DIY FAIL

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!

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:

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!

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 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.

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.

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.

Disaster Transport

I vaguely hinted at the failure of my adventures into centerpieces in my last blog, so I shall tell you the tale. Oh, and if you guess where the title of my post is from I'll give you a cookie, or at least your computer a cookie (that's right, starting off with the geek jokes, we're in for a ride).

Anywho, like I said before I have stocked up on craft supplies like Armageddon is on the way and they are burning a whole in my pocket, figuratively speaking. I've been itching to do some crafty wedding things since my friend announced her engagement two years ago (and has since been married), but it wasn't her style so I had to wait until now to do some wedding crafts for myself. I know it's early, but I like to jump the gun on things. Like this whole wedding, I'm planning without the "official proposal" (BAH I say to that!). So I made my little earrings, and some matching bracelets (they are cute, but again super easy) for my BM, but I yearned for a bigger challenge. Bring on the centerpiece mock up. Mr. Tal and I sat down and carefully read through the instructions in The DIY Bride (aka Future Mrs. Tal's Bible) for submersible table number centerpieces. It seemed relatively easy. Ha.

The process was fairly simple, it involved: some white card stock, a pretty paper of our choice, printer, laminate sheets, a hole punch, craft wire, heavy weighted objects of our choosing and a cylinder vase (in this case 10'' tall 6'' wide). Basically, after cutting the card stock to a predetermined size, we had to load it in the printer and just format a word document however we wanted. This was the easy part. We made our pretty table name in the font we liked, really made it our own. Then tried to print it...nothing. It ended up taking 2 hours to try to print this tiny piece of card stock. That was merely a technical difficulty at the time, but as I look back, I think it was a sign from the DIY gods that this project was not meant to happen. We finally get it printed and then we have to use double sided adhesive to tape it on to our pretty boarder paper and then we laminate it. All of this goes down easily, YAY Team Tal! Hole punch the bottom of the laminate, use the craft wire to secure it to a rock. Done. Rock on Team Tal! Then we go to put that laminated piece of beauty into the vase and it doesn't fit. Fail Team Tal. Fail hard. Not really, just a minor set back, so we trim it down and get it into the vase. Then comes the big moment; adding the water, and our submersible isn't submersible, it looks more like a bobber. Tie more rocks to it. Still doesn't sink all the way. At this point, Mr. Tal tells me it's just a mock up, the real vases will be higher so just breathe. Then I see the ink begin to melt like the make-up off an extra-sad clown in 100 degree heat. UGH! Only a mock up, only a mock up. It's my mantra with this project. We figured that we hole punched a little too close to the paper, no biggie, just have to remember for the final version. Mock-up centerpiece was a nice learning experience and we both did like the way that it looked.

Now I realize that this doesn't sound too bad, and really it wasn't. The horror part of the story hasn't come yet. When we finished up I realized that I don't know how big the opening of the vases we plan on renting are. This actually gets me a little giddy, because I'm hoping for an extra half inch or so. I immediately e-mailed the rental facility and asked this question, not caring when the response comes. Well she got back to me quickly to tell me the openings on the vases we want are 3.5'' (Internally, !$&*#@) Externally, I say to Mr. Tal, "Umm, honey, we have a problem with the rental place..." And I proceed to explain. Basically it all boils down to this, we now have to buy 15 cylinder vases for our centerpieces because the size we need isn't available for rent in our area. ARGGGGG! We've found them at a decent price in bulk online, but it's still the matter of paying for something that isn't within our budget. The plan is that we can hopefully sell the vases after the wedding and maybe only lose the amount of what we would of paid renting them. I'll cross my fingers on that one.

What about you fellow DIY brides? Any projects that didn't go quite as planned or unexpected expenses because of projects?

Tune in next time for more tales of a DIY bride.

My First Project!

I apologize dear readers (all four of you), but I've been down and out with the stomach flu after a weekend at FBIL and SIL's lake house last week. However, in my very restful state I decided to start working on some of my DIY projects, or at least buying the stuff for them. It's with all good intentions either way.

So today I went to Hobby Lobby and Michael's and spent way too much moolah for some of my projects. It's a little early for me to be starting some of these, but I wanted to get a feel for the projects I'm undertaking. So I bought supplies for a mock-up of my centerpieces, supplies for tote bags, earrings, and bracelets for my BMs, and supplies for making cuff links. I think I was a little over-ambitious, but my mind processed it and my reasoning makes a lot of sense. Right now I'm unemployed and only doing 3 classes this summer, I do have a lot on my plate, prepping for student teaching and all, but still free time is abundant. I figure before the wedding that might not happen because I'm going to have to have some form of a job, even if it's just a retail gig. Therefore, doing my projects now rather than later may save me from stressing down the line. (Though storing said projects may not be as much fun.) Yay for logical reasoning!

