Anthro Inspired DIY

Hello lovelies, I'm Christy Schnurle from One Handspun Day. I cannot tell you how excited I am that Emilee asked me to join in her guest blog series while she is away on her honeymoon! Usually I would be turning green with envy knowing that Emilee is probably sipping piña coladas and basking in the Hawaiian sun at this very moment, but I am too excited for jealousy today! I am positively giddy to 'meet' all of YOU and we are going to make a fabulous table sign that was inspired by one of my very favorite places ~ Anthropologie!

When I saw these Anthropologie monogram trees it was love at first sight and I thought it would be fun to recreate them! Now, the first thing you should know is that over at Handspun Weddings we use the term "handspun" instead of "DIY" {if you are the curious sort you can find an explanation here}. Now that we have housekeeping items out of the way, go put on your crafting clothes so we can get a little messy!

Anthropologie Inspired Handspun Monogram Trees

 

Materials:
Twigs in a variety of sizes & shapes
Oven-Bake Clay (such as Sculpey)
Spray Paint (we used bronze)
Newspaper or tarp (to use when spray painting)
Hot Glue Gun

Step One: Get the base of your tree ready
Choose a twig that is thick enough to support the rest of your table sign. This will be the main 'trunk' of your tree. Mold clay to form a base of 'roots' for your tree. Put your trunk in the middle of the base and shape it to hold the trunk in place. Carefully remove the trunk and bake the base according to instructions for the clay.

Step Two: Glue sticks together to form the shape of your tree
Once the clay is done baking (and has cooled!) put your trunk back into the base and hot glue it into place. Now start putting together the rest of your tree! Glue twigs to your trunk to form the letters or numbers you want. As you move build further from your trunk you may want to use lighter twigs so they are easier to support. You can also use hot glue to add texture to your tree (I added more nodes to the twigs by placing dots of glue on the portion of my tree that forms the 'H').

Step Three: Spray paint your tree
Once you have finished building your tree you just have to paint it! Choose a well-ventilated area outside or in your open garage and use newspaper or a tarp to cover the ground where you will be painting (I used a cardboard box). Now just spray your tree until it is thoroughly covered. Let it dry for 24 hours and you are done! Ta da!! 

 

Take a few minutes to admire your new handspun beauty and appreciate the imperfections it may have that make it uniquely yours!

There are so many ways to use these trees ~ display your last name over your fireplace, use 'MRS and 'MRS' on the sweetheart table for your wedding, arrange 'LOVE' trees among tapered & votive candles or put your house number outside on your front stoop... endless possibilities!

What are some other ways you can think of to use these monogram trees?
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Christy Schnurle blogs about DIY handspun wedding décor and inspiration on Handspun Weddings {the blog of One Handspun Day}. One Handspun Day is a wedding invitation printables shop that pushes the envelope aside to give you creative freedom & new possibilities for your wedding day. To keep up with the latest handspun projects from One Handspun Day, follow them on Facebook, Twitter or subscribe to the Handspun Newsletter.

5 Ways to Tap Into Your Creative Style

Here are some awesome tips from Debra of Purple Meadows Events!
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What inspires you? How do you come up with bold, bountiful ideas for your celebration or wedding? Is it through music, color, art, blogs, travel? I love to travel especially to places that are rich in color, culture, food and adventure. It drives me to be creative and innovative. I learn from other cultures and it makes me not afraid to express myself because it’s my passion that makes me come alive. I enjoy spending time with local people because I get some of most creative inspiration from them, whether it’s learning to paint, taking a cooking or watching a tango show. So I challenge you to go beyond the magazines, and blogs. Dig deeper. Here are five small steps you can take to fuel your inner creative juices, begin with one or two challenges:


1. Attend a play, musical or play. Do something you’ve never done before.
2. Fill your walls with things that inspire you. Tape up photos of quotes you love, words, empower words, magazine photos. Keep it fresh.
3. Take your project to the park, walk around your neighbor and explore the boutiques and businesses around. Have a journal with with you and take notes.
4. Listen to a new genre of music, watch a foreign film or watch a documentary on a painter or designer.
5. Be Bold. Choose vibrant colors. Don’t be afraid to go bold and bright. One quote I love comes from one of my favorite designers, Kelly Weastler "When it comes to color, be confident, go with your heart and follow your emotions."

