Homemade watercolor card and upcycled strawberry container gift box

Ok, so this post's title is rather long and not too creative... but I couldn't think of a better way to describe this:

To end this week's series of wedding themed posts, I wanted to show how I wrapped and presented our "Good Night, Bonne Nuit" pillow cases to the bride and groom   In the spirit of DIY, we made both the card and the gift box.

Chuck helped me to make the wedding card and envelope.  Say what?  Yup, you read right.  My little guy and I made these:

Remember those homemade watercolors I made a couple of weeks back?  Well, we pulled them out of the fridge, re-hydrated the paint with several drops of water, and then went to town using them as finger paints.  Their pale colors were perfect for the wedding.  (On the down side- The paint left a bit of powdery residue on the watercolor paper when it dried.  Fortunately I was able to wipe most of it off with a napkin.)

Chuck's finger painting became the envelope and mine became the card.  (The white swirls were made by first drawing on the watercolor paper with an old Easter egg wax crayon.  After covering the paper with paint, the portions that were scribbled on with the wax crayon remained white.)   Oh yeah, and in case you're wondering, the card reads something along these lines: "life is better when you're walking hand in hand with the person you love"

We then upcycled an old strawberry container into the gift box:  

Cute right?  Wish I could take credit  for this idea, but I can't.  I first spotted it at the amazing Aunt Peaches.

To do this, I simply:
- Washed and dried the strawberry container, making sure to remove any gooey sticker parts (I used Goo gone )
- Used a Sharpie marker and doodled some flowers on the inside of the box
- Used craft paint and dabbed paint on the inside of the box
- Used Mod Podge to seal my craft paint once I was finished

Then, I placed a piece of pink tissue paper inside just to make sure that my pillowcases stayed nice and clean.  And there you have it.  Tada! A handmade wedding card and gift box that's pretty to look at and  so simple to make.  (A child could do it...really.).

Hooray for creatively used crap!

Good Night, Bonne Nuit freezer paper stenciled pillowcases

Knowing that our cousin was a big fan of beautiful, handmade things (as clearly evidenced by her lovely wedding), I thought I'd continue the pillowcase decorating tradition and make her a set of "Good Night, Bonne Nuit" pillowcases:

These pillowcases were inspired by the ones that I saw on Skunkboy Blog.  The originals looked so airy and whimsical that I had to try making similar looking ones using the freezer paper stencil technique.  Here's a photo of me stenciling the "good night" pillow:

These were my most difficult stenciling project yet because the branches and leaves were so narrow and took a lot of time to carefully cut out.  Although my pillows don't have quite as much quirky detail as the originals, they still look pretty darn cute.

Here are some closeup shots:  (Sorry for the wrinkles.  I hate ironing and didn't even think to iron them first.)

Hopefully they'll bring sweet dreams and rest  to the bride and groom.

Happy Tuesday, friends!

A + C's wedding

This past weekend we attended a cousin's wedding in Brooklyn.  It was a wonderfully intimate and elegant affair.  The bride and her mother's touches were everywhere.  The lovely bride altered her own dress and both ladies worked together to bake and decorate the cake and put together all the floral arrangements.

Here's what we wore to the wedding:  (We took these photos beforehand because it would be nearly impossible to take photos while entertaining an active almost-two-year old during the event.)

 And here are photos taken before the event:

Something blue

Wedding cake made by the bride's mom

Can you believe these flowers aren't real?  They're edible and made by hand.

My small DIY contribution- Handwritten escort cards

Wall decorations at the reception

Bride's bouquet

Here are photos taken from the ceremony:

Here's how we entertained Chuck during the ceremony

 Here are photos taken during the reception:

Beautiful lace back

Dinner time!

Cake cutting

Congratulations A and C!   Thank you for letting us be a part of your special day.

DIY Scalloped Jean shorts

DIY Scalloped Jean Shorts

It's Memorial Day Weekend.  How are you going to celebrate?  We're going to eat burgers, attend a wedding, and nap.... a lot.  (<--If Chuck lets us... that is...)  Inspired by all the lovely lazing about that I hope to be doing next week, I made myself a pair of comfy scalloped jean shorts from a pair of old jeans:

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Hand holding and kisses

Hubby always reminds me that the "best camera is the one that's on you."  Well, I don't often have a camera on me (hence the rare shots of Chuck nowadays), so I'm thankful that other people do.  Here's a little video that a friend made during a recent park outing.  It was a super sunny and warm day, just perfect for splashing in the fountain with a good friend.  

I'm so thankful that I get to witness special moments like these.


Hand holding babies from Pink Stripey Socks on Vimeo.