It's Official! We have a date and a place!

Yesterday evening, my fiance and finally I put down a deposit on our reception venue - woot!

We decided on a place and date and it only took us 5 months... ouch! I'll admit, I was beginning to think elopement was the saner option and that perhaps I should heed signs from God and give up on a large wedding, but I think we have the best possible options finalized and I am feeling relieved.
So, we will be getting married on February 19, 2011 at La Scala Italian Bistro in Dublin, Ohio.

Huge sighs all around.

Why a February wedding?  Honestly, after about a month of searching and researching, I decided on an off-season wedding.  The stress of fighting for dates with vendors and locations during the wedding season was too much. I heard horror stories of brides camped out overnight to secure a venue and the best DJs being booked years in advance - INSANITY! And there's one big perk to consider: you'll save MONEY!  Lots of it. I'd guess we'll be saving between 10 - 15% on our wedding just for avoiding the April though November rush. Cha-ching!

As for the ceremony, Father Metzger has decided we jumped through enough hoops and has allowed us to join St. John the Baptist. We are waiting on my fiance's baptism certificate (I have mine ready to go, of course!) and then we can book the church.

Now I am ready to throw myself wholly into making this wedding beautiful. Get ready to see crafts galore, centerpiece mock-ups and invitation drafts. Also, I will be launching my Etsy.com shop in the next few months - because clearly I'm not busy enough between work and wedding planning. Yikes! It will be hard, but hopefully it will also be fun. Here goes nothing!

Congrats to our winner, Maureen!

Congratulations to Maureen, who said:
Hello. This is beautiful and just what i was looking for.

You're the winner of my first giveaway, this lovely, handmade flower.



I'll be contacting Maureen to find out if she wants it as a hair comb or a pin. Yippee!!

For those of you who didn't win, I will be opening an Etsy shop of my creations soon. In the mean time, feel free to contact me at buckeyegirl@gmail.com or by leaving a comment and I will make you your very own :) Prices are reasonable, I promise!

Flowers into Belts and Hair Ties

As promised, here are instructions for the belt and hair tie I created with 2 of the silk flowers.

I added a little bit of lace to one and then attached it to a ribbon to create a belt.


As you can see, I bought two metal D-shaped rings and sewed them to the ribbon with my sewing machine. Then I hot glued the flower to the front of the sewn end.



To create a hair tie like this:


I hot glued the flower to the metal clasp on an elastic hair tie and then hot glued a small square of felt to the back, over the metal clasp.


They were so easy! I gave both to a girlfriend for her birthday and she loved them! At least she said she did :) Don't forget to enter to win the third flower. I can make it into a pin or hair clip. Or a belt or hair tie if you'd prefer.

My First Giveaway!

As promised, I am GIVING AWAY one of my flowers.


This beautiful silk flower is about 5" across with pearl and crystal beads. It can be made into a hair piece or a pin, you choose!

To win you must follow my blog and post a comment letting me know that you are a follower. Don't forget to include your email address so I can notify you if you're a winner.

The contest will end on Friday, May 21st at noon. Good luck!

EDIT: For additional entries you can blog, twitter or facebook post this giveaway. Just leave an additional comment letting me know you've done so and linking to each additional entry.

First Stab: Decorative Flowers

The first time I tried on a veil I had a minor panic attack. I am slightly claustrophobic and the full, chapel-length veil they put on me was quite heavy. I'm leaning toward a beautiful floral hair-piece instead. It may include a little bit of netting, perhaps a small bird-cage bit of veil, but the jury is still out.

After finding several DIY tutorials on how to make silk flower accessories, I decided to try my own.

Step 1: Purchase a variety of silk flowers and beads. I found flowers at Michael's and the Dollar Store. Michael's had a better variety, but the Dollar Store flowers worked just as well and were much less expensive! I chose a variety of pearls and crystals from Michael's.


Step 2: select one flower and take it apart. The plastic center and back should come off easily releasing the flower petals. You can throw out the plastic pieces, they won't be used


Step 3: Lay out petals and begin layering. I staggered the petals to create depth, but they can be arranged in any way that you like best!


4: Select the beads you want to use and sew them and the flowers together.


The Final Result!!


I liked it so much that I made a few more:


I am going to turn these first attempts into accessories. The first two I am giving to a good friend for her birthday. I turned one into a ribbon belt and the other into a hair tie. Those tutorials will come tomorrow! Also, I'll be giving away one of my flower creations to a follower sometime this week, so stay tuned!