Stunning finish to the manzanita branches

The manzanita branch centerpieces are finally finished!  If you remember back a ways I wrote about finding the perfect yellow pails to place them in, but I am just now getting around to finishing the project.

Cameron and I enlisted the help of our amazing friend Victoria to help us with the messy plaster of paris step :)

At first we did not know how much plaster of paris to mix with a small amount of water, so to solve this problem we just made a large batch that we could scoop into the individual pails.

Warning: It sets up quicker than the box will tell you!  By the end we were all rushing around and trying to fill the pails before they hardened to the point that we could not insert the branches.

After all of the branches were in their pails, I knew that I wanted to add a little bit of embellishment.  Cameron and I made a quick trip to JoAnne's and picked up fabric flowers for 50% of and I proceeded to hot glue them to the branches.

The final look is exactly what I wanted and it is very reminiscent of this look that I showed you in my original manzanita branch post.

I am so excited to see them on the tables at the wedding!

Milk Glass the DIY Way

As you all have seen I love milk glass and I want to use a lot of it in the wedding.  The only problem is that it can be a challenge to find inexpensive milk glass vases.  I have been picking them up whenever I find them, but I would like to have one milk glass vase per table at least and I am not quite there yet.

The solution to this problem came to me from a post by Emmaline Bride (have I mentioned how much I love that blog?!)  Since Cameron and I decided the look and feel to our wedding we have been collecting vases from thrift stores, but we have also been saving any glass bottles that we aquire from various liquids that we consume.  This has left us with a large collection of not-so-interesting glass bottles that need a face lift.  Mix an abundance of plain glass bottles with a need for more milk glass vases and you have a DIY project that makes me smile :)

First I started off with several plain glass vases and bottles.

The goal is to use white puff paint to create a design that helps the bottles to achieve the look of milk glass.  Here are some examples of milk glass vases that I have already collected for the wedding:

I went into the step of puff painting with the idea to have fun with the designs and not with the idea to completely recreate milk glass designs that I have seen.  This allowed me to have more fun and also not worry about being perfect.  

Here is what the plain glass vases looked like after the puff paint designs were applied:

Once the puff paint was completely dried, I moved on to spray painting the bottles.  I chose to use Krylon's indoor/outdoor paint in glossy white.  The back of the paint can stated that it was good for using with glass and I wanted the glossy finish so that the bottles had the smooth look of milk glass.

Spray painting was definitely an adventure.  The paint was quite runny which meant that we had to apply very thin coats.  We ended up doing around 4-5 coats to get the even coverage that we wanted.

Even though it was messy, the end product was well worth the work!  I am really happy with how the bottles turned out, and the bonus is that I have increased the amount of milk glass vases we have for the reception without spending extra money for pricey real milk glass :)  

This is one happy bride!

A little bit of this, a little bit of that

This post is going to be way random... oh well :)  First I wanted to share a picture with some of our thrifstore finds combined with some wedding items to give you all an idea of the decor we are going for:

The shoe is the bridesmaid's shoes and next to it is the pewter swatch from Davids Bridal.

Below are pictures of the amazing finds from thrifting yesterday.  Cameron and I were celebrating 11 months together and he wanted to do something that I enjoyed so we went thrifting for wedding things :)  We found everything below for $1.75 at the DAV!!!!!  Be jealous ;)

Here is the flower girl basket I found.  I want to add some of the small fabric flowers I made around the edges, and do something to the handle.

These bottles were $.25 a piece!  I have been looking for more milk glass vases, but they can be expensive so I was really happy to find both of these.

I picked up three of these glass for $.25 a piece as well.  I want to use them in centerpieces for a look similar to the one below.

How cute are the roses coming out of the glasses!  I love this set of shots from Aisle Candy!

To end the randomness I wanted to post a cute set of pictures (also from Aisle Candy) of the most adorable flower girls!  I can't wait for how cute mine will look!

Have a great Monday night!  I am off to class!

