We we hope you enjoyed this months blog and are now inspired to add some regal style to your wedding. And remember, just because its DIY doesn't mean you have to sacrifice any glitz and glamour.

This month we fell in love with Feathered Designs pretty bridal accessories, like this lovely feather fascinator with French tulle, skeleton leaves and vintage jewellery. We were gob smacked with this amazing dress from Hope and Scotts beautiful black and white wedding, photographed by Callib Photography. Remember our bokeh blog post from last year? How about these cute lens covers so you can try out all sorts of effects with this bokeh kit?! Great fun for the reception.

So how do you get deluxe designer details on a basic budget? You can make your own luxurious couture wedding invitations with the addition of a little sparkle and ribbon.

What you will need:
Diamante buckles
Ribbon
Card
Printed invitations
Double sided stick tape

DIY project:
Step1. Start by printing up all your invitations.
Step2. Cut some pieces of card, that compliment the colour of your invitation, about a centimeter bigger than your invitations.
Step3. Cut a piece of ribbon long enough the wrap round the front of the invitation with a little extra to tuck behind. Thread the ribbon through the buckle.
Step4. Place some double sided sticky tape around the edges on the back of the invitation. Position the ribbon and buckle and fold the extra around to the back of invitation, fixing in place onto some of the sticky tape.
Step5. Stick the invitation onto the centre of the card and press firmly.

Damask invitation with additional diamante buckle and ribbon

Bear in mind your envelope sizes when adding a backing card in this way. You might need to trim a bit off the invitations edges, or you can request a custom size just a little smaller than usual.

Cakes via Wedding By Color and Creative Designs for Cakes

These damask inspired desserts are certainly fit for a royal wedding. If you would like to try your hand at making your own, check out Designer Stencils who have a huge range of cake stencils including some lovely damask designs. There are even how to videos for everything from iced cookies to fondant covered cake sides!

It seems a while since we did a free wedding download! So this month we have a lovely damask template to help you make your own personalised votive candles. Just visit our website to download the free PDF file. Open it up, and the best bit - it editable! Type in your names and wedding dates and hit print. Click here to download.

You'll need to print onto vellum, a thick translucent paper that will allow the candle light to shine through. Plain vellum is available from most craft and art shops and depending on your printer, can sometimes be a little fiddly. If your printer allows, set the paper type to 'transparency' or 'photo' paper and make sure each printed sheet is set aside to dry properly to avoid smudging.

You will need:
Small glass votive holders
Tea light candles
Vellum
scissors
Double sided sticky tape
Home printer

DIY project:
Step1. Print out your personalised file following the instructions above or those provided on the pack of vellum paper if available.
Step2. Cut round the templates.
Step3. Wrap round the outside of the votive holder and trim accordingly. Fix with a little double sided sticky tape, pop in your tea light and your done!

Add an instant touch of glamour to your dessert buffet or cake display with beads, crystals, lace, ribbon and even fringing. All you will need is some plain cake stands, your decorations and a glue gun (or for lighter details, double sided sticky tape will do the trick.)
Beaded fringing, available from fabric shops, is perfect. All the hard work is done! Just wrap it round the edge of your cake stand secured with glue.

Here are a few other great DIY examples: a crystal cake stand and a diamond wrap cupcake stand

Well the tap in the bathroom has finally had it and we need to move the bathroom renovation forward. Here are a few ideas Ive been collecting for a while.

A palace wedding via OMG I'm Getting Married, black and white damask dessert bar, a hint of hot pink shot by Anna Kuperberg, an amazing white and silver winter wedding via Simply Posh Design

A little opulent black and white eye candy today. Add some colour to make it pop, yellow or pink look amazing with black and white. Or keep it elegantly simply with silver or gold - and candle light is a must!

Today we discovered a beautiful blog - Sweet Polita. Full of inspiring cake ideas and better still, instructions and recipes! How amazing is this rainbow doodle cake and what a brilliant idea for the icing?! It was decorated using gourmet writer food decorator pens. These look like loads of fun! They can write on any dried, firm food surface and come in a range of rainbow colours.

Pics by Aylee Bits and Martha Stewart

A venue teaming with freshly cut flowers will certainly add to the opulence of a wedding - but it will also add to the costs. Fear not! These pictures aren't of bunches of white chrysanthemums, they are in fact tissue paper pomanders, and on mass can be pretty effective. Suspend them from the ceiling or display them as table centrepieces. There is a very simple step by step to follow over on Project Wedding.

The perfect choice for the elegant bride - classic damask stationery sets the scene for a luxurious and stylish wedding. Make it pop with bright yellow or keep it cool with aqua blue, you choose, our designs are available in any colour combination, like this beautiful black and white.

Visit the 'i do' it yourself shop to purchase a print ready PDF computer file delivered via email. Customised with your supplied wording, just print at home, trim and decorate. Don't think your home printers up to the task? No problem, you can just take our file to a local printer or online print shop. Simple.

