DIY: Fall Guest Book Tree

DIY: Fall Guest Book Tree

Fall is upon us! The leaves are turning and the weather has become cool and crisp. Autumn is becoming a popular time to tie the knot. Brides and grooms have started to incorporate fall aspects into their wedding day. One quick and simple way to add some fall flavor to your special day is to glam up your guest book by creating a unique, fall themed, guest book tree.

This project is a quick and inexpensive! It can be done in less than an hour. All you need is a trip to your nearest craft store and a dollar store.  These are the items in which you will need to purchase:

-          Clear glass vase (or colored depending on preference) –Michael’s Craft Store

o   We will use the clear vase for the base of the tree

-          River rocks or pebbles – Dollar Store

o   You will need to buy enough rocks to fill the vase

-          Branches

o   You can utilize nature and collect branches outside!

o   You can also order branches off of Etsy, Ebay, or Craigslist

-          Die Cut Leaves (In the colors you choose) Michael’s Craft Store of JoAnn Fabrics

-          String

-          Hole puncher

First, you will take the base of your tree and fill it with rocks. Once the rocks are half way full, add branches to your vase. You will want to arrange your branches so the tree is symmetrical and won’t tip over. Once the branches are in place, you may fill the rest of the vase with rocks. Once the base of the tree is ready, grab your hole punch and punch a hole in the top of each leaf. Cut string or ribbon to desired length, and make a look for guests to hang the leaves on the tree.

Once you set the tree out for display, create a sample leaf so guests know what to put on the leaf. You can buy fun colored fall pens, gold, silver, orange, or red for guests to write with. Let your imagine soar. This simple, easy, and creative guest book tree is sure to be a hit and can last a lifetime!

Halloween DIY

DIY: Halloween Edition 

Fast forward. It’s October 31^st. It’s Halloween. You are probably thinking how did the month of October escape you. Your children have invited friends over and your neighbors might stop by. To top it off, you just got home from work and now you have less than an hour to prepare something fabulous to celebrate Halloween.

Cue the violins... Wait, stop, don’t panic. I have a quick DIY Halloween solution that will take less than an hour of your time and you most likely have all the ingredients in your home right now. 

What is it you ask? Well, ladies and gentlemen, it’s time you get creative and make your own apple bar!  We all love an old fashioned caramel apple. Halloween is the perfect time to celebrate with this pastime. Your guests will love the endless choices and wonder, how did they do it? Let's get started! 

First, you need apples. The amount of apples needed depend on your guest list. Take the apples and wash them. Any type of apple will work for this project. Wait to cut the apples until the rest of our apple bar is complete. It may be Halloween, but no one likes a brown apple. 

Next, it’s time to cook the caramel. Caramel, may sound daunting, but it is a very easy sauce to make. Here’s a recipe that I use from food.com:

1 packed cup brown sugar

½ cup half and half

4 tablespoons butter

Pinch of salt

1 tablespoon vanilla extract 

Mix the brown sugar, half and half, butter and salt in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook while whisking gently for 5 to 7 minutes, until it gets thicker. Add the vanilla and cook another minute to thicken further. Turn off the heat, cool slightly and pour the sauce into a dish or jar. Place in fridge until cold.

Now that the caramel sauce is ready to go, it's time to look through your pantry and fridge for fun toppings. 

Here are some topping ideas that are quick and easy: 

Chocolate Chips

Chocolate Sauce

Peanuts

Marshmellows

Almonds

Sprinkles 

Walnuts

Granola 

Rice Crispies 

White Chocolate Chips 

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chips

Peanut Butter

Let your imagination soar!

This project is open ended. You can use whatever you feel would taste best on an apple! 

Now, it's time to set up for the apple bar. Use jars and bowls to put the toppings in. Have several spoons available for guests to use. You can write out name cards for each topping so guests will be able to identify the toppings with ease. Or you can skip the name cards for a little bit of Halloween mystery. Additionally, to save you from washing forks afterwards, put out a bowl of tooth picks for easy pickings! You can create a fun "BOO" banner using paper, markers, and ribbon. 

