wedding project #1- mossy initials

So after writing my post this morning about wedding ideas, I got motivated to actually make some headway on some of those plans.  First I headed downtown to Davis wholesale florist to find out about flowers (since I had planned on just ordering and doing them all myself).  I quickly got talked out of that idea when I started walking around, looking at all the options, hearing about what's in season and what isn't, and listening to the wholesale guy tell me I must be crazy for wanting to do my own flowers.  Obviously, the main...well, only reason...I ever made that decision was based on cost.  Florists are freakin' expensive!!  Bouquets for $50? Multiplied times 6 bridesmaids?  I think not.  However, while I was down there the wholesale guy introduced me to a lady who independently does flowers for weddings and events with her husband from their home.  He also told me he would let me know about some other independent florists they work with a lot who would do really great work for much cheaper than these big name Birmingham wedding florists..  So, maybe I'll let someone else take care of flowers after all. We shall see.

Anyways, back to my projects.  After the florist, I headed to Hobby Lobby to get supplies for making the moss-covered initials.  I wasn't sure if I wanted to do an "A" and a "G" for Amy and Greg, or do a pair of "Bs" for Boggs.  Once I got home though I decided I liked the "B" idea better.  I whipped up a quick dinner for me and Greg, and then after he left I got to work....

3 hours later....I had finished ONE.  Boy, did I underestimate this project!  I'm pleased with the result, but it could be a while before I complete the second B.  Here's what I did...

Supplies: *All my supplies were found in the silk floral department*

• Styrofoam board (mine was 2"x12"x36"), and I cut it in half to allow for both letters)
• Moss
• Glue
• Floral pins (look like really wide silver bobby pins)

The tutorial I followed used hot glue to apply the moss. Luckily I decided to just buy some crafting glue (it was actually wood glue), because for the amount of glue that was all over my fingers during this project I can't imagine trying to use hot glue!  Also, you could go the easy route and get some large wooden letters from the craft store.  I looked at both Hobby Lobby and JoAnn's Fabrics, but I didn't like the font of the options they had, so I opted to just make my own.  My "B" is font style Lucida Handwriting, if you were wondering ;)  Ok moving on...

I started by printing the biggest "B" I could fit on a single piece of paper to be my guide.  Then I free-hand drew the "B" onto the foam board until it was shaped the way I wanted it.  Then I took a steak knife from the kitchen drawer and started cutting away until I had the completed form.

Also please note that you WILL make a huge mess during this process.

 

 I found two kinds of packaged moss at Hobby Lobby, and not knowing which would be easiest to work with I bought a little of both.  One is called "Preserved Sheet Moss" and the other was "Moss Cloth."  Basically, one was a bunch of pieces of moss and the other was a large sheet of it.  I decided to start with the large sheet because it fit perfectly onto the entire front of my letter.  I placed my form face-down, traced it to the sheet and then cut.

 

Sheet Moss

Moss Cloth

 Once the front was done, I just started taking strips that I had cut and as many bigger pieces as I could use to glue around the remainder of the form.  You can blend in seams just by mushing (is that a word?) the moss together and tacking edges down with the floral pins.  But as long as you use the whole cloth to cover the front, then at least that is smooth and seamless. The rest will blend in pretty well. 

And after you've completely covered your work station, yourself and the floor with Styrofoam and moss, you will have your finished product! :)

All that's left is some pretty ribbon for hanging!  Oh yeah, and the other "B!" ha

wedding talk

Somehow I have managed to not do a lot of wedding talk here on my blog.  When we initially started planning, I had in mind to do a post full of ideas and pictures, almost like a style board.  I still want to do that eventually, but with so many weddings being planned right now (mainly my sister's and future sister-in-law's), I kinda want to keep things a secret until their plans were pretty much finalized.  Is that selfish?  I guess in a way it might be better to lay out my hopes and dreams for our wedding, so my ideas don't get used by someone else. But, at the same time I'm afraid to say too much, just in case.  Although, there's really only a few things that I think are really unique that I want to keep a secret.  So, I guess there's no harm in sharing what I've come up with so far.  (Man, did I just talk myself into that, or what?)

Ok, so I posted this before, but to give you an idea of setting....here is our cute little white church where the ceremony will be.  I absolutely adore it!

The reception will be just down the road at the Newton-Davis House.  I envision that most of the reception will be spent outdoors, giving it a backyard feel.  The band will be setup outside, and most the tables and chairs will be out in the yard, and there's even a tiny little barn out back too.  We are thinking of having a late afternoon wedding, so that hopefully the sun will start setting during the reception :)

 As for decor, I LOVE the rustic, backyard garden look.  I plan to use lots of wood and burlap materials, and lots of color.  People keep asking me what my colors are, and I just tell them, 'lots of bright colors,' cause there's no one particular color I want to focus on.  To give you an idea, because I know everyone loves pictures...here's what I have in mind...

ok, so maybe not the hat for Greg, but I love the neutral colors of their attire and this bride's lace shawl!!  I so wish I could find one

So there you have it. A little sneak peek for now!  Even though there have been some stressful moments here and there during this planning process, I really am enjoying figuring out my style and finding cute little things that will make it "ours."  And our Save the Dates are FINALLY getting mailed soon.  I didn't think we would ever get those suckers done, but they look phenomenal thanks to my good friend DK and her amazing graphic design skills.  Shout out to Cayenne Creative!!  She designed our Save the Dates, and as soon as they are in the mail I will post it on here as well :)

Alright, well my to-do list for today is quite hefty.  I'm working on planning my sister's lingerie shower, meeting with Greg to view our Save the Date proof so they can begin printing, maybe do some more bridesmaid dress shopping, and heading downtown to the wholesale flower shop to scope out some wedding flower options!  Wish me luck!

my little garden

Last year I put my green thumb skills to the test and had 2 little tomato plants- one cheery tomatoes and one big tomatoes.  The cherries did pretty well, and Greg was able to enjoy a few throughout the summer.  But my big tomatoes never go any bigger than a ping-pong ball and never turned red.  Well this year, despite last years semi-failures, I decided to go even further in my gardening adventures.  I bought 2 large tomato plants (Better Boys, to be exact), 1 cherry tomato plant, 2 strawberry plants, and 2 green bell pepper plants.  I also bought a huge wooden planter, made from an old wiskey barrel, to use along with a smaller wooden barrel planter I owned from last year.  Here's how my little garden looked the day I planted everything...

The strawberries have done kinda 'eh.'  They made fruit, but nothing like the "large fruit" the info label on the plant said they would produce.  I don't think I've planted them in the optimal container they need.  I think strawberries need more space.  They have also stopped making fruit for the time being, but after doing some research on the internet, I think they should begin producing again in the early fall.  The cherry tomatoes have done the best so far.  I just picked the 1st two this week, and gave them to Greg to eat. He said they were delicious!  And there are a lot more in the process of growing.  The big tomatoes seem to be doing much better this year.  They are growing bigger than last year's crop, but are still very green, so it'll be a while before they are ready to eat.  I was a little worried about the bell peppers at first. They took a while to begin growing fruit. For a good month or so it was just the leafy plants, but about a week ago, tiny little bell peppers began to spout!  So, I've got my fingers crossed that they will do well!  Here's how things look as of this week...

And speaking of my garden. I don't think I ever posted about the BEAUTIFUL lillies I had in my front yard.  These flowers just popped up the following spring after I bought my house the summer before.  They are were absolutely beautiful! (they're gone now until next spring) And luckily this year, they multiplied!  Oh, I LOVE them :)