We're often asked at i do it yourself about the process for our the fingerprint guest book trees. If you're concerned it might be a bit messy here is what a recent customer Jillian had to say about her setup on the day:
"...the tree guest book was such a hit! I placed the print in a frame with the glass removed. The thumbprints were made from little stamp pads I found at JoAnns. They come in a pack of 4 and are in the shape of little leaves so it was perfect, just the right size for a thumb. We set up a wet towel on a tray next to the tree, as well as a dry one, so people could clean off their thumb."
You still might feel that the fingerprint idea just isn't right for your wedding guests. So here we have another lovely idea using a craft punch.
What you will need:
• A printed tree template
(such as one of our fingerprint trees available in our online shop)
• Leaf shaped craft punch
• Coloured card
• Pen
• Glue stick
Simply pre cut some coloured card with the leaf punch, there will be plenty of styles to choose from at your local art or craft shop, and have them on display on the day. Guests pick a leaf and sign their name on it, then glue it to the tree. Easy!
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| Photo: You magazine |
We were stopped in our tracks by this beautiful olive oil and sauternes cake with lavender icing and just had to share.
To make lavender icing infuse the juice of a lemon with 1tsp of lavender flowers.
Mix 150g of icing sugar with about 3 tbsp of the strained lemon juice then add some food colouring to get the pale lavender shade. Or you can try this recipe for lavender frosting.
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| Photo from à la mode |
As the days cool down warm guests up with a nice cup of hot chocolate at your winter wedding. But how about trying lavender hot chocolate? Sounds odd, but à la mode assures us its tasty! Visit their blog for the recipe.
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| Julia and TJs wedding, photos by Laura Leslie Photography via Love and Lavender, and lavender confetti packet by i do it yourself |
As an alternative to paper confetti or rice how about giving guests some lavender to throw? Julia and TJs wedding featured some lovely lavender details including a dried lavender bridal toss.
The idoityourself etsy shop has some pretty seed packets perfect for lavender confetti, or petal cone templates that can be ordered in our lavender and linen design.
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| Pic via Paratinova |
We love this idea of placing your escort cards in a bed of dried lavender. So simple - you can buy large bags of lavender from some craft shops or discount stores and just tip them into a nice container. How about old wooden drawers to keep the pretty vintage vibe?
Bring all the charm of the country to your big day with this pretty lavender flower design. Teamed with a beautiful background linen effect and faux ribbon details, this wedding stationery range is both rustic and sophisticated.
Getting technical:
Designs are supplied as printable PDF computer files. Full colour suitable for home or flat printing at your local print shop.
Colour palette:
Shown here in lavender, wisteria and grape. Other colour combinations available.
Visit the 'i do' it yourself shop for more
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| Lavender and Linen invitation with real lavender |
Add a surprising floral touch your wedding invitations by incorporating real pressed flowers. This simple project is a beautiful way to add that extra special something, you can use a mix of flowers on plain paper or add to an existing design as we have here. Make sure your invitations are printed on fairly thick paper to start with at least 250gsm (about 140lbs)
What you will need:
flowers
heavy books and maybe a brick or rock
cardboard
tissue paper
newspaper
clear spray sealer
craft glue
invitations
DIY project
Step1. Lay out your cardboard and top that with a sheet of newspaper followed by tissue paper then your first few flowers.
Step2. Cover the flowers with another sheet of tissue paper, then newspaper, then more cardboard
Repeat this process to create your flower 'sandwich' until all your flowers are in place.
Step3. Top the whole lot of with some heavy books such as telephone books (finally a use for them!) and a couple of bricks or heavy rocks if you have them.
Step4. Leave your flower press for a couple of weeks.
Step5. Carefully remove your pressed flowers and spray them with some clear craft sealer.
Step6. Glue your flowers to your invitations! Easy!
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| Via Pinterest |
Lavender is a fairly straightforward flower to work with to create DIY bouquets and boutonnieres, but the hardest part will be choosing between fresh and dried.
Easily available, you may even have some growing in your garden, fresh lavender should to be cut with bright purple flowers as the paler it is the less fragrant. A more earthy and rustic option is dried lavender. You can dry your own by hanging bunches upside down in a cool, dark place for about a week. Perfect on it own or mixed with other flowers, below are some gorgeous examples of mostly lavender bouquets. Also try this lovely DIY Herbal Bouttonnieres step by step from Once Wed.
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| Gorgeous Aussie lavender wedding by Samm Blake via Style Me Pretty, rustic wheat and lavender by Cameron Ingalls via Ruffled, tied up with cotton by Scott Andrew Studio via Engaged and Inspired |
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| Elizabeth and Noahs lavender wedding photographed by Katie Stoops. |
No we're not talking about buns of the pastry sort, we mean hair buns. Inspired by Elizabeths beautiful cinnamon roll, twisted with fresh lavender, here are a few of our favourite variations with easy to follow step by steps.
- Plait it up - from Ultrafragrances
- Tie the knot - from Pantene
- Slick backstage drama - via The Beauty Alchemist
- Three times the fun - from A Cup of Jo
When we were thinking about a little lavender fashion inspiration this month, it was hard to go past Marchesa's Spring and Fall 2011 collections. Just imaging floating down the aisle in ones of theses dreamy purple shades. Sigh.
Sweet country style and pretty florals come together with lavender and linen as wedding inspiration.
Colour palette: lavender, eucalyptus, almond
- Lady Lavender's Mocktail, with grapefruit juice, soda, grenadine and lavender syrup. See the recipe on Food and Wine.
- Thomas & Jennifer’s amazing wedding took place in a field of lavender. Photo by Erin Hearts Court, via Once Wed.
- Farmhouse style, a collection of vintage purple glasses makes a perfect rustic display. Photo by Rachel Ashwell, via Decor8.
- Lavender and linen wedding printable invitation from i do it yourself.
- Even a simple idea like these old milk bottles filled with lavender would make stunning table centrepeices. Pic via Lovely Influence.
- Lavender lemonade spiked with citrus vodka! An ideal refreshment for this pretty wedding brunch. Photo by Courtney Lindberg, via The Loveliest Day.
- A swatch of lavender linen
- Purple floral porcelain and a scattering of little feathers for a beautiful rustic tablescape via Nordin's House.
- This sweet lavender table cloth was block printed using indian woodblocks, often found at second hand shops or stores that import asian furniture. See the DIY come to life on Simplified Bee.
- If French lavender is your influence, how about a French wedding cake like this lavender cream croquembouche? From Sunday Supers.
- Sew Easy Stitch Piercer - this roller pierces little holes aligned so that they can easily be stitched up. There are lots of styles to choose from, great for jazzing up wedding stationery. $5.75
- Pink Paislee House Chalkboard Stickers - these black vinyl stickers would be perfect for labelling homemade wedding favours - like lavender jam! The pack includes 6 stickers and a chalk pencil. $8.95 (jam pic by Amy Carroll)
- Gourmet Writer - pack of 10 food decorating pens that will write on firm food surfaces, like icing, how about writing guests names on homemade cookies for edible place cards? $40.90
- Fiskars Border Punch, Bracket - the latest large paper punch in the fiskar family
- AusInk Magnetic Paper A4 - turn your save the dates into save the date magnets all from your own home printer! With five sheets in a pack, just print and stick straight onto the refrigerator! $21.57
Happy birthday to us! Happy birthday to us!
Happy birthday dear 'i do' it yourself. Happy birthday to us!
Thank you to all our readers who have helped get us this far. Feel free to let us know what you would like to see more - or less of - on the i do it yourself blog.
