DIY fun!

This past weekend, while not dreading my now hated 2nd job, I picked up this sweet puppy:


Like most artsy-crafty-chic ladies, when all else fails, I go to Martha. She is always full of ideas and her website is a cornucopia of creativity. Of course, she has legions of people helping her, but all the same, I unabashedly love Martha. Before I discovered the big wide world of wedding blogs, I had www.marthastewart.com/weddings. There are tons of templates on her website, so I perhaps I didn't need the Encyclopedia of Crafts...but I know I will use it a ton and it was only $35.00 ($28.00 with my big bro's B&N discount!).

I am most excited about the sections on handmade flowers -- from paper and from fabric. My mom would disown me if I don't have real flowers for my wedding bouquet or centerpieces, and I wouldn't consider not-- BUT I am excited about cutting my floral budget WAY down by making some gorgeous handmade flowers.

Note: To me, there is a huge difference between "fake flowers" from Michael's or JoAnn's, and "handmade" works of art that take their cue from nature's beauty. Just sayin'...

Here are some goodies from Martha's Encyclopedia:




Please excuse the crappy pics (it's late!)...I plan on getting to work on the fringed paper flowers ASAP with some lovely stamped paper I have. As of now, I think that I might make a large dramatic paper floral arrangement for the cake table, since I am decorating my guests' tables simply with single Real flowers in bud vases. I do need to get to work, because while I still have a good 10 months-ish until our wedding, time is at a premium these days. I'll post pics as I make them though!