Done and Done

Ok so I was trying to hold off and make my next post the one with the link to voting for the cardbox but... well, I have no idea when the voting is going to start! Apparently Amanda at RuffledBlog received so many submissions (:() that she extended the entry deadline to the 27th and now is uploading each submission on her site one by one. When she's finished uploading them all (as of this afternoon she's only up to entry #16 and I have no idea how many entries she received!), voting will begin. So for now I'll keep visiting her blog every 10 minutes until mine comes up (JK... or am I?). But I did finish and submit my cardbox for the contest! Even though the deadline had been extended so I didn't really have to rush and finish it like I did. Oh well, it's done and I wouldn't change a thing about it! Thanks for all the input on the design and decorating of my project (emails as well as comments). I love finding out someone new is reading my blog! And that keeps happening since I've been posting on twitter and facebook about it. It makes me a little bit giddy when people say they read my blog and yet they're not a follower so I wonder how many people out there read it and don't follow! In my head, it's A LOT. In real life, I'm sure it's like 10, but I'll stick to my fantasy world thanks.

I refer to all my non-followers that read my blog (lovingly) as my stalkers. It's cool, I was a blog stalker (blalker?) before I had my own blog and realized how exciting it is to get a new follower! So I'd be a complete hypocrite (which I sometimes am, but not in this case, I swear) if I didn't also have love for those who "unofficially follow" me. I love everyone who reads my blog! It's been really great to have a sounding board for all my ridiculous ideas, and finding out that apparently I'm funny. Who knew? Well, I suppose this post isn't funny. I'll try to be twice as funny next time to make up for it. Or not because maybe it's when I don't try and people just find humor in how... cool I am.

Anyway, here are some pics of the finished cardbox. I know you've all been anxiously awaiting them (because they look soooo different than the pics from the almost finished cardbox - not). Voting instructions coming soon! I hope you'll vote for me and not someone else after I send you there... I am kind of worried because everyone so far seems to be a person with an etsy shop or something. Not fair!
-C
xxx

Wednesday = Cardbox Completion Day

Well, not every Wednesday, but this week it does! It has to, really, since the contest ends tomorrow. Sorry if I'm boring you guys with all the cardbox deets. I promise when it's done I'll move on!

So, here's what the pearls will look like once I figure out a way to sever the necklace they're on without the pearls going everywhere (don't worry, they're fake pearls I've had since like 7th grade). Keeping them on the string is key, I just need to stare at it a bit more to figure out how to cut it. Or maybe if I just stare at it long enough, the problem will solve itself. That works sometimes, right?

I like - you? Tonight it will be finalized, so speak now or forever hold your peace!

As you know, FH was visiting last weekend. What you might not know is that we had shirts made for 8 of us and took him out to celebrate St Pat's... 3 days late. The awesome Bonnie of un de six strikes again! She made the shirts (and drank with us of course). Ch ch ch ch ch ch check 'em out.

(dave dave davedave dave dave dave dave davedave dave dave dave davedave dave)

(bridesmaid Amanda)

Pretty sweet hangin around with someone who can do stuff like this, eh*? (The bottom of the shirts say "Drinking until we all have accents." lol) She's also making shirts for bridesmaid Amanda's FH's bachelor party in Vegas. Can't wait to see what those look like!

Boy is this my holiday! I wore green from Tuesday - Saturday last week. Including green eye shadow. It's the one week I could do it that many days in a row and not look like a freak! St Pat's is also MOB's bday so wish her a happy birthday ya'll! Yeah, it was a week ago, so what? I didn't miss it... but you did :)

-C

xxx

*this eh's for you Lela

Guess who's back!

Me! Sorry I've been MIA. FH was in town for a little over a week, my internet at home has been down since 3/11*, AND I've been uber busy at work preparing for today's big event. As in, not-even-time-to-check-my-twitter busy. Now THAT'S busy.

Funny story - MOB loves the term FH. I think she's happy she knows what it means. Like when she learned LOL (although I'm not sure she knows what it means other than that it replaces "haha"). I should give you a pop quiz on all the terms, Ma! Honestly, though, I have to admit when I first started reading wedding blogs, most acronyms are easy to figure out, but some are really difficult! Some are also just pointless. Like CP = centerpiece. Really? Is that necessary?? I also think some people make up their own just because they don't feel like typing them out. Unfortunately (UFTLY), they are the only one who know what it means! Lameness (LMNS).

So here are some acronyms typically associated with wedding blogs, for those of you that don't read them, but read mine because you're my friend, and for those of you that don't care enough to google them, so you'll know what the hell I'm talking about when I use them:

MOB - Mother of the Bride
FOB - Father of the Bride
FIL - Father In Law (also can have an extra F in front for "Future", as in Future Father In Law)
MIL - Mother In Law (also can have the extra F in front for "Future")
SIL - Sister In Law (also can have the extra F in front for "Future")
BIL - Brother In Law (also can have the extra F in front for "Future")
MOG - Mother of the Groom
FOG - Father of the Groom
RD - Rehearsal Dinner
DOC - Day of Coordinator
WP - Wedding Planner
DIY - Do It Yourself
FW - Future Wife
FH - Future Husband
MOH - Maid of Honor
BM - Bridesmaid
GM - Groomsmen
FG - Flower Girl
RB - Ring Bearer
OOT - Out Of Town (Guests... or Bags)
STD - Save the Date (Get over it people, this is an acronym that is used A LOT, and not just by me. It does NOT mean sexually transmitted disease in the wedding world!)
TY - Thank You

I have 3 days to finish my cardbox project. Crap. Wish I could do it by typing. I can't exactly bring a bright green cardbox and crafty tools with me to work. Preeeetty sure that doesn't look work-related.

