Wedding DIY: Garter

There are a lot of ways to save money on weddings these days by doing some little things yourself. DIY is becoming more and more popular with sites like Pinterest devoted to inspiring that creative side in you. My sister & I have done a lot of DIY projects in terms of the wedding. I will feature some of the projects on here. Some have been ideas from Pinterest with our own twist, and others have been uniquely designed.

After seeing the price of some really beautiful garters, we thought, "why not make it ourselves?" As her maid of honor, it was my pleasure to make this fun present for her (and her hubby-to-be).

We hit up the shelves of Joann, bought some lace, ostrich feather, bling, pearls, and elastic. After sewing the elastic and lace together, I added the personal touches with her desires in mind. I made the ribbon rosette with ribbon I already had on hand. A little glue gun action, and ta da! So beautiful & personalized.

It only cost us around $18 for both (coupons, people!), and it's a great personal touch.

[Chelsea Crew Gilda Pumps]

So there you go! Possibly some inspiration! Go ahead & do it yourself!

Tuesday Tutorial: Customized Outdoor Bench Cushions

For a birthday present for my sister's boyfriend, we made him some bench cushions. He made the benches from scrap wood, a project that didn't cost him a dime (it did cost him some sweat, though). The wood was a bit splintered and was therefore not very comfortable to sit on. Splinters + bare legs = ouch!

We made a trip to Joann's, bought some indoor/outdoor fabric (50% off, holla!), sat down on foam in the middle of the aisle, bought the schtuff (40% off!) & went to work. This project may seem like a huge undertaking, but rest assured, this will only take a few hours!

*Photo heavy post!*

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$50 x 3 benches = $150

$29 x 3 benches = $87 at least

Here's how you can make your own customized cushions for less than buying them!

Sew the side just across from the fold and along one of the bottoms. Leave one short side entirely open.

To make the fabric take on a more boxed look, using the fabric from the long sides and the bottom sewn side, fold the fabric in a triangle against the seam. 

See below or here for a more detailed explanation on this technique.

Repeat for the other corner as well.

For finishing, I turned the fabric right side out and stuffed the foam inside. With the end edges, I folded the fabric like an envelope (see below) and pinned Velcro on the inside for an invisible finish.

Pinned Velcro, ready to sew. Notice how the Velcro spans the whole cushion.

 To make sewing the Velcro easier, I pushed the foam down and out of the way.

 I used a zig-zag stitch to secure the Velcro.

It looks something like this.

 To finish, fold in like an envelope, just like you did before pinning the Velcro.

This is what mine looked like finished.

Not even cute! So, we decided to sew some ourselves.

Linking up to:

Ready to Run

The Color Run recap:

On Saturday, my mom & I participated in the craziest most colorful 5k out there, namely The Color Run. We started the race about 9:35am after waiting at the starting line so the race course wouldn't be too congested. While waiting everyone started throwing their color packets. We were quite colored before the race even started. Here are some fun pictures from the day.

Chrissy, my mom & me ready to get colorful!

These are all pictures before the race started, mind you!

Inching closer to the starting line

We did it! I am so proud of my mama! She has had recurring problems from a broken ankle & was really hesitant about running. But, she did it! Yahoo! Next to conquer: a sprint triathlon!

Who knew climbing a tree would be so hard!

The champion finishers!

This was a really low key run, no timing, etc. I had so much fun.

Any fun fitness challenges for you this summer?

Tuesday Tutorial: Color Block Spatulas

I measured 3 inches up from the end of the handle, marked it with pencil & taped each utensil. Because these are bamboo, they were grainy/porous, so I used primer. Depending on your material, you may not need primer at all.

After the primer is dry, spray a light layer of paint. Make sure to get the sides and the bottom.

Let dry & flip repeating on the other side. I used two coats on either side. Peel off tape as soon as paint is dry.

This is a trendy and original way to incorporate color into the kitchen (not to mention fast & affordable). Enjoy!