061416-southern-wedding-party-confetti.jpg

wedding blog + planning guide for creative weddings | inspiration for DIY Brides

Brenda's Wedding Blog is your online resource for planning your dream elegant wedding. Helping you find the "wow" in weddings.

Posts in DIY
Gobo Lights for Weddings with Your Monogram or Logo
I have to admit - I love seeing the names or initials of the bride and groom projected onto the wall during the wedding reception. My cousin had a gobo light shining on the wall near their dance floor for her winter wedding in December and it was the perfect unexpected touch to the decor. Now, you can easily have a gobo light for your wedding with the help of Pro Lighting Rental for under $100.
Having a wedding monogram gobo light at your reception couldn't be easier with the help of Pro Lighting Rental. You will first choose from any of their professionally designed wedding monograms which is included for free with your rental of an image projector (or any package which includes a projector). You can even custom design your own wedding monogram if you wish. Your chosen design that's been customized with your names {and date} will come loaded into the projector so you all you have to do is turn it on. The projector can be setup on any table or flat surface, but it's highly recommend to also rent a projector stand so you can get the image higher. It will also provide you with more flexibility in where it goes within your event space.

What will your Wedding Gobo Light Say?

Along with the gobo lighting, Pro Lighting Rental is your source for wedding lighting that is available to rent including uplighting, pin spots (cake lights), dance/party lights and much more!
Handmade DIY Wedding Favors : Potted Succulents + Colorful Gift Crackers

Remember the giveaway that launched last week for 2 lucky readers to win a copy of the all new Style Your Perfect Wedding book? The book that showcases unique styling ideas and party themes, practical wedding to-do checklists and timelines, and a spectacular collection of DIY projects to add that personal touch to your special day? Well, today I am sharing two of those DIY's to give a you a peek inside Style Your Perfect Wedding. Enter to Win Your Copy Here.

DIY Potted Succulent Party Favors - little pots of style

These cup-sized succulents are always in style and make sweet favors for weddings and celebrations of all kinds. Over 100 different types of succulents are around and they look stunning when arranged together. They are the perfect plant for a stunning favor as they are exotic, easy to care for, and super stylish. Your guests will be sure to treasure their succulent favor along with the memories of your happy day. DIY HOW TO: Plant your succulents in glossy black cups and adorn them with a bright pink satin ribbon.

DIY Colorful Gift Crackers Party Favors

Supplies Needed:
• patterned paper
• card stock
• your choice of gift
• scissors
• string

DIY How To:
STEP 1: Lay out a piece of rectangular patterned paper, pattern-side down, and place a narrower piece of white card stock on top. The card stock will create a solid cracker shape.
STEP 2: Place your chosen items in the center along the top edge of the card stock. Use candies, marshmallows, or even seed packets.
STEP 3: Roll from the top down to the bottom of the rectangle and twist at each end. Tie a piece of string around each end to secure the cracker and finish with a neat bow.

DIY Printable Halloween Pinwheels for Wedding Favors + a Fun Holiday Banner

I wanted to kick-off Halloween week with something fun not only for Halloween, but for any wedding or party as these stylish DIY Pinwheels are available in 14 other color choices. These paper pinwheels have got to be the easiest ever to make and look super cute attached to gifts or favor boxes - plus at $3 a template, they're also a real bargain. They're from You Make Do™ and are available for purchase as a download making them easy to customize. Maybe you don't want black and white pinwheels. That's no problem as you can simply print on any color paper you choose and you'll have the black chevron on a pretty color background. {I filled my favor boxes with candy corn that I lined with a black paper doily}

To make these pinwheels you will need the following:
- card stock paper of your color choice {the template has 2 pinwheels per page}
- a printer {these were printed on an Epson XP-950}
- scissors or an Xacto knife
- brass fasteners to hold the pinwheel together {1/2 inch size}
- glue to adhere the pinwheel to the package

Once you have the pinwheels printed, you will follow the guidelines for cutting them out and then you can either fold inwards or backwards - depending on your preference for the chevron pattern. I picked the black pattern as it reminded me of Halloween. TIP: I used a small hole punch for the tips of the pinwheel, and then just made a small slit in the center for the brass fastener to go thru. The pinwheel template comes with small circles to cover up the centers of the pinwheel and add a finishing touch.

