DIY: Faux Milk Glass Vases

I wanted to share the DIY project that I entered into Ruffled's Found Tucked Away and Used Today DIY Contest. I personally think that DIY is at it’s best when it saves you money and time while adding a special touch that enhances your wedding or event. Vintage milk glass is beautiful, but I know first hand how hard it can be to track down good pieces without spending hours driving around, scouring the internet, or paying a fortune. So I wanted to replicate the look of milk glass on a budget using some vintage glass vases and glossy white spray paint.

What you’ll need:
- Assorted vintage glass vases (I found mine at a local thrift store, 9 pieces for $5)
- Rubbing Alcohol (optional)
- Brown craft paper or newspaper
- Latex gloves
- White glossy spray paint (I used Krylon Multipurpose Indoor/Outdoor Gloss White)

Instructions:
Step 1: Use rubbing alcohol and a cotton ball or paper towel to remove any sticky residue from the vases. Wash vases with soap and dry completely.
Step 2: Lay down paper on your spraying surface in a well-ventilated area. Shake spray paint for 1-2 minutes before spraying. Shake between sprays as well. Wearing gloves, work from side to side spraying vases with spray paint. Don’t get too close to the vase to avoid drips/runs. (No need to spray paint the inside of the vases, just do the tops; spraying the inside then using them for flowers with water will cause the inside paint to flake off).
Step 3: Rotate vase until covered, let dry a few minutes before adding a second coat. Let dry completely.

The results: I wanted to set up a cute vintage + springy tablescape to display the vases, and used white stock, yellow rannuculus and red tulips for a simple yet lush arrangements. I used a vintage strawberry print tablecloth and napkins, a red quilted table runner, strawberry sodas, white plates topped with glass salad plates spray painted blue on the bottom, and red velvet cupcakes with marzipan stawberries on top as a sweet treat.

Voting for the winner of the contest starts soon over at Ruffled, I'll post a link when voting opens up! ♥

Real Wedding: Jazz Age Inspired

This real wedding has tons of style, inspired by the Jazz Age and mixed with more modern details. I love that the couple held their outdoor reception in an interesting location - an outdoor sculpture park - which automatically infuses interesting focal points into a reception and saves on decorations. The bride went for a modern twist on a 1920's look with a frilly pale gray gown by J. Mendel and a spectacular pair of Azzedine Alaia shoes that complement the Jazz Age theme perfectly. A 1930's taxi took the bride and groom to and from the reception and provided a great photo op for wedding party pics in front of the church. Long tables with tall glass vases filled with a few bright pink peonies and bistro lights strung above the dining area and dance floor go a long way in enhancing the reception space.



















Credits: Photos by Karlisch Photography via Martha Stewart Weddings

Spring Floral Inspiration

Last night I attended the Spring Floral Studio class at flower heaven, also known as ink & peat in Portland, Oregon. I have long loved the lush, full, wild but still tame look of the florals that designer/owner Pam Zsori puts together, and when I saw on my google reader that she was putting on this class, I called about 30 seconds later to reserve my spot. I'm soooo glad I did. The class last night was all about putting together spring arrangements in the lovely ink & peat style, taught by Pam herself. We made two arrangements, one shorter low, round, lush arrangement and one taller, looser one-sided arrangement.

Here are the results of my low, round, lush arrangement using pittosporum leaves, Dusty Miller, white wax flower, yellow stock, pinky/purple alstroemeria, pink roses, yellow ranunculus, and green moss balls. I'm super happy with the way it turned out!

And here's the taller, looser arrangement with chocolate eucalyptus, pittosporum leaves, cherry blossom branches, pink hyacinth, peach ranunculus, yellow stock, bright pink roses, pink riceflower and a little spanish moss "nest".

In between making the arrangements we had tea, mini cupcake and lintzer cookies. So sweet!

Free Download Thursday

This week's batch of Free Download Thursday roundups have an old-fashioned black and white theme to them, from an invitation suite to favors to napkins.

Three different black and white napkin templates from Wedding Style Guide - Great vintage desings, my personal fave is the "Bon Appetite", but there's also "Good Food, Good Wines, Great Times" and "Here's Cheers". How to and downloads here.

Vintage Black and white invitation suite via i do it yourself blog by Eleanor of E.M. Papers, featuring a tandem bike, wedding rings and love birds. How to and downloads here.

Black and white flower patterned download from Wedding Style Guide that could be used for favor tags, napkin bands or any other creative uses you can think of. Download here.

And finally, an adorable black and white favor bag label from Flights of Fancy, perfect for brown bags filled with cookies, candy or other homemade treats for your guests to go home with. Also available in red and yellow. Get the how to and download here.

Inspiration Board: Share the Love

I am officially in love with spring and with this amazing spring + pastel inspiration board by Sofia of Brancoprata... How awesome are these colors and that pastel plaid wedding dress!

Credits: Click, then rollover photos for links/credits.

Inspiration Board: Turquoise and Fuschia

This board was inspired by the photo of the bride with the fabulous Balenciaga scarf and the bike, and I picked up on the colors from the scarf to translate into a color palette of turquoise, fuschia, green and yellow. The bride's ruffled Melissa Sweet 'Billie' dress inspired the ruffled cake topped with fresh pink flowers, and the tablescape has a sophisticated and clean look with taupe, white and pops of pink. I love the idea of patterns being used, maybe for the bridesmaids dresses or even for lounge seating during the cocktail hour.

