I've had my first DIY fail, I'm actually happy about it because I knew it was going to happen and I would rather it happen early so I can fix it. I headed to my parents house yesterday because I had some fume related projects that can't be done in my apartment. I had hoped that I could get the projects done quickly and then spend some time with my mom and sisters, but the day took a turn as soon as I got there. My mom and sisters wanted to hit up a local antique store for brooches and go grocery shopping. This ended up eating up most of the afternoon.
We got back home and got to work. I had two projects in mind for the day, pew cones and cufflinks. I only really wanted to spray paint the embossed wall paper I was using for the pew cones, so that got done quite quickly. We ran out of spray paint. Sad, but it's easy so I can buy some more and finish them a little later. Then we sat down to work on the cufflinks. This is where the DIY fail really happened, I had the bezel cups, the cardstock with the printed emblems I was using, all the supplies. I hole punched the emblems out and my sister glued them into the bezel cups, almost immediately my mom poured the resin into the bezel cups. Everything looked ok at that point, there were a few bubbles in the resin but that's about it. So I let them sit to dry and brought them home with me last night. I checked them this morning and well, the emblems are all blurry, like the ink ran. I think we should have let the glue on the paper and bezel cup dry first, also popping those little bubbles in the resin with a straight pin is important too. So I have a redo on my hands. No biggy, I'll post about the DIY success on the cufflinks in a later post when I actually am successful. The only thing I'm not looking forward to is the smell of that resin (gross).
How about you readers, any failed DIY attempts? Did you do a redo or just drop the project?
Tune in next time for more tales from a DIY bride!
Monday, July 27, 2009
Saturday, July 25, 2009
My First Tough Decision
Let me tell you, I have felt that I was getting off pretty easy with this whole wedding planning bit. Photographer, hall, ceremony site, caterer, the big things were SO easy, I should have seen it as a sign. A big ominous sign, you know all flashy and neon-y, Vegas style! I say this because I've started to look into various smaller tasks since the official engagement and it hasn't been all the pleasant.
I had ideas for my bridesmaids, great ideas. Originally, I was going to go with David's Bridal but the more I thought about it, the more I wanted something different, something the girls could wear again and something affordable. After pouring over the internet, I found the Victoria's Secret convertible dress, very unique, beautiful, and best of all affordable. I said that was that, and didn't think about it again until a few months down the road. I knew that I wanted to order a dress and see how it looked, but it was just a formality, I was so sure that this dress was perfect for my girls. Three weeks ago we ordered one for my youngest sister, she is curvy and we figured her figure would probably be hardest to fit. The dress came in and it was an EPIC FAIL! I mean, it was cool, the long straps could be used to tie the dress into many forms, but the back was very open, way too open for a wedding, and the top dipped way too low for my taste. It was back to the drawing boards for me.
I scoured the internet for the next week and a half trying to find something that I liked, could be re-worn, and was under $150. It was like pulling teeth, it was awful. Nothing was what I wanted, nothing seemed good enough. I began to recant and told my mom that it was just going to have to be David's Bridal because I couldn't find anything. It didn't stop me from searching, but the more I searched the more David's Bridal seemed appealing. I wasn't happy at all with this decision, in fact I said numerous times to Mr. Tal that the dresses were going to be the death of me as far as wedding planning goes. Finally, I turned back to Etsy.com. I had searched Etsy before and found some okay options, even found a fabulous dress for my mom to have made, but nothing for my girls. However, Etsy is so massive I figured I should give it another go and utilized Weddingbee at the same time. I recalled a post Miss Mouse did about her E-pics and her perfect dress. I loved that dress so much so I looked up that post and went to Miss Brache's shop on Etsy, where I found this number:
I had ideas for my bridesmaids, great ideas. Originally, I was going to go with David's Bridal but the more I thought about it, the more I wanted something different, something the girls could wear again and something affordable. After pouring over the internet, I found the Victoria's Secret convertible dress, very unique, beautiful, and best of all affordable. I said that was that, and didn't think about it again until a few months down the road. I knew that I wanted to order a dress and see how it looked, but it was just a formality, I was so sure that this dress was perfect for my girls. Three weeks ago we ordered one for my youngest sister, she is curvy and we figured her figure would probably be hardest to fit. The dress came in and it was an EPIC FAIL! I mean, it was cool, the long straps could be used to tie the dress into many forms, but the back was very open, way too open for a wedding, and the top dipped way too low for my taste. It was back to the drawing boards for me.