 

Be different. Be unique. Be Bold. I want to share with you our mood board created for a December photo shoot influenced by our crush on the destiantion Spain!

Acheiving Your Goals

I'd like to introduce to you Cassie from A Time For Everything, a lifestyle blog all about using your time so that you can achieve a well balanced life... and she went to my alma mater!

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Remember January 1 when you made all those goals and resolutions? How's that going? Have you hit a slump? Did you "fall off the wagon" already? I feel like everyone makes resolutions for the year, but if they slip up or don't achieve it by the end of January they act like they've failed. Guess what? You have 11 more months, and in 11 months you can accomplish a lot. Just look at what they do on Biggest Loser in 6 months! Here are some tips to accomplish those goals: 

Prioritize: Take your list of resolutions and rank them. What are the top 10 things you really want to do? Or maybe some have to be done sooner than later, like getting a summer internship. This should automatically make it a higher priority. Try to make this list well-rounded to all parts of life, at least 1 of each: a personal goal, health goal, work goal, financial goal, and spiritual goal, and an experiential goal.

Be Realistic: I've had a goal for years to watch the AFI Top 100 Films and it has stayed simply that, a goal on a list. Because really, I'm never going to watch all those movies in 1 year, so I never even try and start in the first place. Instead, this year I'm picking 12 movies on the list and watching 1 a month. So I won't get them all done this year, but I'll be 12 closer and in a few years it'll be complete! Deciding on paring down goals like this is great for bucket list items and those 101 in 1001 lists people keep as well.

Set Dates: Get out your planner (yes, I'm old school and still physically write things down) or pull up iCal or whatever online system you use and start putting dates to the goals. Remember-use the whole year, not just next month. Start with the priority goals. Let's use the internship example again, you can set a date for finishing your resume and then how many internships you want to apply for each month. Or say you there is somewhere you've always wanted to go, like Catalina Island or even just a restaurant you want to try. Put that activity down in a certain month and also put a reminder a month before to send an email to invite others to come with you. In the notes section of each month you can write what goals you want to accomplish that month, like I'm writing the title of the movie I'm watching that month.
As for those bigger goals, like lose 20+ pounds or organize the whole house, break them down month by month to make them attainable. For example, lose 4 pounds a month (you're done for swimsuits in June!). Or assign a room to each month and you'll be done with the house by next year! Remember, you have the whole year.
A big reason why its good to write these in your planner is so you see them. Part of the problem with resolutions is we write them down in journals or just think them in our head, but visually seeing them over and over will keep you motivated and focused. So lastly....

Put It Where You'll See It: Write the list on a notecard and put it on your bathroom mirror. Make it your screensaver. I took a pic of my list and put it on Evernote (oh how I love Evernote!), so I can check into it at anytime. This visual is especially good for those resolutions that are to be done daily (make bed) or intangible (pray more, or be a better listener). Seeing it day after day helps you make it part of your routine and reminds you to change your behavior.
There are the 4 steps to help you achieve your resolutions for this year! Hope that you accomplish all you want this year. And I'd love to hear what your goals are and what plan you've set to achieve them!

Minimalist Makeup

I'd like to introduce you to my dear friend and Makeup Artist, Molly Reynolds. I'm like the least likely person to have a clue about makeup, so for my wedding day, I had to go with someone I trusted. Since today is the 24th, and my 7 month wedding anniversary =) I thought, how appropriate it would be to reminisce on my favorite day! Molly is going to explain what techniques she used on me, and what specific projects she used so you can replicate the look!
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When we met to discuss wedding makeup we agreed that the look would be fresh which was perfect for Emilee, no red lips or false eyleashes for this girl. I cannot put chapstick on her without freaking out, love you girl! The main focus was to create flawless looking skin. First I used a face primer to lay out a smooth base for the foundation which will also help the foundation last throughout the day and on into the evening. The foundation I used was MAKE UP FOR EVER HD Invisible Cover Foundation, this is a long-wearing foundation which creates a soft-focus effect, perfect for any type of light, especially in photos.You want to start from the center of the face and work your way out and I like to use the Sephora Collection Pro Stippling Brush #44, it really works the foundation into the skin and creates an airbrushed look.

