CUCUMBER, BASIL & LIME GIMLET - FREE PRINTABLE DRINK TENT

A few weeks ago we hosted a couples wedding shower for our dear friends Rusty and Lizzie.

We set up a stocked bar outside on the deck fully equipped with an interactive "Make your own Gimlet Bar." The guests loved being able to make and garnish their own drinks to their liking and it turned out to be a huge hit.

With summer right around the corner, do you have any plans to host any gatherings? If so I suggest you set up your very own gimlet bar using the free printable drink tent below.

All you have to do is click on the image and drag it to your desktop for a mac (or right click save as for a pc) open the image, print it actual size on a letter sized sheet of paper, cut it and place it into a photo frame or clear acrylic table stand.

This drink can easily be made virgin for the kiddos, pregnant and non-drinking friends...

simply omit the vodka.

As a little something extra, here are some free printable coordinating cards that you can use for food/menu tents, recipe cards, note cards...anything you want.

Cheers!!

PS. Here is a photo of the set up gimlet bar before guests arrived and devoured. :)

HOUSE OF TURQUOISE

I am so excited to be guest blogging about Vivi's nursery over at House of Turquoise (one of my favorite blogs) today!! 

If by chance you haven't seen the nursery yet, feel free to check out all of the photos and DIY on a budget tips here.

Happy Monday all!

PENDANT LIGHT UPDATE

After a visit to my parent's house awhile back, I came home with some items from my childhood (they are in purging mode).

One of the items was this light fixture that they bought for me in 8th grade. I just loved this thing back in the day!

It has been sitting in our garage for months, and I have been wanting to clean it up and spray paint it with the hopes of replacing one of the guest room lights with it.

Our current guest room light is the dreaded "boob light" and needs to be switched out STAT.

So last weekend I finally spray painted it. After a couple of coats of metallic gold-toned 

primer and a couple of coats of turquoise spray paint I ended up with this...

                                   

And this...

 

I think I like it turquoise, but am wondering if I should have maybe painted the outsides the same metallic gold as well. I am kind of obsessed with gold (and white) tones right now ... especially after just finishing the nursery.I am going to think on it for a couple of days before we hang it.PS. I don't have a photo of the guest room that this will go in at the moment as it is in need of new wall and trim paint, but the decor/bedding colors are mostly turquoise, limes and browns.

FREE PRINTABLE THANK YOU CARDS

It's time for some more free printables!

This time I am giving you 4 free printable 4x6 flat thank you cards to choose from. You can write your note on the front as well as the backside if needed.

All you have to do is click on the desired thank you card below and drag the image to your desktop for a mac (or right click save as for a pc) open the image, print it actual size on a letter sized sheet of paper, cut it (using the cut marks provided).

It should fit in an A6 envelope.

FREE PRINTABLE MOTHER'S DAY CARD

Mother's Day is Sunday, May 12.

Have you purchased (or made) your card yet? If not feel free to print this one for free and cross it off of your to do list. 

All you have to do is drag the desired image to your desktop for a mac (or right click save as for a pc) open the image, print it on a letter sized sheet of paper, cut it and fold it (I have provided one with and one without crop/cut marks). 

It should fit in an A7 envelope.

Enjoy! :)

My DIY Hubby

I am not the only DIY-er in my family...

My husband has spent the last few months building this road bike from scratch (saving us thousands, which
makes me very happy), and last night it was finally ready for its first ride ever.

He is my behind-the-scenes helper on most of my DIY projects (kitchen and bathroom remodels, shelf building, etc.) and is a great husband to boot. :)

xoxo to my Tedgar

Our $5,000 DIY Vintage Wedding

Last night I was looking through some wedding photos and got a little nostalgic thinking about our big day back in 2010, so I decided to post some of the details for those who might be planning their own DIY weddings out there.

