Wedding Inspiration: The Invitations

The Mr. and I really whipped the front gardens into shape on Monday, however the one little side garden still needs mulch on it so there are no pictures to share yet. I’m going to try and get that done tomorrow morning so then I can look like a crazy person taking pictures of my gardens where all of my neighbours can see me :)

Since I don’t have a project related post to share, I thought that I would share a little bit of wedding inspiration. I’ve been collecting ideas for the invitations and have found some really neat options. Luckily for us, my mom has a friend who is a graphic designer who is very generously designing the invitations for us so I get to show her what I’m thinking and let her be creative with it!

So, as I’ve previously mentioned, we’re doing a rustic (yet elegant) theme so I found some invitation ideas that I think fit that pretty well.

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I like that this one looks like burlap but has the lacy looking border down the side to pretty it up. I also like the modern layout of this invitation.

Via Pinterest – link did not work when I clicked over :(

I really like the faux woodgrain look on this one and the stitched border is pretty neat (although that would be pretty labour intensive I’m sure haha). I also like how the fancier font contrasts against the more rustic look of the background.

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This one is pretty neat, and I like the modern layout of it as well. Can you tell that our invitations probably won’t be the most traditional? :)

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This was one of the first ones that I really liked. I think the initials carved into the tree is a sweet touch and I like the more laid back font as well.

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I actually really like this one. I think it would be fun to have a pretty patterned background in our colours, although I’m not sure how well this would fit with our theme. Maybe a more nature inspired pattern?

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I really like the look of these postcard thank you cards, so that may be an option.

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I’d love to use envelopes in this rustic brown paper as well. I do like the look of the coloured raffia twine too, but I’ve also seen lace trim wrapped around the brown paper and that looks really pretty too. And those stamps are amazing!

I already have an idea in mind for our save the dates as well which will happen when we get our engagement photos done in October, so I’m not going to share that since I want to keep it a surprise for our guests. I’ll definitely share after they’ve been sent out though!

So that’s where my thoughts are heading as far as invitations go! Anyone have any favourites?

Patio Before and After

I was finally able to plant some flowers for our back patio, so I am now ready to fully share what I’ve done out there!

My goal for the patio was basically to clean it up and add some colour to make it a space that we’ll actually want to use this summer. I’m really going to do my best to stay on top of the weeds and make sure the flowers get watered so that they stay alive. I didn’t spend a lot of money out there, so it isn’t anything earth shattering, but now it’s a colourful and comfortable space where we can relax and entertain friends and family.

First up, some before pictures…because the afters just aren’t as much fun without seeing where it all started! (Warning: picture overload ahead!)

There were the old pots and pillows from last year hanging around…

The little side garden that I covered with rocks last year had a lot of weeds poking up…

There were bags of yard waste from last year that I hadn’t gotten around to getting rid of. A word of advice: don’t bother using those compostable plastic yard bags. They weren’t very strong and started ripping when they weren’t very full, which was the main reason I didn’t end up getting rid of them haha

One more picture of the sad, sad state of the patio.

So, I pulled up as many of the weeds as I could and tried to add lots of colourful touches. I just wanted it to feel happy and summery. Here are the afters of how the patio is looking now!

I got a plain wooden shoe rack and stained it to use as a stand for the flower pots. It’s not the sturdiest thing, but it’s doing the trick so I’m ok with it. It’s up against the fence so it’s not in the way so I’m not really worried about it being knocked over or anything.

I added some interest to my pots from last year using spray paint. I love the purple on the two smaller pots, and the larger pots were sort of a fail that I tried to save lol my plan was to sort of colour block them using white spray paint, but it didn’t go on very well. So, I got out some sandpaper and roughed them up a bit to try and make it look like they were aged and that it was intentional :)

This little side garden gets no sun, so I knew that I wanted to put hostas in there. I’ve planted them before and they’re such an easy plant to maintain, you really don’t have to do anything with them! They’re a perennial, so they’ll keep coming back and get fuller each year. I decided to put two different kinds in to make it a bit more interesting looking and I love how tropical the larger one in the middle looks. In the back corner I spray painted a $5 metal waste bin and turned it upside down to put a planter on. I’m not in love with it, but it was certainly financially friendly :)

I love the mix of the red stems with the green leaves.

The lantern holders are from last year and I remember that they came from the dollar store. I like the blue colour on them and because they already look worn, I won’t worry about them getting roughed up. The lantern tea light holders I’ve had forever, like probably 10 years or something, and they’ve just been something I’ve held onto. I don’t remember where they came from, but I’m glad that they’ve stayed in my hoard this whole time.

These pretty little candle holders were another dollar store find and I absolutely love them. The colours are really vibrant and I love the design on them. The table is kind of awkward to decorate since the umbrella comes right up the middle, so I thought that grouping the candle holders around the umbrella pole was a good way of adding some colour to the table.

