Finding My Sole Mate

This is not a mushy gushy post about how much I love Mr Trail Mix (I would never inflict that upon you all.)  Instead, I'm here with a public service announcement for anyone who will be wearing high heels in an outdoor setting.

I am a girl who loves her high heels.  At only 5'3" on a good day, heels are a necessity for me when I go out in order to feel confident.  Plus, it's hard to strut in flats and I must confess, I have been known to strut my stuff on a night out with my girlfriends.  Therefore, high heels for my wedding are a must!

However, my wedding is going to be outdoors.  In a big field.  Not exactly a surface conducive to confident strutting when wearing heels, right?

Enter the Sole Mate.

FMIL Trail Mix clued me into these bad boys when I had mentioned to her that I might have to wear wedges since I didn't want my heels to get stuck in the ground for the wedding.  Now I love me a pretty pair of wedges as much as the next shoe-obsessed lass does but I wasn't completely sold on the look for my wedding.

The Sole Mate is a little rubber/plastic gadget that slips onto the heel of your shoe, widening the base of the heel, therefore spreading the distribution of your weight a bit and allowing you to avoid sinking into the ground.  BRILLIANT!

Here's what they look like:

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They also come in clear if you prefer that to the black.  Either way, I think it's a genius idea that's going to allow me to wear my beloved 3" high heels without worrying about walking on an uneven surface or that my heels will get dirty from sinking into the ground.

The company's website is www.thesolemates.com and while they're not exactly cheap ($9.95 per pair) they do have a deal that if you order 10 pairs, you get 10% off your purchase. They also have a special discount for brides that allows you to pass the 10% discount on to you friends and family.

I think this would be a great little present for your bridesmaids or family members if your wedding is going to be held in an outdoor location, don't you?

Has anyone tried these or heard of them before? Do you have another solution to the high heels sinking into the ground problem?

PS- I know you all read that hoping for some shoe porn and even though I mostly already talked about my shoes in this post, here's a sneak peak of my oh-so-lovely heels (full post to come shortly!):

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Aren't they dream-delicious??? 

Training Schedule, Marathon Style

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Heehee, sorry, couldn't resist a cartoon that featured running and weddings!

Now that it's almost February (what the CRAP?!?! How did that happen?!?!) I am deep into marathon training. In fact, I counted it up and the Boston Marathon is less than 12 weeks away! For once, I've actually been consistent with my training, thanks in large part to writing about it as well as logging all my miles and workouts (a strategy I talked about here.)

I thought I would share with you all a typical training week.  You could modify this for any-length race though; just subtract about 20% of the mileage for a shorter race (such as a half-marathon or 10k.)

Due to time constraints, I always plan my longest run for the weekend.  It isn't always a fun decision, since it usually means I have to forgo the standard Saturday night festivities in order to be hydrated and awake for my 14+ milers but I think the end results on April 19th will be worth it.

Sample Weekly Marathon Training Schedule

Monday- 60:00 or more cross-training. I prefer a specific type of elliptical that works your arms and legs but the stationary bike, erg machine, stairmaster or swimming are all great cross-training methods as well.

Tuesday- 7-10 miles.  Nuff said.

Wednesday- Because I'm all about the alliterations, Wednesday has come to be "Workout Wednesdays" in my mind.  I usually alternate each week between a hill workout and a speed workout.  For example, this past Wednesday I ran 2:00 uphill, then turned right around and jogged back down, making a continuous loop that took about 4:30 total time.  I did that 11 times (plus a warm-up and cool down.)

An example of a speed workout I did the week before is :30 at a very hard pace, then 1:00 very, very slowly x 15.

Thursday- Gotta recover from that workout, so a 4-5 miler at an easy pace feels good.

Friday- More cross-training, usually upwards of 60:00, sometimes 80:00 if I'm feeling ambitious (or trying to make up for a lazy day when I didn't get my miles in!)

