Vintage Bird True Love Wedding Shower

Ok I know it's not Soiree Day but really, really want to share the wedding shower we hosted last Saturday at my church! First of all, it has been crazy at church! Our entire building has been remodeled and I was sweatin' it just a little bit to see if our new commons area would be done in time for the shower and wowee it was! We've had some awesome crews bustin' it out I tell ya!  And it was while I was trying to edit pics that it  dawned on me I should have gotten a whole room shot! But as it goes, we were working right up until time on prep and so I rushed to get the pics that I did so these aren't perfect.  

The theme was vintagey bird, true love, with colors of navy and burgundy. Almost all of the true decor items are my mother's! Yep, I walked her house and said I went this, this, and this! Then a few things are mine such as the band case that looks like a suitcase that I used in the entry and the corks boards.  And all the serving dishes are mine and my mom's as well. 

Sometimes it pays to have a love of serving dishes!!

Thank You Favor:

I was so excited about these! I saw a 6 egg carton used for mini cupcakes on Pinterest and thought it was cute.  Well when I started looking for them discovered you can get them in 4 egg, 3 egg, and even 2 egg!  So in the nick of time I was able to get some 2 egg and filled them with 'eggs' aka jordan almonds!

 Goes perfect with the theme!!

Check out From Soul's Etsy shop for awesome, unique containers!

Labeling:

Making a label for every item can be overwhelming to me at times, I love the look but I also love the look of a menu. I had intended on painting 2 Dollar Tree pizza pans and use one in the entry and one for the menu but conditions have not been right to paint outside lately and went with a cork board instead! I love how it turned out!

(I made the flower mints and they were so easy that I told my sister I'm going to have to make them more often!)

Centerpieces:

When I found the navy frames in the $2 section at Michael's I knew I wanted to use them for the centerpieces.  I then added vintage books, birdcage or birdhouse also from Michael's and baby's breath. Then set everything on a 12x12 piece of canvas I found in the scrapbooking section of Hobby Lobby.  All the frames have 'true love' sayings. 

(This one was my favorite.) ☺

♥

We had a great turn out and played some fun games....Couples of the Bible, Guess the Cookie Cutters, and What's in the Bride to Be's Purse.  The purse game was so fun and funny! She had a Taco Bell fire sauce packet and a package of microwave popcorn with her! Ah I loved it!

It was great! So worth all the work!

Happy Thursday!

{See my Link Parties Page for the shares!}

(DIY) Cookie Cutter Bag

Don't you just love it when you go shopping and can't find what you're looking for?

Man I kept running into this when shopping for the wedding shower we are hosting at church on Saturday.

All I wanted was a simple drawstring muslin bag!!

 I looked at Michael's, JoAnn's and Hobby Lobby! 

So that night I was scanning through the pins of all the people I follow and what a blessing to find that someone pinned a couple of tutorials! So I printed one off and got started.

Head over to Melly Sews for the how to on the bag.  

What I'm sharing is my choice of fabric and how I 'decorated' it.

Supplies:

{1}

Flour Sack Towel

Ribbon

Sharpie or permanent marker

Choice of graphic

Sewing machine and basic sewing supplies

Yep! I used a flour sack towel! I picked it because I knew I would be able to put the graphic under neath and trace over it. Easy stuff!

{2}

I basically folded it in half and then measured according to the directions.  I have enough for another one!

{3}

My ribbon wasn't quite as long as required so instead of cutting it in half I just put it all the way around and so when tied it is at one side.  

{4}

I used PicMonkey to make the graphic.  My marker has a sharp point at one end and a more rounded point at the other.  So for the words I used the sharp end first and then went back over it with the round end, using short strokes.  This is washable but needs to air dry as it will fade a little when washed.

Purpose:

Besides being a cute holder for cookie cutters this is going to be a game we play.  Guests have to guess what shapes are in the bag.  Then the entire bag is given to the bride to be who loves to bake!

I think it's so cute and was so excited when I finished it that I had to show somebody! Well that somebody was Hunkie and he just raised his eyebrows and said "uh-huh". ☺ 

Now I can't wait to play!!

Happy Thursday!

{See my Link Parties Page for the shares!}

Soiree Day-Wedding Shower Prep

I'm excited for this week! We have the sweetest couple getting married in our church next month and this Saturday is their shower.  I've got some fun crafting on my to do list along with all the prep.  Thought I'd share my inspired theme I've got in my head that I hope plays out like I've pictured it! 

The bride to be showed me a picture of a wedding cake she liked that I have used as my guide.  It had kinda vintagey blue birds as the topper and red flowers. Her colors are navy and burgundy.