The outdoor rug came from JYSK and I love the pop of colour that it adds. I had planned on making a rug out of dropcloth and paint, but when I found this I decided it would work better. It’s made of a plastic kind of material, so it rinses clean really easily. It was super cheap, only $30, so I’m not expecting it to last past next summer but it seemed like a low cost way to add some colour to the boring cement pavers.

These chairs are on loan from my sister and her fiance since they don’t have a balcony at their current apartment. I like that they provide some extra seating out here, and I jazzed them up with those beautiful pillows that came from Walmart for $10 each. The little table is what I had the corner planter sitting on last year, but I decided that it would work better as a little side table for drinks. The pretty little pink lantern is from the dollar store (what CAN’T you get there??). I still want to figure out a way to make the gas meter less of an eye sore. Last year someone suggested that I plant a climbing vine at the base of it and that would eventually disguise it somewhat. I think that would be an ok option because it wouldn’t be permanent and I could keep an eye on it and make sure that it was still readable for the gas company people.

I LOVE how vibrant and fun these pillows are!! I did absolutely no retouching on this photo, that’s really how they look out there :)

This guy was a gift I got in a gift exchange last summer when Ryan’s mom did a Christmas in July party. I really love it and I’m glad that it’s something that can be taken down and come to live with us in a future home. It definitely adds a little something to an otherwise very plain stretch of fence.

And one last picture that I want to share is absolutely terrible because it had to be dark for me to take it, but I think it’s really fun so horrible picture be darned! I’m including it :)

It’s kind of hard to tell what it is lol but I found some clip on, battery operated string lights at (can you guess??) the dollar store! and put them in the spokes of the umbrella. They’re really pretty at night with all of the candles out there lit too :)

So there’s my patio makeover! I really love how it looks and I’ve been spending time out there when I can. It’s very bright and cheerful and I think that’s exactly how an outdoor space should feel. Next on my list of outdoor projects is to tackle our front garden beds. They’re in need of some serious help, and since it’s what people see when they first come to our house I really do want to get them cleaned up. I’m hoping to get to that on Sunday since I’m off work all day and it’s supposed to be beautiful here. Wish me luck on taming the weeds! If you follow me on Instagram I will for sure be sharing the progress there as I go along :)

 

DIY Beachy Serving Tray (and what I gave the moms!)

I’ve been waiting for days to do this post because the weather here in Southern Ontario has been less than desirable for taking pictures outside since probably Saturday. Happily, the sun and warmth is back today! So I’m finally able to share the beachy little serving tray that I made :)

Would you believe that this is made from a dollar store cutting board and some kindling? Yep.

I used the glass cutting board as a base and then used the Goop to glue the kindling onto the cutting board. I lucked out and the pieces of kindling were just a bit bigger than the cutting board, so I didn’t have to cut anything (which was great because we don’t have a power saw so I don’t want to think about how awful cutting all of those pieces with a hand saw would have been!)

I went through the bag and picked out the pieces that were the right length and shape and then just put a squiggle of Goop on one side and then pressed it onto the cutting board until the whole bottom was covered.

I wanted sides on it to keep any glasses or snacks from sliding off, so I just layered the kindling around the edges to create sides. I did have to bust out a hand saw here to cut 2 little pieces to fill in gaps on the sides. Sadly, it didn’t look too pretty…

My initial plan was to leave it all wood and paint the inside with a white wash and paint the outside a fun bright colour, but I just couldn’t leave it looking all jacked up like that haha

So I decided to hot glue some jute around the outside edges to cover up the not so pretty wood parts.

I did like it like this, but I had a vision in my mind of how I wanted it to look, so I watered down some white paint to white wash the inside and then painted the jute a bright blue (Paradise Blue to be exact!). I just used craft paint for this since even though I plan on using it for outdoor entertaining, I don’t plan on leaving it outside. I found some pretty brass handles at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore for $1 each and attached those to the sides. I love how the handles look against that bright blue!

I really love how this tray turned out! It’s bright and beachy and perfect for summer time outdoor entertaining.

I really like the look of the wood on the inside, it’s almost a pickled wood finish.

So that’s my cute little serving tray! I didn’t bother to seal it with anything since, as I mentioned, I don’t plan on leaving it outdoors. I know this wasn’t exactly the most thorough tutorial ever, so if anyone has any questions about it feel free to ask!

I also thought that I would share what I made for my mom and mother-in-law for Mother’s Day since both gifts are now safely with their recipients.

For my mom, I drew a family tree for her that looks like a tree. I used her grandparent’s names as the roots, her parent’s names as the trunk and then her and her sister’s names as the main branches with their spouses underneath and all of their kids (and grandkids for one of my aunts) as the smaller branches. I love how it turned out, and my mom really liked it too.

My plan was to hang it in my house to take some better pictures of it, but my parents stopped by yesterday on their way to Windsor so I gave it to her then. So, sorry for the not so great photo with my reflection in it :)

For my mother-in-law, I made a blanket. They put an addition onto their house last year, basically a sunroom, that they call “the cottage”. It’s very cozy and is surrounded by the nature of their back yard and I thought that it would be nice for her to have a lap blanket for out there on those mornings and evenings when it might be a bit chilly. I chose fabrics in blues and browns and plaid for that country cottage feel and basically made a quilt front and then used brown fleece as the backing instead of the traditional batting between the quilt front and fabric back.

