Design*Sponge At Home sneak peek!

The Design*Sponge At Home book gets released today and I’m so happy to share a sneak peek of it with you straight from design*sponge herself! There are lots of DIY projects in there that are not just perfect for your home, but could easily be translated to your wedding, like this succulent wall that a d*s reader submitted.

+ + + + +

Name: Lily Huynh
Location: Seattle, Washington
Cost: $80-$90
Difficulty level: 2
Time: 2-3 hours

Many of us long to have a lush backyard filled with trees and room to garden, but are faced with the reality of limited space, fire escapes, and cement patios. Looking to create an “urban greenscape” for the backdrop of her wedding ceremony, Lily
Huynh of NINCOMSOUP decided to turn to bricks to create the structure she would need for her wall of greenery. By planting tiny succulents into the holes in each brick, Lily was able to get the lush, green feel she wanted, without having to have an actual garden out back. Lily loved her finished succulent wall so much she decided to move it from the background of her wedding ceremony to the front, where it served as a makeshift alter. Whether you’re planning for a wedding decoration or just want to create a small wall of greenery on your fire escape, this is a fun and affordable way to build a small greenspace without a backyard.

Materials:

- Engineering Bricks (these come in a variety of types, most commonly with 3 large holes, although you can find some that have 10 or 16 small holes).
- Succulents (Look for mature succulents that are have anywhere from a ½ inch blossom diameter to 3 inch blossom diameter.
- Cactus Soil
- Potting Soil
- Large plastic bucket
- 9×12 inch baking pan
- 1 tall, skinny spoon
- The amount of bricks, succulents, cactus and potting soil all depends on how large you plan to make your succulent brick wall.

Instructions:

1. Mix the potting soil and cactus soil in a 1 to 1 ratio to fill a bucket
2. Separate the succulents into individual florets that will fit the various sizes of the brick holes
3. Trim the roots to about 1 inch
4. Fill the baking pan with about a ½ inch of water
5. Place the brick into the baking pan and spoon the soil mixture into the holes, until loosely full
6. Take the back end of the spoon to pack the soil into the hole a bit (not too tightly)
7. Arrange the different sizes of florets into each of the brick holes. Pack the florets with the soil mixture, making sure that each is packed firmly in place. (tip: use the spoon to surround the plants with soil, and then use the back end of the spoon to
help pack the soil into each individual hole)
8. Let the bricks sit out for a few days to acclimate the succulents in their new homes
9. Stack the bricks on their sides to build the “succulent brick wall”

Grab your copy of Design*Sponge At Home right here, here, or here. Thanks for sharing Grace, so proud of you!

[image by Belathée Photography]

Sponsored post: Minted DIY program challenge

Minted recently concluded their latest challenge, this time all about the wedding program…this in particular was an interesting challenge because they invited bloggers to take part and try their hand at customizing and DIYing the heck out of existing designs.  The only requirements were you had to figure out a way to bind the program, and whatever you wanted to do on the backside was fair game.  Best design wins $1000, not too shabby!

I thought the winners all did an excellent job [you can check out the winning entries here], but I thought I’d share with you some of my favs too…

Victoria from A Subtle Revelry used a cute button to tie the program together, I really loved the ombre stitched LOVE on the back of the program…maybe a little too labor intensive if you’re doing a couple hundred of these, but still an excellent idea!

Ruth from Not So Cookie Cutter played up the ampersand and stripes on this DIY wedding program, and it was a super simple but effective way of tying in a potential theme [easy to do with ampersands or stripes].

Lehan from Lehan Paper Design added some simple black grommets to this wedding program which was completely in tune with my modern tastes.  Im a big fan of grommets, and love that they come in a ton of colors…though I think the black really worked well with the black and white cover.

The little black/white twine tassel that Barnbride came up with was totally adorable and perfectly matched with the striped wedding program.  Maybe a little more time than you’re wiling to spend, but you could always buy ready-made tassels, or start an assembly line with some helpers for a similar look.

[all images credited to their bloggers]

DIY Wine bottle wrap

Last week I went to my dear childhood friend’s engagement party, and after seeing these bottles of wine from Swanson Vineyards, knew they were the perfect gift.  However, wrapping wine bottles is no easy feat!  Unless of course, you just HAPPEN to have a darling fabric wrap from Chewing the Cud that is the PERFECT size for wrapping 2 bottles!  It honestly couldn’t be easier…

Start the bottles with the fabric on a diagonal near the bottom, and keep the bottles approximately 2-3″ apart.