Saturday- Easy 2-3 miles in preparation for the next day...I also sometimes just go for a walk or do nothing on this day.  I've found that I get really good results the more I rest.  It sounds contradictory but sometimes rest can be the best ingredient in a training recipe.

Sunday- Longest run of the week.  When I started training for the marathon, my long run was 8 miles and I've added 1 mile to this long run every week since.  I'm now at 14 miles and have to work up to between 20-21 miles.  Ouch.

So that's my general outline for my marathon training.  Do I stick to it like a drill sargeant? Nope, not a chance.  There are days where I'm too tired, too busy or too sick of working out to do much more than a 30:00 run (or even anything at all.)  I don't stress it.  Just like wedding planning, half the battle of running a marathon is the journey there and I try to enjoy it as much as possible.

The good thing about this general workout plan is that it could easily be adapted for whatever distance race you are training for.  If it's a 5k you're running, run 3 miles instead of 7 and do 40:00 on the elliptical instead of 60:00.

Well, I hope I haven't scared you all off from running or training for a race.  It sounds like a lot and sometimes it is but I think the results will be well worth the effort.

Is anyone else training for a spring race? What race are you running? I'd love to hear about it!

The Final Table Number Post

Yes, you read that correctly.  I have finally reached the end of my table number saga.  If you're particularly intrigued bored, you can read the first three parts here, here and here...

The worst part about putting all this thought, effort and time into the table numbers is that they are one of those things that no one's going to notice! Seriously, if I get even one comment about these during or after the wedding, I will be happy (and surprised.)

But I suppose it's my prerogative as a slightly-obsessed bride (ok, fine, some might call me psycho, it's cool...) to put as little or as much time into these minute details as I want.  And hot damn, I put a lot of time into these bad boys.

I ordered lots of absolutely beautiful decorative paper from DickBlick Art Materials. Not only did I order two separate packs in specific color schemes but the store also offers scrap paper by the 1/2 or pound, like the example below. It comes in all shapes, colors and sizes so don't bet on getting anything in specific but the scraps I got are so freakin gorgeous, it didn't even matter!

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Once the papers arrived on my door, I set to work, carefully using my exacto knife to cut out the numbers.  I already talked about how I made them in my last table number post so I won't bore you with the details again (see this post if you're really interested.) I got up to number 12 (out of 22) and then decided I hated them, they looked like a 5-year-old had made them and promptly threw them all in the garbage and called for reinforcements.

Luckily, Bridesmaid D is tremendously talented in the realm of crafts and she came over one Saturday afternoon to help me make these happen.

And now I present the final product.  Tada!

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And the best part is? They're reversible! I used the cut-out number for the other side.

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And one more shot of them all laid out on the table.

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I'll confess, I'm a little bit on love with them.  Even if no one notices or comments on them.  Even if I could have had them made for cheaper on Etsy.  Even though they're not perfect and don't look professionally made. I love 'em.  And that, my friends, is really the crux of the matter.

What's your detailed project that you're in love with but no one else will notice?

The World's Easiest Paper Flowers

I confess, I am on the "challenged" side of all things DIY.  I occasionally manage to successfully complete a project but it usually takes me at least 3 or more tries to get it right.  You folks usually only get to see the finished product, rarely do I show the sweat, tears and curses usually involved when I craft.


But fear no more, tears begone, for I have found a delightfully easy DIY wedding craft that anyone can do,  I swear.  Since I had a whole bunch of beautiful, decorative paper left over from another project (more on that one in a bit) and since the sizes, shapes, colors and patterns varied so much, options for use were limited.  Ever-frugal me wanted to put the paper to good use so I poked around the blogosphere to see what paper projects were out there.


I attempted a pinwheel or two a la Miss Buttons but that was a disaster.  Not only was my paper not the right size or weight but I just don't have the crafting gene like she does.  After that fail, I literally googled "paper flower tutorial" and this was the second result that popped up.


So, without further ado, I present Miss Trail Mix's Ridiculously Easy Paper Flower Tutorial...


