c(oi)n:purse

The Color Hive

2011-04-22T00:00:00.000-07:00

In honor of Earth Day, I created the 'Color Hive' to share with you:

If you can't quite put your finger on what this reminds you of, here's a tip:

I've abused plenty of MS Office software to do my ghetto "design" work DIYing stationary, and in the process wasted a lot of time/scratch paper/ink to get the colors just right. Colors / shades on the computer screen can be quite different than what each printer produce, so printing this as a guide may be helpful in minimizing the steps and waste to get that perfect color.

*Originally I had made this in a full page PDF file for another free download, but I recently had to reimage my computer and I lost most of my templates in the process. I almost didn't post this but I figure it may still be useful if you print the top image.

Enjoy, and Happy Earth Day!

DIY Mini 'Laundry' Calendar - v.2011

2010-10-11T22:13:00.000-07:00

I've gotten quite a few requests for an updated template of this little calendar (see original post HERE):

So I woke from my blog-hibernation briefly, updated the template and posted it for you to download. You can go to the original post for detailed instructions on how to make this. I added a calendar cover and a few more tag options in the new template, and it covers October 2010 through March 2012.

Download 2011 template HERE
Original post with DIY instructions can be found HERE

Goin' back to bed now, happy crafting!

Double Dipping Asian Cucumber Salad

2010-03-29T08:25:00.000-07:00

Da hubs can't get enough of these, so I figured out how to use the marinade twice. The first batch is always devoured in one sitting, the second batch makes a happy healthy snack for the next day or two.

Need:

2 cucumbers/english cucumbers
1/2 tbsp salt
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1/8 cup water
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tbsp red pepper flakes (optional, use 1 tbsp for extra spicy)
1/2 tbsp granulated garlic
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tbsp roasted sesame seeds (optional)

Do:

Peel cucumber and half it length wise, use a small spoon to rid the seeds
Slice cucumbers (~1/4" thick)
Add salt to the cucumbers and mix well, fridge in a colander for 2 hours*
Mix everything else except the sesame seed in a medium bowl
Add cucumbers, toss to coat
Fridge for at least an hour
Drain, reserving the marinade
Add sesame seeds, toss

To Double Dip:

Repeat steps 1-3 above with another 2 cucumbers & 1/2 tbsp salt
Add the following to the reserved marinade: 1 tsp soy sauce, 1/2 tsp sesame oil, 1 tsp red pepper flakes
Repeat steps 5-8 above, but fridge overnight and toss the marinade this time

* this make the cucumbers 'sweat' so the marinade is less diluted and reusable, don't forget to put something below the colander to catch the the drippings

Happy Nomming!

Sweet Shower Thank You Postcard (Downloadable Template Included)

2010-02-20T13:48:00.000-08:00

As promised, here are the matching thank-yous to MOH-Ho's shower invites:

I designed several back options for MOH-Ho to choose from. My favorite was the cleaner looking centered print...
but she preferred the one that had the lighter background pink text with the the original 'Sugar Spice Nice' reference.

Like her wedding invitation thank-you cards, I designed this to print on one side with the optional backside if you can get it to line up right. I'm putting up both our favorite options for download.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THIS TEMPLATE

Enjoy!

DIY Packaging Air Pillows

2010-02-11T09:30:00.000-08:00

I needed small air pillows to package the little valentines for mailing, so I did some recycling and made my own:
Left over from all my online holiday shopping were tons of these air pillows too big for this application:
So I cut out the sealed edges of each pillow: And also cut out any part with printing on it, leaving me with just the clear plastic:
I folded the clear piece in half:
Resealed all the edges with my suckie-suckie (aka food saver):

Then I snipped off a little corner to fit a straw through (a fun option: insert confetti of your choice) and give it a quick puff:
Bring that snipped corner back to the suckie-suckie for sealing again:
Voila!Notes:

Even if you're not looking to alter the size, snipping air pillow corners can let the air out and flatten for easy storage. You can then reuse these with a quick puff and seal whenever you need them.
Other soft plastic pieces can be use to make these, look around for plastic wraps that are (unfortunately) all around us!
Suckie-suckie made this project easy, but with some testing I imagine many heat sources can produce the same results.

Happy crafting!

DIY Song Themed Valentine (If The Stars Were Mine)

2010-02-06T23:54:00.000-08:00

Like last year, I made little packages to send out as valentines. This year each box is built based on lyrics from this beautiful song (press play):

Since the very first time I heard it, I had wanted to 'put the stars right in a jar and give them all to...' ehh... somebody, ANYBODY! Valentine's day finally came around and gave me an excuse to do this without creeping people out:
Initially I wanted to baked some Green Tea cookies for the project. MOH-Ho brought over a recipe from Martha and we made some freaking adorable star cookies:but DUDE they tasted like @$$!

So we switched gears and turned to a basic sugar cookies recipe. We made what felt like a gazillion batches of these puffy little suckers before getting them to turn out just the right size to fit in those tiny glass hinged jars:
The package wouldn't make much sense without the song, so I burned the song onto these business card size mini-CDs. For the label, I drew a simple bird silhouette sitting on a 'wire' of the corresponding lyrics 'I'd teach the birds such lovely words and make them sing for you':
[Keeping it legal: Turns out Amazon doesn't let you purchase the same MP3 more than once, making the purchase of multiple copies difficult (I assume it's similar on other music sites). You can get around it by buying different versions, set up multiple accounts, use the spouse's account, or purchase from various sites.]

To illustrate the final part of the chorus 'wrap the world in ribbons', I printed the lyrics with an antique world map graphic background on linen paper. I hand tore out each map for the frayed edges effect, rolled it up, and wrapped it with coordinating ribbons:
Then I packed them up in little boxes and off in the mail they went:

... though not before I DIYed coordinating packing materials that made EVERYONE roll their eyes. That will have to be another post, but I'll leave you with the lyrics of...

If The Stars Were Mine by Melody Gardot

If the stars were mine
I'd give them all to you
I'd pluck them down right from the sky
and leave it only blue
I would never let the sun forget to shine upon your face
so when others would have rain clouds you'd have only sunny days
If the stars were mine
I'd tell you what I'd do
I'd put the stars right in a jar and give them all to you

If the birds were mine
I'd tell them when to sing
I'd make them sing a sonnet when your telephone would ring
I would put them there inside the square, whenever you went out
so there'd always be sweet music whenever you would walk about
If the birds were mine
I'd tell you what I'd do
I'd teach the birds such lovely words and make them sing for you
I'd teach the birds such lovely words and make them sing for you

If the world was mine
I'd paint it gold and green
I'd make the oceans orange for a brilliant color scheme
I would color all the mountains, make the sky forever blue
So the world would be a painting and I'd live inside with you
If the world was mine
I'd tell you what I'd do
I'd wrap the world in ribbons and then give it all to you
I'd teach the birds such lovely words and make them sing for you
I'd put those stars right in a jar...and..........
give them all...to you.......

Sweet Shower: Fun and Games

2010-02-04T08:54:00.000-08:00

Coming up with games for the shower had me pulling out my hair. I had never been to a bridal shower and had no clue what's fun to a bunch of women with ages/interests/backgrounds that are all over the map.

So I went with what I know best - sticking to the theme.

For the ice-breaker, I armed MOH-Ho with a stack of labels with names of different character associated with food (from Julia Child to Mrs. Butterworth) to greet the guests with. Here's a shot of MOH-Ho with her new identity as the Morton's Salt Girl:

She'd go hug her hellos, stick the label on each guest's back, and explained the rules (guess who you are by asking people only yes or no questions). This worked out wonderfully because it gave MOH-Ho brief one-on-one time with each individual as soon as they came in, and the labels ensured she would not miss a soul. It also gave guests an easy topic to mingle with. There were a lot of 'ooo, you've got a good one!' and/or 'do you know who you are yet?' going around even among those meeting for the first time.

Next to the cake plate guest book, I set up a couple games for guests to get to at their leisure. The first one is a simple guess-the-number-of-candy-in-jar game:

White chocolate raspberry almond M&M's was the perfect sweet and pink for this:It took some looking to find a jar to house 116 candies (11-6 was MOH-Ho's wedding date) just right!
The second game set up on the table had the ladies guessing jars of spices covered by tissue paper with small holes. By mainly sniffing, guests were to identify the spices. The game cards coordinated with the invite suite like everything else, but they were nothing special so I didn't take a photo. Here a digital snapshot though:

The last game was the most fun as it gathered the guests together for some chuckles. I made these game cards with 5 themey questions (see pics of front and back below). Guests answers were read to MOH-Ho and each author of her favorite answers won a prize.

I had MOH-Ho's now hubby read all the answers to her. It was a great way to involve the groom, and it bought me time away to figure out the winners of the other games.

If I recall correctly, Momma MOH-Ho was the winner for the first question with 'Chip Clip'. Many answers, along with MOH-Ho's responses to them, tickled funny bones around the room.

Games are best when there are prizes, and it's fun adding a little competition. Since MOH-Ho's choice of a Pampered Chef shower eliminated the gift opening portion of a standard shower, having her award prizes gave something for the guests to unwrap and 'ooo-and-ahh' a little bit over. Again I chose some food related items (for the candy jar game, winner took home the jar with the M&M's):

I decorated some of the wrapper with left over vellum strips from the vanilla extract & sugar favors project (which were scraps from the shower invite envelopes):

I also bought a half pound box of See's truffles as a raffle prize. To encourage guests to participate in the games, the game cards were used as raffle tickets for the final prize.

That's it, and it all worked out surprisingly really well!

What are your favorite shower games?

Sweet Shower: DIY Letter Display

2010-02-02T08:26:00.000-08:00

I left you hanging on the sugary details on the shower I threw for MOH-Ho. My bad. I'm trying to get my shiznit together now and at least finish this mini-series (previous episodes: one, two, three, four, & five). To ease you back into this, I'll show you a simple DIY decoration project.

In the clubhouse where the shower was held, there's a kitchen with a breakfast bar. I wanted to keep most of the bar top open for guests to set drinks on but without leaving it bare and boring. Matching the rest of the shower stuff, I picked out 5 shades of coordinating pinks in graduating darkness to paint the wooden letters S-U-G-A-R:

To display them, I bought some single serving trifle dishes which MOH-Ho had mentioned several times that she wanted but couldn't justify buying. They not only went well with the baking/dessert theme, but had a loving home after the shower. I added some table sugar to hold up the letters and establish a white base to help the pinks pop:

These didn't take up much room, but effectively greeted the guests as they walked in.

This simple idea is cost efficient, not too wasteful, and easy to make. Using wide-mouth containers (perhaps bowls/jars/glasses that you already own), some wooden/paper block letters, and any powder/grain for base, this idea can easily be adapted to fit many themes :)

Happy Crafting!

DIY Peppermint Mocha

2009-12-20T14:32:00.000-08:00

'The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.' But since 'I can sing, I just choose not to sing. Especially in front of other people,'* I'm giving away these at the office instead:

It's no secret that I love me some clear glass ornament projects, and I thought they'd make festive packaging for the couple servings of peppermint mocha mix I'm trying to contain. I used 67mm (2.63 in.) bulbs and filled them up about half way with 6 tbsp of mix. I messed around til I came up with a pretty yummy recipe:

1 cup of hot cocoa
1/3 to 1/2 cup of instant coffee
1/8 to 1/4 tsp of peppermint extract
adjust coffee and extract amount according to your taste, mix well in food processor

To minimize the powder leakage, I inserted a mini marshmallow under each cap:
To add a little color inside the glass bulbs, I broke off peppermint sticks to insert into each one. Many sticks were sacrificed as I needed them to be the exact height where they remain standing without impeding on the marshmallow cap action, which had a very low tolerance. *Note: soft mints break nicely, regular candy canes do not.

With matching ribbons and instruction tag (reads 'Add 3 tbsp or more of mocha mix to a cup of hot water or milk and enjoy!'), these are ready to go!
The boxed edition went into ultra limited production. As da hubs pointed out, not everyone appreciate nice balls. Note: the mix will 'dirty' the peppermint stick in transport, but with a few shakes/taps, it cleans up quite nicely!

Happy Holidays everybody!

