My Hat!

My hat is here! If you saw one of my asides on my last post you saw that I wasn't sure if I was getting my hat! I received a paypal shipping confirmation email, but then got another email saying the seller had cancelled it with the reason "Changed Mind". I emailed the seller through ebay (where I "won" it) and asked if she'd changed her mind on selling the product (I'm not even sure that's allowed!) or just the shipping method. Well, I never received a response, but I did receive another shipping confirmation email - and now it's here! I don't know whether my mentioning in my email to her that I would be wearing it for my bridal shower held any weight, but I now have it in my hands and that's all that matters! So this is hat #2 I will be wearing for my shower. The other one is an off-white fedora-ish hat with a feather in the side that was my Meamaw's. I'm taking advantage of this whole being able to wear fancy hats for a day thing! So excited!



The only problem with the hat is the veil doesn't exactly come down, if that makes sense. It's kind of all over the top, not so much in the face. I'm wondering if a certain friend of mine who sews could remedy that for me... while she's working on my hat box :)

I'll post pics of my shower/bachelorette outfits as soon as... well, as soon as I find them. Moving seems to make things disappear. Or at least hide from me pretty darn well. I can't find a damn thing right now.

-C
xxx

Moving Right Along

I just feel like doing this because I got some shiz done this week! In addition to all the crafts from last weekend, I've been moving right along with other planning aspects:

Videographer - BOOKED!

Caterer - BOOKED! (also talking to them about rentaling plates/utensils, which would be awesome!)

Brunch Food - got prices

And also tons of moving-related tasks i.e. packing, address changes for all my accounts and all that fun stuff

Oh, did I mention I'm moving this Saturday?!? Who has two thumbs and has been uber busy the past two weeks? THIS GIRL! I couldn't really start packing until my invites were done, so I was up late working on those every night, and since they went out I've been up late every night packing for the move! I have so much crap. I'm just moving across town, but still - that doesn't mean the quantity of stuff to be moved is any less! I'm so excited to move. I've never had my own place before! I mean, it'll be OUR place, but still very different from living with roommates, which I've done since college! YAY my OWN fridge and freezer to fill! YAY not worrying about if someone else is doing laundry when I need to! YAY for being able to leave my wedding projects lying around instead of having to clean everything up after I'm done for the evening (or at least make a path)! YAY being able to decorate every room without having to think about if they'll like it or not!

Oh, and FH's bachelor party (they called it a "Stag Do", and bachelorette parties are called "Hen Parties") is this weekend, all weekend...

In the United Kingdom it is now common for the party to last for more than one evening, hence the increasing prevalence of the phrase "stag weekend." A spin off has been the growth of the stag weekend industry in the UK with various companies taking over the preparation of the event. In the UK, stag weekend trips are becoming mini-holidays with the groups taking part in various day time activities as well as the expected night out on the town. Groups of friends attending weekends away in the UK and even into Europe with their best friend leave home on a Friday and embrace two days of fun. The groom who normally is called "the Stag" will have a selection of tasks to complete on the stag weekend. Group activities might include paintball, kart racing, poker parties, quiz machining, and clay pigeon shooting. Stag t-shirts and fancy dress are now an accepted part of the stag night experience. The best man will usually organize the clothing and night's entertainment. Getting drunk and participating in stag activities is now the norm.

...you know, the exact time I'm moving. So he'll be getting drunk and having an amazing time... while I'll be getting sweaty and sore from lifting things in the 96 degree heat we're supposed to get tomorrow! Life isn't fair! lol.

Speaking of unfair... I also ordered/won the hat for my bridal shower from ebay. I was really excited about getting my tracking number yesterday because that meant it was on its way! But then this morning I received an email from PayPal saying the seller had cancelled the shipment with the reason "Changed Mind". What! I emailed her and asked if she changed her mind about the shipping method or changed her mind about selling it. I really hope it's the former! :( Can they even do that?? Just decide they don't want to sell it after I already paid for it??