Materials: Paper (decorative or plain), Scissors, Hot Glue Gun, Pencil


Your paper size does not matter, I used a range from 3' x 3" upwards of 5" x 6".  Step one is to draw a spiral on the paper, just like I did here:

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Step 2 is to cut out the spiral, as shown here:

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Once you have your spiral all cut nicely, like this...

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...now the fun begins.  All you're going to do is roll the paper up, starting with the outside of the spiral, like so...

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I used my hot glue gun to secure the paper as I began to roll it.

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Once the very beginning is secured with glue, just continue to roll up the rest of the spiral.  Keep it tight but it doesn't have to be super-duper tight since once it's completely rolled, you will probably let it go a bit to get a looser, more "flowery" shape.

Another tip for rolling the paper is to pinch the bottom of your flower a bit, which creates a better shape as well.  After the entire paper spiral is rolled, use the hot glue gun to secure the bottom so it doesn't come unrolled and VOILA! Paper flower created.

Here's a few I made in the beginning:

   

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I added a little base using the glue gun to some of the flowers so they could be balanced upright.

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Also, because my paper was decorative on side and plain on the other, I did some with the pattern on the inside of the flower and some with the pattern on the outside.  Both looked equally as good, I thought.

With Bridesmaid D by my side, we managed to make about 30 of these little guys in roughly an hour or so (and even Mr Trail Mix got in on the fun, although he only made 2...But it was his first craft attempt for the wedding, so I was happy with his participation!)

Here's a few more shots of my pretties:

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So pretty, right? My flower sizes range from about 1" to 3" but if you wanted to make bigger ones, just make your spiral wider (not necessarily longer in length, although that will help as well.)

I think the possibilities for these are endless.  You could put one on each program, place one at each table setting, glue or string them onto branches, pop them into little votive holders, scatter them artfully across table scapes...The list goes on and on.

I'm actually not 100% decided on what I'm going to use these for, it will depend on how many I make and what spaces at the reception need extra sprucing up.  But I didn't lie to y'all, did I? These are super-easy and super-cute, making them my kind of DIY craft!

Any other creative ideas on how I can put these puppies to good use? Share your easy DIY projects too!

Hot Times at Local West

Last Friday, a bunch of eager Bees and Readers met up at Local West in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan for drinks and wedding talk!

Although it was crowded when we first arrived, the crowd cleared out as the start of the Knicks game approached (the bar was directly across the street from Madison Square Garden) and we were able to take over an entire corner. Luckily, the clever MissAsscher brought name tags and Sharpies, making it much easier to find the meet up for those arriving later on in the evening.

I seriously had such a blast getting a chance to put faces to names that I know well online but have never met in real life.  You girls all rock!

A few pictorial recaps from the night...

 Latenightsnackin, Miss Hamster, the ever-mature Miss Pug and KellyV

We swapped engagement stories, congratulated very recently-married Miss Meepsie (whose wedding was at Battery Garens, just like Miss Swan but only a week ago!) and even managed to have a non-wedding conversation or two.

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Lotam240, Bridepower, Worcesterbride, Shelliduke and Hilsy85.

 

Miss Hamster, Latenitesnackin, Worcesterbride, Miss Meepsie and Miss Trail Mix (aka Moi)

And finally, the whole group (minus Miss Pug, who had to leave a bit early.)  What a fine lookin bunch!

Ladies, it was so nice to meet you all, I hope everyone had as much fun as I did.  Can't wait for the next Bee meetup!

Another Decision Made

I've been bustin' out the wedding decisions left and right lately.  Got the groomsmen's ties, ordered the bridemaid's jewelry and now... Our Ketubah.  And it's so damn pretty.

Also, funny how all these decisions are basically glorified shopping.  I guess I subconsciously decided that now that it's the "year of our wedding," it's time to spend some greenbacks.

