Wet Rats and Boutonnieres

I don't think that post title even makes any sense, haha.

Well, it's Monday, which means I wrote a brand new post for Weddzilla today!  So head on over there to check out "DIY Boutonniere Frustrations!"
But other then that, I feel like a wet rat!  Why, you may ask?  Because it's freaking POURING!  And in Pittsburgh, when it pours, it also tends to be extremely windy!  Which means you can't not get wet!  GROSS!!!!!  Fi is all excited because it's thunderstorming which "means it's springtime" but I hate thunderstorms - I'm terrified of lightning!  And I don't like getting to work feeling like a wet rat!

So, yeah, that's my rant for today.  Oh, and I forgot to tell you - my insurance approved my botox, so I'll be getting botox tomorrow (in case you think that I'm going to get botox to get rid of wrinkles at the ripe old age of 23, you should go read this post, then you'll understand)!  I'll be sure to let you all know how it goes!

Well, happy Monday all - and here's a little teaser of what you have to expect from my Weddzilla post later:

So, it should be 'Fitness Recap Friday'...

...but I didn't work out, at all!  I did Week 3 Day 1 and 2 of the Hundred Push Up Program, and I shoveled snow (which definitely counts as exercise - especially when it's heavy ass snow like it was) but that's it.  And, I think I'm going to re-do Week 3 because I struggled through both Day 1 and 2.

So, instead of a fitness recap, first I'm going to complain a little bit...I HATE THE RAIN!  I especially hate the rain because some morning commuters think it is perfectly appropriate to walk down the sidewalk with freaking GOLF UMBRELLAS!!!!  Those things are so huge, and there is absolutely no way to navigate around them!  And I just feel gross by the time I get to work...at least I didn't waste my time straightening my hair or else I would be super pissed.

And, a quick public service announcement to all DIY-ers. HSN is celebrating national craft month with some killer deals!!!!!

Photo courtesy of the email HSN sent me

If you haven't ever shopped on HSN.com, I recommend it.  HSN.com is like a playground for me.  Not only do they have everything, but they also tend to have some pretty amazing deals.  And, they have videos of all their craft products in use!  I don't like to watch the home shopping network, because there are only certain things I would be interested in, but HSN.com lets you watch the segments on the products you're interested in!  If I find any amazing deals, I'll be sure to post about them (after I already purchased it, since there's always a limited number available).

Well, Happy Friday, readers, and thanks for all the Birthday Wishes!!!

Happy Birthday To....ME!

If you remember from my February Calendar, today's my birthday!!!

And I have the best fiance ever.  You think you do?  Well, did your fiance/hubby get you a color coordinated birthday present filled with things that you've wanted forever but didn't even remember wanting?  Yeah, I didn't think so.  Check out how awesome he is:

He got me rampage zebra and red pumps (which obviously I wore an appropriate outfit to wear them to work today, lol):

A zebra and red wallet (which is a million times better than the crappy wallet I was using before):

 A zebra and red Dooney and Bourke tote (I have never had a D&B, even though they're my favorite purse designers):

And he got me another bead for my Pandora bracelet (which doesn't coordinate with the colors of the rest of the gifts, but it goes with the rest of my beads on my bracelet):

He initially got me my Pandora for Valentine's Day last year, and look how much he's filled it up already!!!  If your bf/fi/hubby is ever stumped for a gift to give you, tell him to get you a charm bracelet, that way they will always have a gift to give you!

He also got me a zebra print "passport wallet" (which I wanted because I have a zebra print carry on and a zebra print luggage wrap for my big, black suitcase - my luggage is gonna be SO CUTE on our honeymoon...can't freakin' wait) but that was already put in the safe with my passport by the time I took the picture.

So, go ahead, try and prove your SO is better then mine...I bet you can't!

Also, today there's an updated version of a peek at my vision going up on Weddzilla, so be sure to check it out!

Weddzilla Wednesday

So, today there will be brand new content from me posted on Weddzilla, so go check out True Confessions of a DIY Bride!  It's all about all my DIY plans, as well as all my DIY tools.  For now, I will just leave you with an amusing sequence of events from this morning (what did people do before they had camera phones???):

Happy Hump Day Everyone!!!

I'm gonna have to apologize

But as I try to re-work some of my existing posts for Weddzilla to get those readers caught up, it's going to be pretty tough for me to be posting new content here as well...but hang in there, because I promise I'll be back with plenty new content for you guys too soon enough.

For now, you are more then welcome to read my re-working of my "processional difficulties" post here...

Weddzilla Baby!

Hello readers!  Guess what?  I'm going to be blogging for Weddzilla!!!!!