PS: The Happy Halloween Banner you see is also from You Make Do™ - and I printed it on orange paper so the letters would be a color on the black background. It's now hanging on the mirror over our decorated mantle in the living room. The cute bat tag on the favor box was a bonus circle included with the banner. I used my 2 inch circular paper punch to cut out the banner and then hole punched the top and used orange and black bakers twine I found at Target for $1.

DIY Rubber Stamped Rose Paper Doily Coasters + a Quick Table Number Frame

You may remember my DIY Place Card and Menu from last week. Well, I promised to share with you the DIY for the doily coasters and the table number frame and I have them for you today. My Place Card / Favor Box and Menu / Centerpiece Holder were my submissions for the Say "I DO" with Xyron and Anna Griffin Blogger Design Challenge. Please don't forget to vote for my designs here and if I'm the lucky winner, one of my readers will win the very same AMAZING PACKAGE{s} OF CRAFTING GOODIES I received for this project and they are worth $1,000. 

To access the contest, click here, login to Facebook {if you aren't already} and click on the "Say I Do" contest page

Step-by-Step Instructions for the Rose Stamped Doily Coaster

These coasters are so fun and easy to make - and can easily be created with any stamps of your choice and even on patterned paper if you choose.

Supplies Needed:
3 1/2" Diameter Paper Doilies
Anna Griffin Floral Clear Stamps
Anna Griffin Ink Pads
Xyron Creative Station with the laminate cartridge
Scissors

Instructions:
1. Using the Anna Griffin clear rose stamp {the large one}, place it on the ink pad so just the rose gets the color and stamp on the doily centering the overall rose image.
2. Then stamp just the stem and leaves in the green ink pad and then onto the paper - aligning the rose part up so it connects perfectly.
3. Be sure to let it sit for a little while to be sure it's dry.
4. Once dried, run the doilies one at a time through the Xyron Creative Station using the laminate cartridge.
5. Once done you can simply cut around the outer edge of the doily to trim off the excess lamination and both sides of the doily are now sealed to prevent them from getting wet.

Step-by-Step Instructions for the Super Easy Table Number Frame

This table number frame is so easy and so pretty.

Supplies Needed:
Anna Griffin Metallic Paper {or any paper of your choice}
Anna Griffin Dimensional Floral Stickers
Photo Frame of your choice
Paper Trimmer
Printer

Instructions:
1. Create a document in your favorite editing program sized fit your frame {mine was 5x7 and from Walmart}
2. Print the table number and trim to size
3. Place into your frame {I left off the glass to avoid reflection and so the paper texture and sparkle could be seen
4. Choose the dimensional floral stickers of your choice and place on your fram - I like odd numbers so I chose 3 stickers

DIY Wedding Place Card and Menu with Roses + the Say 'I Do' Contest for $1,000 in Anna Griffin & Xyron Products

I can't even begin to say how thrilled I am to share today's post with you. I was recently asked to participate in the Say "I DO" with Xyron and Anna Griffin Blogger Design Challenge. After saying yes, 3 HUGE boxes arrived at my doorstep and were filled to the brim with crafting goodies galore from Xyron and Anna Griffi. Items included a Xyron Creative Station which makes it easy to laminate and create magnets and stickers, gorgeous card stock papers, paper punches, washi tape, water color & metallic markers, dimensional stickers, rubber stamps, and so much more. For this challenge I was asked to design a menu and place card using items that were sent to me. Since, so many amazing crafting supplies were sent to me, I knew I couldn't just stop with a menu and place card. So, I created an entire table setting complete with a menu that doubles as the centerpiece holder and a place card that doubles as a favor box. You can easily say I'm a BIG fan of items that serve a dual purpose :) Below are photos of my items along with step-by-step instructions so you can re-create these items for your own wedding or bridal shower. And, please don't forget to vote for my designs here. If I'm the lucky winner, one of my readers will win the very same AMAZING PACKAGE{s} OF CRAFTING GOODIES worth $1,000 just for themselves. 