*My fav Xmas movie

DIY Sugar Cube Place Card Holder

2009-10-26T07:26:00.000-07:00

I wanted something simple and cute to hold up all the labels for the desserts at MOH-Ho's 'Sugar Spice Nice' theme shower and I came up with the perfect solution:

As usual, I got some eye-rolls when I first mentioned my latest crazy idea. But when it comes time to trying things out, my team is always behind me 110% (coz they know it's the only way to shut me up). We had to set this up outdoors coz sugar flew EVERYWHERE. Eventually Bro-GT had to put on safety goggles (over his glasses!) just to protect his eyes from sugar attacks.
A mini assembly line was formed quickly. Da Hubs set up each cube and Bro-GT did the cutting and blade cleaning:
To make these you'll need:

Some kind of heavy clamp (we used a pipe wrench)
Rotary tool with small thin blade
Sugar cubes

There's only one step to the process - cut a slot in the cube to hold the card. Here are a few tips / lessons learned:

As I mentioned, do this outside and the person cutting should wear eye-protection. Sugar got on all our clothes and hair, I can't imaging the epic battle we would've had with the neighborhood ants if I tried this in the kitchen or even the garage.
Depending on the type of clamp you use, you may want to add some padding to protect the cube and provide a firmer grip. We wrapped a paper towel around each cube to do this. The metal and sugar direct contact made it slippery and nicked the cubes.
The blade gets hot and melts the sugar. Sometimes you get small clumps or pieces of cotton candy out of it but they remove easily. Keep a tub of water nearby to take the sugar off the blade (comes off real easily with water) so the buildup doesn't mess with your cut.
Practice makes perfect. I wasn't sure this would work at first but after some tries (and quite a few broken cubes) we got it down pat.

They do a great job holding up any small cards/signs/labels, but I think they look proportionally perfect with the little labels (see 2nd photo above) and would make excellent place card holders. Though I gotta say, double-teaming them to hold the bigger signs look pretty damn fabulous too:
I just love the simplicity, texture, and sweetness of these little holders. Out of all the details I put into this shower, I think this may just be my favorite :)

DIY Vanilla Extract and Vanilla Sugar Shower Favors

2009-10-20T06:28:00.000-07:00

I knew I would be making vanilla extract favors for MOH-Ho's shower before I came up with the 'Sugar Spice Nice' theme, decided to serve desserts, or remotely considered any other detail. It was kind of a given in my mind because of MOH-Ho's love for baking. I also love that it's consumable, renewable, and has that personal homemade touch.

I later decided to add the vanilla sugar as well so that guests from the same household (aunt & cousin) won't have to take 2 of the same favor home.
Making vanilla extract is actually quite simple, all you're doing is soaking vanilla beans in vodka and letting it sit. Before doing my research I jumped the gun and bought premium grade vanilla beans, only to realized later that the cheaper lower grade versions (for the lower moisture content) were actually better for extract making. Oh well.
Madagascar vanilla beans are most commonly used for extract, so that's what I got. Beans are split in half and placed in bottles:
Then the bottles are filled with vodka. There are varying recipes out there for the proportions, but all say that more extract can be made by refilling with vodka. My interpretation of that is, if you let it sit long enough, most reasonable vanilla:vodka ratio will work. I put one bean in each bottle that holds about 1/2 cup of vodka.
You gotta shake 'em up real good and store in a cool and dark place for at least a couple of months, with additional shake sessions in between. I took these couple pics right after filling them all up. See the pretty color already showing?
The finishing touch was a paper strip seal plus tag that matches the rest of the shower stationary. The strips were nothing but scraps made useful. Remember the shower invites vellum envelopes? Before cutting them down to the right envelope size, I printed on the edges like this:
so they can be cut to make the paper strip seals. They were first attached with rubber cement, which worked well but was a bit messy. In the end, MOH-Ho just ran them through her trusty Xyron for ease. On the back of the matching tag was a thank you note and instructions on making the refills.

Now onto the vanilla infused sugar:
For the sugar I chose the more fruity Tahitian beans, which were cut diagonally into small pieces to provide the most vanilla exposure.
I filled the chosen jar with table sugar to get the right amount:
then mix the vanilla bits with the sugar:
Pour them back into the jars, seal, and that's it! I left these alongside the extract to sit for months.
The little specks spread in the sugar was really quite pretty, if only I had the photography skills to capture it...

Like the extract, the sugar also had a matching tag with a thank you note. Since no instructions were necessary I added suggestions for uses (in coffee/tea for added flavor, etc.)And that's it! I was pleasantly surprised at how well these turned out, I sure hope the guests like them!

Sweet Shower Details

2009-10-15T07:45:00.000-07:00

I have theme addiction. It's true. I thought about seeking help, for themes often conflict with practicality, and practicality is high up on my list. But before I go get myself fixed, I indulged in MOH-Ho's sugary shower details. You've already seen my 'Sugar Spice Nice' shower invites and I've also shown you the food and drinks dessert set up. Now I must confess that beyond the leftover labels and the special drink signs, there is more. Looking at all this pink makes me nauseous (I'm not a pink person, MOH-Ho is), and I apologize in advance if you also wanna throw up a little bit in your mouth. Okay, here we go.

For the cotton candy set up, homeboy will be making the fresh mini puffs with popsicle sticks instead of cones, and place them in pink cupcake liners for display in a cupcake pan. I made these little stickers for the popsi-sticks:
I have a 3-table set up for the food and drinks and each one will have one of these banners:
I couldn't leave the water bottles naked so they too have matching labels. We went with MOH-Ho's favorite design...
but I had to get one with the label design that was my fav :)
The skewers for the chocolate fountain are dressed up with little letter flags on top that spell s-u-g-a-r:

And since I'm planning 'too much food', I printed these to-go bags for guests to take some goodies home in. I put the brown paper lunch bags through the printer and the printing didn't come out perfect, but I think the imperfection actually fits the bags quite well:

And there's the guest book. I've never attended a bridal shower so I'm not sure if it's weird to have one of these, but I thought a cake plate signed by the shower guests (with a porcelain pen) would be a nice keepsake for MOH-Ho to remember the day by.
Phew! Now if you can stand more of this crazy matchy-match pink mush, the heavier DIY projects are coming up!

The Sweet Shower: Deweecious Setup

2009-10-13T06:38:00.000-07:00

Da Hubs thinks I'm planning an excessive amount of food for MOH-Ho's shower, and dared me to do a post asking your opinion. I ain't scurred! While I'm at it, Imma show you the setup of it all too.

Here is the main buffet table that will feature 10 desserts:

Cupcakes
Brownie bites
Raspberry Truffles
Palmiers
Biscotti
Cookies (Chocolate Chip, Oatmeal, White Chocolate Macadamia)
Madeleines
Sugar Free Cookies (Lemon Creme and Chocolate Striped Shortbread)
Apple Pie
Cherry or Pumpkin Pie (still deciding, what do you think?)

I'm reusing my wedding cake stands here. The 2 pies will be placed at the front corners of the table. I wanted to keep them low (my excuse for being too cheap to buy pie plates), and I know I've got issues but I just loove those little tongs!
Those extra little tags from the invite suite will label the desserts:
Then there's the cotton candy and chocolate fountain station, which will be manned by MOH-Ho's homeboy:
Chocolate fountain dip items include:

Strawberries
Pineapple
Marshmallows
Pretzels
Graham Crackers

and y'all know how much I dig that chocolate fountain!

Third table will serve 5 drinks (Thermos is a photo stand-in for a carafe):

2% Milk
Raspberry Lemonade Vodka
Cream Soda
Coffee
Bottled Water (for ease to take-along upon departure)

I did special labels for each drink (again, matching the invites):
There will be around 25 (plus or minus a couple) people at this shower. As a huge boofay fan, I really wanted to provide a good variety of desserts. I'll also be providing to-go bags for guests to take food home. One highlight of a recent convo between da hubs and I on this topic went down like this:

DH: 'AND 2 pies?! No pies! You don't need the pies! Plus no one eat pies without ice cream!'
Me: ' Ooo! I should do an ice cream station too then, with a toppings buffet!'
DH: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!
(for the sake of my marriage, I'm forgoing the ice cream station)

I have quite a bit of detail to be added to this basic set up. But before we get to that post, will you be our judge and tell us if you think I'm over doing things and should be beaten by the starving children in China; OR if I'm simply doing the word buffet justice? (or if you think I'm underestimating it all and must add the ice cream station, I'd like to hear that too)

Sweet Shower Invites (Downloadable Template Included)

2009-09-27T02:38:00.000-07:00

I am throwing a bridal shower for MOH-Ho and it is freaking me out! I did accomplish one thing, though not without huge assembly help from MOH-Ho and her momma - the shower invites:

MOH-Ho is a big time baker (she's the mastermind behind my wedding cupcakes) so she's getting a 'Sugar Spice Nice' theme dessert shower. The 3-page invite includes the basic invite on the front (sugar), details & rsvp info in the middle (spice), and a blank recipe card on the last for guests to share their favorite recipe with the bride (nice).

The linen texture strips of increasing lengths are aligned on the left side and sewn together with matching thread...

to give this staggering effect on the right:

The envelope is folded from pastel pink vellum and sewn shut. The invite info is covered by a matching address label.

I originally wanted the seal to be done with an off white linen ribbon matching the paper texture, but I wasn't sure it would hold up in the mail. Sewing it shut was a practical alternative, and it turns out to have a cleaner feel which I like.

The finished product:

Like MOH-Ho's wedding invitations, this set is also printed on a single piece of cardstock. Included are the 3 strips, address label, plus a couple extra matching small labels/tags:

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THIS TEMPLATE

Also like MOH-Ho's wedding invitations, matching thank-yous will follow :)

NOTES:

Paper - Recycled white linen cardstock for the invite, and pastel pink vellum for the envelope.
Text - AFL Font Pespaye Nonmetric
Envelope -

Cut 10" x 7" piece of vellum
Score and fold in at solid red lines (the 2 shorter folds first, then the middle)
Insert invite
Sew shut at dotted line right above top edge of invite

Planning this sweet shindig has been difficult for me for a lot of reasons. I've never attended a bridal shower before, I'm doing this long distance and my summer field assignment has kept me super busy and exhausted, plus I'm nervous that it won't be good enough for her friends and family (I'm not around women much!). Fortunately MOH-Ho has been very supportive and forgiving about my shortcomings. While I feel bad that she has to work on her own shower, I really couldn't do it without her!

Would you mind helping with your own shower?

360 'Round the Sun

2009-08-23T00:00:00.000-07:00

A year ago today I put on a silly poofy dress, high fived a stud, did my own stunt, lip synced to Neil, got smashed with cake, and danced like no one's watching.

It was off the hook! But contrary to what people tell me, it was not the best time of my life, by far.

You see, ol' Miss Independent here was a non believer in marriage 'til not too long before walking down that aisle. "Didn't need some title or piece of paper to define what I've got," so arrogantly I thought to my ignorant little self.

But holy crap y'all marriage ~~is the best thing since~~ was always better than sliced bread! I now recommend it like it's Shamwow, tooting how you'll be saying wow. A good husband is great for the house, the car, the boat, the RV, and can hold 12x his weight in liquid!

Married life has been a blast, and the simplest days sitting on the couch enjoying it totally beat the excitement of a wedding. Not to put down the big party, of course, but I hope brides-to-be don't lose sight of the wonders ahead, especially in those stressful hours of tissue paper fluffing and such.

And to my husband - thanks for all the wows.

Photo: 1st in the series of anniversary bouquets that is my endless wedding present.

RSVP Tracking

2009-07-20T10:18:00.000-07:00

I got a black light pen so MOH-Ho can track her RSVPs, in case any of them comes in illegible, damaged in the mail (it is a postcard, afterall), or my favorite - blank. I actually tracked my own by marking them with an inkless pen, but this is definitely safer and easier. I found this pen for barely over a buck (shipping included!), so I thought I'd show you the results and share the deal:

You really can't tell the markings at all under normal lighting:

I bought the pen HERE, and shipping took like 3 weeks (I was in no hurry so it didn't matter). Packaging was crappy (definitely don't send it directly as a gift), but the pen itself works perfectly. $1.33 for a good little spy pen to arrive right in my mailbox, really can't be beat.

MOH-Ho's Thank You Cards (Downloadable Template Included)

2009-07-14T10:03:00.000-07:00

Matching the invite suite I designed for MOH-Ho, here are her thank you cards:

I included both the cover and the inside of this card for download (print one on the front and the other on the back of the same piece of paper). It was a pain to get it to line up correctly, and I don't have any tips to give on that one. If it's giving you too much trouble though, the cover alone still makes a nice card. The file contains these:

You can't see it from the pics here but I put in faint lines to help guide the cuts. Cutting the circle from the cover only works if you print both sides, but it is optional either way. I highly recommend scoring the card at the fold.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD TEMPLATE

Notes:

Find details on the paper and envelope on the post for the invite suite
Actual colors vary depending on your printer (also, if you print it on the gold paper like I did, the colors come out darker than they appear on white paper)

Enjoy!

