Bluegrass wedding

Well, we had an AWESOME wedding last Saturday.
My daughter got married to her soul mate in the presence of family and friends
It was a HOT day, but besides that it, it couldn't have been nicer.
Smiles abounded, as well as many happy tears (mostly from me)  :)

I made 'redneck wine glasses' for wedding favors.

They were great because this was a casual wedding and fit right into the barefoot, bluegrass theme.
And no one picked up the wrong glass because I sprayed chalkboard paint on their bases (before assembling them). So as the guests arrived we chalked in everyone's names. And after the wedding they could take them home.
So fun and functional!

We made chicken and salmon on the grill, and all the guests brought a dish to share. So we had lots of yummy food.
The bride and groom even made their own beer and cucumber soda!

Today's project is:

glass and wire serving spoons

You will need-
-stainless steel utensils- spoons, forks or cake servers
   (the handles should be as flat as possible)
-glass pieces (you can find these at the Dollar Store)
  ...I use my own fused glass pieces, but the kind of glass bubbles that people
     use in aquariums work well also
-E6000 glue
-20 gauge wire (optional)

Using the E6000, adhere the glass pieces onto the utensil handle.
Let dry for 24 hours. Then if you wish take about a yard of wire, and starting from the back, wind this around and over and in between the glass pieces, ending in the back. Take some needle nose pliers and tuck the end under and around another part of the wire and put a blob of glue over this.

I have also made serving utensils using beads strung onto the wire and wrapped around the handles. This would be pretty also. Just make sure you secure the ends of the wire in the back firmly and tightly. And a glob of E600 is good insurance. If you want to buy some, see my website: arttowearbydee.etsy.com

Hand wash please, no dishwashers.

tip of the day:
If you are invited to a pot-luck wedding, buy a nice bowl or platter to bring your food in, then leave it for the newlyweds as a wedding gift. Include a nice serving spoon like the one in today's project.

That's all for now...
Dee

ribbon roses

My oldest daughter (by 1/2 hour of her twin sister) is getting married in 2 weeks.
We are all so excited, it's hard to contain the happy atmosphere that surrounds her right now.
You can't help but smile when you see her face.

I did a lot for her sister's wedding back in 2004 (happy anniversary Bets!, eight years, whoa!)
from bouquets to table decorations, etc., but this time I am living 4 hours away. And it's not MY show.
It's tough to let other people take over, and I feel like I'm in the "outer" circle for the first time and being the mother of the bride, I have learned to just let it go.  Hard? yes.   Impossible? no.
Danzy, this effort is for you!

I did snag the flower job: bouquets, boutonnieres & corsages. So I have to revisit my previous job of choosing flowers, buying flowers, wiring flowers, preparing flowers, making flowers, then cooling off flowers three days ahead of time so they don't wilt and all my effort is for naught! Ah, the pressure!

Well, Dana showed me a quick and easy way to make little ribbon flowers. So this week's project is:

Ribbon Flowers

You will need:
satin ribbon, 3/4" - 1" wide
needle and thread

I used a different width of ribbon for demo to make it easier to view:

take about 24" of ribbon and toward the middle make a right angle fold. You will then fold the 'bottom' ribbon over this fold. You will continue with the other side until you have folded about 10 times.

You will be folding (at right angles) over the previous fold.

When you have your ten folds, pinch the corner of the bundle and let go of the top side (right hand side)

The ribbon bundle will pop out, but just keep pinching tightly so the whole thing doesn't fall apart, and with your free (right) hand pull gently the ribbon that is hanging down.

The rose should start to bunch up and start forming a flower shape. If this doesn't work to your satisfaction, just unravel and start again.

Some ribbons work better than others, and some widths work better than others. We tried with the 2" demo ribbon in the beginning, and it was too big to form a nice rose.

Once you have a nice rose shape, take your needle and thread and sew the bottom ribbon part together so it doesn't unravel.

tip of the day:
If you want to keep your towels as dry as possible, (perhaps you live a moist climate and have trouble drying things out)  try this tip:
Use a small washcloth in the shower (or bath) after you are finished and wipe off with this small towel first. After you have blotted down you will be surpised how much water you can squeeze out of this little washcloth. So think of all this moisture going into your bath towels that have to struggle to dry out.
My hubby gave me this tip, cuz in the army they gave the guys a little washcloth and one SMALL towel.

That's all for this week!
:D