-C
xxx

Goldfinger

I have a new obsession - "hammered gold" spray paint by Rust-Oleum. I bought it to paint my table name frames with. Then I sprayed a couple other wedding things with it. The other day I decided when I move I'm going to paint my headboard with it, too (my bedroom is green, brown and gold). I... can't... stop. Everything is going to hammered gold soon.


I took my coffee table outside to repaint it last night. I'm moving on Saturday and decided I needed to paint it before I move because once I get there my backyard is down a flight of stairs, whereas in the house I'm in now I can just roll it out the back door and paint it. Anyway, I took it out back just to touch up the scratches because I still had the brown "leather texture" paint I painted it with like 3 years ago (um, are you supposed to keep spray point that long?? oops.), but I had to touch up one of my frames with the gold first. When I turned to the coffee table I was like "what if..." and next thing I know, my table is gold.

Aaaand I love it. Oh, and yes it is laying sideways. Use your imagination (or just block out everything in the background). Due to the move, I'm lacking space. Plus I had to move it inside pretty quick because it started raining. Figures. It rains every time I spray paint. Looks like she'll be getting another coat tomorrow!


Oh right, so goldfinger? Seriously, every time I spray paint my "trigger finger" turns gold. I even wear latex gloves when painting and somehow the paint still gets in. *sigh* Oh well!

-C
xxx

Vintage Inspired Bouquet

Inspired by this: Mine started out like this.

Then this weekend MOH Cassie and I started really putting it together. I've been collecting buttons and random baubles from Aunt Cheri's Button Jar, the button jar of MOB, and various other places. I had clear jewels and rhinestone buttons and white buttons and buttons I'd previously painted a silver color for another project. I had a lot of OTHER stuff I thought was going to go into it (peacock feathers, green buttons, etc.), but it turned out looking awesome-er with all the bling! We attached each individual button and bauble to a strand of wire, pulling it through the back of the button and twisting it back down, then adding a dab of hot glue so that it would stand up and not flop around. Like so:

Then, it was all arranged into one beautifully awesome bouquet and we wrapped strands of wire around the "handle" area to keep it all together for the binding part.

Then we* binded (is that a word?) it all together, just wrapped white fabric around and around and around using hot glue to keep it taught and in place. After there was plenty of cushion, and it looked thick enough, we added the real fabric around it (same fabric that the flowers came from, which honestly pretty much matches my dress!). We added green lace (which I also used on the cardbox months ago) around the top with hot glue, just underneath the "blooms", to cover up the wire and the stems.

I added a cameo brooch that's tarnished gold, a little copper, and some green to the front, and oila! One Vintage Inspired Bouquet - coming up!

Jealous??! :)

Of the bouquet, not of my awesome sweaty hairstyle (no AC downstairs).

-C
xxx

*From this point on "we" basically means "Cassie" while I supervised/made us dinner.

Wedding Crapfest 2010 (July Edition)

As I mentioned last week, MOH Cassie, Bridesmaid Amanda, and friend Bonnie were helping me with crafts this weekend. It actually turned into quite the marathon, and a successful one at that - which makes me happy! Even though it wasn't so much the weekend as just all day Saturday. We started the day with errands (including a Michael's trip, duh), ending errands at Target where the SECOND friend of mine announced their engagement to me! Yup, that's right, two of my friends now have told me, IN TARGET, that they're engaged. Does this have something to do with my Target obsession?!? A super special congrats to Bonnie and Matt, who will be getting married next spring!!

So now Bonnie gets to torture Amanda and I as payback for helping with our weddings! :) Even though she probably thinks she's going to be doing all of her projects herself. LOL. Bonnie - trust me on this - take all the help you can get!!!

So after errands were done (and announcements made), we came back and started on the arts & crafts. Here's (almost) everything we accomplished:

Table Names (several of "our" songs and some that just remind us of each other, including lyrics). Bonnie was all over that. I mean, I painted all the frames and printed all the lyrics and stuff, but she cut the paper and put it in the frames, thus, completing the project.

Cork placecard holders (now with ribbon and finally completed!)


