Lollipop

I stumbled through this pretty DIY project at Martha Stewart's site this morning and I think it'll be an awesome new trend we'll be seeing in weddings in the coming years...

Inexpensive, Easy, Cool, and can be made way ahead of time. Sounds like my kind of DIY project :)


Here's the instruction straight from Martha Stewart Wedding's website:

Cheree Berry's delightful display of suckers from her wedding is easy to make yourself, but you can also buy one from her website.

Tools and Materials
Styrofoam cone from Baisch & Skinner

Floral spray paint (choose a color that will match your ribbon)

Extra-wide flat washers (these will add weight to the bottom of the cone and keep it steady; to get a heavy-enough weight, Cheree used 2 and hot-glued them together. The more surface of the base that the washer covers, the steadier the cone will be; so, if you can find a "Large OD" washer that's 8 millimeters or wider from a plumbing-supply store, that would be best)

Hot-glue gun

8 yards of 5/8-inch-wide ribbon (use 1-inch-wide ribbon for a 24-inch-tall cone; Baisch & Skinner)

Gold-topped boutonniere pins (about 30)

Lollipops (some of our favorite sources include Ju-C Suckers, Hammond's Candies, CandyDirect.com, and Sugar Shack)

Flag template (download template here)

Slim wooden dowel (for flag)

Craft glue

Lollipop Stand How-To

1. Spray paint cone with floral spray paint, and let dry. Hot-glue the flat washer to the bottom of the cone, and let set.

2. Cut the ribbon into graduated lengths so each wraps once around the cone, with extra for overlap; the shortest piece (for the top of the cone) will be about 5 inches. You will need 25 pieces of ribbon for 16-inch cone, 28 pieces of ribbon for 18-inch cone, and 27 pieces of ribbon (of 1-inch-wide ribbon) for 24-inch cone.

3. Cover cone with ribbon, starting from the top. Wrap the first ribbon snugly around the cone (you will need to wrap the ribbon at a slight angle so that it lays flat on the conical surface). Fold the end under to hide the raw edge, and use a pin to secure. Continue down the cone, overlapping the ribbons only slightly.

4. Insert your favorite lollipops into the cone, slipping the sticks between the ribbons and angling them down. We used rock-candy swizzle sticks, so we used scissors to cut off the balls on the ends of the wooden sticks.

5. Stick a sign into the top of the cone, or insert a single lollipop instead. To use Cheree's flag, download her template and print it out, then use a craft knife and a metal straight edge to cut the flag just inside the lines. Glue it to a slim wooden dowel; if you like, cut a second sheet of paper and glue it to the back of the flag to cover the dowel.

First Published: Martha Stewart Weddings - Summer 2009

Dahlia

Inspired by Meg's post this week about Dahlias, I thought I'd share a picture of the lovely dahlia hairpin that I made for my bridesmaids.

It was actually really really easy to make them. Even on my first try, it only took me about 5 minutes to make one. The key is to making these lovelies is only one: glue gun. Just glue, glue, glue them all together, and let it dry. That's all.... Well, maybe not too much glue, but you know what I mean, right?

They look pretty, don't they? :) Since these were the first ones I ever made, the inside part that's glued to the prongs do not look very pretty, but... hey! As long as it works :)

Busy Bee

Crazy bachelorette party. Laid back wedding shower. I can't thank God enough for all the blessing I have received in my life.

My mom's an expert at making those napkin flowers. She's like a napkin flower-making machine :) Thanks Mom!

Any myself? What have I been doing? Too many thing... I don't even remember....

Progress

Mr. B has been so very helpful. In fact, he's doing more things on my to-do list than I am. Thank God for him.

Napkin flowers count to-date: 55! Woo hoo! another 110 to go :)

And.... overall, things are just going well so far. My dress is still in-the-making. My dressmaker lady called a few days ago saying that she's having a hard time finding the right fabric for the dress alterations... but.... I'm not too concerned. She'll figure it out, I'm sure. My beauty n exercise regime is really paying off. I don't look that much different, but I sure feel different inside ;)

And.... that's it. Plenty of things in my to-do list, but I'm sure I'll get through them. One thing at a time, I say.

