Head Table Decoration: DIY Tile Coasters

Looking for a head table decoration?  Maybe a gift for your wedding party?  Check out these DIY coasters from The Kurtz Corner.

Simple to make and if you're a crafty person, you've probably got a lot of these supplies already.  I love that her example uses a picture of the bride, perfect!

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Do you have a gift for the bridesmaids?

Here's a recycled post I found that seems to be relevant this time of year. I'm going to three weddings this summer and I can relate very well to the stress these brides are experiencing. Maybe this article will help.

Recently, one of our facebook friends asked:

Do you have any tips for bridesmaid gifts? I have seven bridesmaids..it gets expensive. Great website!

Thanks!  And of course yes, we've got ideas.  Check out the list here and if there's something you'd like to add from your blog, please post in the comments below.  I tagged a few links in the ideas below after searching through the Internet and other blogs for some good ideas that I hope will help.

 
Careful of the gift bag full of little things that your friends will love.  Even if you fill it with five or six things and they each cost about a dollar or so, that adds up.  Especially with seven brides!  (I had five myself so I feel some of your pain on this.)   Let's break it all into three categories:  Gifts they could use at the ceremony, gifts you can make, and all around fun gifts.

Gifts they can use for the ceremony

• So instead of a gift bag, what about giving one significant thing, or two at the most.  What about a pair of earrings or a bracelet to wear for the wedding. 

• If you're wedding is during the cooler months of the year, think about providing a wrap for your bridesmaids.

• Think about their feet.  Maybe some slip-on slippers or comfy flip-flops (I'd look in the dollar section at Target or Old Navy for these right now) might be a good gift for later during the reception dance.

• Hair accessories are nice, especially something they can wear after the wedding.  Nice clips, like these found at the Pleated Poppy, are always fun and cute. 

• Know an Avon lady?  Buy something small and easy, like a lip gloss and a lotion for each bridesmaid, and ask her if she can throw in some nice samples for everyone and a brochure.  She'll end up with potential customers and you'll get some freebies that are always appreciated.  FYI, they've got a lot of nice stuff, especially their mark line which is geared towards younger people and it's usually very inexpensive.

Gifts you can make

• You know that wrap we were talking about above?  Make one.  It's so easy and much cheaper, especially with seven bridesmaids because you can buy a larger amount of fabric (think three yards per person) at a smaller price.  Quick math:  Fabric at 2.99 per yard, three yards per person, a width of one foot, seven people = about $21.00 which breaks down to about $3.00 per person.  Here's the tutorial.  I altered the directions on this and used less fabric.

• I love this scarf, especially how cute and easy it is.  A nice option if the wrap seems like too much work.

• How about a $2.00 necklace?  I love this flower petal necklace, add a travel size hand lotion and you're good!

• Have guys and girls you need to thank?  Here's a crowd-pleaser that's quick, easy, and cheap.

• What about making them something nice for their own apartment or home?  Here is a gorgeous wreath or a cute pillow that they can take back to their home and remember how much they love you.  :)

Just Fun Gifts
If you're desperate, you've run out of time, or you can't handle one more detail or run one more errand, maybe one of these ideas would work.

• iTunes gift certificate
• Movie with box of popcorn and Junior Mints
• Bottles of wine
• Flasks with names engraved
• Key chains 
• Lip gloss and finger nail polish
• Boxes of chocolate
• Framed picture of you and each bridesmaid 
• Give each bridesmaid a wine glass with a wine glass charm, fill it with chocolate and a cork screw with a note saying this glass is their membership card to the new girls-night-out club you'll be starting after the honeymoon is over.  
• This easy idea is a good addition to another gift, maybe that iTunes gift certificate.

Always include a personal thank you card with whatever gift you choose and make sure it comes from the heart.  This will likely be the thing that means the most to them, no matter what gift you give them.

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Great cosmetic bag! Get the tutorial here.

I love this cosmetic bag, it's cute and from the instructions listed, not that hard to make yourself.  If you're really ambitious, get started on making these for your bridesmaids, mother, and mother-in-law.  Thanks to Just Another Hang Up for the great design and tutorial.

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Make your own beach tote

How great is this bag?  A few inexpensive materials, a simple tutorial, and a free afternoon is all it takes.  It's from one of our favorite craft blogs, Diary of a Crafty Lady.  Check out here complete bag tutorial here.

By the way, Diary of a Crafty Lady is in our directory.  Is your blog?

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Afternoon project: Bird's Nest Necklace

I love this necklace, so pretty! And you can easily customize it to fit your wedding colors. Make one for each of your bridesmaids and it can be their wedding party gift. Make sure you check out the project from Running With Glitter, they are one of our favorite blogs.