Hat box (for the hats I'm bringing to my fancy hat shower) covered in green fabric. Don't you love how the floral print of the box looks like it's printed on the fabric? If you can't tell in the pics, trust me, it looks cool. This project isn't done yet, but will be (hopefully) before my shower in a couple weeks!

And last, but most definitely not least, my bouquet is done!! But that gets its own post :)

Special thanks to Cassie for bringing her camera so I could take some better pictures this weekend, and also for COMPLETELY doing my bouquet and just generally for coming up from DC just to help me with stuff! Also to Bridesmaid Amanda and Bonnie for being my slaves for the day, too!

-C
xxx

Inquiring Minds Want to Know...

I received a couple emails yesterday asking what font I used on the invites. Thanks for asking - I take it that means you like it! I'm a big fan of finding new, non-normal Word fonts, so when I do invites or materials for work I tend to download new ones. I could have gone classic with a pretty script font like Lucida Calligraphy or Edwardian Script, but I wanted something fun and pretty and a little different. So I used a font called Kushtie.


I actually found it months and months ago (I don't know how many) when iDiY posted it on her blog via dafont.com. I didn't know then that I'd use it for my invites, but knew I liked it so downloaded it anyway! So there you have it folks. Mystery solved.

Are you doing your own invites or other wedding materials you need fun fonts for? A couple others that will be making an appearance on various printed wedding-related items include A Yummy Apology and Fortunaschwein, which I also found on dafont.com, and Pea Faith from KevinandAmanda.com.

A couple other free font sites include:
1001FreeFonts.com
UrbanFonts.com
Abduzeedo.com

So check out these sites and add some fun fonts to your collection! Or if you like the classic look, then don't (although you can find a new classic look on these sites, too!). Your choice, just thought I'd share for those who asked about it!

Have a fantabulous weekend! Be on the lookout for a recap of Wedding Crap Fest 2010, aka this weekend. I've got MOH Cassie, Bridesmaid Amanda, and Bonnie slaving over crafts with me this weekend!

-C
xxx

Aaaand they're off!!

Invites are officially in the mail, folks. If you didn't see yours yet, and don't want to, then SPOILER ALERT there are pics posted below! You can come back and read the rest of this post after you gets yours in a few days :) Please don't judge my invites by these sucky photos. My camera doesn't like to make pictures look awesome. ever. and the color's always so blah! Yes, the reason I got the camera in the first place is just to take normal, decent pictures, and be much better than the last camera I had. It has succeeded in those things... but now that I want it for beautiful blog pics I realize my camera kinda sucks. Even though it is green :( Yes, my camera, too, is green.

But I digress. Back to invites...

Fingers crossed that A - they all stay in tact and B - people don't think they look like crap. I know, I know, you're "not supposed to care what other people think." Come on, let's get real, that's a load of crap. I can't help it! I made all these invites FOR other people. I mean, yes, for me & FH, but they are going to be seen by 100+ other people, so how can I not hope people don't think they suck?

So the envelopes are kelly green - and so is the ribbon running down the sides of the invites themselves. And even though the side accent part looks olive, that's also just a tad shade lighter than kelly green. Thanks camera.

This one's gonna hurt your eyes, sorry, but this is the only one that really shows the true colors.

♪ Bliiiinded by the light... ♫

And here are the RSVP and Directions cards that went in with the invites.

I had so many ideas for my invites, I'm surprised I ever dwindled them all down to just one*! Well, if anyone ever needs any invites created, let me know. I've got a ton of ideas I didn't use and would love to put to good use! One of these days I'll have to put together some prototypes for the Behind The Green Veil Etsy shop.

It's been so hard dealing with the invite list, just about any bride will agree with me here. There are cousins you want to invite, but don't know their siblings very well so can't just invite the one cousin because you have to draw the line somewhere (like basically not inviting 2nd cousins as a rule so it doesn't look like you're picking and choosing). Or you want to invite one roommate, but not the other (I know I'm among the very small percentage of brides these days who doesn't live with her fiance yet!). What about happy hour buddies? Are they friends enough to invite? What about friends from high school that you don't talk to anymore, but were so close with way back when? Didn't you always think they'd be at your wedding? But you haven't heard boo from them in years (typically these are male friends, they SUCK at keeping in touch).

