We hope you enjoyed this months ballet inspired wedding ideas. (Pic via Fashiontainment.) This month we fell in love with me.la.bo's cookey and crazy cake toppers, like this amazing ceramic giraffe and deer. Tutus Chic has a lovely range of romantic headpieces, ballerina bodices and tutes to choose from.
And the beautiful House of Istra is packed full of vintage inspired hair accessories. Don't miss your last chance to enter our blog competition to win your pick from the House of Istra's wonderful etsy shop!

It might be the last day of summer but next month things are going to be heating up!

Ever since we got our new floor boards put in I've been looking for a good way to keep them clean, and the other day we discovered a great method just by chance. So I thought I would share my floor cleaning tip on the blog.

You will need:
Water
Dishwashing liquid
A mop
A bubble gun

Yup, fill the bubble gun with the right mix of water and dishwashing liquid and fire it all over the room! The bubbles that settle are the perfect amount of water and dishwashing liquid to mop up leaving clean shiny floors without any excess and they dry in moments! Plus its way more fun that normal mopping. Scampi shares his tips on bubble gun floor cleaning:

Monitor your bubbles closely

Don't be afraid to let the bubbles know whos boss

They may retaliate

But hold your ground and they will fall into line

Make sure all your bubbles fall to the ground

And watch out for sneaky stray ones that land on your ears!

To finish up the month we've got a great little DIY wedding project using some fantastic light boxes. There are all sorts of uses for them, coming in three sizes and flat packed so they are easy to transport. Today we are going to add a little Parisian chic with an Eiffel Tower silhouette to act as a table number.



What you need
Large light box
Black card paper
Scissors or craft knife
Sticky tape
Tea light candle

DIY project
Step 1. The large light boxes measure 12 x 28 cm so we are going to make our Eiffel Tower template just a little smaller, 11 x 27 cm. This is available as a free download on our website. (click here to visit)

Step 2. Cut out four Eiffel Towers in the black card for each light box

Step 3. Instead of the middle arch on the tower we are going to put the table number, use a stencil or draw the number and cut it out using your craft knife. Repeat this for the other three towers.

Step 4. The lightboxes come with little internal supports to help keep their shape, so tuck your Eiffel Towers between these at the bottom and with just a little sticky tape secure the top. Pop in your tea light candle and your done! Viola!

Something new added to the i do it yourself printable stationery shop today - our first bridal shower invitation. We've altered a lot of our current wedding invitations to act as bridal shower invites so I thought it was about time we did a design just for showers :)

With cute little wedding symbols raining down on a pretty umbrella, it's time to shower the bride to be with gifts and good cheer!

Pic from Martha Stewart

If you're a regular 'i do' it yourself blog reader then you might have noticed we rather like pom poms! So we fell in love with a cute DIY wedding project this month for tulle versions. There are a couple of good guides to follow - Martha Stewart has a lovely tulle or net pom pom how to here, or check out a great step by step on Factory Direct Craft.

Decorative paper punches are an easy way to jazz up your wedding invitations, and even a simple circle punch can be used to add some fun!

There are plenty of circle paper punches to choose from, available in lots of different sizes. EK Success and Fiskars are good brands to try and are readily available in craft and art shops or online. Above we have used a Fiskars squeeze punch to cut out a semi circle at the top and bottom of this invitation.



Here we have used a Fiskars handpunch to make small circles indents on the corners of this save the date - it's a nice quick way to help create that retro ticket effect. So pack your circle punches and have a go a some of these little tricks!

This is the most adorable DIY project - ballerina cupcake toppers complete with little tissue paper tutus! You can find the lovely tutorial on Composing Halleljahs and they even have a template to download for two different bodice styles.

UPDATE - this link has expired, see our very own diy project with free download here

Ahh Martha, she does it again, another gorgeous DIY wedding project from the master. Check out the beautiful tutu lampshade project on the Martha Stewart Weddings site. Such a cute idea for adding that pretty ballet touch to your wedding decor. (And so cute to keep after the wedding too!)

Ahh the Sydney Opera House, those beautiful tiled sails, nothing can beat it for architectural beauty right? Well, this isn't the Opera House...

pic by abrinsky

…when I first saw this picture I thought someone had been having fun in photoshop, but this is actually the Lotus of Bahapur in India. A house of worship designed by Fariborz Sahba. Of course the Opera House is still first for originality, the Lotus wasn't built until 1986, but Im surprised such a beautiful building is not more well know.

Pic by b a l w a n t

Pic by Richard Lamprecht

Dim the lights and raise the curtain on a romantic wedding spectacular! Set the scene with sparkling gold details, pink ruffles and feathers and a dash of dramatic black.

Credits: A cute ribbon wand will keep the children happy and make cute favours, $9.5o from A Girl and Her Needle. Go all out girly pink with a scattering of candles and even tutu wearing chairs! From Wildflower Linens via Circle City Planners.
Add some feathered fun with a pretty pink wreath $40 from Thoughts of Home, or feathered table centrepieces by Fantasy Celebrations.
Using black with the soft romantic pinks and creams is a great contrast and adds a little more drama to the decor, pic from Martha Stewart. Ballet shoes and pumps make pretty decorations and photo props, pic via Style Me Pretty.