One of my favorite products is the Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat Radiant Touch and I use this to highlight and contour the face and by this I mean bringing out certain features of the facial structure. Then we dusted a NARS bronzer under the chin, along the cheek bones, and sides of the nose to add more definition. And to finish the look I set the foundation with a finishing powder from MAKE UP FOR EVER, it sets the foundation and slightly mattifies the skin without changing the natural contours. Fresh and flawless skin is not only perfect for your wedding day but also amazing for your honeymoon.

You want your makeup to reflect your personality, keep it fresh, its your wedding day and we want to see your natural beauty, just enhanced : )

Marketing DIY - Getting the Most from Facebook

Hi. I’m Donna Queza – Marketing Optimist, and I’m thrilled to be on Emilee’s wonderful blog today! Being creative and determined are two great assets, and not just for your artistic endeavors. If you’re a small business owner, you know that being able do-it-yourself is often not an option, it’s a necessity. And, while hiring a marketing professional can be a great investment for your brand *hint, hint* there are a lot of tactics that you can execute yourself.

Today, I’m going to give you some tips on how you can take your Facebook fan page to the next level, without hiring a designer or marketing consultant.

Put your images to work for you.

Your Facebook page offers two great places to get the most out of images. Since you can’t do too much to personalize your page, it’s important to take advantage where you can!





The first section you can try out your handy work is with the profile image. Did you know your profile image can be up to 180 pixels wide by 540 pixels high? That’s a lot of real estate! You can include your logo, an image that displays your work, your contact information, even a special deal or discount.

KEEP IN MIND: Your thumbnail (the small image shown when you post an update) will be a square (up to 180 pixels by 180 pixels). If you do decide to craft a tall page image, make sure you have a square that you can pull out that will make sense out of context. Don’t be that person with half a face or two letters of a logo.

Are you thinking, “I can’t do that, I don’t have fancy design software.” Take a deep breath my darling pessimist. You can find free online solutions here. (And, if you’d like a video tutorial on how to use the tool to piece together images and create a great profile graphic, leave a comment below and I’ll post something just for you on my blog!)

Now, wouldn’t you love a great header running across the top of your page? Good! Because that’s what we’re going to work on next.







I use my photo strip to add a list of my services to the top of the page.

KEEP IN MIND: The images in your Facebook fan page photo strip will not appear in any particular order. In fact, the order will change each time the page is refreshed. So, we’re going to work on five images that work together, but not that string together to form on panoramic image.

Images in the photo strip are small (97 pixels wide by 68 pixels tall). Use clear graphics and short copy to get the most out of this little space. Again, use your photo editing tools to size accordingly so that you can get an idea of what your strip will look like to scale.

By default, the newest images that you post will show in the strip. To remove them (and get back to your desired photos), simply hover over the image and click the time ‘x’ in the top right corner.

Once you do these updates, I’d love to see your page (and “like” it, too). Please make sure to find me on Facebook or Twitter and let me know how it turns out. And, if you make it through all of this unscathed, I’ll be posting a tutorial on creating a custom welcome tab on my blog soon, so make sure to stop by!

I work with small and mid-sized businesses to help them reach their online marketing goals. You can learn more about my company at http://marketing-optimist.com

Destination Anywhere!

Good Morning Lovelies! I'm Jillian Nicole from Uniquely Chic and I'm so excited to meet you all! A little bit about me before I launch into my guest post: I'm a Southern California import, currently living the ex-pat life with my Handsome Husband in Edinburgh, Scotland--yes, it does rain virtually every day and no, I'm not even remotely used to it yet! I'm new to the blogging world, but have quickly fallen in love with having my own little piece of internet real estate and connecting with some pretty fabulous gals from all over the place! And I'm super honoured that Emilee would let me hijack you all for the day while she's cruising around Hawaii! Lucky Duck!:) So, while your fearless leader is honeymooning it up, I thought we would spend a little time talking about European Destination weddings and how to make them your own!