*FH probably secretly enjoyed the fact that my internet was down. He even hates when I check my BlackBerry when he's here! Although we did use it to pick our vows this weekend! :)

UPDATE: I have had a request to add AOB (Aunt of Bride) by Aunt Cheri of the infamous Aunt Cheri's Button Jar! Of course, it applies to all Aunts of the Bride, and while I'm at it, AOG, UOB and UOG as well!

Cardbox Update

What has two thumbs and decides it's a good idea to start crafting at 11:30pm on a work night? This girl. This is what I've been trying to avoid aaaall along. I have this problem where I get really motivated to do everything at ridiculous hours of the night, which is why on Friday and Saturday nights I usually end up staying up later when I don't go out than when I do. So I try to keep it limited to just those two nights otherwise I'll be a zombie at work... well last night I came home from work, had some din din, went to volleyball, then came home and tried to fight off the crafting bug that came over me for like an hour. I tried to pretend like I could just go to sleep and wait until tomorrow (tonight) when I would stay up until 4am cleaning my house like a madwoman (see footage below) because FH is coming Saturday, and also somehow manage to work on my cardbox. Riiiight. So I realized that wasn't going to happen and/or I was going to drive myself insane and broke out the glue gun, lace, and glue dots. Sounds like an interesting night, doesn't it?

Anyhoo... I'm very proud to say that I finally stopped thinking about it and just did something with my cardbox. I got a lot of good comments and emails about what I should do, but ended up doing this:

I know, more green lace wasn't even one of the options! Sorry. I can't fight what the creative juices tell me what to do. I was attempting to do a lace frame for the Cards card, got frustrated, and was like hey what if I... ok yeah I like this let's stick with this. Then after that I opted for lace cascading down the sides because the sides needed something. The side lace isn't on permanently (glue dots, what) yet because I need to iron it and as much as I wanted to craft last night, I did not feel like turning the iron back after I shut it off thinking I was done after adding the lace to the middle. But once it's ironed I envision it beautifully cascading down the sides and onto the table. BUT I'm still thinking of adding pearls. Thoughts?? Again, please ignore the binder clips. I had to string the pearls together so they wouldn't fall all over the place and the clips are holding them onto the string for now. I think I want to add them to both layers, to the front three sides.


And hey, anyone care to see what wedding crafting has done to my room? Oh, just taken it over, that's what:

This is what happens when you live with roommates, feel bad about taking over any room in the house other than your own, and have a small room. I don't even want to show you the other "this is what happens to the other stuff BECAUSE of the wedding stuff" areas.

-C
xxx

Time

Sorry I've been MIA. I've been traveling for work and... well, just plain busy to be honest. I know you all were probably crying without my posts... HA, right. Anyway...

Ok even though the other day I said let's not worry about time, now I'm blogging about time. I can be hypocritical at times... or is that just being plain difficult? or in denial maybe? I don't know, whatever. I'm changing my mind! Time! I need more of it! (energy, too!)

and you run and you run to catch up with the sun, but it's sinking
racing around to come up behind you again

Where do the days/hours/weeks go? I know everyone wishes for Friday every Monday, but really? Every time Friday comes around, I blink and it's Monday again. The sock monster isn't eating socks anymore, he's eating weekends. Seriously. I always think I'm going to get so much accomplished every weekend and then poof - what weekend? And while on one hand, I want the next 6 or so months to fly by so that my fiance can be here for more than a week at a time, I am so not even close to having this wedding planned and the idea of only having 6 months to do so when weeks are flying by so quickly blows my mind!

every year is getting shorter, never seem to find the time

I NEED TO START WORKING OUT LIKE WHOA. I've said it before, I'll say it again, my gym at work is WAY too far away. 20 floors down to the lobby, maybe 20 feet to the next elevator bank, 3 floors up another elevator. GOSH! I wish they'd make it a little more accessible... or maybe I just need more TIME (ok and motivation) to go there. Or at least not be so damn tired when I get home from work that I can't even do a 30 minute workout DVD - oh, and I also need time to clean up some of the clutter in my room so I have SPACE to do said workout! I really wish I were one of those people that loses weight when they're stressed out, but nooOOOooo, I'm one of the ones who eats MORE when they stress! Great.

We just hired a new coordinator for my department and I'm really hoping she can help me free up some time at work - so that I don't have to work late - so that I don't come home late and/or exhausted and not wanting to do anything - so I have time/energy to do more than just have dinner and lay on my bed thinking about all the wedding projects I need to be doing... like that contest I plan on entering. Can't really do that without time. But so far all she's doing is creating more work for me - because she's too good! She gets everything done so damn fast that I don't even have time to get another project ready for her.

home, home again
i like to be here, when i can...

