A Fairytale DIY Backyard Wedding…Part 1

When Sarah got engaged and was planning her wedding, she knew exactly what she wanted. Sarah’s mom is one of my closest friends and she has spent nights in a tent, camping in my backyard.  Sarah remembers saying that she always wanted to get married here and when she got engaged and asked, of course I said yes!

Sarah is not your average 25 year old.  She is very aware of her footprint on this earth and embraces a greener lifestyle.  We share the same lifestyle beliefs and with my love for diy, I knew this was going to be an amazing wedding, a wedding that every detail would reflect the couples beliefs and lifestyle.  Sarah is a vegetarian, as well as many guests attending, and has a very feminine taste in decorating, and her husband is a plaid shirt kind of guy whose only request was a s’more bar and a specialty beer.

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First Look

Sarah getting ready with the help of her sister and Matron of Honor, Christina.

Ryne, waiting for Sarah.

The Greeting

 

 

The guests were greeted with a beverage as they arrived and invited to sign the guest book.

 

 

The guestbook was a frosted bottle with lights, signed with different colored sharpie pens.

 

A vintage suitcase lined with fabric and decorated with bunting and pearls was used for cards.

 

 

The guest were given a  “The Perfect Blend” tea bag in handmade envelopes.

 

 

Coming next……..A Fairytale DIY Backyard Wedding…Part 2

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During My Break From Blogging…

I initially took a break from blogging to do a makeover on all of my websites, then life got in the way.

My life seemed perfect, everyone was healthy and happy, just perfect…………. but things can change in a flash.  Losing a life long best friend (46 years), makes one re-evaluate your own mortality and  create needed changes in your life.  I never imagined how broken I would feel, how unimaginable the entire situation would be, but I have learned that it is acceptable to not be okay.  For 46 years she watched my life unfold.  She saw me come of age and my relationships begin and end, and was very happy when I found the perfect one.  We loved to laugh together, we had many inside jokes, and spoke on the phone often, if only for a quick laugh.

I first thought that I would miss the phone calls the most, then the feel of sitting in her living room with the conversation traveling in any direction, or sitting on her glider on the back porch on a summer night.  We shared our life events and  confided in each other and grew to love each other unconditionally. I got stuck on my grief there for a while, thinking it was the unconditional love I missed the most.  Now I realize it is something more, over the course of such a time span of sharing everything, she came to know exactly how broken I am.

The thing about life is that all of us are going to experience great loss, if we have not already. Nothing anyone could have said could have prepared me for this, but I have an amazing support system. I will live my life as a celebration of her life, not as a slave to her memory.

Tea-Pot Bird House

Do you have a tea-pot that has a crack, chip or missing the lid?  Why not make a bird house !!  If you follow my blog, you know I am addicted to this drill bit by Hitachi, found at your local hardware store.  This drill bit works great on ceramics and glass and comes in many sizes, and it seems to never dull, my bits are about 3 years old.

Supplies needed:

• Teapot
• Drill Bit
• Water (optional)
• Moss

I drill ceramics and glass under water, keeps the bit cool and avoids cracks and breakage.  I also like to put a piece of packing tape on the area I am going to drill, so the bit doesn’t slip off my target.  I drilled a hole in the bottom of the tea-pot and added some nesting material, moss, and hung from a tree.  I had my binoculars ready, waiting for my new friends to move in and one moved in, but not what I expected.  How did he get in there?

Last August I posted another use for your tea-pots in the garden, I couldn’t wait to bring it back out this year.  http://www.aponytailkindofday.com/2012/08/13/garden-tea-party/

Have an ugly stump in your yard?  Why not use it for a planter?

Create a solar chandelier for your garden

I stopped at my favorite Goodwill store the other day and found a cute, broken chandelier, and instantly knew what I wanted to do with it.  I have been wanting an outdoor solar chandelier for a long time, I had already purchased the lights at the dollar store, but didn’t see a light that I thought would fit my style.  Until now !!

I started working on it immediately, I stripped out the electrical wires and lights and cleaned up the metal and porcelain.  I glued the tops of the solar lights to the fixtures and hung it from a branch over a table I have under a tree.  I couldn’t wait until it turned dark !

In the dark..

This little broken ugly old chandelier has found new purpose and adds a romantic and beautiful addition to my eclectic backyard.  This is one of my favorite repurpose projects and all for around 10 dollars.  Did I mention, I love it !!

Split Pea Wreaths

I love wreaths !  I change my wreaths often and that can be expensive, so when I saw the split pea wreaths on Pinterest, I knew I had to make one, or two…..or three 🙂  I started with one, and I have to tell you, they are messy.  Split peas bounce, even with a tray underneath my work area, they went everywhere.

I had everything I needed in the house, here is the list for 1 small wreath

• dry split peas, 2 bags per small wreath
• Mod Podge
• clear spray acrylic, I like Mod Podge brand
• small wreath form
• paint brush
• tray, to hold the peas

I first tried using a hot glue gun, but didn’t like the way it was coming out, and I also burned myself several times pressing the peas into the glue.  Place your  wreath in a container with peas.  Apply Mod Podge to a section of the wreath, apply peas and press the peas into the glue.  Do not go cheap on the glue, Mod Podge is thick and worth every cent.  Move on to another section and continue until the wreath is covered.  Since I made 3 wreaths,  I found that completing a side and letting it dry for 30 minutes before going to another side works best.  Did I mention that this wasn’t a quick project?  I let the wreath dry overnight and applied the spray acrylic the next day.

