DIY Nautical Wedding Invitation Suite

Wedding invitations have always been one of my favorite things to oooh and aaah over on Pinterest and my favorite wedding websites. There are endless styles to choose from, and the perfect design can really make a statement and get your friends and family extra excited for your event!

BUT, one of the best parts of planning a wedding should be the DIY projects. These days, it's all about personal touches, and there's no better way to get the ball rolling than with custom invitations!

Simple Photoshop and InDesign skills are all you need to create a design that fits your style perfectly. This year, I've had the honor of helping my super cool boss and her equally cool fiance plan their upcoming wedding. They're hilarious, unique, and crazy fun, so there was no way just any old premade invitations would suffice. We pulled inspiration from some of their favorite designs online and in stores, and combined their favorite features to create this custom suite.

 

I know what you're thinking. "Wow, that looks like it's going to be the best wedding ever!" And you're totally right. Their reception will be right by the golden gate bridge (to die for) and they decided to incorporate gold rope as a theme to reflect the band on the bride's custom-made engagement ring (extra to die for). And the "drop us a line" fishing hook? CUTEST. THING. EVER.

We made and assembled 250 of these invitations, including adding the envelope liners and embossing the couple's address on each envelope. It may seem a little overwhelming at first, but it's completely do-able. 

 Don't be scared to customize!

DIY Boxwood Wreath

Merry Christmas, everyone! We've officially reached the point where Grinches can't say "it isn't even Thanksgiving yet" when complaining that we're starting Christmas too early.

Here's a really quick project to try if you're in the spirit! DIY boxwood wreaths. You can make them any size you want, and they're MUCH cheaper than buying from the store. I wish I could show you more of the process in photos, but I don't have a sidekick to take pictures while my hands are busy! If the instructions below aren't detailed enough, feel free to ask questions.

You will need:

• Boxwood sprigs - fresh or faux
• Wire - thick and thin! (You can also use a bent wire hanger as your frame)
• Wire Cutters
• Ribbon (optional) 

Instructions:

1. Cut your thicker wire to whatever size circle you want. Bend & shape it into a nice circle, or be fancy and try an oval or a heart. Secure the ends by wrapping them around each other.
2. Pick out your larger boxwood sprigs to use as the foundation. Lay them around your wire circle to see how you want them to be arranged.
3. Start attaching! Cut small pieces of your thinner wire (about 1 inch long) and use it to attach one end of your first boxwood sprig to the wreath. Repeat this along your sprig until it is fastened to the wreath in a curve (I fastened both ends & the middle of each sprig).
4. Repeat step 3 for each sprig until your whole wreath is covered. 
5. Look for blank spaces or areas where the wire is too visible and attach smaller sprigs to fill them in! You can add thicker pieces if you want a fuller wreath. 
6. Add a bow if that's your thing! Hopefully it is. I used a 1-inch cream colored satin ribbon and tied it into a simple bow with long "tails." Attach it by looping a piece of wire through the back of the bow (pictured below) and wrap it around the top of your wreath.

Push a piece of wire through the back of your bow.

College-Budget Apartment Decorating

This was originally going to be a post about the difficulties of apartment hunting in Berkeley and San Francisco, but I decided you're all mostly good people and don't deserve to read something that boring or depressing. So I'll gladly skip ahead to the Happily Ever After - I found a new apartment in Berkeley without selling a vital organ for the deposit!

When I say "I found a new apartment," I mean myself and two friends who are a blast to live with. We decided on Berkeley because they both go to UC Berkeley and I can commute from here to San Francisco somewhat easily.  Bonus Points: I've already run into Nathan Adrian at the Cal campus gym and we're within walking distance to all the best pizza places.

Moving to a new apartment right after you've gotten rid of your trusty old furniture can be a real pain, but it doesn't have to be. Here's how I decorated a pinterest-worthy bedroom on a college budget.

Headboard & pink pillowcases: DIY (see below). Chevron pillows: Joss & Main. Gold Hustlin' pillow: Michelle Dwight Designs.

Painting: Pier 1 on clearance! Lamp & desk: Walmart (gold chevron DIY, see below). Creme print: Waiting on Martha.

1. Plan your DIYs. Don't overwhelm yourself with 100 projects unless you're taking performance enhancing drugs. I knew I wanted a colorful bookcase and a spruced-up desk, so I made those my priority before planning any other side projects.