I'm sure some of you have toyed with the idea of a Destination Wedding...I mean really, at some point during the process {or just in your wildest dreams}, who hasn't thought of grabbing their fiancée and just leggin' it to some gorgeous local and making it all offic!?? Well, if you're like I was, and the idea of a Destination wedding sounds great in theory, but then you start thinking of airline costs and how your family would basically disown you for eloping, let me suggest some ways to bring the destination to you! First though, let's take a look at some pretty, pretty pictures to get our destination, wedding juices flowing!

  Who doesn't love the idea of having your most special day amidst fields of gorgeous smelling lavender and indulging in a French Croquembouche {those sticky, sweet cones of choux pastry buns that literally translated mean, “crunch in the mouth”. Cute, right?!}!?

 

Tuscan Villas? Check. Vineyards that go on for miles? Check. al fresco dining in a beautiful, centuries-old building? Check, check, and check!! Italy is my second favourite place in the world {first being London where I met Mr. Handsome!} and if I had to pick a wedding do-over destination, this would be it my friends!
 

 

If you're ideal day consists of quaint churches and cobble stone streets, the UK is where it's at! Embrace the stereotypes and traditions of this small {but chic!} island and throw a good ol' fashioned Tea Party your guests aren't soon to forget! Croquet included!:)

 So, now the question is, how do we as brides/wedding dreamers {who don't want to fork over major bucks to have our special day in a European castle}, manage to incorporate the feel of a specific destination into our own American-a weddings?  Well, I'm so glad you asked!  

Tips On Creating a Destination Dream Wedding Anywhere on Virtually Any Budget:

1.  ADD SMALL DETAILS FROM THE COUNTRY OF YOUR CHOICE: In love with Italy? Personalize beautiful bottles of Olive Oil and hand them out to your guests as favours. If the quaintness of England is more your style, have your dessert bar set up as a Tea Party with little bits and pieces on pretty stacked tiers.

2.  INCORPORATE OTHER COUNTRY'S TRADITIONS: Maybe your fiancée or someone in his extended family has French ancestry. Honour that by having a groom's Croquembouch instead of the traditional American groom's cake! Just like the idea of an Italian style wedding? If your wedding is intimate enough, why not try sitting everyone at one long table and serving food Italian “family style”.

3. SAY IT WITH FLOWERS:  Incorporate lavender into your tablescapes or gift your guests with little muslin bags of dried lavender to throw at you and your spouse as you walk back down the aisle.  Or include various types of English roses in your bouquet {some even look very similar to peonies without the cost!}.  You could also commission your florist to create a pretty, green ivy trellis {like the one shown in the Italy board above} for you and your love to stand under during the ceremony.

These are only a few ways of brining the destination to you, and I would love to hear if any of you have other ideas for creating your dream destination wedding!  Thanks so much for hanging out with me today and I look forward to "meeting" some of you in the blogosphere very, very soon!:)

uniquely yours,

Jillian Nicole

miminicoleblog.blogspot.com

Our Tasteful Favs

Hi! I'm Meghan, owner of Meghan Christine Photography.  You may have see the interview that Emilee and I had the pleasure of being apart of, but if not, let me just say that my love of Emilee and her creative talent goes deep! So when there was an opportunity to shoot product shots for her company, Tasteful Tatters, I jumped at the chance and thought I would take my Honeymoon Blog Party guest post and show you some of my favorite images of her products.

 Looking forward to all the new things Emilee is working on for the future... whether you are looking for darling everyday accessories, handmade home decor, or couture bridal pieces, Tasteful Tatters has it all!

Tips for Packing for your Honeymoon

I'm so honored to be kicking off Miss Emilee's honeymoon hiatus blog party! 