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Make your own wedding jewelry

The Yellow Blackbird blog is one of my all-time favorite blogs.  This lady is seriously talented and can put together the most fun jewelry that are usually knock-offs of the stuff you love but can't afford at the mall.  Why not take the time to make your own jewelry for your wedding day?  Be different!  Check out her Anthropology-inspired necklace below.

By the way, Yellow Blackbird is in our directory.  Is your blog?

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Activity kit for children

I made these bags for my nieces for their flight back home after a recent visit.  Kids think it's fun to get a new bag made must for them full of toys, crayons, and papers.  Even though this bag was an "airplane bag" it would be a perfect for kids at a wedding or reception.  Easy to make!

You'll need
Fabric (a yard will make four small bags)
Some thick yarn
Needle and thread
Toys, crayons, paper, treats, etc.

What to do
Cut the fabric you'll need for the size of bag you'd like to make.
Cut the yarn for handles, make sure they're even and tie a knot on each end.
Sew three sides of the fabric to make the bag.
Sew on the yarn for handles.
Fill the bags and you're done!
Find free coloring pages here.

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Free grocery store checklist

Sure, you could keep using the envelope of a piece of junk mail but wouldn't grocery shopping be a little more fun and fancy if you had this awesome grocery store checklist?  It's from Seed to Sprout and it's 100% free.  Here's what I think I'm going to do, laminate it and reuse it with a wet or dry erase marker.  Maybe use a sharpie for items that I know I'll need every time, like milk and bread.

What about framing this, add that wet or dry erase marker, and give it as a gift to newlyweds for their new kitchen?  Or a Mother's Day gift or for a college kid... the list goes on and on.

Above is just a sample, click here for the free download.

DIY Message Board

Need a gift for the mother-of-the-bride, your bridesmaids, maybe a holiday idea for newlyweds?  I made these for my mom and mother-in-law and it cost me $10 each and took about 20 minutes.  Easy!

What you need:
12x12 inch square frame
Any piece of 12x12 inch scrapbook paper (lighter colored patterns work best)
Letter stickers
Flower embellishments (optional)
Yarn
Hot glue gun
Wet or dry erase marker (I prefer wet erase)

What I did:
I opened up the frame and added the scrapbook paper right away because I'm a klutz and I knew that if I had it out unprotected for longer than two minutes I was asking for trouble.  Second, picked out the right stickers and added the words "To Do..." at the top of the frame, outside of the frame on the glass, not on the paper.  Third, I hot glue gunned the flowers in the lower right-hand corner.  Fourth, I took a piece of gray yarn and wrapped it around only the cap of the wet erase marker, securing it with hot glue gun.  I glued the other end of the yarn to the back of the frame.  (I glued only the cap because it's nicer to not have the actual pen part connected to the yarn for easier writing and also when that marker dries up you can buy another one but keep the same pen cap.)

That was it!  Message board complete.  I like the paper idea because for about 80 cents you can change the background of your message board to fit the seasons and holidays.  Got an idea?  Share it at our link party this Wednesday!  Don't miss our blog party! Every Wednesday with the highlights showcased on Saturday.

Linking up to:
Craft-O-Maniac

Friday Fun Day: Mother's Day or Birthday Card

Mother's Day is Sunday, don't forget.  You don't need that kind of guilt.  But this card works for birthdays, anniversaries, get-well cards, or just because.  The idea wasn't mine, I actually got it from my daughter who made it for me at preschool but I thought it was such a cute and easy idea.

You'll need:
Paper (You can print out the download below or write it out yourself)
Cupcake papers
Tissue papers
Markers
Pack of seeds
Tape and glue

"My love for you..."

"... grows and grows and grows!"

If you want to fold the card, print this out, put the flowers on the front and the seeds inside with this message.

There you go!  Easy and fun.  Need some more ideas?  Click here for more great DIY gifts or check out the entries on our Wednesday Blog Party post.  And don't forget to celebrate moms, all kinds of moms, on Sunday.

Have an idea? Share it here by posting a comment below. Let's all help each other out.

Gift idea: Asking your friends to be in your wedding

This is a fun and cheap way to ask your friends and family to be a bridesmaid at your wedding.  The little message is really cute and I'm all about candy so I'd probably say yes even before I got to the question.  Get the free download and project idea here at Practically Living.

Have an idea? Share it here by posting a comment below. Let's all help each other out.
Don't miss our blog party! Every Wednesday with the highlights showcased on Saturday.

Gifts for bridesmaids

Recently, one of our facebook friends asked:

Do you have any tips for bridesmaid gifts? I have seven bridesmaids..it gets expensive. Great website!

Thanks!  And of course yes, we've got ideas.  Check out the list here and if there's something you'd like to add from your blog, please post in the comments below.  I tagged a few links in the ideas below after searching through the Internet and other blogs for some good ideas that I hope will help.