MOH-Ho's Invite Suite (DownloadableTemplate Included)

2009-07-13T00:00:00.000-07:00

EDIT: Apologies to those who were asking about this post, I had to take it offline for awhile and completely redo the photos. I know it took me a long time and the photos aren't as good as before, but everything is harder to do since I'm far from home, sorry about that.

Here are the invites I designed for MOH-Ho's wedding. I worked really hard on making these efficient (the set is printed on a single sheet of 8.5x11 cardstock). While I thoroughly enjoy receiving a pretty invite, I also feel terrible when I throw out fancy sets that include so much material. So I was thrilled that MOH-Ho and her parents appreciated the compactness as I did!

Here's the whole suite:

Instead of an inner envelope, I added matching circles with first names of guests to top the suite that is tied together by a cotton string:
A closer look at the directions/website card and the RSVP postcard:
Back of envelope and back of postcard:
The texture and color of the paper added the perfect touch :)
Cost Breakdown for 100 invites:

Purple Metallic Envelopes (100): $24
Gold Linen Metallic Cardstock (100): $28
String from craft store: $2
Tax & Shipping: $8
Home printing cost not included since I have no way to estimate and would vary depending on your printer

Cost per invite suite: $0.62

Below is the template set for this invite suite free for you to download:

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD TEMPLATE PART 1 (PDF)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD TEMPLATE PART 2 (MS WORD)

Instructions:
1. Download both templates
2. Personalize text (change wording, color, font, sizes to suit your needs) in the word document
3. Print both templates on the same piece of test sheet (be sure to recycle scratch paper if you have some around!)
4. Modify text format and move text boxes as appropriate, then repeat step 3&4 on new test sheet until satisfactory
5. Print on paper of your choice, see my recommendations in post
6. Cut and assemble

Notes:

Included are 3 cards, label, 2 name tags
3 cards are identically sized, fits in a 4 bar ( 3 5/8"x 5 1/8") envelope
Postcard is slightly smaller than USPS standard (our local post office says they can still be mailed, just with a little more postage)
Sample pic shown with Birch Std font
Actual colors vary depending on your printer

Enjoy!

Worthwhile

2009-07-06T09:32:00.000-07:00

I've spent endless hours on writing DIY posts that includes everything from detailed instructions to downloadable templates (I know I'm slacking as of late, y'all, but I've got a good excuse!). Honestly though, even with plenty of your kind and wonderful feedback on my quirky creations, I often wonder if they are ever put to use.

Enter reader Almost Wea who just made my friggin' week. Check out her fabulous version of the centerpieces I designed for MOH-Ho! Woot! Thanks girl, you don't know how much this means to crafter who is sent 100 miles away from her tools for a whole summer!

*Photo by Almost Wea

MOH-Ho's Centerpiece Mini Mockup

2009-06-07T00:02:00.000-07:00

I've had this centerpiece idea in mind for awhile, but I couldn't get MOH-Ho to picture it right to save my life! Last night we finally got together and did a small version mockup (the real one will have 5 vases instead of 3). We spent some quality time bringing my vision to life:

The purple circles invites I made for MOH-Ho's wedding was my original inspiration for these. I wanted to keep to the color palette and echo the circles theme. My expectations for these were similar to that for my own centerpieces - affordable, not wasteful, easy to set up, unique, incorporate florals... plus the added top criteria of making MOH-Ho happy. I'm glad to report a check on each of these :)

Here's how it was done:

1. Gather Supplies:

various sizes metal cans and small glass jars right out of the recycling bin (labels removed and thoroughly cleaned of course)
all the same stuff from my thread LED tealight cover project, except for the thread and tealight
yarn

2. Read my post on the thread LED tealight cover because the instructions are basically the same, replacing the tealight with the can, and yarn with the thread. Wrap the can with some sort of thick paper or thin cardboard (look for something to recycle, like my used manila envelop here) and tape the end to make a cylinder.
3. Wrap cylinder with a plastic liner (here I used a flattened shipping air pillow)
4. Wrap yarn around the cylinder loosely and pull can out of the cylinder. Make sure the yarn coverage goes beyond the height of the can.
5. Saturate yarn with fabric stiffener of your choice.
6. Dry the yarn according to the instructions given on the stiffener's bottle. Mine calls for the microwave.
7. Once dried, remove the paper/cardboard and plastic wrap (like in the other project). Then pull the yarn cylinder over the can.
8. Put a fun texture item of complimentary color in the glass jar which will become the base. Seal tightly with lid, smother top of cap with glue, then glue to bottom of the yarn covered can.
9. Let dry, and you've got yourself a funky little vase!

10. Repeat steps above with cans and jars of different shapes and sizes, along with similar color yarn of various shades. Compliment with other fun textured filler in the jars (here are Sugar in the Raw, dried split pea, and coffee beans).

You can fill the set of vases with different flowers of the same color...
... or fill them all with the same stems!

The real centerpiece will have a total of 5 vases, using 2 additional shades of purple yarn along with 2 other texture base (rice and breadcrumbs). We'll also use 5 different white filler flowers. I've said before that single bloom arrangements has great advantages, and the simplicity and cost savings works out perfectly with this centerpiece!

There will be a table number display to complete the centerpiece, but that's a project all on its own. The chosen texture bases actually share a significance in the couple's relationship, but I'll have to save that for the table number post. So... more to come!

DIY Lovebugs Magnets

2009-05-26T21:51:00.000-07:00

The little bees were much loved, so I made them some friends to join the party. The instructions for making the rest of the crew are very similar to that of the original bee magnets. Variations are illustrated here in photos:

The basic paint job:Butterfly:Spidy:Glue:
Da packaging:

Happy Crafting!

ello

2009-04-30T09:33:00.000-07:00

When I had the luxury of blogging regularly, I thought it was silly for authors to apologize for their absence when they go missing for awhile. I think I understand how they feel now.

I'm going through a big transition at work, which is also impacting my personal life in a huge way (moving away alone). I meant to blog from the hotel, but I've just been too drained.

I have quite a few DIY projects half started back home. It's hard to work on them when all my tools are 2 hours away. I've been working on getting that invitation template up since I keep getting requests for it. I want to make it easy to use, and my dear brother is helping me develop a method. I don't know if we can get it to work, but we're trying.

I'm also really tired of looking at my own wedding pics, but I had promised myself that I would finish the recap, and I am not one to break promises.

In short, I'll be back. I just need things to settle down a bit. I miss you guys.

Image is one of the views from my new 'office' (da 'office' stretches approximately 6 miles).

Happy Earth Day

2009-04-22T07:22:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite Chinese sayings translates directly as 'Drink Water Think Fountain', reminding us to consider and be grateful for sources we take / benefit from. Sometimes it's hard to believe I have such smarties as ancestors...

Image Source

The Tea Party: Da Get Down

2009-04-21T22:00:00.000-07:00

Previously: 1. Prelude , 2. Tea Ceremony , 3. Getting Ready, 4. The Kids, 5. Wedding Party, 6. Down the Aisle, 7. Ceremony, 8. Group Shots , 9. Couple Shots, 10. Jump Shots, , 11. House Shots, 12. Cocktails & Dinner, 13. First Dance, 14. Parents Dance, 15. Toasts , 16. Cake , 17. Lion Dance, 18. Sweet Fountain

A lot of thought was put into the dancing portion. I know that while I put effort to get on the dance floor at weddings, I don't often stay out for long. But when I do, watch-out y'all, we got a hot one in here!

From the dj to the music to the set up to the timing of events+++, we considered as much as we could and made decisions based on what would keep guests around and dance through the night. Well, our hard work paid off, because every single guest was on the dance floor at some point and most of them boogied til the end!

Here's us showing 'em how itz done:

We actually cleared the dance floor several times for planned activities, but with our lead (plus a few strategies) the shaking booties always came right on back:

I told you da MIL was having a good time!

This one just cracks me up. Apparently there was a need to direct the dance traffic:

I'm pretty sure this is the first time I have EVAH seen my parents dance with each other!

And our ring bearer was cutting a rug like it was nobody's business:

Even my super shy little cousin got a piece of the action!

And I don't gotta tell you what song was playing in these two pics right?

I think what makes a hot dance party depends a lot on your crowd. With our small wedding (94 guests) that include folks of all ages and very few dance prone bodies, we did the following with the dance focus in mind:

1. We sacrificed our favorite songs. While we obviously stamped our personalities everywhere in the wedding, we left most of it out of the guest dance portion (supplemented by a very 'us' first dance). I've been to too many weddings where it was obvious that the couple handpicked the reception songs (or paid no attention to the playlist), and very few guests appreciated them. In my wedding attendance during our engagement (10!), I took notes of songs that seemed to always get people to dance and we played mostly those. We got so many compliments on the music selections!

2. We paid the MC/DJ. While my stingy behind DIYed and shopped deals like crazy, I knew not to skimp in this department. Dead air, awkward transitions, bad timing... etc. can drop the dance mood like *snap* THIS!

3. We kept things centralized. I noticed the venues that break up the reception tables areas (e.g. some in main room, some on patio or the next room) often make 'the other room' guests feel left out of the main event. We picked a venue capable of accommodating all tables in one area adjacent to the dance floor. We also arranged for most happenings at the reception to take place right on the dance floor (even the chocolate fountain line) so guests don't get distracted or have many reasons to venture off.

4. We made sure there was space. I went to a big wedding once where the tiny dance floor was packed. I wanted to get in on the action but there was simply no room! I think from that bride and groom's POV it was a hopping party, not that it wasn't, but the majority of the guests were actually sitting out or leaving early (which we did).

Are you having a dance reception? What do you think contributes to one done right?

Images by Travis Hoehne and my friend Rob

I'll Miss You, Silver Shoes

2009-04-19T19:51:00.000-07:00

Off the office carpet and onto the dirt road I go as my summer field assignment begins tomorrow. It has been a stressful week prepping for it since I gotta move out there. I'm looking forward to the experience but I'm sad to be away from da hubs and da haus.

I'll hopefully be blogging from my hotel room for the next couple of weeks. Argh, I hate living out of a suitcase.

The Tea Party: Chocolatey Goodness

2009-04-11T08:07:00.000-07:00

Previously: 1. Prelude , 2. Tea Ceremony , 3. Getting Ready, 4. The Kids, 5. Wedding Party, 6. Down the Aisle, 7. Ceremony, 8. Group Shots , 9. Couple Shots, 10. Jump Shots, , 11. House Shots, 12. Cocktails & Dinner, 13. First Dance, 14. Parents Dance, 15. Toasts , 16. Cake , 17. Lion Dance

Da Hubs thinks it's funny that Chinese people eat fruit as dessert, but it'd be noooo funny business if I ever left my family hanging at the end of the meal without it. Since fruit was a must have anyway, we upgraded to a chocolate fountain. 8 dipping items included 5 different fruits plus pretzels, marshmallows, and rice krispy treats. Nommm.

There was a line for the fountain the whole time, and the location made it so the line was on part of the big dance floor. This way, folks in line were not kept away from anything that was going on, and most of them boogied while in line.

We got tons of thumbs up from our guests, but what we didn't get was any dippers for ourselves! Neither da hubs nor I ever made it to the chocolate fountain that night (and while my face had its share I actually didn't get to eat any cake either), but it was worthwhile just seeing everyone enjoy it so much.

And I wish you could see these kids when they reminisce over that tower of flowing chocolate!

The third and the last images by my friend Rob, the rest by Travis Hoenhe

DIY Mini 'Laundry' Calendar

2009-04-09T09:02:00.000-07:00

I love a useful / thoughtful favor as much as I despise little pieces of crap that ends up in the landfill right after a wedding. This idea spawned from my panic after hearing about yet another wasteful one in the works.

You can Download This Calendar for April 2009 through December 2010. I made a sample favor here by adding the circle design from MOH-Ho's invites on her wedding date.