Credits: Click, then rollover photos for credits/links.

Adorable Idea: Stop Motion Save the Date Video

I was so giddy when Marry You Me reader Courtney sent me the Save the Date video that she and her fiancee Anthony created. They used stop motion animation to tell the story of how they met and announce their wedding date to family and friends - and the results are adorable! From Courtney and Anthony: "It was our first shot at this kind of thing and we are happy with how it turned out. We hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed creating our story in stop motion format. Although the concept and artwork were created by us, we would have never been able to make it into reality without the assistance of Courtney's dad and Anthony's future father-in-law, Chris Raaum."

Thanks so much for sharing Courtney and congratulations to you and Anthony!

Inspiration to Reality: Silvery Black and White Part Deux

Yesterday was the husband's birthday, so I didn't get around to posting the second part of the Silvery Black and White Inspiration to Reality shoot that was featured this week on Style Me Pretty. So here's the rest of the pretty incredible shoot that was inspired by my Silvery Black and White inspiration board, and make sure to stop by later to see the most adorable stop-motion save the date video that MYM reader Courtney sent me!

Some awesome ideas from the team of San Francisco vendors, including Viola of chewing the cud and Lisa Neighbors of Blonde Tulip Photography:

"We wanted to create a tablescape that had a touch of whim and fancy, yet still felt urbane and refined. Our graphic silhouette for the table was the butterfly. Butterflies are such a dreamy, fanciful creature that created instant romance and drama when suspended by the hundreds above the table. We wanted a hint of romance, but wanted to infuse a more multifaceted, edgy vibe and did so by using newsprint and black paper for the cutouts. The newspaper and black paper tied in perfectly with the brick wall and the steel beams. The color palette for the table was gray, black, white and silver. We selected hammered silver utensils and a collection of smoked wine glasses mixed with black opaque wine glasses. The silver Marais A chair was the perfect choice for it’s rounded edges and it’s urban chic feel.

Lining the center of the table was an overflowing arrangement of all-white ranunculus and hydrangea. The arrangement was created to have a full and soft feel created by the different textural flowers. The rounding effect of the arrangement added a contrast to the rectangular shape of the table and the clean lines of the black and white striped French ribbon.

The escort card display was created using one of the steel beams in the loft. Using a variety of different fonts and numbers printed on an assortment of papers created a visual feast for the eyes. Each card was hung with a custom magnet that repeated a graphic icon from the wedding invitation.

For the place cards, we used muted gray plates that had a combination of soft rounded details mixed with more graphic ridges and dots. Each plate had the guest’s name and corresponding magnet icon from the escort card display written on the plate. Menus and table numbers were also transferred onto dinner plates for guests to read upon being seated.

Taking the cue from the layered tulle dress from the inspiration board, our bride wore a beautiful tiered dress, with a custom hairpiece made of silk and fashioned in layers and topped off with the most dramatic rhea whips. Our fabulous hair and make-up team created a natural, glowing look with a touch of flirtiness. As you could tell, they had fun adorning her with the crazy black and white wigs! A touch of detail sparkled its way upon the bride, as she was adorned with a touch of blue by Ashley Morgan. The hand made necklace was made of a rare and fanciful rosecut indicolite tourmaline set with a pave diamond border. The three stackable rings were a gift from her future husband- represented the past, present & future.

We also created a “For the Boys” Scotch bar. We custom-fit the chalkboard inside the antique mirror swivel frame, which worked perfectly in the space. Custom-designed bottles were wrapped with twine while others were wrapped with French ribbon; all were coupled with black-and-white vintage toppers. Votive candles with custom butterfly cutout wraps added a warm glow to the table and the antique cameras were playful accent pieces.

The precious flower girl couldn't help but toss all of the little black butterfly cutouts that the tiny white ceramic bowl held. Strands of butterflies and ribbons were hung from the bowl creating a lovely bit of fluttering. Her lovely white dress with black detailing complemented all of the other décor elements from the event.

It’s always fun to have the groomsmen wear boutonnieres that are all a bit different than one another. Shown: a white amaryllis wrapped with a zebra feather, black sprayed poppy seeds with zebra feather accents, and white ranunculus with zebra feather accents. The bridal bouquet was created on the fly, inspired by the gorgeous headpiece. A combination of amaryllis, ranunculus and zebra feathers made for a striking piece. The lines of the bouquet create drama and sophistication that contrast the soft ruffling of the dress."

Credits: Coordination and Planning: Stacy McCain Event Planning / Event Design and Florals: Atelier Joya Event Design and Floral / Invitations and Concepts: chewing the cud / Photography: Lisa Neighbors of Blonde Tulip / Cake: Sugarcoat it Studio / Gown and Fashion accessories: Amy Kuschel / Hair Accessories: KAutumn / Jewelry: Ashley Morgan Designs / Make-up: Darlene Carlson Hair and Makeup / Hair: Jim Avila and Associates / Lighting and Piping: Got Light / Linens: Classic Party Rentals / La Tavola Linens / Chairs: Design within Reach / Model: Look Model Agency