 Here's a graphic I made in PicMonkey that I used on their invitation:

And here's what I'm using to inspire me....

Whimsical Backyard Wedding at The Desert Bride

Vintage Love Birds Shower by Shaken Together

True Love Banner by Cactus Scraps-Etsy Shop

Thank You Favors by Eve-n-Artistry

I can't wait to see how it all turns out!!

Happy Tuesday lovelies!

And The Winner Is..........

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congrats Joy!! An email has been sent!

Thanks again lovelies, I appreciate you all!

Have a great week!

Blogiversary Time!!

I can't hardly believe that is time to celebrate another year of blogging!  This coming Thursday will be 2 years for me!  The best part of the last two years? Making friends!  So I thought I would gather some of those wonderful blogging friends and have a My Favorite Things party blog style!  A couple weeks ago I discovered the party trend which was inspired by Oprah and her Favorite Things. And wanted to use that type of party to celebrate blogging and blogging friendships. 

So here's how it will go....I've invited 5 friends to share with us one of their favorite things that cost $6 or less.  Starting tomorrow till Friday, each friend will share her item.  On Saturday I'll share some of mine.  Then one of you will win all the Favorite Things!  Nope, this isn't an elaborate giveaway, it's a fun, maybe I'll find something new I like giveaway!  I will be using Rafflecopter for entering and will have it up everyday so you can enter anytime between Monday and Sunday. 

I'll draw a winner and announce next Monday the 18th.  Show & Share will still be up and running on Wednesday too! And here's the friends who are coming to the party!...

Monday-Clydia of Three Mango Seeds

Tuesday-Rebecca of My Girlish Whims

Wednesday-Lindsay of Southern Lovely

Thursday-Marilyn of The ArtsyGirl Connection

Friday-Emily of Putting Down Roots

So I hope you'll join us! And thanks so very much for being a reader and/or following me in any way, shape, or form! You lovelies make blogging so much fun!

Chic Couture {Series}-Colors of Love~Purple

Want something a little different on Valentine's day than the norm of red or pink? Then go purple!  Purple is one of my favorite eyeshadow colors to wear.  Yep it goes great with my boring brown eyes! And now that I think about it I like wearing purple clothes too! Here's my purple picks!

{Majority of these are from Etsy! Yay for handmade!}

Top row, left to right:

Purple Lace Headband by Gertie & Baxter at Etsy

Flower Bobby Pin Set by KriyaDesign at Etsy

True Romance Eyeshadow-Beethoven Palette by Kat Von D at Sephora

Bottom row, left to right:

Crystal Ring by MLE Jewelry at Etsy

Purple Paris Themed Clutch by Sew Kute Couture at Etsy

Belou Dress by LucieLu

I do have the first purpley Kat Von D palette and have used it a lot.  And I've gotten compliments on my eye makeup when wearing it!

That's it for the series! It was fun!

Happy Friday Lovelies!

{Sharing} Hugs & Kisses Entryway

 Wanted to share the rest of my Valentine's decor today.  Especially my first ever Valentine's Entryway! I had the XOXO wood cut out that I bought from Pick Your Plum with the LOVE one I used on my mantel and some xoxo blocks from Target's Dollar Spot last year unused and used them as my inspiration to create a Hugs & Kisses themed table. 

For the XOXO wood cutout I painted it the same neutral, metallic taupe as the LOVE one and it is simply resting on the framed scrapbook piece of paper! And of course I've got my chalkboard printable in the other frame.  The two smaller frames are from Michael's $2 section.  I took some Target wrapping paper and some Valentine stickers and had  some coordinating 'xoxo' prints!

The candy dishes are from Target as well, I think a couple years old...I'm just now using them!  And yes those are Hershey's Hugs and Kisses...I bought a mixed bag and found it interesting that there are more kisses than hugs.  ☺

I did make a Valentine's 'wreath'.  We have a storm door now so I wanted to make a 'wreath' out of this felt heart knowing it wouldn't get damaged.  Used the same Target wrapping paper and more Valentine stickers and spelled out "Smooch Me".  I wasn't for sure how well I liked it and posted it on Instagram to get some opinions and had a great response.   So thanks IG buddies!!

And lastly my dining room grouping.  

These are what I used last year and that chalkboard tray was my first craft I ever posted!

And that's it! 

I haven't decided if I'll decorate for St. Patrick's day...I haven't before.

  I'm kinda ready to move right on to Spring!!

Happy Thursday!!

{See my Link Parties page for the shares!}

{Guest} Live.Laughter.Happily Ever After

Happy Tuesday lovelies!