Anyways, back to our Ketubah.  I actually discovered the artist through a reader here on the 'Bee, 2dbride. She had posted a picture in the Boards of her Ketubah, which led me to the artist's website.  The artist's name is Amy Fagin of 20th Century Illuminations and you can see all of her work here.

I loved that she offered a selection of smaller, or mini Ketubah's, since the vast majority of the one's I had found elsewhere were all huge (24"x17" seems to be the standard, which when you add the several inches of matting plus the frame, is huge!)  I really wanted something smaller and ours is 12" x 17," which will look lovely matted in a simple wood frame.

 I spent about 2 months scouring online all possible options before coming back to the very first place I had looked.  Ain't always the way, huh? I guess I really should take the phrase "when you know, you know" a little more seriously and save myself a lot of time and effort.

A ketubah, for those who are unfamiliar with the word, is a Jewish marriage contract that is an integral part of the Jewish wedding ceremony.  There is a signing before the wedding ceremony (ours will be in the morning)       and then it is traditional to display the Ketubah in the home.  Amy included a little printed sheet about the significance of the Ketubah, which I will share:

"...The Ketubah stands out as a contemplative ritual object placed in one's home to remind us of the sacredness of matrimony and all that it encompasses throughout our lives.  In our busy days we all often forget the power of placing the sacred before us.  By including the ritual of the Ketubah signing on your wedding day, you have honored yourselves, family and friends with a lovingly crafted sacred object intended to embody the ideas of love and compassion.  As you marriage grows with time, your Ketubah will continue to bring you back to these universal values that mend and enlighten."

Beautiful, right? I know that our Ketubah will always be displayed in our home, which is why it had to be a stunner!

Ready for some pics?

Here we go with the full shot first:

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The overall look reminds me of a stained-glass window. Here's a few close-ups of the various flowers:

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And here's the part of the text:

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Thank you, Amy Fagin, for working with me to personalize this beautiful Ketubah! I love it so much and I can't wait to sign it at our wedding and then display it in our home as a symbol of our marriage and commitment to each other.

Do you have a marriage contract of any kind?

Gifts for the Girls

My bridesmaid's pretty much rock the house.  They put up with all my neurotic obsessions (shoes, table numbers, guest list, etc) and calm me down whenever wedding anxiety strikes.  They're in the process of planning what is sure to be a crazy-fun bachelorette party and are also helping my aunt plan my shower.  I can't imagine getting married without these mamacitas standing up there with me and I don't think the journey to the altar would be anywhere near as fun without them.

For being such awesome ladies, of course I want to express my gratitude for all their help and support during my seemingly-endless engagement.

I also take presents very. very. seriously.  You think I'm kidding? I've been known to throw actual temper tantrums about gifts (not my finest hour, believe me, I'm aware of this...Just ask Mr Trail Mix about the time he somehow forgot to get me a present for my 24th birthday- wait, on second thought, don't ask him, it waren't pretty *shudders...)  I'm also known in my group of friends to be the giver of pretty kick-ass presents.  It's kind of like my "thing."

So you know for the bridesmaid's gifts I've been planning and thinking and obsessing about what to get them pretty much since I asked them to do the deed.  Bridesmaid's D, J, JW and MOH Pip, if you're reading this, get outta here!! Half the fun of giving presents is the surprise and I don't wanna spoil it for yas...So g'wan now, git!

The Look of our Party

As time ticks by and the wedding approaches, it's been fun to see some of my inspirations become realities.  In this case, it's the wedding party's clothing ensemble.

Remember when I asked you all for advice on which color suit the guys should wear? Well, Mr Trail Mix just couldn't be convinced on the merits of khaki so we decided to go for charcoal grey instead.  He trekked down to Men's Wearhouse, where he was able to score a pretty good deal for 6 suits that included a "Buy one, get one for $100" promotion that they frequently offer.  We also ended up finding ties from Men's Wearhouse as well.  I have to give credit to Mr TM for the ties because he found them, showed them to me and then visited multiple stores in order to try and find enough.  He ended up having one of their Miami store ship it up to New York City, where we went and picked them up today.

