind of came back.

I've known all along that when I got up here and the holidays were done and I was all settled in that I would start eating healthy again, and actually go to the gym and work out this time.  It just so happens that it coincides with the New Year.  But I'm not at all labeling this as a "New Year's Resolution."  Because for me they are totally pointless, and I don't make it past a week or two anyways.

So now I'm starting a journey to get back to where I feel good physically, and mentally, because I'm pretty much at my breaking point right now.  It's a little bit for the wedding, and mostly for me.

Mr. T has keys to the football weight room for Concordia University, so I made him take me to work out today and he kicked my ass.  In a good way.  I'm going to be so sore tomorrow, but I love that I'm finally getting my body moving again and lifting weights.  That used to be my favorite part of cheerleading and soccer in high school.
So we decided that I would come over to his work everyday and he'd take an hour break or so and we'd go and work out.  I'm excited!!

I know it's only kind of wedding related, but I'm going to follow this up with a starting point of my weight and measurements, not holding anything back.  I'll check back in about this every few weeks and let you know how many days I worked out, what I've been losing, etc.  That way you guys can yell at me if I start slacking off.

Are any of you working on losing weight or getting back into shape for your wedding?  Did you make any New Year's Resolutions this year?