Start rolling those bottles like a burrito!  Keep the fabric tight so they dont slide around.

When you’re all rolled up, bring the tops of the bottles together (slide them apart a little if they dont sit flat)…

Tie a double knot at the top and you’re all done!

For more directions, check out Chewing the Cud’s blog where she gives lots of ways to wrap gifts with fabric, or check out Martha Stewart where she shows how to make your own fabric wrap.

[images by me]

Tablescape challenge: Museum inspired

The inspiration for the tablescape came from a Museum of Modern Art book that Alix got at a used book sale a little over a year ago. The cover of the book is embossed and painted metal making the piece was just too hard to resist. The couple decided to use the cover as their inspiration and pulled elements of color, style, and finish to complete the modern tablescape.

DIY Project: Modern Centerpiece

Materials
-3 small succulents
-pea-sized gravel
-white spray paint
-box
-soil
-mirrored box/mirror
-candle
-black rocks
-newspaper, plastic bags

Buy or gather pea-sized gravel, rinse in a colander, and allow to dry.

Find a box that suits the size of your table and cut to your desired height (mine was about 6 inches tall) or buy a box that’s the shape you prefer. I spray painted my box so that it was all evenly white. Line the box with plastic bags. Place your mirrored box inside (I covered mine in plastic to prevent it from getting dirty) and fill the larger box with soil. Plant your succulents–I used three and left the fourth space free for a tea light candle and some contrasting black rocks. Spray paint your gravel white and let dry. Take the (now) white gravel and cover all of the dirt surrounding your succulents and mirror/mirrored box. Nestle your candle down in the rocks and surround with black rocks. Viola!

Sources:
Yellow bread plate, silverware, napkins; Crate & Barrel
Tiffany blue and slate colored plates; Z Gallerie
Glasses, Mirrored box; West Elm
All DIY materials, placemats; Home Depot

Design Team: Alix Gates & Jake Levy
Photographers: Alix Gates & Jake Levy

Hens & Chicks: Potato stamping DIY

Hi.  We are Hens & Chick Collective.  It’s nice to meet you!  We are a group of three artists based out of Seattle, Washington, specializing in styling and creating installations for events and interiors.  Curious?  Check us out at Hens & Chicks Collective or on our Facebook page.   We will be teaming with Brooklyn Bride every month to share DIY wedding tips with readers, showing you how to add a little of your own flare to basic wedding staples without spending a lot of money.

Our first lesson is the start of a three-part series we will be sharing on printing.  Invitations, napkins, envelopes, goodie bags, signs- they can all add so much to your wedding but can also add up!  The easiest way to customize your special day is to add an image or monogram to little bits and pieces of your wedding décor.

For this project you will need:

-       Potatoes (red, yellow, or white all work)

-       Acrylic paint (any craft store will sell paints for about $1.30 per color)

-       Exacto knife (can be found at any craft store)

-       Cookie cutters, if desired (found at any kitchen store or craft store)

-       Anything you’d like to print stamp! (envelopes, cocktail napkins, or even cloth all work well with acrylic paint)

Ok, let’s get started.

There are two ways to carve your stamps.  Both work well, but cookie cutters are definitely the easiest.  We’ll start there.

-       To carve your stamp from a cookie cutter, you first must determine the shape you would like.  While it is important to find a design that fits well with your wedding décor, be sure you are also choosing a shape that is self-explanatory, as the point of potato stamping is to save you from the tedium of hand-printing detail.  If your are doing letters, keep in mind that the letter must be carved into the stamp backwards in order to stamp forwards (we had a few mishaps learning this lesson), so be sure you are selecting a cutter that can be used from both sides (simple metal ones work best for this).

-       Cut your potato in half, so you have a flat surface to work with.

-       Press your cutter into your potato half about ¼ inch and, using an exacto knife, carve into the side of the potato up to the stamp, carving out all potato around the edge.

The second way to carve your stamp is to cut the potato with an Exacto knife, without any cutter template.  This is trickier but allows for more creative freedom.  It helps to draw your design beforehand, to ensure that you are carving correctly.

[images from Hens & Chicks Collective]