And what more appropriate than a post on how I helped her pack for her vaycay with her hubby ...

Your wedding is just around the corner! Rehearsal dress, outfit during hair and make-up, wedding dress, jewelry, shoes, check check check. Ah yes, and pack for a spectacular 7 day trip right before pulling off a massive event for 150 of your closest friends. Take a deep breath, grab a cup of tea, and let's get give this exciting part of the journey some special thought in just 3 simple steps:

1. Dress for once in a lifetime memories. I know, you picture being so exhausted post-wedding that you can't wait to flop down on a lounge chair holding hands with your new hubby. Yet in the midst of total relaxation, there are going to be some pictures of beaches, mountain tops, cathedrals, dinners -- photos to capture this special trip. And you want those pictures to look as spectacular as your heart is feeling! So make sure every little top, cozy cover-up, simple dress you throw in your bag is colorful and flattering. And throw in some jewelry or hair clips that will make your pictures look extra cute.

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2. Start with your one must-bring. What's the one dress you've been dying to wear on your honeymoon? The navy one that goes with your marigold cardigan and brown strappy sandals? Great. Now what else goes with your marigold cardigan and brown strappy sandals? Another way to think of this: Pack within a color scheme. Make sure everything you bring goes with navy, marigold and brown. If that red dress really needs to be paired with black shoes and a black cardigan? Save it to wear for date night when you get home. The goal is to make everything in your wardrobe interchangeable so you save space and maximize outfit choices once you arrive. This also makes packing less stressful as you don't have to plan out each day -- as long as you have a few things in each category, you can be spontaneous when you're there.

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3. Don't buy for a week, invest for a year. You just hosted a lovely {albeit expensive} celebration, and are now kicking up your heels on vacation. As easy way to save money amidst all the expenses is to make sure you only buy things for your honeymoon that you will wear back home. If tie-dye and hawaiian print aren't really your thing in real life, then stick to stripes and florals that you can wear year round. If you're really looking to save some money, ask a girlfriend to borrow a few things from her closet that will feel new to you. Or check out a site like Rent The Runway if having a designer dress you borrow for the week will make you feel extra special.

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We're going to pack only great pieces, that all go together, & don't break our budget? Umm, I'm pretty sure husband-to-be is going to be quite impressed, don't you? Heck. He might even be so wowed with your small suitcase and thrifty budget, he'll let you convince him to pack only brightly colored shirts for awesome pictures too. :)

So I want to hear ... Where would you go on your dream honeymoon & what would you be wearing?

You can visit Hilary's site HERE to check out all her amazing styling opportunities for you!

Something's Missing Here

As many of you know, I am getting reading to head out on my 2 week Hawaiian Cruise Honeymoon tomorrow! But that doesn't mean this little blog will be silent for 14 days, no siree! In fact, every weekday while I'm gone, there will be guest posts by my amazing Honeymoon Blog Party bloggers! We will have wedding inspiration, fashion tips, social media marketing ideas, amazing Do It Yourself projects, and so much more. These ladies have poured a lot of time and energy in creating these posts and I know you will love them. But there's more - I've offered up a little contest as well, the guest blogger with the most comments (well, the top 3) will get free ad space on the blog for 4 months! How awesome is that?! So, friends, please check out the posts and leave comments to help these ladies out.

Now, I also must explain a little something about my trip... the only thing missing will be - my husband. Yes, I know this is my honeymoon we're talking about, but Mr. H recently got an amazing opportunity through a local fire department that we just couldn't turn down, and that starts before we were scheduled to come back. I'll save you the roller coaster of emotion details of all of this, but I'm making the most of a gift vacation by taking a dear dear friend of mine (and one of my bridesmaids!) instead, and I'm super excited for a little girls getaway vacation =) So in case you are looking at my photos and wondering why I earth I'm on my honeymoon with some other girl - that should clear things up a bit haha.

So, now that we've got all the details cleared away - be sure to check out tomorrow's post on how to pack for your honeymoon by amazing stylist Hilary Rushford of Dean Street Society!