I  have a special treat today! Instead of a Soiree Day post I'd like to introduce you to a new blogging friend!  It's always so amazing to me the awesome connections you can make through blogging.  Well Kalyn and I got connected through Instagram and the hashtag #SheReadsTruth, a great way to get connected if you ask me!  I love, love the crafty idea that she's sharing today! 

♦♦♦

Good Morning, Blog World! 

Hello Vintage Gwen readers! I'm Kalyn and I blog over at Love.Laughter.Happily Ever After. I am SO  excited to be guest posting today for Vintage Gwen and her lovely corner of the Internet! I was immediately drawn into following Vintage Gwen the moment I read one of her chapel posts. Plus, she and I share common ground when it comes to creativity, DIY projects, and food recipes. For me, it is an all around win each day I visit her blog looking for a little encouragement, advice, or blog love. It is an even better win to visit her page every Wednesday for the Show and Share link up party! If you are not joining, you totally should!

Currently, my heart is in overdrive because love month is here! Happy, happy February! Admittedly, I am a newlywed obsessed with love, life, and my Savior. I am super excited to finally have the opportunity to share the month of February with my husband. You should probably know that we started dating almost 8 years ago, became in engaged in 2011, and were married n June 2012. Five of those years we dated were long distance. Therefore, we have not spent Valentine's Day together since we were both in high school. Talk about long over due! We have had our first Valentine's celebration planned for about a month. Needless to say, we are itching to experience our first Valentine's dinner and movie together in the same zip code for once!

Since Christmas I have been looking to take some "me" time to escape school and the hustle and bustle of life to try and recreate this DIY project I saw on Pinterest while I was wedding planning. However, I added a little unique spin of creativity so that our design would be different. What better month than to break out the goods now? 

As you can tell above, those pieces of round wood are from the bottom of our Christmas tree trunk! Yes, I am that wife who makes a huge deal about all the "firsts" we are experiencing on this new journey. I made sure to seize the opportunity to save some part of our very first Christmas tree trunk. I am going to share with you how to reuse them as ornaments for next year.  

Before chunking out the tree when cleaning our home decor, my husband cut off a large section of the trunk about 6 inches long. Then, he and my father-in-law sliced up the trunk into a couple of smooth, one inch round blocks. As a method for hanging this make-shift ornament on our tree for our second Christmas celebration, I was planning to have a hole drilled into the top portion. However, my father-in-law came up with a better hanging method which you can see in the photo below. 

As you can tell, there is a round hook screwed into the top of the wood. I tied a colored ribbon through the hook to match the colors associated with our 2012 Christmas decor. 

I fell in love with this idea as soon as I saw it because it is functional, cute, and so heart felt no matter the occasion. Whether it is baby's first Christmas or the celebrating of newlywed love, the reason for saving the bottom of your Christmas tree and recreating it into an ornament is a special time piece that will last for years to come. 

As you can tell, the creative options are endless when it comes to writing or decorating your piece of wood. I am not all that creative, but I do try often. I am sure you can spruce it up with to fit your own likes! It may sound crazy, but I have yet to store these suckers! I added them to the Valentine's decor I have displayed around our home. 

I am not sure which ornament we will actually put on our tree next year. I have three to choose from and am excited to be able to show our future children a part of Mom and Dad's first Christmas that we saved not only based on pictures taken! Also, I made sure to incorporate our wedding invitation and honeymoon memories into glass ornaments for our tree (Follow the links for those tutorials). In future years, I know that we will love looking back at where we once were and how far we have come! :) 

What You Will Need: 

Wood Chunks

Sharpie Markers

Rhinestones

Ribbon

Hooks

I hope you all have a wonderful day, friends! If you enjoyed this post I would love to invite you to my little corner of the Internet.Typically, I may seem all over the place from day to day in posts but I normally blog about whatever is on my heart at the time. Whether it be random life lessons, marriage, Jesus intervening my to-do list, cooking a recipe twenty different ways based on Pinterest posts, DIY projects, or fashion- You can bet I will blog about it.

As always, until next time- Happy Blogging!

♦♦♦

What a special way to preserve Christmas memories! And I love that you could totally embellish the wood chunks any way you want! Isn't Kalyn great?  Be sure to go check out her beautiful blog!

Have a Happy Day!

Vintage Gwen Chapel-Saturday Song

{graphic courtesy of The Graphics Fairy)

So I think I might have found a song to go along with my One Word 2013. I'm really digging Meredith Andrews right now! You should You Tube her!

Happy Weekend lovelies!

Enjoy!