Although Men's Wearhouse customer service is lacking, their prices are very reasonable and the quality seems to be high. I'm totally taken with the tie, I have to say...

I convinced Mr Trail Mix to model the look for us all:

Sidenote: Don't you just love seeing your man in a suit? I always get a kick out of it...

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And a close-up of that snazzy, awesome, practically-perfect-in-every-way tie:

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This was my original inspiration picture. Pretty close, right? I love the way this boutonniere looks and I've already showed it to my florist in hope that she can create something similar:

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I think the groomsmen will look sharp next to the bridemaid's dresses, who are wearing either the Sangle halter or Sangle strapless style by the ever-chic JCrew:

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I believe the bridesmaid's are going to wear any gold or nude shoe of their choosing, which should blend nicely with the color palette.  There may be a yellow flower hair clip on one or two, depending on how crazy everyone's feeling.

In short, our friends are going to look good. I can't wait to see them all dressed up!

How involved were you in the overall look for the wedding party?

I've Gotta Feeling...

And it's a not a good one.  Actually, I think it could accurately be described as sheer terror.  Or possibly extreme anxiety.  Or maybe a combination of the two.  In other words, I'm really really really really really effin' nervous about our wedding.  I'm now just under the 5-month mark and it's beginning to hit home that this thing is really going to happen.

Part of the problem with having a long (15-month) engagement is that for most of the planning, the wedding seems impossibly far off.  13 months away? No problem.  10 months out? Easy peasy, can't wait.  Even being 8, 7 and 6 months away didn't freak me out.  But now? I'm officially freaked out, wacked out, tired out and just plain nervous!

There's so many things to be worried about, I'm even worrying that I'm not worrying about the right things.  What if there's some other glaring detail that I've completely over-looked that will come back to haunt me?

Do you want to hear the litany of concerns running through my head at a faster, more urgent pace than ever before? Ok, here it goes... I'm worried it will pour cats and dogs and everyone will get mud on their shoes and the dance floor will be flooded.  I'm worried that the food will be cold, that there won't be enough or that people will spill while serving themselves family-style.  I'm worried nobody will be able to come and all my planning will have been for naught.  I'm worried that everyone will come and I'll have rent a bigger tent, dance floor, etc.  I'm worried my hair will fall flat, my make-up will disappear and I'll be a shiny, sweaty mess for all the photos.  I'm worried about the timeline of the day, making sure everyone gets to the right place at the right time and how to fit everyone into the available bed and breakfasts in the area. I'm worried that no one will dance or have fun and the whole even will be a big, fat fail.  I'm worried that a bird will poop on my head during the ceremony, that my palms will be too sweaty when I greet everyone and that I'll get a huge zit on the tip of my nose the day before...Ok, the last three are slight (and only slight) exaggerations but you get the picture...

Basically, it comes down to this: Mr TM's parent's and mine have given us an incredibly generous budget to work with.  But in the words of Spiderman, "With great power comes great responsibility."  I feel a lot of pressure to plan this amazing wedding based on the budget I've been given and various expectations of both families.  And sometimes (ok, lately, a friggin lot of the time) I just get really damn nervous!

I know I'm not alone in this feelings, is anyone else found themselves in a freak-out, panic moment lately??

Hair's The Thing...

The "thing" is that I won't have any hair trials or hair inspiration posts for you.  Why is this? Well, it's because I'm (gasp!) doing my own hair for the wedding.  Mostly because I am just THAT psycho about my hair and don't trust anyone else to do it properly! Fortunately for me, one of my bridesmaids was practically raised in her mother's posh salon in Boston which specializes in curly hair.  She's got curly hair, she knows curly hair and she's going to help me do my (sort-of, mostly, almost) curly hair for W-day.  I'm confident in this decision and happy to save some cash-money what what by doing this.

