Our Song

I found the cutest idea here on Pinterest forever ago where you take a photo mat and write out the lyrics to your wedding first dance song, then frame one of your first dance pictures with it. 

I loved the idea and since I have been told on several occasions that I have pretty good handwriting, I decided to make one for my favorite wedding photos. 

Adorable, right?

Wanna see how I did it?

Supplies: 
white picture mat
pencil
pen ( I used a fine point sharpie) 
ruler/straight edge

 I started off by measuring across the sides of the photo mat. I made light pencil marks at every half inch mark on both sides of the photo mat. 

*note: photo was edited to show marks better

 Once I had my measured marks on both sides of my photo mat, I used a straight edge to connect the lines lightly with a pencil across the mat.

Once the pencil lines are in place, it's time to start adding the lyrics. Our wedding song was Stand By Me by Ben E. King. 

 Found out that all the lyrics to our wedding song only took up half the mat, so I just started over from the beginning. 

When I had finished writing out all the lyrics, I went back and erased all the pencil lines. 

I also added our names and wedding date to the bottom, although once I framed the picture I realized that you couldn't even see it. 

Five months later, I finally have this project finished and hanging on the wall with a few other things from our wedding. 

Just in time for Valentine's Day. 

What a nice little Valentine's gift to myself! 

 (And I know Matthew would have loved it too!) 



I'm sharing this project at the following link parties: 

~ What's In The Gunny Sack @ The Gunny Sack ~ Tutorials & Tips @ Home Stories From A to Z ~  Take-A-Look Tuesday @ Sugar Bee Crafts ~ Too Cute Tuesday @ Funky Polkadot Giraffe ~ Time To Shine @ A Diamond In The Stuff ~ Tell Me Tuesday @ Him & Her ~ Show Me Whatcha Got @ Not Just A Housewife ~ Hoo's Got Talent @ Night Owl Crafting ~ Lil Luna Linky Party @ Lil Luna ~ Your Whims Wednesday @ My Girlish Whims ~ Wow Me Wednesday @ Ginger Snap Crafts ~ Wicked Awesome Wednesday @ Handy Man, Crafty Woman ~ Show & Share @ Southern Lovely ~ Wildly Original Link Party @ I Gotta Create ~ Transformation Thursday @ The Shabby Creek Cottage ~ Creative Juice Thursday @ Momnivore's Dilemma ~ Link Party @ The 36th Ave ~ BFF Open House Link Party @ The Answer Is Chocolate ~ Delicately Constructed @ Delicate Construction ~ Anything Goes Linky @ Bacon Time ~ Weekend Bloggy Reading @ Serenity Now ~ Free for All @ Young & Crafty ~  Weekend Wrap Up @ Tatertots & Jello ~ Strut Your Stuff Saturday @ Six Sisters' Stuff ~  Show & Tell Saturday @ Be Different Act Normal ~ Think Pink Sunday @ Flamingo Toes ~ Sunday Show Off Link Party @ Twigg Studios ~ Sundae Scoop Link Party @ I Heart Nap Time ~


Thank you for featuring me!!!

Cheers To The Bride & Groom

I know I've mentioned a couple times in past posts that I'm helping with the wedding of two of my good friends, Heather & Tillman. They are having a small, simple, winter wedding. 

As a nice little something extra, I decided to make bride and groom toasting glasses for their special day. 

What do you think? 

I started off with two plain champagne glasses, glass etching cream and stencils I made out of vinyl using my awesome Silhouette machine. 

I carefully applied the stencil to the glasses. My idea was to do the Mr. and Mrs. designs in relief, so I made sure the stencil was exactly where I wanted it. 

 Once I had the stencils exactly where I wanted them, it was time to apply the etching cream. I personally use gloves every time I use etching cream, just to make sure I'm protecting my hands.

 The directions say that you should leave the etching cream on for about five minutes before washing it off. I usually wait about 20 - 30 minutes before washing the cream off, just to make sure the cream has had time to do its thing. When you're rinsing the glasses make sure you rinse it really well to get all the cream off. 

Once the etching cream is washed off, all that's left is to peel off the stencil and admire your design. 

I added some ribbon to tie the glasses in with the rest of the wedding decor. 

