Head Full Of Doubt, Heart Full Of Promise: Avett Brothers

We Love FREE! Free Printable Labels

I'll admit it: I don't have the best track record when it comes to balancing a checkbook. Those who know me best are aware of this and love me anyway, and think it's hilarious (unless I am married to them).

While an admitted shopaholic, I am also an avid bargain-hunter.

I've decided to start sharing some of the great online bargain finds I've come across. Let's start with printable labels, shall we? Once you've gotten these downloaded, you can print them out as many times as you'd like. Click on each picture or caption to go to the actual site where the printable will be at the best quality.

Enjoy! And thanks to all the folks providing these freebies!

Printable vintage labels (fill in with item of choice):

Blog World Label

Valentine's Labels (of course, free!)

Miss Cutiepie blog

Want a great project for DIY that will impress guests while visiting your W.C.? Go from these Apothecary labels....

To these awesome bottles and towels!

Everything Etsy

101 Pretty (and FREE) Printables! Grab 'em!

Look, Mom! Placemats that are fabulous, beautiful, and can be thrown away without guilt after Uncle Seymour spills his inevitable fifth glass of red wine on them...

ohcrafts

What to Do With Old Cards and Letters {A Pinterest Project}

I went on a Pinterest binge this weekend. If you are reading this and are a member of that website, there's no need to explain the addictive, impulsive, and fabulously non-productive-- yet somehow oh so gratifying-- plethora of fun that is Pinterest. I got sucked in big time yesterday, racking up almost 150 pins. (?!?)

(If you're not a member, click here-- and say goodbye to the next hour or so).

I've been feeling a little guilty about spending so much of a beautiful Saturday online, but am not quite ready to ween myself off the virtual pins to actually make something I put on a Board... hence, this post. Yes, I understand it's called Do-it-Yourself for a reason, but let's take baby steps here, people.

I love this idea on what to do with old cards and letters. My closets are full of shoeboxes brimming with greeting cards and old letters I could never bring myself to throw away, even as a little girl. There's just something so innately personal about script, and the older I get the more I appreciate seeing words in longhand written by people I love. Some are even more precious now because the authors are no longer living, making me grateful that I toted around those shoeboxes through several moves.

This idea from Pinterest (originally from simplemom's blog) seems really doable and worthwhile. How lovely would this look on a coffee table? I was thinking of making just one of old Christmas cards, and sitting it out during the holidays. A great conversation piece.
 
From this post I was lead to the blog owner's store, called Gadanke (an oh-so-cute handcrafted journal shop). I will probably be making my card journal on my own, but am seriously tempted to snag a few of her creations as gifts, like the "You Are Loved" baby book ($18) or the "Seeking Grace" prayer journal ($18.20).

 I'll hold myself accountable now that I've blogged about this, and when I am done with my very own card keepsake book, I'll post a picture.

I Did It. I Caved. One Last Wedding Post...About the Photographer

If I could give a bride one piece of advice, it'd be this: hire a great photographer. 

You won't remember much of the details (yes, the ones you painstakingly planned with the importance of the apocalypse beforehand), and you'll want a visual time capsule of the day. We were blessed to find our perfect photographers, and I just got back some sneak peeks. Since I am really loving staring at them all day   sharing these with family and friends, here we are again-- another wedding post.

The three things that topped my list from the beginning of the wedding planning process:

1. That the day would be a huge celebration with those we love most-- of life, love, God, and family.
2. That there would be meaning behind everything involved-- from the dress I wore, to the cake topper.
3. That photographs had to be perfection because the day goes by so quickly and we want to remember it forever.

What a blessing-- our photographers were extraordinary. Truly. They are MICHELLE MARIE PHOTOGRAPHY, a married couple that makes, hands down, the most beautiful creations from photographs.


It doesn't hurt that you'd love to have them over to dinner anytime because they are genuinely great, fun people. Who happen to be fantastically talented. (My precious husband even said the pictures "took his breath away." And he's not even a "breath away" kinda guy.)


I absolutely adore how they "got it"-- that is, the concept of "The Farm," why we wanted the wedding there, and the focus on dear friends and family on that day.


Without further ado, perhaps the best decision I made of the (seemingly gazillion) vendor-related decisons: Michelle Marie Photography album, Christina + Stephen {Farm Wedding}.


 A few of my favorites, there are lots more on their blog/website:

 

 

 

 Thank you Michelle and Steven Lambert of MICHELLE MARIE PHOTOGRAPY for capturing our happy day with style, love, and talent.

We Do!

So maybe I had a few moments where I felt like this...

our flower girl and ring bearer

But I am pleased to say all the DIY work paid off, and the wedding was just what we'd hoped. I learned a lot in the process and hopefully will be able to share some of that with other people.

The main thing to remember is something I was told a thousand times and was the complete truth: At the end of the day, you're married. Enjoy every moment. All the little stuff doesn't matter. And it really didn't.

It was a whirlwind but a dream. 

Here are a few pictures that have trickled in.... I'll post more (and get off the topic of weddings in general) in the future!

 

DIY Wedding: Chapter 3. Etsy Love, Etsy Love.

WeddingChannel.com just informed me that there are 25 days left until the wedding... I would consider myself a mix between Emily Post, Anthony from Sex and the City, and Bridezilla at the moment. (Want to hang out anytime soon? Call me!)

Anyway, I wanted to spotlight the lovely Etsy finds that have come to comprise a LOT of what we're doing for the wedding. I have had such great experiences with every one of these sellers and wouldn't hesitate to recommend any of them at any time.

Invitations: TwoCardinalDay

Laura, the owner of this shop, is incredible. She designed my invitations from photographs I emailed her and I was so thrilled with how they turned out. I've gotten more compliments on these invitations than I ever could have imagined, and it's because she's got such talent and style. In fact, I took inspiration from this suite she had already done:

"Rustic Romance on the Farm"
Sent Laura two pictures of the church and farm where we'll have our wedding and reception, and got this:

These depict the buildings SO very perfectly, and she did it in 48 hours for only $30 (on top of the $50 listing fee)! All I had to do was buy the cardstock (she helped me find good sources for that, too) and literally took them to FedEx/Kinko's to print. Viola! And I was so happy with the outcome.

I'm happy to say it even inspired a new invitation suite in her shop!

Next Etsy find/love:

Handmade, custom order silk ties for $18.95. Yes. $18.95. 

rabbitstop on Etsy

Vivian at RabbitStop/TieObsessed is incredible. I sent her a picture of my bridesmaid's gowns (exactly like the ones in this picture), and not only did she go to the fabric store that week to find a swatch, she found two and let me choose the one most to my liking. And here you go:

So, groomsmen's gifts? Check. Matching itty-bitty tie for ring bearer? Check. All for $18.95 a piece. My fiance has declared that he's never buying another tie in store again-- the selection here is amazing and the price can't be beat.

Last up for now:

Bridal Couture on Etsy

I actually found this shop via StyleMePretty.com which is the site of all things Beautiful Wedding.

 And this is no exception. Ce Juane made the fascinator I will wear in my hair and it is exquisite beyond words. They customized it for me, by putting the pearls from the Mina onto the Mia style because I'm wearing pearl earrings.

It's a work of art, for sure, that I hope will be a family heirloom one day. And it was $60. 

It's gonna be an Etsy kind of wedding, my friends!

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!