I know I want to wear it mostly down, as curly as it can get, with a few front pieces pinned back (almost a half-up, half-down style.)  I also know that I want to wear a wreath of flowers.  I don't really know where this desire came from but it's been stuck in my mind from day one so I'm pretty sure that's what I'm going to do.

It's definitely gotta be on the small and delicate side to avoid looking like a flower girl circa 1985:

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Holy flower wreath, batgirl!

No, not the look I am going for, mmmmmkay? But traversing the internets for inspiration proved a bit difficult...

Sidenote: When I first google-image searched "hair wreath," I received a wealth of pictures involving antique, framed decorative wreaths of actual human hair. EWWWWWW!!!!! Definitely had to add the word "wedding" to avoid looking at pictures of old hairs...That's a tip, kids, write it down :)

Anyways, surprisingly, small, delicate flower (not human) hair wreaths are either out of vogue right now or just simply hard to find pictures of because the majority were either huge (like, seriously big), fake (involving lots of polyester and fake pearls...non!) or for a flower girl.  But I persevered through all the fun wedding blogs (Style Me Pretty, Once Wed,Snippet and Ink, etc, etc...You know them all, don't deny it!) and eventually managed to find a few that were along the lines of what I was looking for...

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I like this one.  A lot.  I want the flowers to be smaller and a bit more organic but other than that, wouldn't change a thing...

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I love this one too, only I want mine to wrap all the way around my head and possibly have a few ribbons hanging off the back.  But I think the look is so beautiful (and remember, my hair will be down so the wreath will have to be a bit higher on my head...)

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This is the picture that stopped me in my tracks.  Soft, simple and understated with a dash of hippie-chic thrown in for good measure. Isn't her dress a dream? The flower wreath suits her perfectly. I love this picture because it's exactly the look and theme I want to convey.  Le gorgeous...

So that's my hair-speration for you, what do you think? Is the wreath of flowers hippie-overkill? Will the ribbons hanging down be too flower-girlish? Anyone else wearing a flower wreath?

A Theme Emerges...

Much to my delight, there is a general theme that is becoming prominent in my wedding decor: birch trees! I didn't plan on this but it just kind of happened all organic-like.  And I think it's a perfect summer touch to our rustic, outdoor June wedding (gosh, I'm such a wedding world cliche, throwing around words like rustic but I don't care, teehee!)

Birch trees make a naturally gorgeous backdrop for wedding photos too...Will have to scout location to see if there are any on the premises...(Source)

Anyways, it all started when I ordered my pretty little birch table number holders. Remember these?

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I recently got to sit down my florist to discuss the flowers (one of my favorite parts of the wedding!) Random sidenote, I realized I've never posted about my florist and this is because it was another no-brainer, easy-peasy lemon-squeezy decision.  She's the only florist in town, we've known and used her services for 15+ years and there was just never any other option in my mind.  I usually call her the day of my mom's birthday, panicking, and ask if there's any way she can deliver a bouquet that same day.  I give her my price, let her pick the flowers and she's never failed to produce a gorgeous bouquet on short notice.  So imagine what she'll be able to do when I actually book her in advance? Her name is Linda and her store is Angel's Trumpet, located in good ol' New Lebanon, NY (my teeny tiny upstate New York hometown that no one's ever heard of...)

Anyways, where was I? Oh right, my birch tree theme...After meeting with Linda and going over all the centerpiece ideas, bouquets, boutonnieres and ceremony decor, I happened to mention that I was a bit apprehensive about creating our Chuppah. Linda pointed to an arbor right outside the window of her store and said "Something like that?" HELLO, it was perfect! And when she suggested using birch wood, I died right there in the store.  You better believe I scratched that DIY project off my list with glee and giggles!

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It will look something along the lines of these, only with some fresh floral decorations on the front two corners.  Siiiiigh, I love it...

But we were not done yet.  Once we started talking about lanterns, lights and candles (oh my) she wanted to know if I had any ideas for disguising the poles of the tent.  Hmmmmm, never thought about this one.  She suggested birch tree saplings all around and again, I died.