Then there are the friends who come out of the woodwork during your engagement. I don't think I'm alone in saying that when you get engaged, there will always be at least one person whom you haven't spoken to in years, that you either get back in touch with or really WANT to get back in touch with. I guess the latter would be because this is a major life event, and if you had any sort of good relationship with the person in the past, you kind of want them there. The only problem is... you haven't spoken to them in years, for whatever reason. The constant question of "Do I invite them?" goes through your head pretty much every day. But then you think, well this person hasn't contact me either, and what if I contact this person and they want nothing to do with me? And if I do invite them, will we lose touch after the wedding all over again, and in that case, is it worth it? Or what if they can't come for whatever reason? Did I just make an extra invite for naught? So how do you deal with all of these dilemmas?

No, seriously. I have no solution. How do you deal with all of these dilemmas?

You can say just invite whoever you want to be there and screw the rest, but it really just doesn't work that way. It's a tricky/sticky/sucky situation. I guess at some point you just have to bite the bullet and decide you're not inviting 2nd cousins, not inviting people you haven't spoken to in more than x amount of years, or not inviting (some of) the people you get drunk with on Wednesdays. Doesn't make it any easier, though, but us normal people ain't made of money. And us indecisive people need to stop thinking about it before "we" drive ourselves crazy.

-C
xxx

PS Yes the names are smudged on purpose and not on the actual invites.

*Especially considering I'm one of the most indecisive people you'll ever meet.

It's Called "Multitasking"

If your invites smell like sunscreen and/or chlorine (when you finally get them) then this would be why:

It's called multitasking, folks. Not only was I working on my invites, but I was also working on my tan. It was insanely hot while sitting in the sun, so much so that at first I jumped in the pool as a reward for every two invites finished, then I started doing it after every one, then I ended up doing them in the pool. I'm not kidding.

It was so bright out it hurt to look up at the camera!

I had to dodge the vacuum (which sprays water occasionally as it goes around the pool) AND the dog (who loves the pool and goes in a lot and shakes all over the place when she gets out). She looks so threatening:

Do you think I'll start a new trend? Scratch and sniff invites, minus the scratch? It'll make you feel like you're already at my wedding! (Note: Yes, this is where the wedding is being held, although you can't see the yard in any of these pics.)

Progress this past weekend included: making bridal hair trial and day-of appointments, getting prices for Sunday post-wedding breakfast, unloading a couple boxes of green glass at MOB's house (so I don't have to move with it in a few weeks), finding a couple new "pieces" of green glass at our local thrift store, finding another glass bowl for the candy bar, assigning my brother a couple of painting tasks (fingers crossed), coming up with projects for me and MOH Cassie to do this weekend (or the next weekend if she doesn't make it up this weekend), and invites! Saturday night this invite machine was fueled by white wine. Hey, it helped me stay up til 3:30 in the morning working on them! Whatever works, right?

38 down, 19 to go!! (of the US portion, remember, the UK portion already went out!)

-C
xxx

Empty Nest Syndrome

Ok so like I mentioned the other day, I'm still working on the US portion of my invites. I think I have about 20 completed now, so only another... 37 to go. Yikes. I'm going to be an invitation making machine this weekend. Well, when I'm not laying by my mom's pool. Orrrr... while I am. That's a good idea! Hmm... until the dog (Boston) shakes herself all over my hard work. Yeah, she likes to swim. And shake water all over you.

Anyway, today the UK portion of my invites went out. Not gonna lie, it was hard to see them go! I guess technically I let them go a few days ago when I gave them to FH to take back to London with him, but still. Now they're actually in the mail and people are going to see them! No more fixing the ribbon, fussing with the way things are lined up or cut. No more last minute design changes. It's done. People are going to see them now! And I guess my biggest fear is people are going to think they look like crap :( Yes, they are handmade... by me. Yes, I (and FH a little bit) cut every piece of paper and each piece of ribbon and hand glued it all together. My thing is that I guess I just don't want people to think it LOOKS handmade. Even though it is. Does that make sense? Just like I loooove to bargain shop, as long as the things I buy don't LOOK cheap. Anyway, I'm feeling the first pangs of empty nest syndrome since my babies are one by one flying away to the homes of others. Why is it so hard to let go?! Lol.