<3

Blahblahblah

June 6 is coming in 39 days, but who's counting? Well, the wedding website has the little count down button thing that keeps me updated, that's how I know it's 39 days:)

Anyways, the RSVPs are trickling in, napkin flowers are coming along, my beautiful dress is starting to take shape, my workout and beauty regime is starting to show results, supposed to get the stationary drafts this weekend, and yet I still feel like nothing is accomplished. Have you ever felt that way?

Help. Why is it so hard to ask for help, especially when you need it? I'll be the first to admit, I hate asking for help. I don't really know why. Not that there isn't anyone I can ask for help. In fact, so many of my friends have generously and repeatedly told me not to hesitate to call if I need anything. So why is it so hard for me to ask? Is it because I don't see them often enough? Or maybe they just seem busy and I don't want to trouble them? Or I'm afraid they'll say no? Or am I just too proud to ask? I personally think it's because of my ENFJ personality.... it doesn't go too well with asking people for help, but who knows why. But, since I've realized this flaw in my personality, I will follow Jack in the Box's advise and "do something about it" *rips my shirt's sleeves :D

On another note, how cute are these bando from etsy seller justmejewelry?

Too cute!

Vintage Founds

I went to a thrift store in Anaheim last weekend, and..... look what I found!!


Cool vintage frames! Remember I said a while back that we are going to name the tables according to broadway shows ? Well, these are a preliminary sample of what the table numbers are going to be. Total estimated cost for 20 tables? under 20 - 30 bucks. Can you imagine? A buck per frame (and I just printed out the playbills from my home printer). the frame in the middle is $2, but the other ones are $1 each. They also had lots of tall vintage vases for ranging between $2-10. My goodness.... It's like I died and went to vintage shopping heaven. I had collected about 10 different frames and 5 vases when my fiance came to my side, pulled me out of the daze I was in, and brought me back into reality. He literally had to put the frames and vases back to the shelves and drag me to the car so that I don't go crazy buying these darling frames and vases..... I only managed to 'save' these three frames but I think I'll go back there without him one of these days *shhh! don't tell!*

Anyway, here's the story behind the 2nd frame (the one in the middle). You can't really see it in the pictures above, but here's a close up picture of it.
This is the movie ticket from our first date together. Phantom of the Opera. January 8, 2005. I recently found it inside the pocket of my sister's dressy jacket that I wore on that date 4 years ago. It was a thick jacket, so I only wear the jacket once in a while, which explains why the ticket stayed intact for so long. I'm glad I found it though.... Isn't it a wonderful memorabilia? I think I will place this frame, along with the frames of our grandparents and parents' wedding pictures around the wedding cake as a little nod and a wink to them ;)

Chair Decoration DIY

Remember how I was thinking of having the hanging favor box on the chair instead of having the chair covers? Here are some different ideas for the decor:
1. Hang dried wheat on a bow on the back center of the table
2. Hang flowers

The above 2 options end up to be more expensive that I want it to be.... I need the decoration for each chair to be under a dollar. So.. as my creative side of the brain works better on Fridays, I came up with this idea from this image:

source

So... to modify it a bit to serve our purpose as a hanging chair decoration, here is a step by step guide of how to make it:

1. Make a cone out of paper doilies (these 8" doilies papers are about 5cents each from http://www.wrapwithus.com/favors/3_762-fx.html or 2 cents if you can buy in bulk from here http://www.mypapershop.com/500237.html)

source

2. Tie a ribbon around on the doilies so you can loop it into the back center of the chair.

3. Get a few bunches of baby's breath (you'll need about 3 stems of bb per cone, and it's around 10cents each stem if you buy in bulk.)

source

And voila! You're done. (I think.) I haven't actually tried to make these, but.... yeah. I think it's easy enough to do, don't you? I'm gonna try to do it this weekend :)