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Neither of these are quite right either but they give you a sense of what we're going for.  The trees around the poles will probably be more like saplings and not quite as bushy as either of these but still...I die, I die, I die...

So there you have it! Somehow, Houston, we have a theme! And I love it. Maybe I can even somehow incorporate a birch tree motif into our invitation suite (We're going to pick out our invites on Sunday, I'll be sure to report back as to how that goes...)

Do you have a theme for your wedding? Did you plan it out or did it happen unexpectedly?

Log It Out

I've found that a great way to keep me from jumping off the workout train is to record all my exercisin' in my planner.  I just have a little daily planner from Barnes and Noble to keep track of doctor's appointments wedding reminders and stuff but there's usually room to make a note of the type of exercise I did (run, elliptical, strength train, swim, etc) and for how long I did it for.

Looks like this one:

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I find it very gratifying to flip through past months and see what I've done.  Plus as the miles increase, the satisfaction of writing it down in my planner gets greater and gives me the confidence to keep moving forward with training for the marathon.

I also like doing this because I can easily add up the number of miles or the number of minutes cross-training, which helps me track my progress.  Cross-training, by the way, is usually considered any other type of cardiovascular activity that is not running (stationary bike, elliptical and swimming are the first three that come to mind).  I like to do a decent amount of cross-training when I'm training for a marathon since it saves my knees a bit of pounding and it's almost as effective as running, you just have to do the activity for a bit longer to achieve the same results (eg 45 minutes elliptical is like 30 minutes of running). The one exception to this rule I've found is in swimming, which can easily be more of a cardiovascular and strength training workout.

Writing down your workouts is a great habit to get into, even if you're not training for a running race.  It can also be a very positive and helpful weight-loss tool, I think.

Do you keep track of your workouts?

Tablescape, Take 3

After reading that title,you might be thinking to yourself 'Why is Trail Mix so fixated on the table numbers?' The answer to that question is 'I have no freakin' idea.' I guess for me, tablescape posts are my equivalent to Miss Pug's and Miss Guinea Pig's dress posts.  Obviously, people notice the dress way more than they notice the table decor so I think they're completely warranted (plus I love looking at wedding dresses.) Me, on the other hand? Out. Of. Control. I totally recognize that the tablenumber posts have gotten out of hand, so this will be the second-to-last one I do, I (really do!) promise.

A number of you creative readers suggested reversing my last table number attempt, using the decorative paper cutout with the white cardstock background as the number.  Figuring out how to do this took a bit of thinking so I'll offer up a brief tutorial...

I used Word to print out a (totally random) number in about size 300 font and then used my scissors to easily cut the number out.  Other materials included an exacto knife, decorative paper and glue dots.

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I used the cut-out number as a stencil and traced the number onto the decorative paper, remembering not to make it backwards this time...

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Once I had traced a very light outline of the number, I took my cue from Miss Cola to try my hand with an exacto knife.  It went surprisingly well, given my lack of crafting ability and hand control (and since she's such a redonk crafter, I kind of assumed that mine would look horrible but nope!)

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I used the glue dots to attach the number cutout to my white cardstock.  And voila!

(Personal Photo)

While I like the look, I think I need to make the numbers smaller.  But other than that, I'm very happy with these and I think they'll look great on the tables.  Just for fun, I did another (terrible) mock-up of my centerpieces (obviously ignore the poor, dried/dead hydrangeas and picture the flowers as a loose, lush bundle of yellow and white blooms.)

(Personal Photo)

Also, since I'll have the number cut out, I'll probably use that for the other side of these and make them double-sided! Brilliante!

(Personal Photo)

I think I'll make the actual numbers significantly smaller but otherwise, I feel good about them! Hooray, that means at most only one more post you'll have to skim through about my obsession with my table numbers!

Ok, 'fess up: What detail of your wedding could you (or have you!) written multiple posts about? Please assure me that I'm not alone in this psychotic behavior!