Hanging Teacups: How I’d Do It.

I saw this décor idea as I was perusing this website and thought it was cute as hell, even though I’ve seen it a few times before. Here’s a little teacup flower porn for ya. Scroll down for my "How I'd Do It." Maybe I should call it a faux-torial?

 

This site gives a little DIY on how to make one of these as a hanging centerpiece, but the idea of using streamers is not one I think I’d use. If it gets wet, aren’t you screwed?

If I were going to DIY these suckers, I’d do this:

1. Find cute cups and saucers. I designed a lamp base once stacking mismatched cups and saucers on top of each other and then sent it off to China to have it mass produced. I spent some time rummaging around a Goodwill shop as well as an antique shop in Nashville. I found lots of cute little mismatched goodies for WAY cheap. I think I paid $10 for 6 cups and saucers. You can find them that cheap. Check out all the 99 cent deals on eBay!

2. Glue the teacup to the saucer. As someone who has worked with ceramics a LOT in her life, I would recommend a 2-part clear epoxy. You can get it at any Lowe's, Hone Depot or Hobby Lobby. It holds the best, is water tight and dries fast. DO NOT use Super Glue. Trust me.

3. Position the ribbon under the teacup. If your ribbon is less than an inch wide, use the multi-arm approach shown the last photo. If over an inch, you can just use one strip. I would lightly secure the ribbon to the bottom of the teacup using white duct tape (rolled, not showing) or those super-strength glue dots you can get at Hobby Lobby. Trust me, those things are serious forms of attachment.

4. Since water is kinda heavy, put only an inch or two of water in the teacup, just enough for the stems to sit in.  Fill with garden flowers, herbs, greenery or maybe succulents!

5. Tie your ribbon to your hanging apparatus and do it with a tight double bow/knot. Remember that ribbons that have a silky satiny finish will be slippery and might not be the best ribbon option. Something that has a bit of a texture will hold better when it’s tied as well as to the base of the saucer (the part underneath that’s unglazed).

I love this idea as a backdrop to an outdoor wedding, hanging from a giant tree, hanging across a bevy of smaller trees or from a chandelier at a shower. Just any ol’ time.

Do you love? I do!

Oh, and P.S. - There's a PODCAST including yours truly coming up this week! Stay tuned!

A Planner’s Wet Dream….

OK, so remember that I told you about that nice lady I met from Watermelon Moon Farms? Well, I ran into her in this uber-cool showroom called Peacock Park Design.

But wait, I have to back up a smidge.

It has been a while since I’ve been to the Atlanta market. The last couple of years at my company, times were (obviously) tight and we had reduced our trade show attendance severely to save the travel budget. We used to go to Atlanta, Dallas and New York every January and July. At the end of my time there, we only went to either Dallas or Atlanta. Because the Dallas show is chock full ‘o lighting people, as the lamp guru, I generally went there. Lots has changed at America’s Mart, so I’m not sure if Peacock Park Design is new, or just new to me. Either way, it’s one of the showrooms that I had a major mind melt in. The creativity was just oozing from every corner. The best thing is that they let me take as many pictures as I wanted to! Generally, photography is a big no-no because everyone is afraid of Pottery Barn or Anthropologie coming in and knocking them off. And rightfully so. However, it’s generally the strong and solid designers who don’t feel threatened by little folks like me making innocent inquiries.

So are you ready for your own little mind melt? This stuff was just so gorgeous and creative and guess what? Totally doable. I mean, so much of the things here can be a part of any wedding décor, as long as you have just a bit of imagination! Check it out!

 

 

OK, so the designer wanted to show off this wall sconce candelabra with something other than candles. What did she do? That crazy-creative bitch took sheet music, and twisted it into a tube and stuck it in the candleplate. Then, she took some tan tissue paper, crumbled it up and twisted the end to make it look like a flame. How brilliant is that? She had other larger glass hurricanes with the same tissue paper sort of crumbled and twisted to look like flames as well. It. Was. So. Cool. Imagine doing this at a venue that doesn’t allow open flames. Imagine it with color. Image it with vintage book pages. Or printed paper that matches your décor colors. I also love the way she tore and tucked paper behind the wall sconce. Imagine the same technique, just on a table. Cool, right?   

I saw lots of paper garland all over the mart. Some was actually in strips that you could buy and DIY (examples to come later in the week) and others were clearly just a part of the showroom design as this is. Sheet music was used here, but a again, with a little imagination and application to your own wedding? Hot to death.

The designer continued the sheet music theme throughout a ton of different applications. Here were some little paper flowers. It looks like craft paper that was printed with sheet music. I think these might have actually been for sale, but you know these could be a DIY project, in like a heartbeat. They are very rustic and crafty looking so technique wouldn’t have to be Martha-esque in order for them to look as sweet as these.

Now this, I love. Black-eyed peas!! Come ON! I saw a similar execution with white northern beans as well. And we’ve all seen coffee beans used in a similar fashion. What else? Dried kidney beans for color? Black beans? Dried peas for a green pop?

