Karen Smallbone

With the economy not being so great, more and more brides are trying to cut costs while still having a fabulous wedding. One way to achieve this is by making things yourself.

My husband sent me a link to this awesome blog full of wonderful ideas for a Do it Yourself Wedding. iDiY has tons of free downloads for place cards, patterns you can use on labels and invites, vintage clip art and lots of fantastic ideas. You must check it out!

After spending some time on iDiY, I want to have a party or something just to have a reason to create something beautiful.

Looking for some great ways to use kraft paper bags? Click on the photo to go to the original article.

I thought I would share a few groups of art that we have in our house. The merchandiser in me always wants to arrange things and make them look neat. It’s pretty easy to create an interesting group of photos or art. We usually try to have a theme, like kids, animals or similar colours or textures. It looks better if you have an odd number of items in your group and I usually try to keep the frames all the same colour. First, I lay the elements out on the floor, until I’m happy with the arrangement, then I recreate it up on the wall. Hint: Sometimes I take a quick photo with the digital camera of my arrangement in case I get mixed up as I’m hanging them.

Here’s a grouping of photos of our crazy kids, my husband as a kid and some of our letter collection.

Here’s a grouping of elephants and an rhino. Rich took the elephant photo and did the rhino drawing.

This grouping is kid photos, a drawing Aidan did when he was little and a painting Rich did. This grouping used to have a painting Aidan did where the leaf painting is but it appears that Ronan was doing some rearranging.

Try it out. You can start small with just a few pieces or you can do a whole wall.

Are you looking for a sweet way to thank your guests for attending your event? A candy buffet is a great idea! Not only will it look fantastic, it tastes sweet too! It’s also a sweet idea for a favour. Provide your guests with a box or bag to fill up from the buffet. Seal the container with a label and voila, a favour that your guest will love and you didn’t have to stay up late to assemble!

If you are planning a candy buffet, keep in mind that most people will fill the container you provide right to the top. If you are trying to keep costs under control, be sure to provide a bag or box that isn’t too big.

KarenSmallbone.com has a large selection of boxes and bags that would be perfect for your buffet. We can custom design labels to seal the container. We also carry Jelly Belly beans in bulk, and have access to old fashioned Lollipops and ribbon candy! (If you are interested in the Lollipops, just send us an email and we can send you pricing.)

1.Old Fashioned Buffet from Once Wed by Chutes and Ladders

2.Pink Candy Bar from Once Wed by katie535h

3. Pink Candy Buffet by lisarunolfson

4.Pink,Orange and Green by kmjdepalma

5. Green and Brown by Rebecca Thuss

I have a family picnic this weekend and I’m going to make some cupcakes to take. I was looking around for some ideas for decorating my cupcakes and I found these gorgeous cupcake wrappers on one of my favourite blogs, Cupcakes take the cake.

They would make stunning wedding cupcakes. They are available in tons of designs like princess crowns and dinosaurs – perfect for a kids birthday party. They are available from Paper Orchid Stationery.
Now I’m looking for an excuse to make cupcakes and use these beautiful wrappers.

A few weeks ago I was contacted by Christine from Wishpot.com. She asked me to become one of the wedding experts on the fabulous Wishpot and of course I said yes!

Wishpot is a site where you can create lists of things that you would like to buy (or have someone buy for you). It is perfect for organizing a wedding or baby shower registry or even just a list of stuff you love and wish you could have. It’s easy to use – you install a button on your bookmark bar and when you are browsing the web for fab finds you just click the button and it will add your item to your Wishpot list.

I’ve started a few lists of things I would love. It’s great! It’s like shopping without spending any money (husbands and future husbands appreciate that!)

Check it out. It’s lots of fun.

While surfing the web recently I came across a great site www.finestationery.com that specializes in stationery. They carry the usual stationery items but what caught my eye was the cool stuff that you can get personalized.

Who wouldn’t love a set of plates with their name on it. I love the one that reminds the kids to “put the napkin on their lap”.
These plates would make a great gift for the couple who has everything.

Another one of my favorites is this giftwrap featuring a photo of your little one. How cute is that? It would make a nice keepsake in addition to whatever the gift was you wrapped it in.

If you are looking for a unique and personal gift to give for any occasion, check out these pretty paperweights. They would make a great gift for your bridesmaids. There are tons of cute designs to choose from.

Being a woman with a few curves, I know how hard it can be to find a wedding dress or a bridesmaid dress that is flattering. I ended up having my dress made because trying on a size 8 in the bridal shops just wasn’t doing it for me. You really can’t tell what the dress will look like if you can’t even fit into it.

I received an email from one of my favorite stores, Torrid, today saying that they were now carrying Bridal fashions. Torrid is a store in the US that carries fashionable clothes in plus sizes. They have an online store and also brick and mortar locations throughout the US. I often make a trip over to Buffalo just to shop there. The wedding dresses are only available on line. They also have a nice selection of bridesmaids dresses, wedding lingerie, and accessories.

These dresses would be perfect for a destination wedding, or if you are planning something more casual.

Vixen White Satin Mermaid- $180.00

Divine white lace halter – $220.00

Doll Face white Strapless – $170.00

Pink Taffeta and Sequin Foldover Dress -$120.00 (on sale now for $100.00)

Ok maybe not the best but a pretty good one. I don’t know about you, but I never have time to paint my nails. I usually end up doing it in the car on my way to whatever it is I’m going to. It’s pretty hard to balance that little bottle on your knee while in a moving car (especially with my husband’s crazy driving. Just kidding, you are wonderful in all ways). So I was tickled pink when I found this at my local Shoppers Drug Mart.

The Nic’s Sticks by OPI. It’s a nail polish stick. There is a brush on the end and the polish is inside. Pure genius. Why didn’t I think of that. There are lots of colours to choose from and it dries really fast.
Well worth the $9.99. It would be perfect to tuck into your bag on your wedding day for any touchups.

Cynthia was kind enough to share some of the photos from her wedding with me.

I love the fortune cookies with the personalized message. This is a great idea!

I love how the fortune cookie is repeated as a menu holder.

Congratulations Cynthia and Rob. Your wedding looks like it was beautiful! Thanks for sharing your day with us.

Cheryl was kind enough to send me some photos from her wedding last summer. She used green and chocolate as her colours.

Here is Cheryl and Brad. I love how Brads tie matches the colour theme! Cheryl looks gorgeous!

Cheryl and Brad’s favours were Root Beer and Lemon Lime Jelly Bellys in our Square Clear Top Tin with a Mini monogram and Light Green/Dark Green Saddlestitch Ribbon. Very cute!

Congratulations to Cheryl and Brad. We hope your wedding was everything you dreamed it would be!

Thank you for sending in your photos.