2. Buy your wine. We all know this is important. Crafting is a marathon and wine is our Gatorade.

3. Have a vision for the whole room. Find something that gives you some sort of inspiration! My color palette came from a Pier 1 painting and the fact that my Pinterest board was covered in crisp white rooms.

My projects!

DIY Gold Chevron Desk
I ordered this desk from Walmart for $40 with free shipping! All I needed to make it pretty was some gold metallic spray paint, blue painters tape, and a ruler. Here is where I break the news to you that I had to take geometry twice in high school and cannot explain to you how I made the chevron design. Luckily you can find a good tutorial here!

DIY Pink Bookcase
Again, Walmart saves the budget with this bookcase here for $31.Grab paint in whatever color you're into and just go to town on the back panel. You could also try painting the shelves or the inner sides. Get real Van Gogh wid' it.

DIY Headboard
This one was intimidating since I don't exactly whip out my staple gun on the reg. I followed this tutorial and made my own adjustments as I went. I have three main tips for this project:
1. Stockpile your coupons because the green upholstery foam is pricey. This project turned out being about $90, which was more expensive than I had hoped but still cheaper than buying from a store.
2. Try to avoid patterned fabric if you don't want the stress of keeping it perfectly straight while you staple.
3. Buy a spool of upholstery nail trim if you want nailheads. I found them at Joanns and they look like this. 

DIY Over-bed Desk
This was a total last minute idea. Ikea sells an awesome console table that can roll over your bed with your legs under it, and reason be damned, I was determined to have one. But seriously, $150 for three skinny pieces of wood on some wheels? Off to Home Depot we go. This cost about $30 to make out of two 6-foot plank, four casters, glitter, and paint. The 6-foot plank was just enough for a full bed, so get two for a queen. My table measures 60" long x 30" tall without casters. Home Depot will cut the wood for free, so don't worry if you don't have a saw!

If you're wondering if that's gold glitter along the edge, the answer is YES.

Here are details for a few items I get asked about that weren't DIYs!

Gnome, @ symbol, and Creme print from ShopWaitingOnMartha.com. Gold Hustlin' pillow from Michelle Dwight Designs!

DIY Gifts: Chalkboard Mason Jars

Christmas just plain rocks. That's how I feel about it. If there is one thing I like, it's Christmas. Because CRAFTS, because FOOD, because FREE STUFF. How could anyone not like that?!

Oh yeah, because it's stressful, time-consuming, and expensive.

Today's craft is here to save you from all that nonsense. I made these as quick & easy Christmas gifts for my coworkers, but they'd be great for any age and any occasion! The best part of this DIY project is that your total costs come out to roughly:

$2 per person!

These jars are cute and functional with the chalkboard "label" painted on so friends & family can reuse them for storage purposes (pencils, coffee creamer, fingernail clippings, I don't care), but they will absolutely love the cake-in-a-mug mix that you fill it with! 

The 3-2-1 Cake Mix

Making the cake mix is the easiest thing you will ever do. Buy one box of Angel Food cake mix (this should be a "just add water" mix, like Betty Crocker's) and another box of whatever flavor cake mix your little holiday heart desires. I used chocolate because they why on Earth wouldn't I? Pour the dry mixes into a bowl and mix them up - JUST the dry mix - do not add any ingredients.

The Chalkboard Jars

Start off by using your blue tape to make the shapes you want to paint on each jar. I wanted to make this as easy as possible by painting squares, but you could definitely spice these up with different designs. Stripes could be fun, too!

Once that's done, paint a thin base layer onto the jar and make sure to let it dry completely, about an hour. You'll need to repeat this a few times until you're happy with it - I painted four layers to get the results I wanted. After painting your final layer, let the jars sit overnight so the paint can cure and become chalkboardy. That's a word, right? Ta-da, your jars are done! Fill them with the cake mix and any add-ins you choose, like M&Ms or crushed candy canes. 

Obviously you'll need to provide people with instructions for the mix, unless they really like a good riddle. The instructions will be at the bottom of this post. I typed up the recipe on Microsoft Word and printed out 12 copies on one page. Then, I cut them out and glued them onto some scrapbook paper I had laying around and tied them around each jar. To make sure everyone could use the chalkboard aspect of their gift, I taped a piece of chalk to the top of each jar. I'm pretty in love with how they turned out!

3-2-1 Cake Instructions

In a mug, mix 3 tablespoons dry mix with 2 tablespoons water. Microwave on high for 1 minute. Add any toppings, and enjoy!