Below are instructions to make the lil' calendar:

1. Cut an 8" long piece of wire (most wires would work, I used 26 ga. wire which was really thin):
2. Bend at 2 1/4" and 5 1/4" like this:
3. Pull wire through the springs of two mini 1" clothespins:
4. Bend, twist, and bend some mo' to make hanger shape:
5. Download Calendar and print (I recommend printing on linen paper for the texture. If you're making them in bulk, I suggest using recycled linen paper like this one.)
6. Cut or tear out each month, they need not be exactly the same size (I like to score then tear to give me torn edges that don't get too crazy.)
7. I've included little tags for the hanger which you can add as desired (see first or last pic), of course you can also make your own.
8. Clip 'em suckas with the clothespins and you've got yourself a wee hanging calendar!

It costs less than a shiny quarter and takes less than 5 minutes to make, so I made MOH-Ho a countdown calendar :)

Happy Crafting!

The Tea Party: Pole Dancing

2009-04-07T09:38:00.000-07:00

Previously: 1. Prelude , 2. Tea Ceremony , 3. Getting Ready, 4. The Kids, 5. Wedding Party, 6. Down the Aisle, 7. Ceremony, 8. Group Shots , 9. Couple Shots, 10. Jump Shots, , 11. House Shots, 12. Cocktails & Dinner, 13. First Dance, 14. Parents Dance, 15. Toasts , 16. Cake

One of the few things I knew I wanted for our wedding was a Chinese Lion Dance. When done right, the loud and festive performances always light up faces in a crowd.

When I first introduced da hubs to it by way of a sad little YouTube video, he couldn't have been less impressed. As much as I tried to explain, it is just one of those things you don't truly understand until you experience it in person. Fortunately, our friends got married earlier in the year and DH was able to witness the awesomeness live from our front and centered seats (thx R&E!), after that he couldn't imagine our wedding without one!

The kids' expressions when they saw the lions were absolutely priceless.

I did quite a bit of research looking for the right team, and my picky self refused to settle for the unskilled (which I found everywhere, because most people can't tell the difference!). I came real close to scrapping the idea several times since this was a splurge for us in the first place and quality was hard to find, but the newly converted hubs was having none of it. We. Must. Have. Lions.

Finally, I hired a team to come in from the Bay Area. What gave me confidence in this one over the others? One, they have videos of their performances and they were good! And two...

They.Dance.On.Poles. !!

I can't complain about the happy pics of us, though I wish I had photos of the guest faces. People still tell us how fantastic it was to see that at our wedding. Too bad I can't get the non-Asian folks to stop calling the lions, dragons :/
They mostly use the jongs (the poles) for competitions because the space and height clearance required often keep them out of private events. Fortunately our outdoor venue with the big dance floor was set up perfectly for it!

I would have put Vegas style flashing big links here recommending my Lion Dance vendor if they had fulfilled our agreement. Unfortunately, after paying for and verbally agreeing multiple times that there would be a firecracker finale at the end of the performance, we were simply left without. The contact person had insisted that for insurance purpose or whatever (even after I explained that we already purchased insurance to cover the event) they couldn't give us a written agreement including the firecrackers. After verbally confirming it 3 times, I trusted them like the naive girl that I am. I even put a firecracker illustration in our program and warned guests of the super loud excitment to (not) come!

I would have still hired them in a heartbeat had they been honest with me about there being no firecrackers available, despite how much I wanted them. More than anything, I just really dislike being lied to. They took our payment and left with no explanation. I emailed the contact person about it and the response completely ignored the firecracker issue.

Now I don't wanna end on a yucky note because everyone was having a great time, even my impossible-to-impress parents (gasp) approved! I'm sure the guests will remember the great performance over the mysterious missing firecrackers, just as we will remember those happy faces at our wedding over the hiccups on that day.

Life doesn't always go according to plan, but that's what keeps life exciting. Why should our wedding day be any less exciting, right? ;)

Images by Travis Hoehne

The Tea Party: Face, meet Cake

2009-03-31T10:02:00.000-07:00

Previously: 1. Prelude , 2. Tea Ceremony , 3. Getting Ready, 4. The Kids, 5. Wedding Party, 6. Down the Aisle, 7. Ceremony, 8. Group Shots , 9. Couple Shots, 10. Jump Shots, , 11. House Shots, 12. Cocktails & Dinner, 13. First Dance, 14. Parents Dance, 15. toasts

This is the story told in photos about a boy who tested his limits, and a girl rolling her neck saying 'no you di'-ent!' when said boy crossed that limit:

Everyone thought this was spontaneous, but the truth is we discussed the cake feeding beforehand and agreed that cake smashing would add to the fun atmosphere we were going for. Da hubs knew it's not worth ruining my makeup so I only got a small hit, though I think he wasn't expecting to be smashed more than once :P

I'd say we played our roles rather well, and I think my pouty face pointing at the cake crumb on my fab looking (stuffed) boobs should win me best actress in a wedding role.

We got exactly the reaction we wanted from our audience - surprise, a big 'OHHH!!' in unison, and laughter amongst our guests.

Of course none of our guests would believe that this was agreed upon, so we just keep playing along. In fact, my MIL once said she (seriously) couldn't believe I smashed all that cake on her sweet son's face when he barely nicked me. I replied 'Yup, and I'd do it again in a second!'

I believe it is right around the time this picture was taken when I thought for the first time, 'd@mn! my husband is awesome!'

Images by Travis Hoehne except for the second one by guest

The Tea Party: Peanuts Teacher Toasts

2009-03-21T13:12:00.000-07:00

Previously: 1. Prelude , 2. Tea Ceremony , 3. Getting Ready, 4. The Kids, 5. Wedding Party, 6. Down the Aisle, 7. Ceremony, 8. Group Shots , 9. Couple Shots, 10. Jump Shots, , 11. House Shots, 12. Cocktails & Dinner, 13. First Dance, 14. Parents Dance

Came toast time, all I heard was 'wonka wonk wonk wonka wonk'...
Who doesn't wish for a fantabulous toast on their wedding day? But the truth is, only few of us are blessed with close friends who's got great speech writing or public speaking talent, let alone the combination!

Knowing that neither the Best Man nor MOH-Ho enjoyed speech giving, I did not expect to be swept off my feet by their words. There I was, still feeling high from the dances, words came in one ear and out the other leaving traces of what sounded like your standard run-of-the-mill wedding toast. I can't remember a word MOH-Ho uttered but I distinctively recall this face:

I was looking straight into her teary eyes, hearing 'wonka wonk wonk...', and thinking to myself at first 'wth is she crying 'bout?!' It took a second to register but it hit me that she probably put a lot of thought into the wonka wonk, maybe stood infront of a mirror at home practicing to wonka wonk, perhaps suffered from anxiety for weeks because of wonka wonk, and she definitely sincerely meant every single wonka she was wonking at me.

And oh man, we couldn't even get a run-of-the-mill speech outta this guy: (and apparently I was thirsty!?)
I guess the speech started with a joke, but 10 seconds into the thing... it turned into something like: (sob sob) "I... I... I love you, man! I love you guys, man! I think you guys are great, man!" (repeat)
Who needs the best man to deliver a good speech when he gives you THIS to rub in his face for the rest of your lives?
I once thought couples who receive amazing toasts were lucky and loved. I mean, you must have done something right to deserve the effort behind one that is elaborate and well thought out! But standing there in front of our nearest and dearest with champagne in my hand, listening to our closest friends go 'wonka wonk wonk', I realized that I am no less lucky or loved to be in such great company. These people obviously couldn't have been happier to share this day with us, and neither could we with them.

Perfection comes in many different forms, and it often depends on your point of view. From where we were standing, the toasts were flawless.

Cheers to friendship and good times!

Images #3, 4, 8 by my friend Rob, the rest by Travis Hoehne

DIY Fortune Cookie Tea Sachet

2009-03-15T15:39:00.000-07:00

Even though I planned ahead to reuse / recycle as much wedding stuff as I could, inevitably there were leftovers. So here I am, with a friggin' couple life time supplies of various teas in my pantry (mostly from the tea buffet, which I knew I had purchased too much tea for but I needed variety!), I figured I better get creative.

I love the scent of tea, pleasant and subtle. I decided to make a little tea sachet for my dear friend to include in the package returning my borrowed veil. She was unfortunately not able to attend the main event, even though she was the most involved female in my planning. I really wanted to thank her with a piece of the wedding.

I have nearly no sewing skillz*, so this project had to be simple and forgiving. I decided to make a little fortune cookie shaped sachet:
I don't know how useful this tutorial is but I took pictures dammit, so you're getting instructions whether you like it or not. Here it goes:

1. Draw a circle on a piece of muslin, I used a glass as template, approx 4" diameter.
2. Cut out circle, it needs not be perfect. (I doubled up because I was figuring this out as I went and knew I'd mess up at least one, which I did).
3. Fold in half as pictured.
4. Sew a little 'T' along the straight edge, centered, as pictured (approx. 1" wide x 1/2" tall). I used red so it'd show up well in pics, it's probably better if you use thread with colors close to the fabric.

5. Crease and fold along the perpendicular diameter (along short stitches) of circle as pictured:

6. Match up the edges and pin to secure.
7. Sew the edges together, leaving an opening at one end (approx. 1").
8. Turn the whole thing inside out through the opening. Fluff to attain fortune cookie shape.
9. Stuff tea (or filler of your choice) inside the 'cookie'.
10. Tuck edges of opening inside and sew it shut (use thread that matches the fabric now!). Add ribbon (mine is another wedding leftover, of course) as pictured if desired.

Voila!

*To those with real sewing powers - please forgive my crappy job and lack of correct sewing terms, for I know no better (though I'd love to be enlightened in comments).

If nothing else, I hope this get you thinking about creative ways to use your wedding stuff after the fact, instead of just tossing them away :)

The Tea Party: Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?

2009-03-12T14:00:00.000-07:00

Even though we planned and hosted a wedding undeniably our own, with our personal stamp of quirkiness everywhere, the event was never for us. This wedding would have never happened if not for two very special reasons, and it is truly for them that we celebrated the way we did.

Here I am with the radiant reason number one, my new Mama:

And here's da hubs with the proud reason #2, his new Pop:

I'd say they split 50/50 on being responsible for the wedding taking place, but it is definitely because of my MIL that we had the whole wedding and reception shebang rather than just a dinner or a party at home. I remember distinctively the look on her face when we first mentioned our eloping considerations, it was much like that look of disappointment she had on when we delivered the baby news.

With her married son who did it ~~painlessly right~~ simply and quickly, and her youngest with no interest in a 'regular' wedding, we were her only hope of giving her that official mother-of-the-groom experience. I admit that I was guilt ridden, and neither da hubs nor I could deprive them of yet another very important thing we're capable of giving the parents.

So after all the hard work of planning the wedding, we finally got to the point where these two are put in the spotlight - the parents dance. You may have noticed that we've left the sap out of most parts of our wedding, and this dance would appear to outsiders as no different. I picked my daddy's favorite Beatles song, Here Comes The Sun, to dance to. It's a happy song with lyrics that's subtle and fitting. He is your typical old school conservative Chinese father, but from that demure and rare smile of his I could tell that he happily understood all I wanted him to know as his daughter on her wedding day.

We combined the father-daughter and mother-son dance, which was a great decision:
MIL was cuttin' a rug and my dad refused to be showed up, so he got into his own little groove. I laughed and said to him something like 'Dad, it's not a competition!'This is how I remember MIL on that whole day, beaming like a sun ray: Besides having had so many love ones gather to have such a great time, we are most glad for being able to give this to our parents. They still talk about how wonderful it was! We know a happy memory like this will never fade in their minds, and that is truly priceless.
Would your wedding decisions have been different if not for your parents?

The 1st, 5th, and 6th images are by Travis Hoehne, the rest are guests photos. Special shout out to my friend Rob who captured most of these key parents dance shots which are so important to us! Thanks, bro!

DIY Digital Silhouette (Facial Profiling)

2009-03-08T00:17:00.000-08:00

I wanted a simple address label and decided to try making our own silhouettes to use as motifs, here's how it turned out:

I am a photography & graphic art dummy, and of course my cheap@$$ wanted to DIY this within my usual budget of zero dollars. The following is my ghetto instructions on creating the digi-silhouettes:

1. Set up the 'studio' by a bright window on a sunny day:

Tape a big piece of white tissue paper to cover the window (this becomes the backdrop)
Minimize the rest of the light coming in the room (see how I closed the curtains except for the opening I needed)
Set a chair in front of the window and adjust seat height (I used pillows) so subject's profile fits within the framed area

2. Get your camera ready:

Fancy camera not necessary, I just used my 5 years old point and shoot here
A tripod is helpful, but also not necessary if someone can take the picture
Turn OFF the flash
Zoom in to fit only what you need

3. Sit your subject down and snap away (here's the original pic of da hubs):

4. Then we edit - I chose Picnik to show you since it's available freely to everyone, but most photo editing software can do these steps. First, crop and resize the photo as desired under the 'Edit' tab (make sure you crop out all areas not covered by the tissue paper):

5. Convert the image using the black and white effect under the 'Create' tab:

6. Return to the 'Edit' tab and adjust the exposure. Turn down the exposure and up the contrast until you get a clearly defined silhouette and the background becomes white with indistinguishable edges:
7. Save the photo and you've got your very own digi-silhouette!