I'm super excited...if you haven't explored weddzilla.com you should do that, like now (especially the Weddmark system).  So, on Mondays and Wednesday I'll be posting specifically for them.  But don't worry, I'll still post here as often as possible, and I'll always direct you to my Weddzilla posts!

Today is just my introduction (Meet DIY Bride Amanda: A Dog-Tag Marriage Proposal) but you should totally go check it out (as well as the other bloggers).

Happy Monday everyone, I hope you enjoy my first Weddzilla post!

Best Bee Meet-up Ever!

So yesterday's meet-up was a total success!  12 people came and they all loved their name-tags!  Everyone had a great time at Bocktown...ate some delicious food and had a few beers:

Personal Photo

Can't wait to do it again ladies!

I Would Be{e} Jealous If I were You...

...and you didn't get to come to the Pittsburgh Weddingbee Meetup today at Bocktown!

We have 15 total RSVPs, but I don't expect all of them to show up.  But for the ladies that do, I made these lovely little name tags...

Supplies needed include...paper cutter, random craft supplies in a zebra print tote (basically I needed glue out of there), Cricut Expression, 2 different cartridges (Create a Critter and Plantin Schoolbook), paper, and my new Xyron 510 Sticker Machine:

First I used the Create a Critter Cartridge and black cardstock to cut out the base layer:

Then I used sparkly yellow cardstock for the second layer and glued it down with Elmer's No-Wrinkle Glue:

 For the wings (the third layer of the Bees) I used blue sparkly cardstock and the same glue:

 Then, since my Cricut is still technically broken and I have to manually push down the blade (long story) instead of trying and completely messing up the faces I just lifted the blade when it should have been cutting the eyes and mouths and used a permanent marker to draw on the faces:

I then used the Plantin cartridge to cut out little speech bubbles (which will be where everyone writes their names) and glued those to the back of the antenna of the Bees using Zig Glue Pen (this is a must for detail gluing!!!).

Once I was sure all the glue was dry, I sent them through the Xyron to be laminated for an extra finished look:

 I'll bring permanent markers for the girls to write their names and double sided tape to fix them to their shirt!  I think they're absolutely adorable and I can't wait to go to the meet-up and share them with fellow Pittsburgh Hive Members!

And just because I like to show off, I also made the coolest card (a purse card) and box for FSIL for her Birthday.  She's turning 20 and for spring break she's going to Italy so fi and I got her $100 USD worth of Euros, and since I hate giving gifts without something tangible in it, I went to Burlington Coat Factory and found an adorable wallet to put the Euros in (the wallet is now in the box).

I didn't take any "how to" picutres, but I made this all with my Ultimate Crafter's Companion (the instructions for the purse card are on the DVD that comes with it) and here's the final product:

B for Brittany

How exciting...it pops out! haha

Happy Birthday in Italian (I stamped it with acrylic stamps)

The closed box - yes I added the rhinestones by hand

The whole box

The whole gift!

I'm quite impressed with myself!

Have you done any fun crafts lately?

Fitness Recap Friday!

Ahhhhhhh...this week was kind of a bust.  I'm quite upset with myself over it; last week went so well after I recommitted myself to my fitness routine and this week just sucked.  I can blame Valentine's Day, but honestly, I hate making excuses.  But here's my recap anyway...

Saturday - no exercise.  Unless you count bridesmaid dress shopping as exercise, lol.

Sunday - again, nothing.  I can't even remember what I did last Sunday...I'm too young to be having memory loss (read: I'm starting to freak out about my Birthday being next Thursday)

Monday - ate a ton but forced myself to do Week 2 Day 1 of the Hundred Push Up Program.  It was hard.  Week 2 makes week 1 look easy.

Tuesday - no exercise, and we ate out again...can you see where this week is headed?

Wednesday - went out to eat again (we shouldn't even being going out this much, we have a wedding to pay for!) but I did get myself to do Week 2 Day 2 of the Hundred Push Up Program.  Honestly if it keeps getting this much progressively harder each time, I don't think I'll be able to complete it in 6 weeks.

Thursday - I did not go out to eat (cooked a Weight Watchers recipe for Chili - it was delicious) and I worked out.  I did all 5 segments of "10 Minute Solutions: 5 Day Get Fit Mix".  Honestly, if you like workout DVDs, buy this one.  I love the 10 Minute Solutions set-up, and Amy Bento is awesome.  I also find kickboxing (there's a Cardio Kickboxing segment) to be quite therapeutic.  I was pretty pissed at myself for having such a horrible week eating/exercising wise and I found myself taking my anger out during the kickboxing segment.  It was like with every jab, cross, elbow, and upper-cut I was releasing frustration with myself for having such a bad week, and vowing to not let myself get lazy.  When I have a week this bad, I can see the difference in my body (although I may be hallucinating) and I can definitely feel the difference; I feel like crap!  But Amy Bento and I kickboxed away that anger and then relaxed with some power yoga (I love Sun Salutations).