Thrifting makes the world go round

I am so sorry that I have not posted almost all week!  The days got away from me :(

I wanted to show all of you some amazing wedding pieces that I have found while thrifting!  In order to achieve the vintage feeling I am going for, thrifing has almost become a necessity to find unique items that set the mood for the event.

Cameron and I went to the STD flee market here in Springfield and found a wide collection of glasses and vases to use as part of the centerpieces.

 This is only about half of the glass bottles that we found, and we got everything for about $20!  It was definitely worth the trip!

I was also looking for tea cups and pitchers that could be used as part of the centerpieces (you can see them above as well).

The tea cups came in a pack of two for $1 and the pitcher and saucer was a dollar as well!  I can't wait to see how they look with flowers in them.  Here is a picture to show you the look I am hoping to achieve with the tea cups:

Janae Hardy is an amazing photographer from the Springfield area, and the pictures above make me want every detail of my wedding to be amazing!

On the same thrift trip, Cameron and I saw a group of 8 dessert sized plates, but I was unsure if I could use them in the wedding or if they fit.  Almost immediately after leaving, I knew that I wanted them, but I waited a few days just to make sure :)

We got all of them for $10, and the idea is to use them as part of the centerpieces :)  They are so vintage and lovely, and they were definitely a lucky find!

Here is an idea of what the vases will look like with bright yellow flowers in them:

I am really excited to see how the collection of vases all comes together!

On a seperate subject, what do you all think about this platter:

Is it too much yellow?  Not classy enough?  Or just right?  I am still unsure, but Wal-Mart has a whole outdoor dishes section right now and yellow is one of the colors.  My interst was piqued, but I need some outside opinions.

That is all for now!  Have a great Saturday :)  I am going to get outside and enjoy the beautiful weather here in Springfield.

Manzanita Branches

Way back when, right after Christmas break, Cameron and I began talking about getting married this coming summer instead of the summer of 2012.  Thanks to a conversation with his college age pastor back home, Cameron decided that he did not want to wait a year and a half and that he wanted us to begin our married journey this summer :)  I was definitely on board!  Before the official proposal took place I began looking at ideas on wedding blogs for centerpieces and became in love with the look of manzanita branches.

There are so many great ways to use them, and they add such impact to a space.  The downside to manzanita branches is that they can be super de duper expensive.  Lucky for us though someone was selling 18 branches on craigslist for $75 (which is a steal) and we picked all of them up to use for our wedding.  Bad news for us: I did not have a clear plan of how I wanted to use them... and to be honest... I still do not.  BUT I have been looking at a lot of great ideas and I know that the perfect way to use them will come to me soon!

Here are a few pictures and ideas that I have been using for inspiration so far.

These images are from a blog of an actual bride, and she showed how to make the manzanita branch centerpieces that she used at her wedding.  I really like the step-by-step picture of how she got the branches to stand up, because it can be tricky!  I also like how she had guests write notes and hang them on the branches!  So cute!!!  This tutorial was found at Domestic Bliss.

Nettleton Hollow also did several posts about different techniques for making manzanita branches stand upright.  The example above is with plaster of paris in a clay pot.  

The method above uses plaster of paris once again, but you mix the plaster of paris in a plastic tupperware container that you do not care about destroying.  Once the plaster of paris sets up, you cut away the plastic container and can put the manzanita branch with a solid support base into any container to dress it up.  Such a great idea!

I think laying the branch sideways is a really unique way of using the branches!  You can find a post on this at Style Me Pretty.

I adore this centerpiece!  I love the simple clumping of flowers at the base and the flowers sporadically placed on the branches :)  Such a great look provided by Megan Hobson.

I love the manzanita branches lined up in the square containers!  This inspiration was found at Calgary Wedding Assistant.  She even talks about how to make them on your own!  I love when people share DIY ideas :)

Be still my heart!  This picture makes me want to be somewhere else right now!  You can find more about this wedding at The Platinum Event.

This is an addition to the original post, because this is what I want!!!  This was featured on Love and Lavender.

There are some inspiration pictures that I have been loving right now :)  Can't wait to see which direction I go in with the centerpieces.  I am sure it will be a fun DIY post for the future!