Additional tips:

SMILE! We looked like the fighting GTs living on Grumpy Ln. on the first trial
Minimize flyaways by wetting/gelling your hair
The window should provide bright light that can be diffused by the tissue paper (you don't want the sun to be IN the picture and create a concentrated glow)
Minimize light shining on the side of the subject that faces the camera
You can further touch up the bright spots (like the back of his collar) in simple programs like Paint, simply paint grey spots black
To make address label, I just plopped the images into PowerPoint, then added text and autoshapes to use as frames

Thin Line

2009-03-04T21:48:00.000-08:00

I love love love my sharpies until I overdo the sealant and smear all over the place. 2 nights of work down the drain, and this is not my first offense. Arrgh!

DIY Thread LED Tealight Cover

2009-03-02T08:38:00.000-08:00

I was messing around with different materials trying to dress up a little LED tealight, and this is one of the versions I ended up liking (plus it's dirt cheap since it's just thread!). I love me some textures. This maybe useful for those with wedding venues that don't allow real flames.

Finding these* at the dollar store is what started this mess...

1) Get your hands on some thin cardboard that you'll be recycling anyway, I used the back of a pasta box.
2) Find some wrapping plastic (try to use something you'll toss anyway!)
3. Cut cardboard to desired height, the width should be AT LEAST a little more than the circumference of the tealight (it can be bigger if you want).

4. Roll the cardboard and tape the edge.
5. Make sure your cardboard roll can at least fit the tealight inside.
6. Cut and wrap the plastic over the cardboard roll, then tape it down.

7. Wrap thread (thicker thread recommended) around the roll loosely, it should be tight enough to stay in place but loose enough to slide off with a little help. Make sure the edges are relatively close to perpendicular to your roll (otherwise it'll be tilted). You can use more thread for a thicker cover or to make it taller if you'd like. I did here what I think is close to the minimum to let the most light shine through.

8. Saturate with a fabric stiffener (available at craft stores or fabric stores) and follow instructions on the bottle for drying.
9. Mine said I could microwave it for super speed drying, so I did for 30 seconds. Freaked me out a little to see the liquid bubbling on the thread, but it turned out fine.
10. Check and make sure it's close to dry.
11. Carefully crumble and pull out the cardboard without damaging the shape of the thread.
12. Carefully remove the plastic without damaging the shape of the thread.
13. Now stick the LED tealight in it and there ya go!

You can make different size and shapes. It probably works with yarn and ribbons just as well. And of course you can use whatever color thread...
... and configure it however you want!

* Batteries were included, and they last for many hours. It even flickers to imitate a real flame. Can't beat that for fiddy-cent a pop. Though I gotta say that they're a tad dim. If you want to do a bunch of these, you should buy one and make sure it's bright enough for you first.

Happy Crafting!

The Tea Party: Ba! Ba! BAAA!!

2009-02-28T09:10:00.000-08:00

Previously: 1. Prelude , 2. Tea Ceremony , 3. Getting Ready, 4. The Kids, 5. Wedding Party, 6. Down the Aisle, 7. Ceremony, 8. Group Shots , 9. Couple Shots, 10. Jump Shots, , 11. House Shots, 12. Cocktails & Dinner

After our over dramatic lip-syncing introduction (note the standing ovation for our performance behind us here), we walked over to our sweetheart table to drop off my bouquet and headed right back out to the dance floor. Though of course, not before presenting the fountain like it's in The Price Is Right's showcase.

I love choreography, and had wanted to DIY that too. I dreamt of a first dance like this one:

Unfortunately da hubs' entire dance move repertoire comes from this scene of the infamous movie...:

** big fat fat fat sigh**

SO, compromise it was. We were definitely not doing that sway to a romantic ballad thing, so we just picked the closest upbeat tune there was to being our song (since we don't really have one) and ran with it:This is one of his favorite pics, he says coz it looks like I want him. Apparently I give the 'look of desire' when there is spinach stuck in my teeth.

We sung most of it. OOO! Here comes our favorite part...
"Reaching Out..."

"Touching me..."

"Touching youuuu!""Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeet Caroline!"

Crowd sang, some standing, and/or with fists pumping:
"Ba! Ba! BAAA!!" "Good times never seemed so good..."Crowd chanted: "So Good!""So Good!"Funny, goofy, short, and sweet. Our kind of perfection.Mmm... Bacon...

Anyone else wingin' their first dance?

Images by Travis Hoehne

Papa Don't Preach...?

2009-02-25T14:46:00.000-08:00

I always envied those who didn't have to pay for their own weddings, in part or in full. Since I wanted to elope in the first place, thoughts of 'better uses' often came to mind when I sent out wedding payments. So when MOH-Ho got engaged and her parents offered her basically a blank check to pay for her wedding, the first thing out of my mouth was something like "HolySeabiscuit! You best not take that shiz for granted!"

Last week over dinner, MOH-Ho told me about a bunch of wedding ideas that's been scratched off her list, ideas that she felt confident about just the week before. Turns out, her parents were less than thrilled about them. It surprised me because her parents are the most understanding and supportive parents I have ever met. But of course, if there is anything I've learned from planning my own, it is that weddings bring strong opinions out da woodworks.

The objections were prefaced with "You can do what you want, but...", and while we know they absolutely mean it, MOH-Ho conceded to everything the parents disagreed with so far. From the officiant selection to the whimsical theme incorporated in the ceremony, none met the criteria of a traditional wedding, like how they believe something as sacred and significant as a wedding should be. "I gotta pick my battles," said MOH-Ho, "it's their money and I definitely want them to have their say in this!" Fortunately MOH-Ho and her parents have a wonderful relationship, and while compromises will have to be made, I'm sure everyone will be happy with the wedding in the end.

I used to think that if someone wants to pay for my wedding, they can do whatever they want. But I now realize it's not that easy. Had our parents contributed to our wedding, I'm not sure I could have easily let go of my own vision for their approval. They too were less than thrilled about all my ideas until they saw it all put together, and agreed afterwards that it turned out to be wonderful and very us. I'd also hesitate in spending, especially splurging on unnecessary items, if it was someone else's money (MOH-Ho is feeling the same).

Perhaps it is me who has been taking our ability to afford this freedom for granted. I guess the tea is always greener in the other cup, eh?

Is anyone sponsoring or chipping in for your wedding? How much are 'says' worth? Does the percentage in financial contribution correlate to the amount of influence in decisions making?

The Tea Party: Our Sneaky Little Private Dinner

2009-02-24T17:45:00.000-08:00

Previously: 1. Prelude , 2. Tea Ceremony , 3. Getting Ready, 4. The Kids, 5. Wedding Party, 6. Down the Aisle, 7. Ceremony, 8. Group Shots , 9. Couple Shots, 10. Jump Shots , 11. House Shots

Cocktail hour began for the guests while we were away taking pictures:

Drinks were flowing (from their orignal containers, even though we had specified multiple times for all drinks to be poured):

Guests checked out details like the marriage celebration tree...

looked for their escort teabags... and were suppose to be 'awww'-ing at our baby pics on the slideshow going on but turns out it was still too bright for the projection to be visible! (Exhibit A: blank projector screen and people ignoring it) Eventually the guests moved from the shaded cocktail area to get ready for dining in the sunset.

Our last portrait spot left us inside the bridal loft, where we stayed for dinner.

That's right, we dined by ourselves. We planned this for several reasons:

We really wanted time alone to take it all in
We knew we'd need a break from the madness by then
We vowed to pay for that boofay AND get our grub on! (none of our friends got to eat their own wedding meals)
Logistically this worked out best for our placement and event timing (and timing was key because we had a full evening schedule!)

I have never heard of anyone else having dinner out of guests' sight at their wedding, but it worked out marvelously for us. The guests' comfort and enjoyment had been priority in almost all our wedding decisions, and we felt we deserved this little break. The breather and the food regenerated us so we could fully enjoy the rest of the night.

Before guests were finished with dinner, we joined the reception with our grand entrance to the chorus of We are the Champions by Queen. It couldn't have felt more appropriate at that moment. Of the world, baby, of the world! We over dramatically lip-synced the whole thing.

What can I say? We are dorks.

The story will continue with the most unforgettablesuperawesomest first dance like how real dorks do. I'll give you a hint: Ba! Ba! BAAA!! (that's right, get your iPhone zippos ready ...)

All photos by BroGT & guests except for the last one, which is by Travis Hoehne.

Counting My Blessings

2009-02-24T10:18:00.000-08:00

Recently there was a big relocation at my office. My new awesome commute now:

is octupled in time and distance
require a fill up every other day instead of every other week
keeps me on my toes about filling up since 2/3 of the travel distance include no gas station in sight
smells like cow manure half of the time
covers my beloved vehicle, Billy, in squashed bugs
automatically changes the hip hop radio station to country midway through the trip, which is almost okay because my commute also...
is deafening me with the harsh winds against Billy's soft top, therefore...
gives me a headache (physical, not just metaphorical) on a daily basis
is mostly a single lane highway so there is no avoiding trucks nearby that can do this:

It left shattered glass inside the cab, and I'm grateful that this didn't happen where the bursting glass could have cut my face or my eyes instead. At least I have a husband who cleaned up all the glass for me, and I'm not spending 3 1/2 hours on the road daily like someone else I work with!

Operation MOH-Jo Begins with a Chill Pill

2009-02-20T13:50:00.000-08:00

My MOH-Ho is getting married!

At first I was like 'OO-Uh-Ah!' as my neck rolled. Chunky ovah here ain't worthy! (note: no one is). But as I watch the two of them sit there blissfully take my standard verbal assaults, I realized this dude actually meets the qualifications: 1) can take my shiz, and 2) makes her hella happy.

So once it sunk in that this is really happening, it was time to think about the wedding. Now we know all too well how once those wedding planning gears start turning, the momentum gains by the minute until it completely consumes our lives. The signs are all there that we're gonna lose MOH-Ho to the monster, but I'm taking a step back so I can keep us calm to carry on.

Since my own planning process was not an awesome experience, I plan on doing all I can to give her everything I wished I had. It's all part of my evil plot to live vicariously through her. An amazing shower, those heartfelt dress-shopping bonding moments, fun group crafting gatherings, the works. I'll also try to minimize the stressful research, make sure she feels supported, and hopefully even give an unforgettable toast. All this I want to accomplish without overwhelming her - which is a feat on its own!

There are endless things I want her to know, from the list of additional fees to look out for in vendor contracts to the list of wedding photographer blogs I want her to check out. But one of the first things I actually said to her about wedding planning was:

"While it's inevitable to get a little sucked in by all the 'stuff', remember throughout your planning process that it's about the celebration of love and your marriage. If you can really do that, it will take you a long way."

It takes a lot to keep myself from emailing her every hour with a cool wedding link or idea or suggestion, and even more to not tell her about my every mistake so she won't make the same ones. Though she'd eat it all up right now, I don't want it to become too much too quickly like it did for me. I'm trying to give her small chunks of feedback at a time, about tasks that she is immediately working on. And when her day dreaming gets outta hand, I'm there to remind her to get her shiz straight. She calls me her 'reality friend'.

So here's to a new wedding planning journey, may this one be fun-filled and stress-free! Cheers!

If you had to give a newbie bride-to-be one single piece of advice or share with her one wedding resource, what would it be?

P.S. In my attempt to find a super old skool photo of us to embarrass her, I realized that she has always been the cutesy charming one while I was busy looking like an awkward hooker (it WAS high school, after all). But since trips down memory lane are always priceless and vanity/shamefulness is slipping by the minute in my old age, I'll throw this one out there anyway (shout out to cocoa: I'll see your lampshade skirt and raise you green crushed velvet).
*Hands DIY vomit bag to East Side*

Video Game Proposal

2009-02-16T12:52:00.001-08:00

This is fo' shiz how I'd propose if I was a supernerd. This way he/she will have no room to gripe about the geeky life the marriage will bring. "Can't say you didn't know what you were signing up for, honey!"