I scoured the internet for the next week and a half trying to find something that I liked, could be re-worn, and was under $150. It was like pulling teeth, it was awful. Nothing was what I wanted, nothing seemed good enough. I began to recant and told my mom that it was just going to have to be David's Bridal because I couldn't find anything. It didn't stop me from searching, but the more I searched the more David's Bridal seemed appealing. I wasn't happy at all with this decision, in fact I said numerous times to Mr. Tal that the dresses were going to be the death of me as far as wedding planning goes. Finally, I turned back to Etsy.com. I had searched Etsy before and found some okay options, even found a fabulous dress for my mom to have made, but nothing for my girls. However, Etsy is so massive I figured I should give it another go and utilized Weddingbee at the same time. I recalled a post Miss Mouse did about her E-pics and her perfect dress. I loved that dress so much so I looked up that post and went to Miss Brache's shop on Etsy, where I found this number:
My mouth hit the keyboard and I started screaming a little. This was the one, my bridesmaid's dress. It's in the higher end of my money spectrum, but it's reversible, cute, and I love the vintage feel to it. Miss Brache will custom make this baby in my colors, red and white, for each of my girls. I'm actually considering going one side red, one side black and leaving the straps white, that way the girls have a little black dress to wear again (thoughts anyone?) I'm even considering having one made for me. So ends my first tough call as a bride. There was much celebrating in the Tal household the day I found this dress.
How about everyone else, what was your first tough call as a bride? How did it play out?
Tune in next time for more tales from a DIY bride!
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
For Real
I wish I had a picture of our apartment, actually no, I take that back, no one needs to see this. We've been in this apartment for nearly a month and it still looks like we just moved in yesterday. Like many things (blogging for example), unpacking has taken a backseat to the other things going on in my life. My health was an issue and I was "bed ridden" for a week, still dealing with the doctors with that mess. School wraps up this week and I'm both excited and nervous, student teaching starts in one month. That makes me giggle and want to hurl at the same time. Also our grand vacation last week made be giddy, more so after because I have a great proposal story and beautiful ring.
It's amazing, I never thought that the proposal and ring would make a difference the way it has. It feels so much more official than before, even with our wedding date being set. I catch myself staring down at my hand in amazement, I'm getting married!!! I think it also helps that so many of the people in our life are now taking our impending marriage more seriously since I have a ring on my finger. Ridiculous to me but I understand that it's a hard concept to grasp when you're from a different generation or even just traditional. It's hard to believe in 9 short months I'll be Mrs. Tal...gah, there is so much to do still. I'm glad that Mr. Tal and I decided to get so much done before the official proposal, we have our major vendors booked, but there are still parties to plan, decor to pick out and DIY projects to get done.
I think my next DIY project is going to be our Save the Dates. We originally were going to order some magnets and send them out but I was inspired by a post on Weddingbee the other day to create our own postcards. We have that gorgeous sunset picture and I think with a little help from my latest bridesmaid (YAY!!! FSIL agreed to be a bridesmaid!), we could design a great little postcard.
How about you readers, what made your engagement feel official, a ring like me, setting a date, booking a vendor? Share please!
Tune in next time for more tales from a DIY bride.
It's amazing, I never thought that the proposal and ring would make a difference the way it has. It feels so much more official than before, even with our wedding date being set. I catch myself staring down at my hand in amazement, I'm getting married!!! I think it also helps that so many of the people in our life are now taking our impending marriage more seriously since I have a ring on my finger. Ridiculous to me but I understand that it's a hard concept to grasp when you're from a different generation or even just traditional. It's hard to believe in 9 short months I'll be Mrs. Tal...gah, there is so much to do still. I'm glad that Mr. Tal and I decided to get so much done before the official proposal, we have our major vendors booked, but there are still parties to plan, decor to pick out and DIY projects to get done.
I think my next DIY project is going to be our Save the Dates. We originally were going to order some magnets and send them out but I was inspired by a post on Weddingbee the other day to create our own postcards. We have that gorgeous sunset picture and I think with a little help from my latest bridesmaid (YAY!!! FSIL agreed to be a bridesmaid!), we could design a great little postcard.
How about you readers, what made your engagement feel official, a ring like me, setting a date, booking a vendor? Share please!
Tune in next time for more tales from a DIY bride.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
It's Official!