I also need just a smidge of motivation that some of my friends have. They MAKE time for all this stuff. That's one recipe that hasn't been passed along to me just yet...

So... in recap, in case you haven't noticed, I need a few more hours in the day.

Thanks for listening :)

-C
xxx

The Crappiest Part of Wedding Planning...

How exactly does one make a Porta Potty not sound... gross? One of the not so glamorous parts of planning my wedding is finding a suitable bathroom facility. I love how all the companies that rent them out have terms for them that try to make it not sound so gross. Newsflash, porta john companies, it doesn't matter if you call it a temporary restroom or a porta potty, or if you make up different levels like maxim, premier, ambassador, deluxe, platinum, gold, etc. No matter the descriptor, the stigma of the portable bathroom does not fade. It's something that when everyone hears is their only option, they all of a sudden can hold it for hours for fear of stepping foot in something so horrid.

Unfortunately there's not really a way around it. We have two bathrooms inside the house but A - don't want people trampling through the house B - don't want to have to deal with the possibility of one getting clogged and someone having to roll up their sleeves and get in there and fix it and C - the second one is in my mom's bedroom and that's just not right to have strangers (to her) walking through there. Hence, we need "temporary restrooms" in the backyard.

Sure, there are plenty of "luxury" options, but I'm wondering... are people even going to notice I spent the extra dough on it? Or will the porta potty stigma follow it no matter how "luxury" it is? And let me tell you, these suckers ain't cheap! Not even the standard ones are really.

*sigh*

Anybody got any advice? Will it really matter if I shell out the extra $$ for the nicer ones? Should I go with something in the middle because nobody will care? Or do I just let people hold it all night?

Hm... maybe I'll send everyone adult diapers with their invites.

-C
xxx

Holy Craft Contest Batman!

I don't know why I'm so excited about this. I've already told you all that I never win anything. But, alas, this one isn't so much based on luck as it is skillz (that's right, with a "z"). Plus it'll make me finish a project. That's really why I want to do it. I mean, the $500 prize doesn't hurt either, but I think I'd... well, there are so many phrases for what one might do if something they never expected in a million years to happen then happened to them, so you pick one, and I'd do that if I won.

Soooo I'm thinking I'm going to finish my cardbox as my entry. I already asked Ruffled Blog's Amanda if I could use that even though I already started it and she gave me the thumbs up. Now I need to finalize my design! I also need to find time to actually do it! Along with finding time to clean my bedroom and make some space for my fiance and his suitcases that will be here for a week... and I'm going to sunny California for work for three days next week... sooo I need to find time... but I also need to finalize my design! Let's work on that now, worry about the time issue later. Deal? I need your help my lovely followers (both official and unofficial!)! I've got lots of options...

There's doubled-up lime ribbonpearls: straight acrossswag style (please ignore the binder clips)and/or on the different part of the "cake"lime green buttons strung across (probably swag style)or there's always faux flowersfabric flowersantique gold buttonsor even feathers (wouldn't use them like this, just wanted a picture with them in it).

I'm also thinking about putting a "sign" that says "cards" in some lover-ly font on the big empty front section - what do you think about that? I could do it in ribbon, or on a card I make a fabric holder for and stamp the word on (I also have a letterpress I've never actually tried out!). I am also open to suggestions!

Sorry the pictures are so bad. Good thing is, it makes the cardbox look really vintage. It's MUCH greener in person, though, but for some reason my camera doesn't like to let other people know that. Right, and I probably should have thought about how horrendous my room looks when I was taking these pictures. Sorry, I was blinded by the cardbox's sheer awesomeness and didn't notice all the clutter until I uploaded the pics*. Lol. Thoughts? I need your help!

-C
xxx

*Yes, that is a green wig in the background. I swear it's only for St. Patty's Day.

I Heart Fishing... Line

I LOVE THIS! I've been trying to come up with something unique for where we stand during the ceremony, since there's not really an altar or anything in my mom's backyard. I am totally doing this.

My Sweet And Saucy

Seen on Dog n' Bird

It's so simple looking - and simple to do as well! Fishing line + flower buds = easy peasy decor project! I'm even gonna go out on a limb here and say either real or fake flowers would work. Maybe it's just because I'm obsessed with fake flowers (have you noticed? not yet? ok i'll blog about it sometime.), but honestly? With fake flowers you can assemble them ahead of time and just run out and hang 'em in the trees the day before or something. No wilting, no worrying about breaking them either. Who doesn't like projects they can do ahead of time?

Have I mentioned how much I heart fishing line? Fishing line and I are LIKETHIS now. Is there anything fishing line can't do??

At my wedding, fishing line will be...
-holding flower buds (duh)
-how I tied the buttons onto the boutonnieres
-used in some capacity on the corsages I’m sure
-holding up the chinese lanterns
-how the lights I'm making are attached to the chinese lanterns
…and that's only just the beginning! I'm sure I'll find plenty of other uses for it. As long as I'm not actually using it for fishing. That's just gross.

-C
xxx