Check out more geeky proposals here.

Half Off @ Michaels

2009-02-13T23:58:00.000-08:00

DIY Bee Mine Magnets

2009-02-12T14:00:00.000-08:00

Since I suck at card making, I decided to craft something different to send out as valentines. Using materials I had lying around, I made these little magnets. They were quite fun to make, and I'm so glad they turned out! Here's how I did it:
1. Paint 3/4" wooden hearts yellow, let dry.
2. Paint black stripes using the trusty sharpie, let dry.
3. Paint a coat of sparkle glaze to add glitter and shine, let dry.
4. Cut 4 pieces of 'wings' out of sparkly ivory tulle for each magnet, same size as the wooden hearts.
5. Stack them in twos and overlap them as shown to make the pair of wings.
6. Place wings on bee body and line them up at the tip as shown, add a dab of tacky glue at the tip.
7. Top it off with a 'head' of your choice, I used a piece of my cold black heart (black metal heart bead).
8. Using gold beading wires (I had to quadruple it up because they were so thin), I attached the flower bead as shown, and curl the opposite end of the wires to fit inside the magnet.
9. Placing the curled wire on top of the magnet, I added a good dab of tacky glue.
10. Press the bee on top of the glue (see right pic for back view)
11. You can use those mini craft C-clamps to keep it all in place til the glue dries. In the ghetto we just sit on 'em like this:

Voila!

With the valentines, I included a homemade sweet treat - Love Bark (which is like rice krispies treats on crack, really really good crack). I can't get them to look half as appealing as they taste, but dayam they taste like heaven. I also printed a little ingredients list with it (in case recipients have allergies).

I printed the 'BEE MINE' pattern on a piece of vellum and wrapped everything up in it with some twine, then finished it off with those recycled tags I made.
And off they went to be delivered.

Added bonus: here's the closest thing to a bee 'fit you'll ever find me in :D
Hope you're having a happy valentines week!

Google is Reading Mah Mind

2009-02-10T08:48:00.000-08:00

Dees mah exact face when...

2009-02-10T08:31:00.000-08:00

Image from Glitter Graphics

My Kind of Valentine

2009-02-09T16:53:00.000-08:00

Sorry I haven't been around, but if you knew the kind of work week I've had, you'd forgive me.

Image from Indie Fixx

DIY Pop-Up Thank You Cards

2009-02-03T08:33:00.000-08:00

I'm finally finished with my Thank You cards! It takes only 4 steps to create this simple pop-up, here's how:
1. Trim liner to fit inside card as desired:
2. Fold liner in half and make 2 parallel cuts perpendicular to fold line (size and location as desired, I chose 1/2" to 2/3" cuts with matching length apart):
3. Open liner and push in fold from the cuts:
4. Glue on desired cut out on the fold's front face:

Viola!

The front of a couple of our cards:
They open up like this (yes, one of them says 'many thanks... for being Awesomest Prime!'):
Photo+Quote cards from the Marriage Celebration Tree are also included with the corresponding TY cards:

I recycled as much materials as I could from the wedding. The signs contributed much to this project:
I used tape instead of glue to secure the signs so that I can reuse the paper and ribbons:

I tried several looks before I ended up with the relatively-easy-to-mass-produce versions you see above. Sewing paper is a huge pain in the butt!
Sealed with some left over wedding stickers from my cousins wedding :)

Paper is my least favorite craft so I procrastinated on these forever (hindsight, I really should have outsourced this). 5+ months after the wedding and I'm just now sending these out! I once heard that I had up to a year to send them out, so I've been holding on to that excuse all this time. It ain't pretty, but it's done! Woot!

When do you consider a TY card late? Are you giving yourself a time limit for sending out thank you cards?

DIYers, Hold 'em Scissors!

2009-01-30T11:14:00.000-08:00

If you're not too picky (do read the mixed reviews), this may save you some dough, time, and sanity.

Tip: Steam your veil, it makes a big difference

I Lub Having Rubber Chickens Thrown At Me

2009-01-29T12:26:00.000-08:00

To all my Facebook Friends:

Thank you for all the hearts and hugs and flares and carebears. I actually really dig it when you 'poke' me with anything from Britney Spears to sharp purple shears. It makes me feel quite special. It's terrible that I don't return the favor and toss some Wisconsin cheese confetti back your way, or accept the endless (endless!!) green patch requests, I know. The thing is, if I start poking you back, then Bob over there will probably notice and will start poking me too. And then what do I do? I gotta poke him back again too, right? Otherwise that shiz is rude! And then someone else will poke me, and I gotta poke 'em back, and they'll poke me again... and the vicious cycle continues.

I know the vicious cycle is kind of the point of Facebook, but the thing is, I already have a ginormongous time pit right here (hello, blog!) that I don't give enough love to. And love, like jelly, becomes tasteless when spread too thin.

So, feel free to keep 'em rubba chickens coming, I love holding them to sleep at night. Just know that my love in return will not be in tangible forms like virtual Tiffany bracelets and Jimmy Choos.

xo,
dubbs

A Chinese New Year Story

2009-01-26T08:59:00.000-08:00

In the past, Chinese New Year had always been a great reminder that single-dom is awesome. For 30 glorious years I blissfully collected these little red magic cash filled packets as I hunted down the elders and newly married couple with the phrase 'Gong Hei Fat Choi'*, which is largely misinterpreted by Chinese children to mean 'Give Me Money'. But this guy came around in August, stripped me of my recipient status and turned me into prey. It was kind of him to give me 2 years to prepare for this day, to be taunted by the younger cousins with their evil grins about how much they looked forward to my upcoming distributions.

So the time has finally come for me to face this day. Now, never had any kid appreciated the red wrapper, for they were only after the jade tone goodness that contained inside, myself included. But now that the tables have turned, I just couldn't let myself go down in history being the stingy lady that gave out chocolate gold coins** instead of cash in ugly envelopes. Instead, I was determined to be the stingy but chic woman that gave out chocolate gold coins in adorable envelopes! With my inexperience and lack of forethought, I went out to the nearest Asian strip mall to look for the ultimate red envelopes that will forever mark me as the only trendy married woman in Chinese history. MUAHAHAHAHAHA.

Failure has never been so clearly defined in my life until that day. Turns out, every Asian store in my little town sold red envelopes, but they all sold the same variety of 5 envelopes and were all horrendously gaudy and just plain butt ugly. I turned to da hubs in distress, and he tried to console me by pointing out that every single red envelope he had received or seen had been equally hideous and figured it was almost part of the tradition.

Frazzled, I searched online for alternatives only to find more ugly ass envelopes. Discouraged, I turned to my mother as a last resort and was offered some ugly (but not ass like) envelopes. Weary, I looked for DIY instructions and encountered more repulsive options.

My determination unwavering, I continued my search and landed at Mushy. At long last, I am saved. I got to printing with some linen paper and began cutting and gluing right away. As I was assembling these babies, I reflected upon how silly this whole process was and it began to sink in that Chinese New Year, my favorite holiday, was around the corner. It was time to bust out the cheery red clothes, lay out candy on the counters, enjoy big family feasts, and welcome the Ox.

I suppose I should suck it up and get to the bank for some crisp new bills. After all, it is a tradition I enjoyed so thoroughly growing up, I just don't have the heart to not keep it up for the littler ones.**

So Happy New Year! And Gong Hei Fat Choi y'all, *I mean it much more literally now a days.

Image and DIY Red Envelope Instructions from Mushy

The Tea Party: Playing House

2009-01-22T11:33:00.000-08:00

Previously: 1. Prelude , 2. Tea Ceremony , 3. Getting Ready, 4. The Kids, 5. Wedding Party, 6. Down the Aisle, 7. Ceremony, 8. Group Shots , 9. Couple Shots, 10. Jump Shots

Before wrapping up the portrait session, da hubs suggested having our photos taken in the historic barn:

That's when I realized I married a friggin' genius.

He's looking at me...

I'm looking at him...
We're spying on them...(photo by my friend Rob)

And they're cheering for us! It didn't take long before the first guest spotted us once we poked our heads through the windows. A few started clapping and the rest caught on quickly. The clapping, cheering, whistling, Arsenio-hall arm pumping (whatcha mean you dunno Arsenio?? you 80's born youngun's are killing me!) etc. didn't stop until we disappeared from sight. It was a fun and unexpected surprise for everyone, including us. Several guests came up to us soon after to tell us how awesome that was not knowing it was completely unplanned. They quickly realized after that, the fun had only just begun...

(guest photo)

Look at me waving like a rock star just eating up my new found fans. Good thing there were no markers around, otherwise many napkins and boobies would surely have suffered the wrath of my autograph...

Ahh... it's good to be loved.

Images by Travis Hoehne except as denoted

Piperlime & Calvin Klein Extra Sale

2009-01-22T11:00:00.000-08:00

Gotta love sales on top of sales, Happy Shopping!

Must They Jive?

2009-01-20T00:00:00.000-08:00

For many of us, today is a big day tied with much emotions from all over the spectrum. In the GT household, one of us is celebrating in proud red and white stripes, while the other is humming a little bluesy tune.

Since neither of us enjoy political discussions, our differences in political views has not been too hard to deal with. We respect each others opinions and agree to disagree. In fact, often times it is tougher for me to deal with my own family or the in-laws as they can be more hardcore and outspoken about their position that are also opposite from mine (yes I am greatly outnumbered)!

Our differences and ability to be understanding surprise a lot of people. Some have pointed out that ones politics are often tied to the person's core values. Some of my frank co-workers even joke about how it's only a matter of time before this becomes a problem in our marriage (which da hubs and I find hilarious)!

So I'm wondering, is alignment of political beliefs a requirement in your significant other? Do you feel the lack of it can inhibit marital bliss?

Oh and, don't forget your FREE donut! Happy Inauguration Day!

The Tea Party (Weekend Quicky Edition): Ovah Me, Pants Soared

2009-01-17T23:27:00.000-08:00

Previously: 1. Prelude , 2. Tea Ceremony , 3. Getting Ready, 4. The Kids, 5. Wedding Party, 6. Down the Aisle, 7. Ceremony, 8. Group Shots , 9. Couple Shots

Yoda Face, I Made

There are times in your life, kids, when instead of the question of "why?", you should ask "why not?"

Make your wedding day one of those times :D

Images by Travis Hoehne

The Tea Party: Da Posers

2009-01-15T15:03:00.000-08:00

Previously: 1. Prelude , 2. Tea Ceremony , 3. Getting Ready, 4. The Kids, 5. Wedding Party, 6. Down the Aisle, 7. Ceremony, 8. Group Shots

After the obligatory group shots, it was time for the obligatory couple shots. This one is my favorite coz you can't make out my face:

You see, I HATE having my picture taken. I'd like to say I look awkward in pictures, but that's probably a lie. I'm pretty sure the awkwardness is around whether I'm in front or behind the camera, and the more I try not to be odd, the more it shows...

I much prefer pics of da hubs by himself or pics of stuff I made, coz I can still claim them as my own. Like 'that's my hubby' or 'here's that bouquet I threw together that morning':

Not looking at the camera helps, failing updo not so much...

That's right, just keep looking away...

He: Are we doing this right?
Me: I don't think so

Me: I hate taking pictures
He: I know, just think about the buffet we'll have when we're done

Me: Ooo I love boofays!

Showing off our matching 'Something Blue' Optimus Prime Tattoos in true dork fashion.

"Hello, would you be interested in a new magazine subscription?"
Wait, that's not a mic, it's just bad hair.

Despite all my peculiarity, this guy still showed up with a big smile on our wedding day. Ahhh, somehow this magically makes all the pictures okay. Well... that and the boofay.
Images by Travis Hoehne

For Better or for Worse?

2009-01-13T22:30:00.000-08:00

This past weekend over dinner with BIL GT (aka our officiant), I confronted him about the biggest mistake he made at our wedding...

It turns out, on the day of our wedding, BIL won the Best Lead Actor award from the local theatre! He found out at the reception and did not tell us because he didn't want to 'take away' from our day. I gave him some playful guilt about how he should know us better than this, to which he responsed with "Well, my brother will only get married once, but I will receive plenty of awards." Touché, but oh how I wish we could have shared the happy news with everyone there and then!

