“Bride” Ideas

I am loving wood grain stationery! Not only are they a unique type of stationery, wood grain invitations and notecards work so well with a faux bois wedding of which I am a big fan!

The talented folks at Night Owl Paper Goods produce their cards from eco-friendly sustainable material like wood birch. Combined with beautiful designs, Night Owl Paper Goods cards are a creative and earth-friendly way to say “thank you” or to say “hello”!

photo credit: Night Owl Paper Goods

The fine stationers at Oslo Press put their spin on wood stationery and have come out with a beautiful collection of wedding invitations. Their collection of wedding invitations use cherry, maple, oak or walnut wood veneer to produce stunning and distinct natural wedding invites.

photo credit: Oslo Press

photo credit: Oslo Press

photo credit: Oslo Press

I figure since this blog is about “bride” ideas, I would start sharing some “bride” ideas submitted by past customers. First up, Michelle (back in 2002!) used our Paperboard CD Cases to create her sophisticated wedding ceremony programs that double as her CD wedding favors! Brilliant! Time consuming. Possibly. But the end result makes it worth the effort!

Materials and tools you can purchase in our store:
Paperboard CD case
1/8″ Eyelet - Circle
Eyelet Setter
Wedding Logo (optional)
28″ long ribbon not wider than 3/8″ or 5/8″

Materials you need to purchase externally:
Embossing Ink
Embossing Powder
Embossing Heat Gun
X-acto ® knife
Rubber mallet
Ruler
Scissors
Pinking Shears
Rubber stamp of an image of your choice
Faux wax seals (for your thank-you note)
Mailing labels (for your CD playlist)
Paper for your handmade thank-you note
5″ x 10″ paper for the ceremony program

Instructions from Michelle…

“I bought your cardboard CD covers and used it as my wedding program. On my computer, I made a logo designed with our names, wedding date and place of our wedding. I emailed it to a stamp company that made my personal stamp for $25.00. (NATIONAL RUBBER STAMP COMPANY INCORPORATED   1704 W BELMONT AVE   CHICAGO, IL 60657
(773) 281-6522

Then, in blue ink I hand stamped and embossed each and every CD case
(300 of them) with sparkle embossing powder. It looked very nice (see picture).

On the left inside panel where the CD went in, I made a label that read “Compact Disc Inside” and listed the songs that were on the CD in the same font (Vivaldi) used on the cover.

I then punched out two holes into the side binding part of the CD case and grommet the holes to give it a more finished look.

Then, I used pearlized vellum for the inside program which was held together in the case by a white organza bow (which you can see in the picture) threaded through the grommet holes. I printed the program using the same font used on the cover.

In the right side inside panel, I inserted a piece of pearlized vellum paper. It was a thank you note to our family and friends for attending our service and stating the significance of the date we chose, as it is the same date of my husband’s parents and his grandparents’ wedding date. Centered on the top of the paper, I hand stamped our last initial in faux wax (essentially blue colored glue which you can buy from fauxwax.com — much easier to apply and more practical than using candle wax). I used smudged silver over the initial giving it a little more depth (also sold on the fauxwax website).

This project took some time but the real time consuming part was burning the CDs. However, it was well worth the effort.

Again, thank you so much for all of your wonderful ideas. Your site offers so many things that were very difficult to find. And, your customer service was nothing short of excellent in helping me place my orders.”

I am so thrilled to have stumbled upon the beautiful illustrations of Felix Doolittle. Elegant watercolor illustrations grace the front of each save-the-date card, wedding stickers, dinner menus, table menu cards and note cards. According to their website, “Felix creates tiny watercolors that capture the joy, beauty and essence of life. Charming and whimsical, his images have a nostalgic feeling that reminds one of a simpler, more magical time.”

Save-the-Date

I just added a bunch of beautiful and vibrant personalized labels and wedding stickers to our store. Felix Doolittle sells their own unique set of elegant and timeless custom wedding stickers or personalized labels that you must check out!

Wedding Stickers

Please check out their website for more personalized labels, save-the-dates, beautiful notecards, menu cards, table number cards, seating cards and much, MUCH MORE!