This was the first time I've ever tried to do anything crafty. Ever. At least with any amount of seriousness, not like that Popsicle stick house I built when I was 8. I decided that starting out small would be the best option, so I picked the BM's earrings to start out. The instructions for these came from a book called "The DIY Bride" by Khris Cochran, which is my Bible currently. She states that they are ridiculously easy drop earrings but I had little faith in myself. However, they were ridiculously easy, so easy that I ended up making a pair for every bridesmaid in about 30 minutes. I was a little afraid that I screwed them up because they were so easy, but when Mr. Tal came home he said they were beautiful. He was either trying to make me feel good or being sincere, I'll let you decide. [Mr. Tal's Note: I was sincerely making her feel good.] So here's the break down of the steps for anyone wanting to make these babies for a project.

Supplies needed: Your choice of Crystal Beads, Metallic Spacers, Faux Pearls, 3 or 4 inch Head Pins (depending on your size of beads, mine were small so I did 3 inch head pins), and Ear Hooks, as well as Needle Nose Pliers. All of which are pictured below: (I apologize for picture quality, I had to use Mr. Tal's iPhone, as our camera is packed in a box right now)

Step One: Place the crystal bead, then silver spacer, then pearl on the head pin, like so:
Step Two: With the pliers as close to the pearl as possible, bend the head pin to a 90 degree angle:

Step Three: Trim the excess head pin, I guess-timated, it was about an inch that I took off. Just make sure there is enough head pin left for step four.

Step Four: Use the pliers to form a nice little hook to pull through your ear hook.
Final Step: Loop the curved head pin through the ear hook, and close with the pliers. Voila, finished product:

Seriously, that's it. I think I have let the project go to my head a bit, I've tasted the craft nectar and it is so sweet. I'm ready for bigger and badder projects. In fact, Mr. Tal and I decided to try to make a mock-up of our centerpieces, it failed a little bit. Only a little. More on that next time.

So what do you think readers? What were your first DIY projects? Were they a success or failure, or somewhere in between?

Tune in next time for more tales from a DIY Bride.

DIY Workout

Yeah, it's kind of a weird post title, but roll with me for a little bit.

I'm a fan of fitness, I mean, I like to watch sports, I like throwing the dog a ball or Frisbee, and I love my little jogs from the couch to the kitchen. OK so as you can see, I don't do a lot of what society would call "working out." Mr.Tal, however, is like Clark Kent, geeky on the outside with a body like a Greek statue underneath. I like what fitness has done for him. I find it quiet yummy in fact.

Now, I'm not saying I'm overweight, not even close, but I do have some squishy bits that I'd enjoy trimming up. I think some brides feel this at one point or another. However, unlike other brides I've read about, I lack motivation. Mr.Tal likes to say I get bored easily, which is true. I'm a fan of the whole working out at home, I like the little workout kits and DVDs. However, when I get a new workout method, I end up chucking it in the pile with the rest of my former "methods" because doing the same thing daily bores me to tears. It doesn't help that I'm not really unhappy with how I look, I just want to tighten and tone.

All this was true until last week. I tried on my dress and it was *ahem* a bit snug. That wasn't so big a deal, the major deal breaker happened after the dress snugness was stepping on the scale and seeing that I'm only 5 pounds behind Mr.Tal. That sent me into tears for an hour, and finally pushed me to make the changes my life has needed for a while now. I knew the healthy eating bit, Mr.Tal is like a nutritionist in his own right so that is actually easier for me. I knew automatically that the difficult thing would be finding a work out that worked for me. In steps my Greek statue, with a grand idea, "Why don't you try EA Sport Active for the Wii?" he says.

That was the first thing I did the morning after my scale made me cry. Now I was a doubter, I had tried Wii Fit, and while it was fun, it wasn't the workout I was looking for. I had little faith in this system but I knew another DVD wouldn't do it for me. I brought it home, stuck it in the Wii, and went ahead with the 30 day challenge. Wow, I have been using this for a full week now and it is a great workout. Not only does it switch up the activities everyday, I can also build my own workout if I choose, yep, DIY workout. (You didn't think I'd be able to pull it off did you?) You can choose from a myriad of activities to create a balanced workout for cardio, upper, and lower body. I haven't done it yet, I'm still battling it out with my trainer in 30 day challenge mode. I'm surprised that I've been sticking with it, surprised but happy. I love that I'm getting a good workout at home, without the hassle or cost of the gym. Though I'm pretty sure with the money I've spent in the past few years on DVDs and workout kits, may be enough to afford me a gym membership. I like the convenience of working out at home and the quick 20 to 30 minutes that it takes me. After this 30 day challenge with EA Sports Active, I think I'm going to try 30 Day Shred. I've heard a lot of good things about it and perhaps by the end of this 30 days I'll be in shape enough to handle something like that.

What about you fellow brides, are you trying to shape up for the big day? If so what are you doing and how is it working?

Tune in next time for more tales from a DIY bride.