When we were planning the wedding, I actually really wanted the day to be significant in multiple ways. Our initial wedding date (which changed later) fell on my cousin's birthday unintentionally but I was thrilled when I realized. I thought "ooo I can get her a giant cupcake birthday cake as a surprise!" I was even hoping someone would propose at our wedding (and yes I did have the nerve to ask around)!

I figured since there is food, music, alcohol, cake, and even a professional photographer(!), what better time than this to celebrate everything? To us, it would have definitely added to our special night. After all, the people there are those we love most!

But then when I stepped back to think about it, I probably would have done the same thing if I was in BIL GT's shoes. Furthermore, I'm starting to think that maybe others don't share my 'sharing enthusiasm' either! Maybe someone would prefer the sole limelight on their birthday, or perhaps rather their engagement not be overshadowed by anyone else' big event!

Do you think other celebratory events happening on the day of your wedding add to or take from your wedding? And would you mind sharing your own significant moments at someone else' wedding?

Oh and, congratulations BIL GT on your much deserved major award!

Image by Travis Hoehne

The Tea Party: Jello Dippin'

2009-01-09T15:33:00.000-08:00

Previously: 1. Prelude , 2. Tea Ceremony , 3. Getting Ready, 4. The Kids, 5. Wedding Party, 6. Down the Aisle, 7. Ceremony

Mr. & Mrs.!

I love this 3-photo series, captioned is our actual conversation at that moment:

"Yay! We did it!""Oh and hey..." "I saw you cryyyy!"
"I don't cry, I work out!"

And then it was time for the long walk on gravel with train, in heels, (not recommended) towards portraitville:
Our group pics are not exciting (we're not exactly, ehh, picture people). I'm sparing you all from the super boring group shots, but here is a quick glance:
I had really reeeaaallly looked forward to the vogue shot, unfortunately most of us are not vogue material. Red light should really have come on when MOH declared that we needed not to worry because her panties matched that day.

See what I mean? It doesn't get much more awkward than these two! Except maybe...... us! While others dip like smooth guacamole, I dip mo' like a bowl of jello. Have you tried dipping in a bowl of jello? 'nuf said. Witness the stiffness of FAIL Blog caliber.
The boys did a tad better with me out of the wayA side view of the inevitable 'lineup' family portraits.(Photo by my friend Rob)

Well, at least one of us knows how to strike a pose!

It's safe to say I prefer the candids. However, since group portraits are pretty much standard at weddings, what are your favorite ways to spice them up?

Images by Travis Hoehne except as denoted

Paranoia

2009-01-08T18:10:00.000-08:00

I don't know why but this thing freaks me out. Whenever I arrive at a site and see "Sacramento, California arrived from mycoinpurse.blogspot.com", I panic and quickly click away just like I'd break from a crazy person's eye contact. I realize I'm the one who is nuts, and it's not like I'm catching up on my porn, researching hemorrhoid treatments, or organizing a Dungeons & Dragons game online. But don't you hate your boss looking over your shoulder even though you're doing your work just the same?

The Tea Party: Sealed with a High Five

2009-01-08T12:16:00.000-08:00

Previously: 1. Prelude , 2. Tea Ceremony , 3. Getting Ready, 4. The Kids, 5. Wedding Party, 6. Down the Aisle

When the ceremony began, I was taken aback by BIL GT's projection with his theater trained voice. I reacted with an audible whisper "WOW he's LOUD!" which cracked both boys up a bit, but BIL GT kept composure and did an amazing job.

"I do"

"Hey, I do too!"

We went with simple short vows along with the following reading, an excerpt from the book Gift from the Sea by Anne Lindberg. We also gave MIL GT a copy of the book for keepsake.

"When you love someone, you do not love them all the time, in exactly the same way, from moment to moment. It is an impossibility. It is even a lie to pretend to. And yet this is exactly what most of us demand. We have so little faith in the ebb and flow of life, of love, of relationships. We leap at the flow of the tide and resist in terror its ebb. We are afraid it will never return. We insist on permanency, on duration, on continuity; when the only continuity possible, in life as in love, is in growth, in fluidity - in freedom, in the sense that the dancers are free, barely touching as they pass, but partners in the same pattern"

(photo by my friend Rob)

I nicknamed the mister's nephew 'Frodo' for holding the one true ring, and I just found out the other day that the mister thought all along it was because the nephew actually looked like Frodo. Oy.

I didn't realize it until afterwards, but we held hands the whole time. I guess it just came natural to us, and it's nice to see that in the pictures like I didn't come in a mail order.
Always the clown, I was exaggerating the shoving of ring onto da hubs' finger, which triggered laughter among our guests.
Poor hubs knew the giggles only fueled me so he endured it a little...
Then the party pooper in him came out and fun was put to a stop.
Never a PDA lover, I had really rallied for a 'first high five' in place of the 'first kiss'. I was denied, again and again. In the end, we did both, which also made people laugh. I think we actually made the final decision to do both right before the high five took place. Check out the little one's reaction:

"haha gross! he had to kiss a giiiirrrrrrllll!""Woot!"

Here I am already flagging down the barkeep...

Short was the #1 criteria for our ceremony. Real was #2. #1 was for everyone's sake because folks can only be real happy for you sitting in the sun for an X number of minutes. #2 was just us being us - no over abundance of mush, no unrealistic romance and commitment, just us goofing around as we sealed the deal witnessed by those we love most. We got exactly what we wanted.

How did/will you make your ceremony your own?

Images by Travis Hoehne except as denoted

The Tea Party: Walk the Walk

2009-01-07T00:16:00.000-08:00

Previously: 1. Prelude , 2. Tea Ceremony , 3. Getting Ready, 4. The Kids, 5. Wedding Party

The brothers, guy I married and guy who married us, are quite close. Apparently they were giggling about matching up the left foot-right foot march down the aisle right before these pictures. Proof that marriage and maturity don't always go hand in hand.So when we got the pro-pics back, I was really disappointed to find no photo of the mister's reaction to my walk down the aisle (my fault for not including on the shot-list). Fortunately my MIL came to the rescue. For those of you worried about what people should be holding or whatnot when walking down that aisle, know that IT DOESN'T MATTER, even if you're hauling:

sunglasses and a digicam like a tourist climbing back in the tour bus!

She was beaming in all the pictures, and I'm sure that's all anyone noticed. It's kinda funny to see this detail, and though she could have left those items with her husband, her choice to bring her camera along got me these priceless pics:

(photo above & below by MIL GT)

He said he was happy to see me:

So before walking out, I was yapping away asking my dad how he was feeling, if he was happy... etc. I went on to tell him about how I completely forgot to bring the bracelet I made just for this outfit, and that it totally slipped my mind to paint my nails. As I showed him my boring bare hands, he goes:

"WAAAHHHH! You should have at least made them shiny or something!"

I swear to you people that this is what he said to me, and in bold font with the capital 'WAHH', except in Chinese. I tell ya, this was a big day for him. Perhaps more for him than myself, since his long time worry for his daughter turning into an old maid was fading with every step he took with me towards his new 'tank-gaud-u-ah-hee-ah' son-in-law. I could hear him think out loud as we walked down that aisle...

"Hurry before he changes his mind!"(photo by my friend Rob)

"Com'on, stop dragging your @$$!"

"Almost there!"

"Ha ha sucker! She's your problem now!"

Actually I was having a grand ol' time walking down that aisle, though I wasn't focused on my groom (I know, I'm terrible). My attention was actually directed at all the people that came to celebrate with us, which made me so happy that I was strutting and moronically winking at the crowd like I was Sarah 'Maverick' Palin.

Finally here we are with our wedding party looking on...
(and the boys trying to catch the shade from the head of the person in front)

and check out the kids in both pics bored already...

Aiight, let's roll...

Images by Travis Hoehne except as denoted

DIY Recycled All Purpose Tags

2009-01-05T15:05:00.000-08:00

After a wedding and the holidays, we find ourselves with a collection of gift cards. Gift card holders are often made of cardstock with nifty graphic effects and textures, and they always seem to carry so much recycle potential. Today, I made these out of some Starbucks gift card holders with a fuzzy textured print:
The loop one seems most practical, so I'll show you how to make that. You start with a plain ol' giftcard holder and cut out any size rectangles suitable for a tag and hasn't been written on by the gift giver:
Punch a couple holes on the tag like such, and get yourself a piece of raffia (approximately 18" long, ribbon will probably work too).
Fold raffia in half, thread the loop part through back of tag:
Do a double knot and make sure the loop part lays on top:
Thread loose raffia back through the holes they came from and tie another tight double knot in the back:
Trim ends:
Voila!
Happy Crafting!

Have Yourselves a Nutty Holiday!

2008-12-23T22:29:00.000-08:00

These look tasty to me, but it may only be because I tasted them...
Here is my (ahem... MOH's) recipe for these easy Candied Pecans:

* 8 cups pecan halves (approx. 2 lbs.)
* 2 egg whites
* 2 cups light brown sugar (add another 1/2 to 1 cup of sugar if you want them extra sweet)
* 1 tbsp vanilla extract
* 2 tsp cinnamon

- Preheat oven 275 degrees
- Beat egg whites til firm
- Blend in everything else besides the nuts
- Add nuts and coat
- Spread on cookie sheet
- Bake for 30-40 minutes
- Let cool completely
- Munch da crunch!

And no holiday is complete without remnants from your wedding if you just got married that year! The delicious pecans will probably be packaged in boxes and ribbons left over from projects like this one and given to friends and family.
OH! OH! OH! (source)

Disconnected

2008-12-17T11:49:00.000-08:00

I always knew being without the net would be less than awesome, but I really didn't anticipate the level of irritation I'm currently experiencing.

AT&T and FedEx aparently both hate me, so I'm surviving on web lunch at work. This is ruffage.

Image by Photo David

Food for Thought

2008-12-12T11:12:00.000-08:00

Happiness is...

1. eating delicious meals vicariously through others (pic: one of the holiday meals from da hubs' work, yes that's prime rib)

2. 100% (virtual) taste, 0% calories/guilt

3. having a husband who knows I'd enjoy this picture, and still married me.

DIY Wedding Invitation Ornament

2008-12-10T00:19:00.000-08:00

Got left over wedding invitations lying around and don't quite have the heart to throw them away quite yet? I've got a holiday suggestion:

1) Chop up a couple of them into long strips of varying widths showing the key lines.
2) Roll 'em up really tight (I trimmed the strips so that the words show up at the end of the rolls).
3) Toss 'em in one of those glass globe ornaments available in most craft stores.
4) Hang and go 'ooo' and 'aahhh' at your good work.
I still have over a dozen of these suckers left since the minimum order was 100, so they may very well contribute in a holiday bonfire this year. Grr... I hate waste.

My New Mug

2008-12-08T00:11:00.000-08:00

The guys at work often give me crap about not wearing my e-ring, this 2 carat cup for my morning coffee at the office oughtta shut 'em up, huh?

I shoulda been working on the TY cards...

2008-12-04T22:18:00.000-08:00

I'm not a game person, but I wasted hours on these TWO GAMES because I can't stand not beating them and I'm too stubborn to cheat. I'm also sad to say that I'll probably buy that first game when the deluxe version comes out.

The Tea Party: The Fashion (Faux Pas) Show

2008-12-03T12:00:00.000-08:00

Previously: 1. Prelude , 2. Tea Ceremony , 3. Getting Ready, 4. The Kids

Did everyone but me know that there are so many rules on wedding guest attire before planning a wedding? Different resources yield varying info, but I guess black can be to too somber and red can be too distracting... and holy crap people get all kinds of worked up about wearing white!

I honestly didn't think I would remotely care if anyone showed up to the wedding wearing white. In fact, there were quite a few guests who wore white dresses with brightly colored accessories and they were all gorgeous! But when I first saw the hubs' grandma for the first time that day dressed entirely in white, my first thought was... 'Oh no!'

(his g-ma, my g-ma,
my mom, his mom)

Now that's not the 'Oh no, everyone will mistake her for the bride!' or 'Oh no, now she'll take all the attention away from me!' Rather, considering that the hubs' grandmother is pretty traditional, it honestly crossed my mind that this was her way of showing her disapproval for our marriage. I had only met her less than half a dozen times and don't know her well enough to tell you much besides that she's a very nice lady. I searched for an answer in my mind but then realized it was pointless, and so I moved on. The busy day kept my mind off the matter except for the moment when she came to speak to me (with hugs and nothing but kind words) at the reception.