 
Careful of the gift bag full of little things that your friends will love.  Even if you fill it with five or six things and they each cost about a dollar or so, that adds up.  Especially with seven brides!  (I had five myself so I feel some of your pain on this.)   Let's break it all into three categories:  Gifts they could use at the ceremony, gifts you can make, and all around fun gifts.

Gifts they can use for the ceremony

• So instead of a gift bag, what about giving one significant thing, or two at the most.  What about a pair of earrings or a bracelet to wear for the wedding. 

• If you're wedding is during the cooler months of the year, think about providing a wrap for your bridesmaids.

• Think about their feet.  Maybe some slip-on slippers or comfy flip-flops (I'd look in the dollar section at Target or Old Navy for these right now) might be a good gift for later during the reception dance.

• Hair accessories are nice, especially something they can wear after the wedding.  Nice clips, like these found at the Pleated Poppy, are always fun and cute. 

• Know an Avon lady?  Buy something small and easy, like a lip gloss and a lotion for each bridesmaid, and ask her if she can throw in some nice samples for everyone and a brochure.  She'll end up with potential customers and you'll get some freebies that are always appreciated.  FYI, they've got a lot of nice stuff, especially their mark line which is geared towards younger people and it's usually very inexpensive.

Gifts you can make

• You know that wrap we were talking about above?  Make one.  It's so easy and much cheaper, especially with seven bridesmaids because you can buy a larger amount of fabric (think three yards per person) at a smaller price.  Quick math:  Fabric at 2.99 per yard, three yards per person, a width of one foot, seven people = about $21.00 which breaks down to about $3.00 per person.  Here's the tutorial.  I altered the directions on this and used less fabric.

• I love this scarf, especially how cute and easy it is.  A nice option if the wrap seems like too much work.

• How about a $2.00 necklace?  I love this flower petal necklace, add a travel size hand lotion and you're good!

• Have guys and girls you need to thank?  Here's a crowd-pleaser that's quick, easy, and cheap.

• What about making them something nice for their own apartment or home?  Here is a gorgeous wreath or a cute pillow that they can take back to their home and remember how much they love you.  :)

Just Fun Gifts
If you're desperate, you've run out of time, or you can't handle one more detail or run one more errand, maybe one of these ideas would work.

• iTunes gift certificate
• Movie with box of popcorn and Junior Mints
• Bottles of wine
• Flasks with names engraved
• Key chains 
• Lip gloss and finger nail polish
• Boxes of chocolate
• Framed picture of you and each bridesmaid 
• Give each bridesmaid a wine glass with a wine glass charm, fill it with chocolate and a cork screw with a note saying this glass is their membership card to the new girls-night-out club you'll be starting after the honeymoon is over.  
• This easy idea is a good addition to another gift, maybe that iTunes gift certificate.

Always include a personal thank you card with whatever gift you choose and make sure it comes from the heart.  This will likely be the thing that means the most to them, no matter what gift you give them.

Have an idea? Share it here by posting a comment below. Let's all help each other out.
Don't miss our blog party! Every Wednesday with the highlights showcased on Saturday.

How to make a cover for your Kindle

Ok, so I know this blog is dedicated to saving money on your wedding but I did this project on Wednesday and I was super excited that I had accomplished the entire project before I went to bed and it cost me ZERO dollars. Free! I gathered up stuff I already had and I love my new kindle cover.

The back story- I am frugal to a fault. Come on, this can't be a shock to you, I've got a blog bragging up a $500 wedding. I do like to invest in something nice once in awhile and for Christmas this year, I wanted just one thing: An Amazon Kindle. My husband got it for me but because that was a splurge, no cover was included. I didn't care, who needs it? Well, after having it for a few months I realized that a cover is a good idea. For one thing, the amount of dust in our house is scary so if I put my kindle down (which you have to do once in awhile) it would get dusty almost immediately. Second, we have a lot of kids and I was always petrified that someone would spill something on it. Third, I needed a way to travel with it. What about roadtrips, airports, visiting relatives? I needed to keep this thing protected. But, we didn't have the extra bucks to buy the nice leather covers and protectors on Amazon so I winged it.

Supplies you'll need:

1. Old mouse pad
2. Some sturdy cardboard
3. Some material for the outside, stylish stuff! (About 3 yards, 14 inches wide)
4. Thick fleece (about 2 yards long, 12 inches wide)
5. A water-resistant material (I used a place mat cut in half, an old cloth shower curtain or table cloth would work here too.)
6. Needle and thread
7. A hair band
8. A button
9. Basic white glue
10. Scissors

Ok, I had this stuff around the house. None of it is unusual and if you do any crafts or have kids who have materials left over from a science project or a birthday party, you're probably set.

At first the idea was to cut the two place mats I had in half, sew them together to make a giant pocket, make a latch on the top. Since I can't use my sewing machine right now, I realized quick that this wouldn't work since I couldn't sew the material together by hand (it was way too thick for the needle I had).