Ted and I got married on September 18, 2010. We didn't have much of a budget to work with since we just bought or first home together and wanted to put our money towards the house instead of the wedding. So we (mostly me) spent the year before DIYing our little hearts out in preparation for the big day.

(This was long before I ever joined Pinterest...and for that I am actually happy because I can't image how big my ideas would have gotten if I had that many amazing DIY ideas coming nonstop...haha).

We had 175 guests and pulled it all off for around $5,000.

Everything turned out great, and a month after the wedding  we learned that  our wedding and engagement session were featured on La Belle Bride. Very exciting for us!

You can read what La Belle wrote about our wedding below if you wish....

$5,000 Vintage Wedding with DIY Details

A $5,000 wedding. In this decade. AND with adorable DIY style!!!

Spending $5,ooo for a wedding is practically unheard of, right?  Which is why this vintage wedding is so crazy awesome.  Audrey and Ted worked at their day from every angle to keep their budget in place.  They wheeled, dealed but never compromised on style. AND we get to hear all their dirty little DIY secrets (more on this later).  Their Kansas wedding photographer, Rusty Wright, was yet another perfect piece of their vintage wedding puzzle.   As you’ll see from these wedding photos, he captured all the juicy DIY details in perfect vintage composition.

Some tips from our dear DIY bride, Audrey:

• I designed, printed, and made our own cupcake toppers and candy bar print materials.
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• I made our nine bridal bouquets and 12 boutonnieres.
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• We made our own large cupcake stand out of thrift store plates and platters.
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• I built my own “guest book” area. It consisted of a vintage desk passed down from my great aunt, a typewriter, and other cool vintage props that I also inherited or purchased at antique and thrift stores. Instead of a guest book I had my guests ink their fingerprints onto a picture of a dead tree with various fall colored inks and then sign that.  

• Ted and I built our photo booth from scratch and had a friend take and print the photos for our guests...these photos served as our favors. You can read more about our DIY photo booth here.
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• I collected all of my own antiques/vintage finds plus I am using all of the vases, glassware, vintage props, etc. that have been passed down to me from family members and purchased at thrift and antique stores.
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• We got our DJ (valued at  $1000) for free because I did some design projects for him.
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• We got our officiant for free (valued at $300) for design trade of service as well.
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• We got our day-of event planner for free (valued at $300) b/c I did a design trade of service for her.
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• I designed our own invites, save the dates, thanks you cards, programs, cupcake toppers, pennant flag, signage and all other print materials (got almost everything printed for free at a local printer).
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• My friend, Sarah hand drew our  guest book  tree at the entrance to the barn as a wedding gift.
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• We had a fully stocked bar and a bartender. We purchased our own alcohol, which saved money.

• I designed/created my own centerpieces and had friends help me set them up on the day of. they consisted of a mix of flowers, vintage vases, birdcages, vintage postcards, etc.  
• I designed our candy and dessert bar to accompany our cupcakes (using vintage cake stands inherited from my grandma).
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• I printed and mounted old family photos to hang from string near the entrance to play along the vintage theme.
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• My sister-in-law made me paper cranes in various papers, which were placed around the venue.
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• I got my corseted fit and flare dress for only $600 since I bought the "floor model" and added a vintage brooch to the chest to make it feel more personal.
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• My dad wrote and recorded the song that we walked down the aisle to, which made it feel more personal.

We had to rent a U-haul truck to get all of our decor and other items to and from the venue. It was kind of crazy, but very effective.

Our wedding was easily worth $13,000-15,000, but with my designing, bargaining and trades of service, we paid only $4,800-5,000 .

If you are a creative, I suggest seeing if any potential wedding vendors would be interested in any trades of services. You never know until you ask. :)

Venue: Historic Lackman-Thompson Barn (Lenexa, Kansas) | DJ: Mike Westerman,Michael Lauren Weddings | Dinner and Cupcakes: Hy-Vee | Photographer: RJ Stills | Bartender: Erin Cook