Wedding: CenterPiece Jar with Tags Tutorial

The centerpieces for the wedding included mason jars with a mix-n-match variety of embellishments.  However, every table had one large blue Mason Jar that was filled with gorgeous flowers.  The jars were all embellished the same way with seam binding bows and tags.

Centerpiece Tutorial:

I started by tying a long piece of seam binding around the jar.  I used seam binding in all the wedding colors- 2 peaches, aqua and tan.

I added the bow and tied it on the with the previously tied ribbon.  The bow is made by wrapping the seam binding around your fingers at least 4 times.

Finally I attached the tags using Tim Holtz Idea-ology Charm Clips and Jump Rings.

To make the Tags: I started by using spray adhesive to attach book paper to cream colored cardstock. This gave the book pages the added stiffness needed to hold up as tags.   

I ran the book paper/cardstock through the Vagabond using the Alterations Tiny Tabs and Tags.  This is the same die I used for the escort cards.   The hubby wants me to be sure you understand that the book paper is from an old French text that he snagged for me at a Paris Flea Market. 

After die-cutting all the tags, I cut out the hole reinforcers using a variety of cardstock scraps from the rosettes I made for the wedding.  The hole reinforcers were glued in place using 3M Quick Dry Paper Glue-my favorite quick dry paper glue but any of your favorite glues will work.  I inked the edges of the tags using Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink.  Finally, I stamped the small Peony Bud stamp using Archival Ink in Vermillion. (see photo below)  

I cut out a pretty border using my Cricut and Ribbons and Rosettes cartridge.  I inked the border pieces using the Vermillion ink and added tiny cream color self-adhesive pearls.  This is where you see my ridiculous attention to detail kick in.  

The border was attached to the back of the tags using Tombo Monoadhesive.   I ran a long piece of Inkssentials Wonder Tape across a number of tags at once covering the joint where the tag and the border meet.  You don't have to tape them together like this- it is just a much faster way to lay down a lot of tape quickly.   

After I had all the tags taped I pulled the red liner off.  I find it easiest to grab the edge of the liner with the blade of my Exacto Knife.

Once the adhesive was exposed it was dipped into a bowl of my signature Wedding Glitter Mix (2 Jars (4.58 oz) of Martha Stewart White Gold and 1 large jar of Martha Stewart Old Gold). 

Then I snipped the tags apart.  

I added a small piece of Idea-ology Film Ribbon over top of some of my favorite wedding words from the Idea-ology ChitChat.   To do this: (Please excuse the ugly, messy craft sheet and board- I trash them all so quickly).

The film ribbon is easiest to attach using the 1/8 inch Inkssentials Wonder Tape.  

Run the tape up both edges.  I use my Exacto Knife to grab the liner and pull it off of the tape.  

You can see that some times I used 1 small square of film and sometimes 2 depending on the size of the words underneath.

I used the same Tiny Tabs and Tags to make a bunch of smaller tags from the scrap cardstock.  I inked the edges with Brushed Corduroy and stamped more wedding words using some word stamps I have.  

Finally, I again used the Tiny Tabs and Tags and the book paper/cardstock that I used earlier to cut circle tags.  After distressing them like the other tags, I ran a bead of glue around the edges and glittered it.  I added the numbers to make the wedding date- 6/15 using a variety of numbers from the Idea-ology Remnant Rub-Ons Numbers. 

All of the tags were attached to each other using Idea-ology Jump Rings and to a Charm Clip which was then attached to the ribbons on the jar.

I embellished all the jars I had at home but Brandin's mom had 13 "very old" jars that she didn't want to travel to my house and back- understandable- so I made the ribbons, the bows and the tags and had them all ready to go.  Brandin's sister and niece put them together at the barn before they were taken to the florist who delivered them the morning of the wedding.

 Extra tags were tied to chairs.

The jars were pretty all by themselves but with the flowers they were magnificent.

Hope your day is filled with Sunshine and Glitter.

This post was linked to the following Linky Parties:
Classy Clutter 
I Gotta Try That
Twigg Studios
The Chirping Moms
The T2 Women
Classy Clutter
A Little CLAIREIfication

Wedding: Staying Organizing

Doing the entire decor for a wedding...especially your FIRST wedding....especially when it isn't YOUR own wedding....is a daunting task.  Staying organized is CRUCIAL and something that I can be great at when I need to be.  Because the barn was as rustic as it gets and a HUGE space to fill I needed to bring in a lot of decor.  Add in that I am a DETAIL kinda girl and you have a lot of minutia to organize.  I wanted to share some photos and ideas on how I kept everything in order. 

Once the poms were folded and the wire attached they were immediately stacked side-by-side and then layer by layer in a plastic tote.  I opened all the poms at the venue to keep them from getting crushed.  

Realistically, storing and transporting over 100 opened poms would have been a nightmare. 

 Brandin dropped off a tote full of old Mason jars; I kept them there until I needed them. 

Once they were decorated, I returned them to the tote.  However, in order to NOT crush the bows or poms, I kept the spacing loose.  I added a piece of cardboard on top of the smaller jars and stacked a second row.  We were very careful about moving the tote because of the double row and the fact that the jars were not pack tightly in the box. 

I gathered embellishments I thought I might use on the various projects and kept them in cheap plastic containers.  This allowed me to pull the appropriate containers as I completed various projects and then close the lid, move them off the workspace and into a large plastic tote where I kept everything "WEDDING" that I wasn't currently using. 