Loving this. Paper mache’d balls, mini paper lanterns and glass tray all in vintage-style tissue paper. They had the little vintage looking trunk with easy and cheap pearl beads overflowing and added silver sparkled sleigh bells tied with white organza ribbon as an accent. Here’s an idea: take any ol’ clear glass jar, votive, or whatever and paper mache it with any kind of tissue paper (On the outside, please. We don’t need any fires set!) and then when you put the candle in it, it will glow so pretty. Again, this is not a new idea, but one that can be incorporated in so many fashions.

 

Oh my. Butterfly halos. Crowns. Printed paper ribbon. Waxy tissue paper skirts and burlap? Oh yes, I die.

Love. Love. Love. Paper wreaths. I like how they had them just sitting around versus hanging. You know you could DIY the hell out of this, I mean how easy! Smooshed paper of your choice, a foam wreath from JoAnn’s and a glue gun. Ready. Set. Go! Paired with the vintage needle point chair was a nice touch.

The execution of this was sort of random, but the idea is brilliant. Poms made out of sewing patterns! In fact, all the tissue paper items could be done up that way. Think of adding all sorts of vintage-y spools and scissors and you’ve got yourself a tailoring theme!

Now, remember the post I wrote just a little while back about vintage keys? Here’s another way to use them!

All kinds of keys (none were skeleton-style) just linked onto  a piece of chain you know someone just picked up at Home Depot. Crazy cool key garland? Check.

Here’s just another image of the garland and how they had it displayed. Love the old-timey British policeman’s hat!

Now these little keys were boxed and for sale. They just showed them displayed with ratty, thick twine and string on a vintage velvet body form. Adore.

So that’s about it from Peacock Park Design. You know what’s crazy? All these pictures came from just one little corner of their showroom!

So are you as inspired as I am? Did this give you little wedding-idea-chill-bumps? I hope so, because it’s all I could freaking think of when I was in there. Enjoy! Let me know what you think. I’ve got more beautiful stuff to share, but if it’s boring the hell out of you, I need to know. DO tell.

*This is not a sponsored post. These are just things and places I think are cool.

This Little Piggy Went to Market

Oh, my little chickens! I feel revived. I feel inspired. I feel like my head is about to explode with all the ideas.  Why, you ask? Well, I’ll tell you. This little piggy went to market. More specifically, America’s Mart in Atlanta. It’s an industry trade show that I’ve been attending just about every year since the late-90’s. This particular show, The International Gift and Home Furnishings Show, is a mecca of all things new and amazing. In addition to the the gift and home goodies, lots of showrooms in the apparel mart are open too! Um, SCORE! Please say hello to wholesale priced jewelry and clothes.

I don’t even know where to start. I didn’t even think I was going to go. I definitely couldn’t afford to drive down there and stay in a hotel for a few days. It’s just not in the budget, regardless of how cheap of a hotel I stayed in!  However, I checked in with a designer friend of mine, Belinda Miley (you may remember her from the awesome contest we had here) and she graciously extended space in her hotel room for me to bunk with her. I decided at the last minute to head south and see what kind of trouble I could get myself into.

Trouble indeed! All kinds of fabulous and fun trouble! First of all, it was simply good for my soul to be amongst my peers again. I ran into a handful of co-workers from my old job. It was incredible to see them and catch up on what they were doing, plus hear all the super-duper-juicy trade gossip! I swear, stories move faster at market then they did through my sorority house!

I had drinks and dinner with my old boss from FTD, who along with Belinda are total non-commenting lurkers on this site (hello, ladies!). I had a small world experience meeting the owner of a Nashville store and event rental company called Fabu, while I was talking shop with a small furniture company. I ran into an overseas vendor who made me feel missed and appreciated. I saw incredible, quirky, unique and simply fabulous designs that delighted and inspired me. I talked shop with Belinda and we walked some of the show together, ooohing and aaaaahing over cool trends and designs and channeling Rachel Zoe on several occasions with the exclamation of, “It’s BANANAS!” I met a designer who made fabulous goodies for her daughter’s recent wedding. I met a woman in a super-cool showroom (photos to follow this week!) who owns Watermelon Moon Farm outside of Nashville who was recently featured here on Once Wed.

Crazy, right? I’m so glad I went. The inspiration alone was worth the four hour drive!

I’ll be sharing as much of the stuff as I can – I took over 300 pictures! Ack! So to start, I’ll just share a few of the miscellaneous stuffs I ran across that totally made me think of you guys.

 

Pictures per moi.

I may be totally behind the times here, but did you know that Chivari chairs come in Lucite? Someone had these in their showroom, not for sale, but just as something to sit on. I thought my brain was going to explode. Look at how BEAUTIFUL they can be!

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Of course, the fact that they are Lucite makes ZERO difference in the cost of renting/buying. Still, could be worth the gorgeousness if you’re all about Lucite and/or Chivari!

Along this same vein, I saw what I thought was a brilliant idea. Table and chair covers. I bet y’all are thinking I’ve lost my lid and that my brains are left somewhere along I-85 between Atlanta and Charlotte. So. Not. True. I thought these  suckers were cool and clever and could really be a part of some kick ass décor, particularly if your venue has nasty-ass banquet tables and/or those gross gold and burgundy hotel banquet chairs (God, I’m gagging just at the thought of them). Check these out:

    

Pictures per moi.