It’s folded up here so it looks smaller, but it’s actually a nice size for one person.

The fleece backing will be so cozy for snuggling under.

I finished off the edges with a zig zig stitch to close up the hole I had to leave to turn it right side out after sewing the two pieces together and I also thought that it gave it a nice finished look. The cutting of the fabric was what took the longest, but overall it wasn’t that difficult to do. It isn’t perfect, quite a few of the corners of the squares don’t exactly meet up but for a first attempt at something like this I love how it turned out! I’ll definitely make blankets like this again as gifts for people. I won’t even bother writing a post on how I made this blanket because a lot of it was just me making it up as I went along haha if you’re interested in quilting, check out this series of tutorials that I found via Pinterest. She explains things really well, I just chose to modify things :) This series of tutorials also has great information for beginner quilters. Some day I will make a proper quilt!

My MIL sent me a picture of the blanket out in “the cottage” so I wanted to share it.

She loved it, so that’s all that I really cared about :)

I’m hoping to plant some flowers this weekend so I’ll hopefully be sharing our patio with you next week! I hope everyone has some sun today, wherever you are :)

Linking to: Serenity Now, The Domestic Fringe

For the Moms

To my mother,

There’s really no way for me to tell you just how much I appreciate you and all of the things you do for me, but I can try. You have always been one of my biggest supporters, and I think a lot of that is because I’m so much like you so you understand me better than most people could. I love knowing that if I ever need someone to talk to, vent to, cry to or call just to chat you are always there. I can honestly say that I have nothing but good memories of you throughout my entire life, and I don’t think everyone is lucky enough to say that about their mom. You always knew just what to do to make me feel better when I was sick; you always threw the best birthday parties that always had a homemade cake; you always knew when I was making a mistake when it came to relationships, but you were smart enough to stay quiet about it until I figured it out for myself. The day I got engaged, you were the first person that I called so that I could happily scream into your ear that I was going to be someone’s wife, and I know that the day I have my first baby you’ll be by my side throughout the whole thing and won’t leave until I’m ready to do it on my own. You’re so much more than a mother to me now, you are my friend. I feel so blessed that I got to grow up with the most loving mother to guide me and teach me to be the person that I am today. I hope that some day I will be the kind of mother that you have always been. I love you and I hope that you have a wonderful Mother’s Day!

Love Steph

 

To my future mother-in-law,

Thank you for raising such a wonderful man. He is not only a loving partner to me, he is also a good human being and that is thanks to your love and support as his mother. I also want to thank you for how wonderful and loving you have been towards me. From the first day that I met you, you welcomed me with a hug and have been such a wonderful addition to my life. You are caring, loving, fun to be with and have such a warm energy about you. I feel truly blessed to be marrying into your family and that some day my children will be lucky enough to have you for their grandmother. Thank you for everything that you have done for us, we appreciate it so much more than we can ever really express. I hope you have a wonderful Mother’s Day!

Love Steph

 

Happy Mother’s Day to all of the mothers, grandmothers, mothers-to-be, mothering figures and anyone other woman who has a motherly and nurturing influence on someone in their life. Thank you for all that you do, you are truly appreciated and loved!

What I’ve Been Up To

Well, I’ve certainly been slacking on posting recently. I’ve been busy, but I just haven’t fully completed anything yet so I have nothing to share! Sometimes I get really focused on a project and just keep at it until it’s finished, and other times I get project ADD and go from one thing to another. It’s also been beautiful here the last week or so, so I’ve been trying to enjoy time outside. I’ve also been hit with a nasty cold so my energy has been not so great the last few days.

So instead of a fully completed project to share, I have a few sneak peeks of what I’ve been working on!

The first two are Mother’s Day gifts, so obviously I won’t reveal what they are or what gift is for which mother but I thought a couple of teaser pictures wouldn’t hurt. If the moms read this before they receive their gifts then they can have some fun trying to figure out what they’re getting!

This is a sneak peek of a project I started that’s for our house, specifically to be used for outdoor entertaining…

And speaking of outdoors, I spent some time last week cleaning up our patio and adding some much needed colour out there. I’m not going to fully reveal it for a couple more weeks because I want to add some flowers first and the rule of thumb in our area is to wait until after the May long weekend to plant flowers to avoid any frost damaging them. The long weekend is 2 weeks away, so I’ll share what the patio is looking like by the end of the month! Here’s a little preview of what to expect though, I shared this picture on Instagram last week…

 

So that’s what’s been going on in my neck of the woods lately! The weather is supposed to get cold and wet this weekend which is a downer, but I’m working a lot of it so I guess that’s better than having to work while you’re wishing you could be out in the sunshine! I’ll be back in a few days to share some of my completed projects!