tutorial | paper flowers

As promised, here is my paper flower tutorial! I really wanted to make paper flowers for the wedding instead of using real flowers. I fell in L-O-V-E with the way that they look, as you can see in this post, but just didn't have the time to make them all. I did attempt to make the flowers, and have about fifteen completed flowers, but I was defeated by these beauties. I did put together a little picture tutorial using the "PicLab" app that I downloaded onto my phone.

Here is a step-by-step on how to create a Kusudama Paper Flower:

Tada! I did clip notches on the tips of the petals for some of the flowers, but not on all. I used scrapbook paper for the tutorial, but origami paper for the flowers that I was going to use for the wedding. If I had a year to plan and prepare for this wedding, I would have used the paper flowers. But, six months was not enough time to get all of this done. Oh well. I am going to use the flowers that I made for something else around this place, I will show you all when I know what it is!

Give the paper flowers a try, and let me know how they turn out!

pinspiration | wedding table

Mike and I have actually started planning this wedding. Research is being done, emails being sent, and phone calls getting made. I am seriously overwhelmed, it's really hard to even know where to start. I know this doesn't sound that surprising, but if you have never planned a wedding before, you don't really know what you are doing. We have so many people {family and friends} that want to pitch in and give us a hand, which is amazing, but even getting that under control can be very stressful. Today I actually made some head way and narrowed done vendors to get more information from. I finally feel like I am making progress.

I am not going to bore you all with anymore talk of research and emails, on to the pretty pictures!

Now that I have a better idea of table rentals, I wanted to show some inspiration that I have found for some DIY table decorations for the upcoming nuptials. 

Paper:

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Candles:

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I already have a bunch of glasses / vases that I plan on incorporating into centerpieces, so what I go with may be a mixture of the two ideas.  

save the dates

So, I actually sent out our save the dates in the beginning of December. With the holidays and work taking up a big chunk of my time, I wasn't able to post them until now. I showed you all my inspiration of save the dates on pinterest here.{Although until this very moment, I thought that I had blogged about them, I guess that I was busier with work and life than I originally thought.}

As you all know, Mike and I are trying to make this wedding happen on a budget. So we decided that I would put together the wedding stationary myself. I had a few things working in my favor; I do have a little bit of a creative bug, Photoshop knowledge, and a mother who is a graphic designer. Although not everyone may have these things, there are always low cost options and templates you can use to created something that you love within your budget.

I picked up the supplies that I needed at Hobby Lobby; card stock, and envelopes, and of course I used my 40% coupon like always. Other than that all that I needed was a computer, plenty of printer ink, Photoshop, a straight edge and an X-acto knife.

 I also did a little research before I created our save the dates. You can look into how much it cost in postage to mail your save the dates, square cost more. Also check to see what size your envelopes can accommodate. The envelopes that I picked up were 5" x 7", which means that I could make this invites 5" x 7" and still have them fit because the envelopes actual measurements are 5.25" x 7.25".

Now I need to get started on the invites and response cards. Well, that and everything else.

wedding | bouquet

I have a few other things in the works for the wedding, and Mike and I have officially picked a date {more on that later} and I have some ideas in mind for bouquets and boutonnieres. I didn't want to go in a traditional route, and flowers can cost quite a bit. I have been toying with the idea of paper flowers {and have started making some}. Here is the inspiration that I have found for this non-traditional look:

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 The last one is my favorite style, and I have already started making the semi-origami flowers. Once I get a complete bouquet made, I will make sure to post pictures.