Martha Stewart exposed me to the world of faux bois (french for “fake wood”) and there has been no turning back for me! The wood grain pattern lends a sense of natural beauty to a wedding.

photo credit: 1. Marth Stewart Faux Bois Ribbon 2. Marth Stewart Faux Bois Candle 3. Martha Stewart Faux Bois Wedding Cake 4. Faux Bois Rug at Pottery Barn 6. Faux Bois Tableware at Room Service Home

photo credit: 1. Wood Grain Thank You 2. Lime Faux Bois Stationery 3. Wood Grain Note Card 4. Wood Grain Desk Set 5. Drift Wood Gift Bag 6. Holiday Wood Grain

Faux Bois Travel Candles

Faux Bois Wedding Mints

2″ Square Faux Bois Personalized Wedding Stickers / Sheet of 15

2″ Round Faux Bois Personalized Stickers / Sheet of 15

Tiny Oval Faux Bois Personalized Labels / Sheet of 28

Diamond-shape Faux Bois Personalized Labels / Sheet of 15

I stumbled upon these beautiful clutch purses that make wonderful bridesmaids gifts!

The owner and designer, Lotta Helleberg, designed and crafted these pretty framed purses as bridal party gifts for a friend’s daughter’s wedding. According to Lotta, “They are leaf printed on organic hemp, and lined with vintage cotton.” She employs a “… technique called leaf printing in which impressions of actual leaves create the pattern.”

Her quaint collection uses non toxic, water based inks and dyes and she only uses natural, organic, or reclaimed fabrics. I invite you to visit Lotta at her Etsy shop at which she has bags and pillows with similar aesthetics! These framed clutches are made to order so contact Lotta if you’re interested in having her create these beauties for your best gal pals!

I am in the midst of planning my son’s Star Wars theme birthday party. While researching how-to cake ideas, I surprisingly ran across several Star Wars theme WEDDING CAKES! The groom and/or bride must be die-hard fans to have R2-D2, C3PO, Darth Vader or Hans Solo (my favorite) to make a personal appearance.

This couple below had both a Star Wars theme groom’s cake and wedding cake! You don’t want to miss this - Flip through their Flickr photo album to see their entire wedding!

photo credit: FlipSide3 (via Flickr)

My son’s love runs deep for the ever-adorable droid, R2-D2. As cool of a feat as this cake is, I think my son would have a complex if he ever saw a 1/4 of R2’s head cut out.

The folks at Gizmodo brought this R2-D2 wedding cake to my attention. In their article, they indicate that the chef made this cake for a couple of true fans who wedding guests all dressed up as a Star Wars character (even the minister dressed up in character!). The articles goes on to say that “…she ‘bastardised an old camera for the lenses, with blue Halloween lights flashing behind throughout the whole wedding’ for added realism.” Too cool!

photo credit: Gizmodo

Now THIS is a Star Wars wedding if ever I’ve (and I haven’t) seen one! The wedding cake was made to resemble an AT-AT Walker and those are adorable Ewok cupcakes flanking it!

photo credit: jwinokur (via Flickr)

Death Star wedding cake via Gizmodo

And la pièce de résistance, Great White Snark presents the Millenium Falcon wedding cake, designed by the uber-talented husband and wife team at CakeLava:

photo credit: CakeLava

Food Network’s Duff Goldman of Ace of Cakes talks about designing and baking his versions of Star Wars cakes (not wedding-related) in this article at StarWars.com. Pictured below are the Death Star cake and Star Destroyer cake.

photo credit: StarWars.com

Halloween is tomorrow and I wanted to share with you some pictures of a Halloween dessert bar expertly designed by Amy Atlas. She designed this for a company party but you can easily convert this to your halloween wedding dessert bar.

As always, the presentation is exquisite, the candy looks deLISH, and the ideas are just too darn creative!

For those of you getting married tomorrow, best wishes for wedded bliss!

With Halloween soon approaching, thought I’d share this cool DIY project perfect for a halloween wedding.

Our Personalized Wedding Monogram (shown above in a Simple #13 - SI13) was cleverly carved into the pumpkin! I think the wedding date carved in roman numerals (for October 27, 2007) is a great added touch!

I just received an email from the folks at Wonderful Graffiti — they do fabulous stuff there and this one takes the cake! Corseted holiday wine label wraps!

photo credit: Wonderful Graffiti

Aren’t they gorgeous and unique! What a wonderful way to present a bottle of wine as a holiday gift to your best friends and family members.

If you’re not familiar with Wonderful Graffiti, they sell wall decals that are easily removable. You customize the designs with your own words, colors, motifs and sizes. Create a wall decal with your names and wedding date, wedding monogram or single initial or a verse from your favorite love song or poem. Stick it on the wall or a door to add instant personality to your surroundings. They have a great Wall of Fame which is a picture gallery of inspirational photos of past customers’ designs. Check ‘em out!