I wanted to hang mine on my fireplace, and I wanted it to hang down.  I  first tried burlap bows, but it didn’t seem springy, so I took a pink plaid pillow case and made ribbon out of it.

Even though I glued everything well and sprayed the wreaths with spray acrylic, twice, peas still fell off when I was hanging them.  That didn’t stop me, I had to make three !!

 

Easter isn’t Easter without dressing up my Geese 🙂

The Soul of the Dog

A few weeks ago, my friend Molly’s dog, Murray, had his eyes painted by artist Sheila Wedegis.   She is dedicating all of March to painting dogs’ eyes, or as she puts it, the soul of the dog.  Sheila posted an invitation to send our photo to her of our dog, and I sent her a picture of my Cavalier King Charles Spaniel,  Princess Fiona.  I received an email the next day that she would be painting Fiona’s eye !  I started following Sheila’s blog and fell in love with her painting style, and how she captures their soul, through their eyes.

This is the painting she did of my Princess Fiona, she has captured her sweetness and her beauty and I cannot wait to receive the painting.

I can’t forget about Murray, and his mom Molly, who introduced me to Sheila’s work.  Murray is a Golden Doodle, who has his own blog, Murray’s Mouth.

A little bit about Sheila…

Born in Boston, Sheila Wedegis has spent most of her life in the New England area. Sheila relocated to Palm Bay, FL from Portsmouth, NH with her husband, Roger, three cats and her black lab, Sophie and chocolate lab, Fergus. Art has been her passion and expression since she was a child. Her formal training was at Butera School of Art in Boston, however  her greatest growth has been in the actual “doing” …painting what she knows and loves

Through on going studies and workshops, observations and experimentation, there has been a constant rebirth with herself and her work.   While grounding themselves in the realities of her life, Ms. Wedegis’ pieces contain an unmistakable spiritual essence.

“To touch the soul of one other person, to know they are not alone on this journey” is the dedication of her work and the reflection of her life’s journey.

 

Stop by and look at Sheila’s piece’s, I guarantee you will love her work.

Thank you Sheila!

 

Dictionary Print Flowers

Here is a fun way to add some dimension and interest to gifts, frames and cork boards.

I can’t resist playing with dictionary pages.  I have a die cut machine, Sizzix Big Kick, and it makes cutting shapes so easy.  This isn’t an ad for Sizzix, but with Joann’s 40 percent off a regular price item and their 25 percent off your entire purchase, you can pick the machine up for under $50.00, and I use it often.  It does die cuts and also embosses, wait until you see my soda can that I embossed with it!!

I made some fans, cut out some petals and circles and added some buttons.

I tried a tinting technique I have been reading about, I think it will look better on my next try 🙂

 

 

I can’t wait to glue them on tacks and add them to my corkboard.   Next time you see a worn out book and want to throw it away, or that loose button that you don’t remember what it went to, save it and decorate a package with it 🙂

Easy Jelly Bean and Tulip Centerpiece

How cute and easy is this jelly bean Easter centerpiece? Use fake flowers, or use real flowers by placing a smaller vase with water in the middle and filling in the gap between the two vases with jelly beans.

 

Supplies:

• 2 nesting glass vases or containers (such as a drinking glass), one shorter and at least an inch narrower.   I used a square container and a salsa jar
• Jelly Beans
• Fresh or fake flowers, I use fake because I have animals and I never know what is poisonous

I inserted the smaller vase inside, then filled the gap with my jelly beans.  Finally, I placed a bouquet of tulips in the salsa jar and that is all there is to it.

I hope my guests enjoy my Easter centerpiece as much as I do 🙂

 

Soda Bottle Make-Over and Storage

This saying describes my life !!  When you love to explore, create and try new things, clutter happens.  I was reading a Pinterest post, and had a thought. A friend dropped off her recycling and there were 6 2 liter bottles in it and I have tons of contact paper and vinyl on tubes and not a great place to store them.    Solution?

I cut the tops off of the bottles, drilled a hole in the bottom and screwed them to the wall……

The tops that I cut off make great funnels, but I don’t need 6 of them, so I will have to think of something functional for them 🙂

Excuse the clutter in my office 🙂  This is what happens when you work from home !

5 minute Apothecary Jars

Apothecary jars are a fun way to display everything from cotton balls in your bathroom to Easter Candy on your dessert table.  All you need is a glass candle holder, a glass jar with a lid and E6000.  You probably already have what need in the back of that cupboard where things get lost, yes, we all have that cupboard.

Supplies

 

I saw a video online that shows you how to make it in 15 seconds, basically you apply E6000 on the candle holder, put the jar on top and let dry.  That’s it, Easy Peasy ! I filled my jars with Easter Candy to display on my dessert table.  I found candy button strips at the dollar store today and instantly went back to when I was in grade school and would stop at the penny candy store.

Happy Crafting !