This weekend we did our annual trip to the Archibald exhibition at the Art Gallery of NSW. I actually always think the best part is the Wynne prize, and two of my favourites from last where finalists again. Joshua Yeldham and Neil Frazer. Plus I really liked the photo realistic painting of a graffiti covered back street by Luke Barker. Which reminds me I still have some Melbourne graffiti photos to share from our trip in January - more of that later.

The winner of this years Archibald Prize, Margaret Olley by Ben Quilty, was far better in real life, photos don't quite do it justice. I also really like the technique of Craig Ruddy's Cathy Freeman portrait. Splashes of acrylic paint across the back of toughened glass and ink on the front, over the top of plaster on canvas.

The Archibald and Wynne Prizes are at the Art Gallery of NSW until 26th June.

We're loving these ninja bread men cut outs. They would be so cute for a boys birthday party. Available from Fred and Friends.

Picture by Paper Pleasing

Paper Pleasing has a cute tutorial for making your own paper anemone flowers. Using simple craft paper punches these would be great for pretty little decorations on invitations, table numbers and wedding programs.

Tabel decor from Brides, bouquet from Southern Living, cake from Consumed By Cake

There's something about the white anemone flower that just oozes style. With it's black or deep blue centre, no wonder it pops up at so many weddings. A member of the buttercup family, anemones actually come in a variety of colours from bold reds to pretty purple, but white is probably the most popular choice for weddings.

Anemones are seasonal flowers, available in Australia in the winter. If you're considering working with them for your bouquet or decorations remember they can appear dried out quite quickly so they will need to be hydrated as soon as possible. Trim around 2cms off their stems at an angle, under a running tap, this will help them to soak up the water. Place into cold water right away and refresh it every day using a preservative or sugar. The anemone stem is hollow and quite brittle so when selecting your flowers watch for crushed or cracked stems and avoid yellowing leaves.

Kate's hairdressers are keeping their 'demi chignon' creation a closely guarded secret but we think this great step by step from Martha Stewart is a pretty close approximation. Start by using a curling wand for plenty of soft romantic waves, and go a little lighter on the teasing part of the process for a closer match to Kate's look.

If you don't have a queen handy to lend you a tiara, how about making one? There are some beautiful ideas for beaded tiaras, but this project is a little different, building a wire frame and then gluing crystals to it. The results will have you feeling like a princess in no time. Check out the tutorial on eHow.

Hands up who dressed up in tiara, scoffed cucumber sandwiches and watched the royal wedding last week - or was that just me? We were so pleased at 'i do' it yourself to learn Kate is a DIY bride! While she wasn't at the Abbey night before hanging streamers, she did opt to do her own makeup. Something many brides put right at the bottom of their DIY list and that's without two million people watching them walk down the aisle. Celebrity hairdresser Richard Ward, who's salon styled Kate, said the one rule she had was to be recognised by William on the day. So hats off to Kate for bucking the increasingly alarming trend of shows like brideaplasty!

No matter what look Kate went for, it was going to be a trend setter. So what ideas can we steal from HRH?

• Do a test run. Kate only decided to go the DIY makeup route after lessons and plenty of practice with a professional. Make sure you test your makeup look before the big day.
• Brows are back. Bigger defined brows were already set for a come back and Kate's wedding look certainly boosted that.
• Timeless beauty. Kate choices for hair, makeup and even the dress epitomise classic beauty. From a nude shade of lip colour to simply pale pink nails. Avoid the latest trends and go with timeless styles that won't date in photos.
• Stick to what you know. Kates look wasn't all that far off her usual day to day look. Make sure you feel comfortable with your wedding makeup and keep it close to your normal style but taken up a notch.
• Natural locks. Odds were on a right royal updo for the day, but instead Kate let her naturally beautiful hair do the work with a demi chignon. More relaxed styles are heading our way.

The word damask actually refers to many warp-faced and weft-faced reversible textiles and has been in existence since the early Middle Ages.
But today when referring to damask we generally think of the classic black and white ornate pattern. It conjures up a feeling of opulence and luxury, which has made damask a popular choice for weddings. So with the royal wedding still fresh in our minds its the perfect theme for this month as we look at some great DIY projects to get the regal look on a budget.

Credits: Louis Mariette Alexandra crystal tiara, the royal wedding invitation, black and white dining via Wedding by Color from Brides, sexy black and white tablescape with glossy black lamps and anemones via The Secret Life of Flowers. An all white table design with a touch of silver and black via the knot.

A simple white bouquet of carnations decorated with black ribbon, from Martha Stewart. Camilla canisters filled with black and white treats, from Pottery Barn. Black candelabra. Damask thank you card from 'i do' it yourself. Hand made anemones on black cupcakes with silver cachou by Le Cupcake. Black and White Damask Wedding Cake by Maki's Cakes.

Colour palette: black and white