Don't forget the treats! Cookies from a gorgeous Nutcracker Suite inspired dessert bar via Hostess with the Mostess. Black might not be first in mind when you think about wedding cake, but this stunning black and pink combination certainly makes a statement. And forget fruit cake, how about this delicious tiramisu wedding cake! (pics unknown)

Announce your wedding in theatrical style with our latest printable wedding stationery range - centre stage. The invitation is designed as a vintage playbill while the save the date resembles a cute admission ticket! There is even a stage curtain design featured on the back of the gatefold invitation.

With a mix of fun fonts, the colours of pink and cream with a faux gold work beautifully together to create a romantic feeling to this design.

Starting from just $15, visit the 'i do' it yourself shop for more information

Model: Barbara Palvin

Ballerina makeup should be soft and subtle, nude and natural shades for the skin and lips with just a hint of pink or peach. But the exception to the rule is the eyes, these should pop. Invest in a good waterproof mascara to accentuate your eyelashes, but remember brand new mascara often needs 'breaking in' and can be harder to apply so make sure you use it before the big day. Add a dark brown or black eye liner extended out slightly from the corners of your eyes for real impact.

1. Napoleon Perdis Luminous Lip veil - in the flesh 
2. M.A.C Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Light Medium
3. Diorskin Crystal Nude Natural Matte Skin Perfector in Crystal Nude 
4. M.A.C Splashproof Lash Mascara
5. Too Faced Glamour Dust in Nude Beam, for a touch of shimmer
6. Viktor & Rolf Flower Bomb Limited Edition Tutu
7. M.A.C Lipstick in Satin

With Valentines Day just around the corner here are a few sweet treats that you could whip up this weekend - and will work equally well as wedding favours!

From the top: Raspberry Meringue Hearts from Womans Day, heart-shaped marshmallows from my recipes, Rice Krispie hearts from Their Little World, Heart-shaped biscuits from Cuisine and Sugar Cookies from Kirbie's Cravings.

Pic by Blossom Tree Photography

It's pretty common to see flower girls at weddings scatter some rose petals down the aisle before the bride. But how about this for a super cute idea - a glittery love banner. And its so simple the kids will love helping to make it.

What you will need:
Card paper
Scissors
Hole punch
Glue and paintbrush
Glitter
Ribbon
Needle and thread



DIY project:
Step 1. Draw out the letter shapes and hearts onto thick card paper then cut them out, punch a hole at the top of each one.

Step 2. Coat your shapes with a good ammount of craft glue and sprinkle your glitter over. Or you could also use spray glitter if you prefer.

Step 3. Once the shapes are completely dry sew them onto a strip of ribbon using a thread to match the colour of the glitter.

So I cant really say new work for this, its something I did many years ago and just found on an old backup this weekend. But its still really lovely :) 'Buddha and lotus' available in my etsy and redbubble shops.

Photo by ~K~

What little girl doesn't love to dress up like a ballerina? So if you're lucky enough to have a cute little flower girl at your wedding, why not get out the tulle and whip up a tutu! A great tutorial can be found on mammalicions finds, all you will need is some tulle ribbon, elastic, a needle and thread and a cutting tool. Just knot the tulle to the elasticated waste band and embellish with ribbon or fabric flowers.

I stumbled on the cutest blog today about a girl and her french bulldog, The Duncan and Macbeth. I love her comment "I would have never thought that something that snores like a 70 yr. old man and farts like a frat boy would steal my heart." Can't agree more :)

A new addition to our family of printable guest book trees this month - the tree of love. A lovely heart shaped design just perfect for romantic weddings. Here we've used pink ink pads to create a beautiful blossom effect but you can use any shade you like and we can custom the tree trunk and wording to match your wedding colour scheme or home decor.

$20 from the i do it yourself shop.

A prima ballerina bride needs perfect hair, not a strand out of place in an immaculate bun. Here we have found a couple of very good step by steps guides to achieving a beautiful Black Swan inspired chignon and a ballerina bun. Travis Peck from Bumble and Bumble shows how to incorporate a lace ribbon through a twisted ponytail. And Xavier Silva  shows a quick and easy twisted tight bun.

Main pic via Wedding Bells, step by steps via StyleCaster

OMG how adorable are these little sheep, and the best bit is they're edible! These are cake pops, cute little bites of cake on a stick decorated with sugar pearls and licorice. Check out the tutorial on Bakerella.

Bad, bad me Im so far behind with all my blog posts!
Last year we finally made it to Sculpture by the Sea, two years right by Bondi and we'd never been before!  My favourite sculptures were the steel camel complete with its own sewing machine by Suzie Bleach & Andy Townsend, and a beautiful wave made from eucalyptus sticks by Peter Collins. But of course I have to love the steel French Bulldog sculptures by Geoff Harvey standing on sentry duty along the coastal path.

The release of Black Swan and its surrounding Oscar buzz has helped to put the ballet inspired wedding centre stage for 2011. This month is a glittering swirl of tulle, put on your dancing shoes for a ballerina wedding of pink, cream and bold black.

Credits: Surround yourself in pink tulle (pic unknown) pretty pink bow garter by A Alicia, ballet points (unknown), glitter star from Martha Stewart, beautiful rose bouquet via Modern Day Floral, pink heart tea cups from Wedding Things.