I didn’t want to tote around my heavy-ass 17-85mm lens so took the lighter 50mm that wouldn’t allow me to take wide angle shots. You’ll be getting lots of close-ups!

And here are the full pics from the company that sells these, Under Stella’s Umbrella.

The showroom had these decorated with lots of tall pewter candelabras and napkins rings, off-white linen and white hydrangeas. It was accented with colors of sage green. This was definitely one of the “BANANAS!” moments. Quirky, cool, different and got a  big ol’ “hell to the yeah,” Thirty-Something Bride style. Since you'll not want to buy these, check with your planner or event rental place and fill them in on these suckers.

And last little tid-bit I saw were these disposable birch wood cutlery sets.

Pictures per moi.

And how cute would these be with those table and chair covers above? Totally, that’s how. While disposable, I couldn’t find any literature on whether or not they were green/sustainable, so all you mega-green brides might need to dig a little deeper for that info. These are from a company called Seletti. You can buy them from their website here, but they are are um, totally not cheap. At all. The wholesale trade price is $3.20. If you want these, get your planner or anyone with a tax resale ID to buy them for you at cost. Minimum buy quantity is 36 sets.

So that’s it for today, kiddies! I’m so jacked on coffee right now that I think I might go run around the block a few times. I’ve got inspiration for TruLu Couture oozing out of my pores, so need to channel that while it’s hot. What do you think of these little gems I found? Do tell. 

*This is not a sponsored post. These are just things and places I think are cool.

DIY Round Up!

I love DIY. It makes it your own and saves you money (sometimes). I try not to get too excited about certain projects because while they may look cool and easy, many times they aren’t (Hello, Martha? I’m talking to you!). Some may require certain tools and the investment in those tools may outweigh simply purchasing whatever you’re trying to make (unless you have REAL PLANS to reuse those tools).

The projects below appear to have the need for limited tools, time and effort, with the first project being the most difficult.

I think these I’ve found would be fun for weddings or just everyday things! Enjoy and Happy Friday!

Wine Bottle Centerpieces

Check out this video by Dan Rojas. The dude is a little bizarre and the video is slightly longer than it needs to be (love his reaction to his cat), but with a $45 tool investment and a little time you can create this look. I do recommend goggles and gloves, which Dan decides to forgo.

Paper Fortune Cookies

DIY fortune cookies? These would make an ADORABLE favors, using your own color scheme and adding special/personalized fortunes inside! Check out the instructions here. All you need is paper and adhesive. For reals.

Ring Bowl

Don’t want to pay $50-$60 for a ring bearer’s bowl from Paloma’s Nest? You can make your own! This DIY tutorial is in German, but it’s so self explanatory, you can just follow the pictures on this tutorial. The supplies you need:

1. Nudelholz = rolling pin

2. Efaplast = Efaplast, modeling clay you can buy right here for cheap.

3. Pinsel = small paint brush

4. Häkeldeckchen = doily

5. Acryl = acrylic paint

6. Schmirgelpapier = sandpaper

7. Schälchen = bowl

The one step that I wanted clarity on? I figured it out by cutting and pasting the phrase using Google translate. Easy peasy! And you could totally personalize these! So cool. They might even make fun favors, if you've got the time and inclination.

Bird & Branch Centerpieces

It doesn’t get easier than this. Find some branches in the woods, from your parent’s yard – wherever you can find them (but don’t cut them off of living trees, please). Spray paint them any ol’ color with any ol’ spray paint. Get little fake birds (or butterflies or raw cotton bulbs or paper flowers or…you get the picture.) and glue them on. Hot glue will work, but I don’t trust it on paint. I prefer Fabri-Tac (available like, everywhere). Birds can be found at Hobby Lobby or JoAnn’s or Michael’s – any crafting supply shop has them. You can find a whole crap load of them here in pretty colors for  good prices. What’s fun about this is that it’s fast, easy and you can use it for dinner parties, Thanksgiving, Christmas and yes, weddings. Imagine an all white table setting with white branches with white birds with little tiny tealight glowing throughout? Um, yes please.

So just a few cutie-pie things for you to get creative with. Do not fear the DIY. It’s (sometimes) easier than you think.

NEW! A Sneak Peek of Cool Décor Stuff!

One of my competitors in my "old life" of decor product development is a company called Two's Company. They have amazing designers and a lot of cool stuff. They just shared a preview of their new Fall line on Facebook and I just had to share!

Talk about recycling! How cute are these little soda can vases? Hm…and as I sit here thinking about it, if you got some old soda cans and sprayed them will paint that sticks to metal…hmmm. I think I feel a little DIY project coming on!

Totally want these, just because. You could do fun moss-filled centerpieces with these bad boys. Yes? What else can they be used for?

Love the mercury glass base and pressed glass tops. You could totally DIY this.

And how cute would it be to have these all over your tablescape? J’adore!

Do you love too?