No pics of the invites just yet. More or less because I forgot to take any. I'll post them after the US portion goes out - HOPEFULLY next week! If I can get my act together.

-C
xxx

The Black and Brown Collision

I had the biggest brain storm last night! Well, to me it was big. In case you haven't seen on facebook, FH and I found a house to live in! Signed the lease last week. So, obviously, ever since then I have been decorating every room in my head. :) I've come to realize that I've really been decorating each place I've lived in the same way for the past 5 years, with the exception of my bedroom, and I think it's time for a little bit of a change. I guess because the rest are common areas I've been sharing with roommates and what's the point of redecorating those rooms? Anyway, my living room has the basic theme of black and white, which really just comes from the black and white Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn pictures I hung on the wall. I like it - it's clean and classic. But I've always just let them go with whatever furniture is in that room (surprisingly, I don't own couches!). Now that we'll be getting our own couches and decorating the whole room ourselves (ha - "our", more like MYself, lol), we can really do whatever we want, you know? My plan is for whatever couches we get, we'll probably put couch covers on them. I already have a couple from a previous house I lived in. So, couches are a blank canvas. My coffee table is brown. The frames my pictures are in are... black and silver. Ouch. Does the thought of black and brown together make you cringe? Well, it makes me cringe! I've been revisiting my registry recently since the invites are getting ready to go out and I want everything to be pretty much finalized on there. Yesterday I was looking at TV stands because FH is DYING to get a "TV like Mark's" (that's Bridesmaid Amanda's now husband) and says that when we do we need something sturdy for it to go on. Sweet, I'll add something to the Target registry. Easy. My first thought was I'll get a black stand to go with the pictures. Then I was really bothered by the flow of the room, since it'll go directly into where the brown bamboo bar is and then the kitchen (rust, green and yellow). Then I realized I could just get a brown TV stand... and buy new picture frames! Wow. What a novel idea! Then I realized I will have at least 10 8x10 bronze picture frames lying around after the wedding (I've been painting frames for our table names)... so I don't have to buy any new ones AND they make the room flow better with the bar area and kitchen. Also registering for rust colored pillows to really tie it together. Looks like my retro dream may come true after all! :)

Sorry, just had to share. Sadly, this made me really excited! This is what happens when you have Better Homes and Gardens and Family Circle subscriptions starting at the age of 18 (and now Martha Stewart, too).

-C
xxx

FH Projects

Well well well. FH CAN be crafty! Once he's taught properly, that is. The boy had never used a glue gun or spray paint in his life before this trip. Still hasn't used spray paint, but I'll take glue gun skills over nothing! Remember that cork placecard holder project I posted about a little while ago? Well, I decided to have FH work on it and he pretty much finished it! He did 101 of them (I started him off with like 20).

He was really happy that I took a picture of him doing crafts.

Near the end we decided they didn't all have to match because we were running out of corks. Then I found another bag of them after he left... and MOB told me Aunt Wendy had sent up a bag of corks with Uncle Randy a few weeks ago, too. (I'm going to be rolling in corks - love it!) So I'll probably do at least another 15 or so just to have extras. Plus I have NO idea how many people are coming yet! Yeah, that requires me to finish the invites and send them out... I know I said end of June but I have no idea where June went! I finished the UK portion of them, so those will go out as soon as FH puts them in the mail! Anyway, I'm not working on any other projects (except packing up wedding stuff to take to MOB's house for storage this weekend) until the US portion are finished. I think I have something like 50 left to do... FH did help me a bit on the invites as well. He cut paper and ribbon for me. (Hey, I'll take what I can get.)

Back to corks - look at this super awesome thing Bridesmaid Lela got me for my birthday! It's a cork cage! You put the corks in the top and they're caged in the bottom. There's even a little "gate" on the bottom you unlatch to get them out. LOVE IT.

-C
xxx