Tonight I will do Week 2 Day 3 of the Hundred Push Up Program.  I can't not do it.

Did you have a better week then I did, or did Valentine's Day bring you down as well?

A post full of random...

I'll start with some random rantings...

So, I take the T downtown then I have to walk a few blocks to work.  In those few blocks there are multiple intersections where the cars will get a left turn signal so the don't walk sign stays up.  I hate when people walk anyway.  Yes, I'd like to get my ass to work too, but can't you feel for the guy in his car that has been patiently waiting for-ev-er to get his turning light?  And now you're ruining it!  Wait the 45 seconds until you actually get a walk sign!

Source - It isn't rocket science...DONT WALK
means Don't Freaking Walk

On a similar note...I understand that most humans don't walk at the pace that I do.  Fi literally has to jog to keep up with me in some situations.  But if you and 37 of your high school buddies want to walk obscenely slow, at least make room for those of us who literally have minor panic attacks when forced to walk slowly down the sidewalk to walk around you...don't take up the whole freaking sidewalk!

Source - How are people supposed to get around you?!?!??!!

And one last walking to work rant - please stay on the right side of the sidewalk.  It's just like driving, you have to stay on the right side of the road.  It isn't that hard of a concept really, people walk on a sidewalk in two directions, there has to be room for both.  Just stay to the right please.

Now some random happy things...

Fi had flowers sent to me at work on Valentine's Day.  I had never gotten flowers at work, and it was amazing.  He knows I have a personal problem with roses (I don't think they're pretty enough for their price tag - and they're over done) so I knew he wouldn't send me those, but I didn't realize he'd be clever enough to send me flowers in our wedding colors!!!!  Look at these beauties:

Personal Photo

Having them on my desk at work makes me really happy...

I really miss dancing.  I started dance at like the age of 2 (if you count "Rhythm and Movement" as dance class, haha) and didn't stop until I graduated high school.  Sometimes when I'm on the T on the way to work (listening to my iPod) I find myself imagining myself dancing.  I think I might look into taking a community class somewhere.  And next time I go to my Mom's house I'll snag some awesome photos of myself as a child before dance recitals to scan and show off...I thought I was a superstar, haha.

And update on my vitamins...I think it's safe to say they're helping with my joint issues, because I'm not nearly as creaky/poppy as I was before.  I can't speak to if they're helping strengthen my nails, because work has been quite stressful, and I pick at my nails (aka tear them to shreds) when I'm stressed, but I think they're helping minimize the self-inflicted damage!  And, everyone around me has gotten sick but I have not!  Which is basically a miracle, because I usually get sick really easily.  So, I think I recommend them.



And a final random thought...I love Glee.  I actually love the music more than I love the show.  Would it be completely inappropriate to have my entire wedding reception be Glee Cast versions of songs?  What about if our first dance was a recreation of the "Time of My Life" dance from Dirty Dancing only danced to the Glee Cast version?  As in, do this dance:

Only to this version of the song:

Hehehe, and the sad part is, I'm only halfway kidding...

Is there any random thought you'd like to get off your chest?  Because honestly, I feel great right now, and totally recommend a good vent to anyone!

Ask and you shall receive: Cost of DIY Embossed Cocktail Napkins!

Jill, author of the Strawberry Blonde Bride, asked how much embossing your own cocktail napkins cost.  And although I don't have the exact prices of all the supplies I bought, this could definitely give you a general idea.  And if you were more patient then I am you could probably find even better deals online (ebay, overstock, amazon, etc.).  These are the prices I know for sure:

Cocktail Napkins -          19.99 for 500
Custom Stamp -               22.50 for 3 different stamps (I don't know how much it would be for just 1)

These are the other supplies you'll need with an estimated cost (by searching on Jo Ann Fabrics site; I got my stuff from Michael's, but finding things on their site sucks, so I just searched Jo Ann instead).  What I'm showing you is the full price...I did not pay full price for any of this, I used coupons!  Gotta love 40% off coupons!

Ink Pad -                      4.99 In the 200 that I've done so far I haven't depleted my ink pad yet, and once I do I'm not going to buy a whole new ink pad, just ink.
Embossing Powder -    3.99  Again, I haven't even used a full bottle yet, I'm guessing I'll use 3 bottles of powder for 500 napkins.
Embossing Gun -         26.99 DON'T YOU DARE SPEND THIS MUCH ON ONE!
Funnel Tray -                 2.50 So, you don't need this, but it helps conserve embossing powder and minimize mess (and it's only $2.50, sooo...)