I'm very pleased with how they turned out, and I think it's the perfect idea for a winter themed wedding! The bride loved them, and that's what is really important. 


Cheers to Tillman & Heather! 

I wish you all the happiness in the world.

 


I'm sharing this project at the following link parties: 

~ Take-A-Look Tuesday @ Sugar Bee Crafts ~ Tutorials & Tips Link Party @ Home Stories From A to Z ~ Show Me What Ya Got @ Not Just A Housewife ~ Lil Luna Link Party @ Lil Luna ~ Wow Me Wednesday @ Ginger Snap Crafts ~ Your Whims Wednesday @ My Girlish Whims ~ Show & Share @ Southern Lovely ~ Wildly Original Link Party @ I Gotta Create! ~ Creative Juice Thursday @ Momnivore's Dilemma ~ Transformation Thursday @ The Shabby Creek Cottage ~ BFF Open House Link Party @ The Answer Is Chocolate ~ Anything Goes Link Party @ Bacon Time ~ Delicately Constructed @ Delicate Construction ~ Weekend Bloggy Reading @ Serenity Now ~

A Tisket, A Tasket, A Flower Girl Basket

I know I've mentioned before that my friends, Heather & Tillman are getting married in December. As part of my brilliant plan to keep myself busy, I offered to help out with any wedding crafting that needed to be done. Including a flower girl basket that Heather's daughter will be carrying. 

For the flower girl basket, I started off with a basket from Goodwill, pine cones collected from my parents yard, moss from the craft store, ribbon and my glue gun, Debra. 

I started by gluing clumps of the moss around the edge of the basket. 

When I was finished gluing the the moss, I tied two bows around the base of the handles on either side of the basket. 

After I had the bows tied just how I wanted them, and secured with a little hot glue, I hot glued a couple pine cones to the center of the bow. 

There you have it, a beautiful, easy flower girl basket that fits into the rustic theme of my friend's wedding. 

I'm happy with how it turned out, and more importantly, the bride and flower girl are thrilled with my results as well. 

1 more week until Heather & Tillman's big day...I can't wait! 


I'm sharing this project at the following link parties: 



~ Take-A-Look Tuesday @ Sugar Bee Crafts ~ Tell Me Tuesday @ Him & Her ~ Show Me What Ya Got @ Not Just A Housewife ~ Wow Me Wednesday @ Ginger Snap Crafts ~ Your Whims Wednesday @ My Girlish Whims ~ Wicked Awesome Wednesday @ Handy Man, Crafty Woman ~

Labor Of Love

I know that I posted the other day about how our wedding was the biggest DIY project I've ever taken on, but there was definitely more to it then that. 

If anyone knows anything about me, it's that I have a strong and deep love for my family. That's why I felt like our wedding day was a giant labor of love from our entire family. 

My cousin's helped me find my dress at their bridal consignment boutique, my niece and sister did my hair and make up, a co-worker and her brother did our catering, the women in Matthew's family brought a variety of desserts for our dessert table, our good friend Tim performed our ceremony, Matthew's cousin Jason was his best man and my niece, Kirra was our flower girl.

Without both of our families, our wedding would not be possible. 

And what a beautiful wedding it was! 

my favorite picture with my flower girl, Kirra

Matthew with his best man, Jason

Matthew escorting his parents down the aisle

first kiss as husband and wife!

 After our ceremony, Matthew & I and our amazing photographer, Heidi,  were driven down to the bridge not far from my Aunt's house where we had our ceremony, before coming back to enjoy the reception. 

signing our marriage certificate

showing Luna a little bit of love

my Maid of Honor, Brandy Jeanne and me

our wedding party

"To family."

planning our last great adventure, our honeymoon to Yosemite

Matthew with his father, Bruce

 

Jason and Chris playing music

We played nice, no cake smearing for us

Jason's best man toast

Tossing my bouquet

first dance

Our day was absolutely perfect! So full of love, family and friends. Now that Matthew is gone, these are the memories, along with the pictures, that will last me the rest of my life. Which is something that always makes me smile.

 I hope they make you smile, too!

Photography from Heidi Hoffman Photography. If anyone is looking for a wedding photographer, Heidi is AWESOME!!! Half the time I barely realized she was there and she got the most amazing shots!