I made a lot of tags and other die cuts- notice all the tags from the Tiny Tabs and Tags die I used for the escort cards.  I also die cut letters (b's because they are Bill and Brandin), hearts, and numbers (the wedding date).  I stored them all in these plastic containers I got at Hobby Lobby and Michael's.  

Once we arrived at the barn to begin decorating, we had to keep things organized in order to know what we had to work with.  I did a lot of decorating on the fly...I had a few ideas before we arrived but some things I let flow more organically.  I would see what I had and then start plugging things into my little vignettes throughout the barn. 

 We kept like things together on the large table which was at the front of the barn on the "stage".

The jars became part of the centerpieces.  The centerpieces didn't all match- in other words I had a variety of jars-size, shape and look- to choose from.  I varied the specific pieces used as part of the centerpiece at each table but kept the overall concept the same.  I will post more about the centerpieces later.  

Other items that were used throughout the barn were also kept clustered together until used.  The votives were kept in the packaging they came in.  This allowed us to keep track of 64 votives as well as stack them on this table.  

Both tags shown here are part of the table decor.  I kept the smaller tags in a box so they wouldn't get lost.  The other box you see is full of the glittered clothes pins we used to hold the escort cards onto the vintage bedspring. 

More components of the center pieces were laid out in a way that minimized space but kept the bows from being crushed.  YES, bow-crushage is something I was a tad bit retentive about.  What of it?  There is nothing more sadder than a crushed bow at a wedding :(  Except maybe using improper grammar and emoticons in a blog post. 

I made a lot of rosettes.  We tied fishing line (monofilament) to them and laid them on this table so we could pull from the group as we used them randomly throughout the space.  

The poms were laid out all over the barn on tables.  As I mentioned I made over 130 poms so they took up a lot of space.  This was taken early in the process of opening them all.  We had the tables all week because they belonged to Brandin's mom.  If we had not had them, I would have laid the poms on the floor off to the side.  

Organizing everything kept me on task and on track.  It was crazy enough to deal with all the things that come up when decorating a space that is normally home to bees (hives everywhere), bats (yes, there was one looking at us from on top of the barn door) and other creatures that I'm sure I don't want to run into on a dark night.  Our crew of me, Brandin and Rick with various nieces thrown in had to stay on top of everything in order to get it all done in 4 days.

Have a day filled with Sunshine and Glitter.

This post was linked to the following Linky Parties:
Classy Clutter

Wedding: Painted Votives Tutorial

I've mentioned how terrified I was that I wouldn't have enough decor for the big barn...I was also terrified the centerpieces wouldn't be big enough for the large "8-top" tables.  I also wanted a variety of heights to play off each other.  A mixture of textures and sizes and shapes to give the eye a lot to see and keep it all interesting.  Somehow I got stuck on the idea of using little votives to trickle out from the centerpieces outward and I couldn't let it go.  I knew they would have to be decorated but I wasn't sure exactly how until I happened to get an email ad from Michael's promoting Martha Stewart's new jewelry line.  I clicked on it and watched the video (something I never do).  The jewelry was cute butI was in WEDDING MODE not jewelry MODE.  The end of the video was the thumbnail for the other projects and I saw the pretty jewelry box with the lace...hmmm....clicked on it and Voila, my prayers were answered.    

Tutorial:

I am beyond thrilled with how they came out.  They look like real lace has been applied to the glass. 

Supplies:
Martha Stewart Silk Screen Antique Lace

Martha Stewart Glass Paint in White Opaque

Martha Stewart Glass Paint Foam Brush Tops

Martha Stewart Glass Paint Scrapper and Pick Set

Alcohol...No, rubbing alcohol...get your mind out of the gutter

Paper Towels

Glass Votives

Martha Stewart Glass Paints

Martha Stewart Foam Brush Tops

How To:

1.  Begin by cleaning the votives with alcohol and paper towel to rid them of any grease.

2.  Remove the cap from the Glass Paint and screw on one of the foam brush tops.  I tried several methods of applying the paint and this worked the best and was the easiest...double SCORE. 

3.  Remove the silk screens from the package and cut them apart. Remove the backing and apply one to the votive.  This can be a tad tricky but it is important that it lay flat on the glass.  

 You can see this screen is way too big for the votive,

However if you hold it carefully, it will still work and look great.  However, the largest screen of each set was just too big to use. 

4.  Once the screen is in place begin to slowly squeeze the paint into the foam top and begin to dab it onto the screen.

 5.  When the screen is completely covered with the paint slowly peel the silk screen off and you have.....

6.  A beautiful "lace" covered votive.  You will likely get stray paint marks on the glass and Martha has a quick fix....her handy dandy glass scrappers.  They really work and if you are planning on doing a lot of glass painting, I highly recommend you grab a set. 

Martha Stewart Glass Paint Scrapper and Pick

7.  The screens are cleaned by running them under water.  Lay them on paper towels to dry.

8.  Be sure to get the paint out of the little holes.  They will still be sticky enough to use over and over.

 9.  Before you know it, you will 64 votives all painted and ready for sitting on your wedding tables.

We used two different packages of silk screens-Antique Lace and Doily

Doily

Antique Lace Silk Screen

10. Clean the foam top by filling the included bottle with water and flushing it through the top until it runs clean. 

That's it....

Have a day filled with Sunshine and Glitter.

This post was linked to the following Linky Parties:
I Gotta Try That
Classy Clutter
Twigg Studios
That DIYParty
Clean & Scentsible