For my apple display I turned vases upside down and tied a black ribbon for some added décor. I also found some scrap black fabric and used it as table décor. Get creative and use things around your house. Have your child draw a scary picture, or color a pumpkin to decorate. It can be as elaborate or simple as you would like. It all depends on your time crunch and available resources. 

Right before the guests arrive cut your apples. They should be crisp and ready to go! Enjoy your apple bar and have a spooky Halloween 2012. 

Your Elegant Affairs DIY Guru 

      Rachel Ermitano

DIY Week #2

DIY Week 2: Put a Bird on it. ... Literally.

 We all remember the first Sex and the City movie’s wedding  scene. Here comes the moment we’ve been waiting for, the moment we saw our beloved Carrie step into her bridal gown. Our eyes gravitated to her head, and I know we all thought, “Wait, what is that? Is that a bird?” Yes, indeed, it was a bird. Well leave it to SJP to get on top of the bird trend. Birds are all over Pinterest, clothes, and are seen at modern, vintage, rustic, well you-name-it-kind-of-wedding, and they are there. There are many ways to incorporate birds into your wedding day, but it doesn’t have to be on your head…

In my previous weddings, I’ve seen bird cages, bird décor, and even the occasional bird cake topper. So, today’s DIY are fabric bird cake toppers. In today’s world, there is no standard cake topper. The days of plastic bride and grooms are over.  Creating and customizing your own cake topper is the perfect way to tie your wedding theme all together.

 Here are the necessary items needed to complete this project:

-          Template (FREE!)

o   I have attached a template to the page.

-          Fabric (scrap fabric, or you can buy fabric to coordinate with your wedding theme) (Starts at $3.99/yd)

o   Get creative! You may use burlap, tweed, suede, linen, cotton blend, let your mind explore!

o   You will need a 1ft by 1ft square

o   Don’t forget to use your coupons if you have any!

-          Thread ($3)

o   Coordinate your thread with your fabric

o   You can also find thread

-          Needle (Small)

-          Fiber Fill

o   You will need a very small amount of fiber fill for the birds

o   If you don’t have fiber fill handy, or do not want to spend money to buy a whole bag, use cotton balls!

-          Fabric Scissors

-          Fabric Pencil

-          Straight Pins

Okay, let’s get crafty! First things first, print out the free template. Then, take your template and cut out the pieces. Place the pieces on your fabric and start tracing using your fabric pencil. If you have a difficult time tracing the template onto the fabric, feel free to use straight pins to hold it in place. If you don’t have a fabric pencil, use the straight pins to pin each piece and then cut.

 You will need:

-          1 head

-          2 bodies

-          1 chest

-          (Note: If you are using patterned fabric, be sure to cut on body with the right side of fabric, and one body with the wrong side of the fabric.)

 

Once your fabric is cut, it’s time to start sewing! Take your small sewing needle, and thread your needle. Make sure to use coordinating thread. Now, take the head and one body piece and sew the two together starting at the beak. You will be using the Whip Stitch. If you are unsure how to use this stitch feel free to check out the how to here:

http://www.holiday-crafts-and-creations.com/whip-stitch.html.

 

 

Once one side of the head, and one side of the body (make sure if you are using patterned fabric, you are using the correct side) are sewn together, do the same to the other side. Take your second body piece and sew it to the head, starting at the beak. Once you reach the end of your head piece, you can sew the two bodies together until you reach the tail.

Here’s the fun part! It’s time to decorate! You can take black thread to sew eyes, sew buttons for a tux (groom’s bird), use a running stitch to form letters, or a heart. You can also take coordinating scrap fabric to create a little flower for the bride’s bird. The options are endless so, get creative!

 

After finishing all your embellishments, it’s time to stuff the bird and sew it shut. Fill your bird with fiber fill and take the chest piece and sew one side starting at the tail. Sew until you reach the beak. Once you reach the beak, sew the second side to the chest until you reach the tail. Your bird should be completely sewn at this point.

Ladies and gentlemen, here you have it, your very own cake topper bird. You can also take wire and make feet for your bird. Don’t hesitate about getting creative! The options are endless for these fun little birds.

Good luck, and happy sewing!