Oh You Fancy, Huh: LIFE Magazine's Best Fashion Photos

Maybe because this day has started off rainy and dreary... but this list from LIFE Magazine just did something great to my psyche this morning.

 

 

See the entire list here.

Have a beautiful day!

The Results: DIY Wedding, Seed Packet Favors

I realized I have documentation of the "after" from this "before" post! I hope it helps someone. I would love to hear about it if you decide to use this!*

I got a lot of great "advice tags" back as well-- my favorite? "Be careful on the honeymoon. Babies come quick."

*Note: One visitor made a great suggestion of using sticky labels rather than paper + adhesive. The only reason I didn't do that was because I'd already printed the labels... but the stickers are a much better idea!

DIY Wedding Chapter 2: Seed Packets as Wedding Favors

I have seeds coming out of my ears.

Let me explain.

I found some great ideas for making party favors for the wedding involving vintage seed labels, coin envelopes, and a bulk purchase of Sweet Peas, my seed of choice. Luckily my friends are willing to glue, stamp, and seal these packets with me, so it's going pretty quickly. But we are a little like a seed packet factory over here right now.

It started when I spied this on Martha's wedding website. Seeds for Save the Dates-- cute! 

(on Martha Stewart Weddings)

Since I'm getting married in Georgia, ideally I would have sent out peach seeds but they are about the size of... well, a peach pit.

Instead, I decided that they were going to be guest's wedding favors. 

I loved the what I saw here:

And the concept has kind of just grown from there.

There is going to be a sign for guests to "please take one," and in return leave a tag with some words of advice for the future Mr. JoieDeVivre and myself. In my mind, I'm hoping that the seed packet favors that I am hanging up like these below... (just replace the photos with seed packets):

Style Me Pretty


And hopefully by the end of the night, the packets are replaced with little manilla tags (like these)...

... all containing pearls of wisdom handwritten by guests. (Any suggestions on what to do with those cards later? I was thinking frame them?)

500 for $27

So here's what I ended up using:

For the bargain price of $3.00, I bought this listing of vintage seed packet covers off Etsy. Once I had the PDF file,
I could (and always can) print as many as I'd like.

The only thing to do then is put in the sweet pea seeds, ordered in bulk from Eden Brothers online garden shop. 

Glue the labels onto the packets with spray mount (my new favorite thing):

 

For one final fun and personalized touch, I ordered a stamp for the opposite side of the seed packets from this very sweet Etsy seller ForYoo, who I highly recommend for not just reasonable prices on customized wooden stamps, but also for being very fast and friendly!

A great, simple, and economical DIY project!

{ Shopping With a Story to Tell }

“People respond much more to authentic, human-centric design now,” said Chee Pearlman, a design consultant. “As opposed to the extruded-plastic sort from China. It’s clearly a time for genuine connection to the objects in our lives.”
New York Times article, 11/25/09

One of my favorite things while procrastinating as of late has been to peruse Etsy, an online marketplace full of beautiful antiques, vintage pieces, custom-made clothing, and other hand-made things.

I love the layout of the site (you can shop via "color"-- click fuschia on the color wheel and it will pull up all things hot pink, regardless of item type).

I also find it charming that each and every piece has some element of a human touch. The site is eclectic, whimsical, and lovely.

It's like eBay in the fact that you start looking and realize there are things you need now that you never considered buying before; but without the cluttered garage-sale atmosphere. And a lot of things on Etsy are super-affordable.

Take, for example, this silver double chain necklace I purchased from a precious girl who lives in Singapore and Sidney:

It was called "Believe in the Crown of Glory," and was $28. And if the look and price wasn't enough, I was sold by the item description:

"Crown of glory and a simple reminder to Believe. Double chain necklace, you can adjust the crown to be above the silver "Believe" charm or vice versa!

When the necklace arrived, it was packaged in a charming box, with a hand-written note from the sweet seller. Her creations are beautiful and unique, and I will be back for more from her store, Shupglite

Here are some more of the lovelies I have seen on Etsy...

How fabulous is this? A jewelry holder (or serving piece for petits fours) made from antique plates and tea cups.
$85.50, WhoMadeIt

These two gorgeous prints are only a sample of what this seller has to offer. Appropriately, this store's motto is "Poetry for the Eyes," and most prints run around $20. ISPhotography

And here is the shop of one of my favorite bloggers, Eddie Ross.

His shop's description says it best: "Eddie Ross at Etsy, a unique collection of hand-picked, vintage tabletop and giftware. Every piece in the collection I selected and refurbished myself. Every piece carries with it detailed descriptions full of ideas. Every piece I would most certainly use in my own home. And every piece is $100 and under."

Eddie Ross Vintage

This barely touches on the fabulous finds on Etsy.com, but gives a little preview of why I love shopping there so much. I would love to hear about your favorite Etsy shops, so please feel free to share!