So I went back to my original idea, use the place mat but as an inside protector. I only needed one, cut it in half and folded it around each of the mouse pad pieces (I had also cut the mouse pad in half) and the cardboard. Use your kindle or the half pieces of mouse pad as a template for how big the sturdy cardboard should be.

After these pieces were put together, I took the fleece and spread it out, put the two protector bundles on the fleece, folded it over so the fleece covered the protector bundles completely and sewed the fleece around these parts. Kind of like pillow cases except sewn all around the borders. Leave enough space between the two protectors so that it will fold easy, the kindle will slip in here, you don't want to squish it. You're not cutting the fleece either, you're sewing both protector bundles into the fleece. Sorry I don't have a picture of this but I do have a nice drawing for you below.

The pink part is the fleece, the brown squares are the protector bundles and the squiggly lines are where you should sew.  Just make sure you've already folded the fleece over the top of these protectors before you start sewing.

When the protector bundles are sewn inside the fleece, it should look like this.  All one piece that folds in the middle.  Again, that space in between the two bundles is important so that the Kindle isn't squished.

Next, I did something similar with the outer stylish fabric. Sewed up a giant long vertical pillow case, cut off about 6 inches from the top, then slipped the folded fleece protector panel in the long pillow case, then stuffed the extra material down inside the pocket. That 6 inches you cut off is then sewed to the top, folded into a triangle (kind of like you're wrapping a present), and used as the flap to wrap up the cover. I grabbed a hair band, tied it in the middle so it looked like a figure-8 and sewed the bottom loop under the flap and sewed the button to the middle of the cover. To secure the material that had been folded into the fleece protector, I used a little glue on the fleece and re-stuffed the material (this step isn't totally necessary so don't panic).

What's great is that it's a little wider than the kindle so there's plenty of room for the charger cord and owner's manual inside the case. Plus, if I put it in top first, I can still keep it in it's cover and charge it at the same time. I love it!

So again, not necessarily a wedding idea, but I'm all about saving money and do-it-yourself projects so I thought I'd share my tutorial with you. Good luck!

Heather at 500dollarwedding.blogspot.com





Have an idea? Share it here by posting a comment below. Let's all help each other out.

Save money on gifts

Even though these are geared more for Christmas gifts, I think most can be altered to work for wedding gifts, party favors, DIY decorations, etc.  Read on and tell me what you think!

A mom on one of the iVillage boards sent out an SOS recently: "I'm looking for tips on how to swing Christmas gifts for as little money as possible!" As usual, her fellow iVillagers were there to answer the call, with creative ideas for thoughtful, personal gifts on the cheap. Looking for unique gifts to give that won't cost a bundle? Read on.

For grandparents, a baby handprint in plaster of Paris packaged with some cute ribbon is about all you need!

In my family, we don't buy gifts for aunts, uncles, cousins and so on. Instead, we put in $20 (maximum) per person, and we donate it to a charity. Last year we donated it to the Humane Society, and a few years ago we took all the money and bought non-perishable food for a local food pantry.

I make candles, some to keep, some to share. It keeps my house smelling great (think cinnamon, cookies, pine) without any calories!

I'm the family genealogist, and I update family members with scanned photos and family tree information every year. This year, after my mom passed, I discovered a stack of old scrapbooks and photo albums in the back of a closet; I'm scanning those and burning CDs for my cousins.

Look for photo coasters or a pretty picture frame, and slide in a nice shot of yourself or your kids with your parents or grandparents. They'll love it.

I love giving themed gift baskets. I spruce up garage sale baskets with fabric, then fill with homemade goodies and sample-size products. And there's no limit to what you can put in a gift basket: Bath and body stuff; tea and cookies; chocolate; a movie lovers' basket with popcorn, candy and a DVD; a pasta night basket with spaghetti, sauce, baguettes and a cookbook; and on and on. The simplest gift basket is my favorite: All the dry ingredients for your favorite cookie recipe, a couple of cookie cutters, and the recipe itself. Makes a great gift and it won't cost you an arm and a leg.


Nothing says holiday like bread, brownie or candy mixes in a large mason jar; soups, cookies, chili and even spice mixes are welcome gifts too.

I give gift certificates. Most of our family is out of town, so people can buy what they want and need, and I save on postage for parcels.

I like to bake, and I usually buy some cute little containers at the dollar store and fill them up with goodies. Last year we bought a bunch of Christmas tins from the dollar store and filled them with homemade caramel corn and peanut brittle.

A good gift for little ones: You can get them their own ornaments — either personalized with their names or with their favorite cartoon character. They'll hang them on the tree every year.

Read More http://www.ivillage.com/cheap-and-cheerful-holiday-gift-ideas/6-a-128644#ixzz1EA2aRgLA

Have an idea? Share it here by posting a comment below. Let's all help each other out.