An appology is due for my lack of blogging, I've been under some stress lately, mostly dealing with some personal health issues, moving and finally this vacation, which was needed badly. Still I should blog more, it's my goal during the next few weeks, I think it'll happen. the story below has really made me feel the gravity of my engagement.
Up at the top we took a couple pictures and climbed out on some big boulders that dotted the hill. In one particular spot, there was a little crevice between two huge boulders that I climbed down into to watch the sunset for a while. Mr. Tal snuck up behind me and had my sisters take some pictures of us (see the first picture below!). I turned to watch the sunset a little more and unbeknownst to me Mr. Tal waved my sisters away so he could have some privacy.
He pulled me in a little closer, kissed a couple times, then started to say how he was sorry that our engagement wasn't exactly unfolding as we had thought. He then said "I was really waiting for the perfect day and place to ask you, but really every day with you is a perfect day. So, be that as it may I have something to ask you...". He then dropped to one knee on the boulder, fished into his pocket (where he had been keeping the ring ALL day), and pulled out the box. Apparently I started giggling and hyperventilating while this was going on but it's a bit hazy. He looked up into my eyes and asked me to marry him. It was perfect.
As you may or may not know, due to certain circumstances and a tight time frame surrounding our wedding Mr.Tal and I have been planning without an official proposal. He wanted to do his own thing and have an official proposal but he did want imput on my ring and what I wanted
Well, this past week we had a vacation to Gettysburg and Hershey, PA. Mr. Tal and I are both HUGE history nerds so this was quite an exciting trip for us. We arrived on Tuesday in the late afternoon and met up with my family (this was a family planned vacation). Wednesday was our first full day there and the day began early with a Segway Tour of the battlefield. Not only was this a fun activity but it was a great way to get introduced to the battlefield and get your bearings. Well that was a family activity with my parents and two younger sisters, lots of fun and a great morning.
Unfortunately the day before our bearing went out in the car and we had to take a break from vacation activities to get the car fixed on Wednesday afternoon. We relaxed for a bit while it was getting fixed, then headed back into town, fixed bearing and all. We walked around the National Cemetary and the shops downtown for a bit (all while I noticed Mr. Tal getting a bit antsy, but he's like that much of the time anyhow...). We met up with my family and went to an awesome Irish pub for dinner. After dinner around 8:30 my sisters, Mr. Tal, and I wanted to see a little more of the battlefield before it got too dark. We chose to go back up a hill called Little Round Top, mostly because we saw the sunset approaching and thought it would be awesome for some pictures.
Well, this past week we had a vacation to Gettysburg and Hershey, PA. Mr. Tal and I are both HUGE history nerds so this was quite an exciting trip for us. We arrived on Tuesday in the late afternoon and met up with my family (this was a family planned vacation). Wednesday was our first full day there and the day began early with a Segway Tour of the battlefield. Not only was this a fun activity but it was a great way to get introduced to the battlefield and get your bearings. Well that was a family activity with my parents and two younger sisters, lots of fun and a great morning.
Unfortunately the day before our bearing went out in the car and we had to take a break from vacation activities to get the car fixed on Wednesday afternoon. We relaxed for a bit while it was getting fixed, then headed back into town, fixed bearing and all. We walked around the National Cemetary and the shops downtown for a bit (all while I noticed Mr. Tal getting a bit antsy, but he's like that much of the time anyhow...). We met up with my family and went to an awesome Irish pub for dinner. After dinner around 8:30 my sisters, Mr. Tal, and I wanted to see a little more of the battlefield before it got too dark. We chose to go back up a hill called Little Round Top, mostly because we saw the sunset approaching and thought it would be awesome for some pictures.
Up at the top we took a couple pictures and climbed out on some big boulders that dotted the hill. In one particular spot, there was a little crevice between two huge boulders that I climbed down into to watch the sunset for a while. Mr. Tal snuck up behind me and had my sisters take some pictures of us (see the first picture below!). I turned to watch the sunset a little more and unbeknownst to me Mr. Tal waved my sisters away so he could have some privacy.
He pulled me in a little closer, kissed a couple times, then started to say how he was sorry that our engagement wasn't exactly unfolding as we had thought. He then said "I was really waiting for the perfect day and place to ask you, but really every day with you is a perfect day. So, be that as it may I have something to ask you...". He then dropped to one knee on the boulder, fished into his pocket (where he had been keeping the ring ALL day), and pulled out the box. Apparently I started giggling and hyperventilating while this was going on but it's a bit hazy. He looked up into my eyes and asked me to marry him. It was perfect.
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