My FIL called one day inquiring what he was suppose to wear to the wedding. The hubs asked him what nice clothes he had, and if he had a tie. His honest response was 'Oh man I have to wear a tie?' Needless to say I was ready for his nice outfit (the 80's suit with cowboy boots), though MIL made him get a new suit and a matching red tie instead. Thanks to her, I got a chance to fully see where some of the hubs' good looks came from.
I didn't care so much to put anyone in tuxes, but the hubs put his traditional foot down on this one. Since these were his boys, I didn't bother to protest.
The groomsmaids (left pics) were hard at work helping set up prior to the ceremony and we did not all get ready together. It was hot early in the evening and both of them had the button to the mandarin collar undone. I think it is as reasonable it is for me to assume they would have it buttoned, as it is reasonable for them to assume that it need not to be. No matter though, they were all beautiful regardless! But the lesson learned: if you're asking those who are unfamiliar to don cultural wardrobe, provide instructions because self-explanatory to you isn't necessarily to everyone else!

Here is a closeup of the 'fits modeled by MOH & BestMan. The girls appreciated my choice of fans over flowers in the heat, while the groomsmen complained about the hot tux the hubs put them in.

Mom: share da shade!
G-ma: No!

And the perfect cuties:

As you can see, there were red, black, and even white everywhere. Most were planned, some were not, but it all turned out wonderfully. As for my suspicion for disapproval, I will just have to take the hubs' word that it is not the case.

Anyone else caught off guard by wedding guest attire?

Images by Travis Hoehne

No Originality

2008-12-01T17:27:00.000-08:00

I came away from Thanksgiving at the in-laws with these and thought they would make cool cuff links (would've been a good idea for the groomsmen but it's a little late now!). After a quick search I found that I was sooo not alone.

And don't even get me started on them Scrabble tiles.

Get in my belly!

2008-11-27T00:00:00.000-08:00

Around this time of year, everything starts to look like turkey to me...

Happy Thanksgiving y'all!

(Image Source)

The Tea Party: The Young and the Fussless

2008-11-24T12:02:00.000-08:00

Previously:
Prelude
Tea Ceremony
Getting Ready
Right before the ceremony began, the wedding party were lined up and prepped for launch. The ring bearer (RB) and flower girl (FG) were being overseen at the end of the line by their mom and the MOH, who reported the following conversation:

FG asked in her big girl voice: Are you nervous?

RB put on a thoughtful face, then responded in a casual but equally grown up manner: No

FG said with confidence: Yeah, me neither

RB, as assured as can be: Don't worry, (pointing to the rings being held in Optimus Prime's hand) the light will guide us

(Photo by me)

RB's eyes lit up like a Christmas Tree when he saw Optimus Prime upon his arrival for the rehearsal. His parents did not allow him to open the box, let alone transform him, in fear that the 'ring pillow' will be ruined before the big day. I insisted that he be allowed to play with the toy and he promised me he would be very good with it. On the day of the wedding, RB happily reported that he fully transformed Optimus into a truck and then back to the robot for the ceremony. I couldn't have been more proud.

I tell ya, if my brother got an Optimus Prime and I was stuck with a stupid Barbie, I would be pissed. I was worried that FG's dreams would be broken also with a flower girl dress far from what she probably envisioned, but this little princess loved and reveled in it all! She was delighted by all the attention and endless 'Oh look at how cute she is!'-like comments that made her feel quite special.
She was free to carry the bouquet, the doll, or both down the aisle - whatever pleased her the most. She chose the bouquet, as if she knows just how it's properly done. You'll see how perfectly elegant she was strutting her stuff in an upcoming recap post.

She came to me throughout the day reporting on all the happenings - how she was taking care of her bouquet by giving it water, how much she loved the cake, how it was past her bedtime but that she was glad to still be here... etc. She absolutely adored Zelda, and part of me wants to keep it for her turn one day even if just for dress up fun.

(photo by my friend Rob)

We had fans scattered among the ceremony seating, and she took it upon herself to check every single one making sure they 'worked' prior to the ceremony. She went from fan to fan, opening each of them, test it by fanning herself a couple times, closed it up and put it back, then moved on to the next. Here she is with one of those products she inspected, the precious bouquet I made for her, and her own escort teabag personalized with the nickname "princess" in her hand.

(photo by my friend Rob)

Us Asians, we looove pictures (though "we" sadly excludes me). I'm surprised that the hand peace signs were left out of this one below. That dear child was like Mickey at Disneyland that day as everyone wanted to pose with her in pictures, and they were mostly strangers! No matter though, she loves attention, and the camera.

(photo by my friend Rob)

That's right people, we matched, I ain't ashamed!The only other underage participant was the RB and FG's beautiful baby sister. She was perfect as always, though I barely got to hold her that day (usually I'm the baby hog but I was kinda busy!). I left her out of the whole matching gig even after serious contemplation. She was so cute in her little red dress that mommie picked out for her, and I was glad to see her comfy and happy. Here is that little angel with grams, aka MIL GT.

Even though I have seen some outrageous kids-at-wedding antics, it never even crossed my mind to worry about these three. In fact they were behaving better than an increasing number of adults as the night went on! I wonder if and how brides deal when expecting young guests with extra spunk. Or, is it just all part of the fun?

Images by Travis Hoehne except as otherwise indicated

2008-11-21T11:30:00.000-08:00

Helloooo day-when-i-am-too-old-to-still-be-sporting-my-college-sweatshirt! Finally we meet, and I'm dressed for the occasion. Shall we dance?

Image by Shelby Nycole

The Tea Party: Into the Poof

2008-11-19T23:22:00.000-08:00

Previously:
Prelude
Tea Ceremony

After the tea ceremony it was our cancer fighting warrior princess' moment to shine in all her sparkly poofy glory.

Zelda's closeup:

Midna's Turn:
I felt pretty useless not being able to dress myself (though I'm proud to announce that I managed to pee while in the dress without assistance!)...
fortunately I had sexy helpers...and real love for real buttons!
I downgraded to only ONE padded bra with Zelda, and reminded myself not to forget putting on the Optimus Prime tattoo (aka my something blue):"Now pose for the picture like you are gazing dreamily out the window, GT"
"ehh... OK"
"Wait! There are people out there! Hey I know that guy!""Wow that fool really did show up in a shirt with orange and blue flowers! I knew I shouldn't dare people to do stupid things on my wedding day!"

Quick rewind:
I have one of those faces that apparently screams 'AHH MY WORLD IS IN SHAMBLES!' whenever I am thinking. I know because I always get asked what's wrong with me. So when the mister and I went to check on the set up after our tea ceremony and found things that needed changing, I had to quickly put on my thinking cap (and with it, the damn thinking face) trying to figure out how to fix things. Since our wedding party consisted of mostly the mister's peeps who don't know me super well, I basically scared them all off when my 'solution mode' turned on. Everyone kept asking me what I was upset about and what they can do, but all I wanted was a moment to process it all in my mind! Oh all those poor souls who were only trying to help...Lesson learned - Have someone else oversee the details!
There I was on 3-4 hours of sleep after being beaten up, I just got yelled at by my parents, my cousin was missing and we were pressed for time on the portrait taking...etc. and the guests hadn't even arrived yet! Switching myself to work gear at this point was probably a bad move, but we were lucky to be surrounded by great people and everything worked out wonderfully in the end.

While hindsight is 20/20 and I should have known better about... well, lots of things... topping those should have been to give myself much more leeway for unexpected stress and delays. I hope the sharing of my experience will help some of you out there take a little off your own plate on the day of. After all, you've worked so hard to get this far. If there's a time to just kick back and let it happen, that's the time!

That and, don't forget to pee before getting in the dress.

*Last 2 images by my friend Rob, the rest by Travis Hoehne

Bitter Sweets

2008-11-14T09:59:00.000-08:00

Bought my last bag of Mother's Cookies yesterday. They will be missed.

Image by Ephemeron

Free Photo Book from Snapfish

2008-11-13T23:05:00.000-08:00

I missed the Oprah episode, but I'm not gonna miss the deal! You can get the credit through Friday and must redeem it by Sunday. Go HERE for details on the offer.

Enjoy!

The Tea Party: Tea with a side of discipline and faux boobs

2008-11-13T12:03:00.000-08:00

Previously:
Prelude

We scheduled the Chinese tea ceremony at the venue in the afternoon, prior to guest arrival. I was yapping away with the fam when the mister saw me for the first time that day. It took me awhile before I realized it was a significant moment, as he was grinning at me like this:

Seeing him happy always makes me happy, plus I was really glad I was no longer the ONLY person everyone stared at.
Generally, a special tea set is used for the tea ceremony. Fortunately our centerpieces consisted of tea sets so we didn't have to buy another, and those given tea didn't have to share the same teacups (gross otherwise, right? but that's how it's usually done).

Right before the ceremony started my parents scolded me in front of evvverybody for not having prepared a tray for serving the tea. Someone, I think my brother, rounded up the extra red charger from the escort card set up and saved my life. And hey, it even looks pretty good in the pictures!

Side note: DUDE! Check out my boobs! It is more noticable in some pictures (like this one below) than others (3 pics above) that I was wearing TWO padded bras in an attempt to fill out that tailored-not-so-fit qipao I ordered online.

Normally the groom's parents would be given tea first but since I knew they were nervous about the participation in the ceremony, I requested for them to go last. I had explained to them the simple steps, and even shown them a YouTube video of it. I'm not sure if it helped though because there was still plenty of whispering like "Do I say something now?" "Do I give you the envelope now?" They were trying so hard not to 'mess it up'... it was cute, and pretty funny.
After the tea ceremony we took some required family portraits that I won't bore you with. Next, I will illustrate how not to scare off the hubs' side of the wedding party...

* Images by Travis Hoehne

The Tea Party (Prelude): Got beaten up, got to work, and got ready

2008-11-11T10:42:00.000-08:00

MOH and I left the after rehearsal party early for our appointments at Massage Envy. She has recommended it for awhile and I thought it would help me get a good night sleep before the wedding. It was my very first time getting a professional massage (I have a slight phobia of being touched by strangers), and I'm sad to say it probably was my last. MOH enjoyed hers thoroughly as usual, but I never got myself to really relax at any point during the massage. Rather, it left me more tense and feeling like I got beaten the crap out of. That feeling lasted all night (resulting in sleeplessness) and into the entire morning.

But as usual, the mister came to my rescue. He was staying at the hotel that night, but went out to pick up my favorite breakfast pastry items in the morning and dragged his brother along (to not risk seeing me) to drop them off. No one quite fully comprehend how the way to my heart is through my stomach quite like he does.

MOH approves (of breakfast, not of photo of her just waking up and still in jammies):
My yummy cheese pastry & chocolate croissant:
After breakfast I got right to work prepping flowers:
Before finishing the flowers it was time to head to the salon for the hair and makeup appointment:
Then back to the house to finish up the floral arrangements. My college buddies also came over to 'help me out':
Actually soon after this picture was taken the boys' SOs made them put the game away and help me process the flowers. But I love that I will forever have this picture to hold over their heads.

*Images of me at the salon taken by my friend Rob (gamer in white shirt)

$0.99 Typewriter Key Magnets

2008-11-07T16:54:00.000-08:00

How cute are these? Set of 8 for $5.99 at Staples, OR...

you can use this coupon to get it for less than a buck!
Coupon good towards anything here, but you gotta get it at a store. Also be sure to check (link in respective product page) if the store near you carry the item. They have stationary too for those DIY-ing your wedding paper stuff!

Happy Shopping!

DIY Alternative Pomander

2008-11-06T12:03:00.000-08:00

Digging these Japanese Kusudama balls, and they'd make fabulous pomander alternatives! Easily incorporate your theme/colors into this project. **picturing them made of alternating solid and damask print paper** Or better yet, make them out of recycled pamphlets, brochures, books, or maps!

Check out the 2 part tutorial here:
Part 1
Part 2

Happy crafting!

Image from Folding Trees via Whip Up

Hope-full

2008-11-04T13:44:00.000-08:00

I stay out of political discussions for a lot of reasons. But I vote, because it is my duty as a citizen and it's a privilege that my family was once deprived of. In the past I've always voted because of these reasons. This time, for the first time, I feel like I'm not just voting for the lesser of two evils. I was scared to really believe in someone, a politician no less. I hate putting stock in things I have little control over, but I am so glad that someone finally makes me want to care.

My country, make me proud. Show me that you not only have come a long way, but also that you've only just begun.

Image by billaday