So, at most, to emboss 500 napkins (this is under the assumption that a single stamp would cost 7.50 and you would need 3 things of powder) would be $73.94.  However, the following would be a much better estimate:

Cocktail Napkins -          19.99 for 500
Custom Stamp -                8.00 for 1
Ink Pad -                           3.00 (go buy the one from Michael's that is usually $5 with a 40% off coupon)
Embossing Powder -          7.20 for 3 (bring two friends and each go buy 1 from Michael's with a 40% off coupon)
Embossing Gun -              16.00
Funnel Tray -                     1.53

Okay, so a much more realistic cost estimate for DIY embossing 500 cocktail napkins would be $55.72, but I'm sure you could get it done for less if you looked for the best deals!  I probably spent somewhere around $50 in all, which I don't think is half bad considering ordering them from somewhere like The Knot would run you 20 bucks for 100 (as in $100 for 500 napkins), and you don't really get to personalize them!

Glassware and Napkins and Flowers...Oh My!

Happy Hump Day everyone!  Nothing of epic proportions has happened lately, so I'll be posting about random wedding related stuff...woohoo!

First up, glassware!  Since I'm DIYing my flowers, I needed to get a whole bunch of cylinder vases in order to make my centerpiece vision come true.  Well I've been collecting all sorts of cylinder vases basically since we got engaged last June, and I'm almost done (I think).  I still need to get the shortest ones (for the hydrangeas) but those will be the cheapest, so I'm not that worried.  And I'm thinking I want to get short and fat ones for the hydrangeas since the orchid ones are tall and medium, and the calla ones are medium and skinny.  But whatever, enough talk, more photos, right?  Here's what I've got so far:

In case you couldn't tell, there are basically 4 different height variations.  And yes, I did order fake flowers just to get an idea of what these will look like.  I'm pretty pumped!  I got all of the big vases from Marshall's and TJ Maxx and all of the skinny ones off Craigslist.  Now I plan on getting the short fat ones from Michaels (with 40% off coupons) and probably Marshall's and TJ Maxx as well!

While we're discussing glassware, I should mention my candy buffet.  I've always wanted a candy buffet at my wedding, even before they were *trendy*.  I just love candy.  And it's even better because our mutual love for candy helped bring fi and I together.  See, we worked together, and I had a drawer that was full of an assortment of candy.  And he would use that as an excuse to come over and talk to me when we first met.  Obviously candy would be included in our wedding!

I'm up to 10 apothecary jars, and I don't think I need anymore.  Especially since it's a Pittsburgh tradition to have a cookie table at weddings (basically all the women in the family bake cookies and they're put out at the wedding).  If I get anymore candy buffet jars people might die of sugar overload.  I got all of these at Marshall's and TJ Maxx:

I can't wait until they're all filled with candy...I still haven't decided if we're going to get candy to match our colors or just get whatever kind of candy our hearts desire.  But, I don't have to make that decision yet!

Before we move on, can I just say it sucks trying to take decent pictures of glassware?  Okay, now that I got that off my chest...

NAPKINS!  So, I knew I wanted to have personalized cocktail napkins.  What I didn't realize is that when you order "personalized" cocktail napkins you can't really put whatever you want on them, and I wanted our monogram that I designed.  So, I decided to emboss my own.  It actually is a lot less time consuming then you would imagine.  I have like 200 done, and that was just from 2 sittings.  I want to do at least 500, I might end up going for 1000 though.  And here's what they look like:

I got the stamp of our monogram made by Chip, who I found on Etsy.  He's awesome.  I call him my "stamp guy."  Super high quality stamps and they aren't expensive at all.  Then you just stamp the napkin (I recommend 3 ply napkins to prevent bleeding) with clear ink, sprinkle it with embossing powder, tap off the excess powder, and heat that sucker up with a heat embossing tool.  Next time I'm working on them I'll take a bunch of "how-to" photos for you, promise!

And final topic for this lovely Wednesday...Flowers!  But not real flowers, and not really fake flowers either...Ribbon Flowers!  Yes, I'm making a whole slew of flowers out of ribbon to then make pomanders with for ceremony decor.  This is pretty time consuming, I'm not going to lie.  It takes about 15 minutes from start to finish to make one flower, and I'm going to need a lot of flowers.  But here's what they end up looking like:

Each of them look a little different, because they're handmade obviously.  And I'm going to make them in a bunch of different shades of purple ribbon.  I already have a bag full of them, and I need to make a ton more.  Sometimes making them is somewhat therapeutic; other times it's straight up frustrating.  At least I started early though!  I found the instructions for them here.  I don't put felt on the back though since I'm just going to be hot gluing them to a Styrofoam ball, not using them as clips of any sort.

So there you have it, a whole bunch of wedding randomness!  Have you been working on any fun DIYs lately?

*All Personal Photos*