Vote for My Designs Here

To access the contest, click here, login to Facebook {if you aren't already} and click on the "Say I Do" contest page

Step-by-Step Instructions for the Place Card and Favor Cake Box Combo

For my place card design I knew I wanted to do something totally unique and unexpected so I thought why not combine the favor box with the place card? And, instead of adding a tag or sticker - I wrote the name of the guest on the box itself. The color combinations and patterns for this box are endless which is something I love. You could keep the same color palette throughout, but change up the patterns to make each box unique if you wish. You can fill these sweet little cake boxes with anything - maybe little candies, a few small soaps if using them for a bridal shower, or even chocolates. If using food related items, I recommend lining the inside of the paper box with a little wax paper.

Supplies Needed:
Anna Griffin Flocked Paper
Anna Griffin Metallic Paper
Anna Griffin Dimensional Floral Stickers
Anna Griffin Border Punch
Xyron Creative Station with the permanent adhesive cartridge
Xyron Mega Runner
Paper Trimmer
X-acto Knife
Printer

Instructions:
1. Select two patterned card stock sheets of your choice sized to 8.5"x11" {may need to trim some of the 12x12 card stock to be 8.5x11}
2. Download the Cake Box Lid Template and Cake Box Bottom Template
3. Place the paper into your printer and print the template on the back side
4. Trim the paper with a straight edge and X-acto knife
5. On the dotted lines of the template, you will score for folding {I highly recommend a bone folder for this}
6. For the box lid, you will want to use the Anna Griffin Border Punch for the scalloped edges
7. Once trimmed, scored and scalloped, you will use the Xyron Mega Runner to run glue along the flaps that fold in on the box top and bottom
8. I used the Anna Griffin Silver Metallic Marker to write the name of the guest on the side of the box. To do this, I chose a font that was used in the menu {for me it was Melany Lane}, sized to fit in the space and printed it out. Simply trace the font onto the backside of the paper with a pencil, then flip over, align on the box and rub over the font with your pencil. Voila! You know have a light tracing of the name. Trace over with the Anna Griffin Metallic Marker.
9. Top the favor box/place card with an Anna Griffin Dimensional Sticker.

Step-by-Step Instructions for the Tri-Fold Menu that Serves as the Centerpiece Holder

For my menu I thought it would be fun to turn it into a tri-fold so each side showed the menu for a particular food course - in this case ... appetizers, the main course and desserts. Then I slipped a narrow glass vase down inside that was filled with fresh roses and the centerpiece is functional and beautiful. Plus, the stems of the flowers are now hidden as well.

Supplies Needed:
Anna Griffin Flocked Paper
Anna Griffin Metallic Paper
Anna Griffin Floral Clear Stamps
Anna Griffin Ink Pads
Xyron Creative Station with the permanent adhesive cartridge
Xyron Mega Runner
Paper Trimmer
Printer

Instructions:
1. Select your 12x12 paper for the tri-fold menu and download and print this scoring guideline template {making sure it's on the backside of the textured paper}.
2. Once printed, simply take your bone folder and score along the guidelines.
3. Trim directly in half so you have two pages that are 6" in height and 12" wide.
4. For the menu, set up a file sized to 2.5" wide by 4.5" high in your favorite editing program.
5. Set up the menu with your favorite fonts and leave 1.5" at the bottom with empty space. {I used Melany Lane and Cambria}
6. Using the Anna Griffin clear rose stamp, place it on the ink pad so just the rose gets the color and stamp on the metallic paper. Be sure to leave it for a while to be sure it's dry.
7. Then stamp just the stem and leaves in the green ink pad and onto the paper
8. Once dried, run the three menu panels through the Xyron Creative Station using the permanent adhesive cartridge and simply center onto the panel of the tri-fold.
9. Once the menus are attached, simply run the Xyron Mega Runner over the flap that will hold the tri-fold menu together, seal the edge and you are finished.

I'm up against 3 other bloggers in this design challenge from Anna Griffin and Xryon and would truly LOVE your support of my place card and menu creations. PS: If I win, YOU could win all the fabulous supplies I used to create these designs and many many more. The package is valued at $1,000. My tutorials for the additional items you see in the table setting {doily coasters, table number frame and napkin rose} will be shared with you next week.

Vote for My Designs Here

To access the contest, click here, login to Facebook {if you aren't already} and click on the "Say I Do" contest page
Anna Griffin on Facebook | Xyron on Facebook

* No compensation was received for this post, I received the free products
to create these DIY projects for the Blogger Design Challenge.