Unabashed Bliss

DIY Christmas Pennant Banner

Heidi — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 22:06:52 +0000

I’ve been wanting to tackle making one of these darling banners since I fell in love with them via ETSY. We had one made for our wedding with our last name on it in burlap from Amanda at funky shiQue on ETSY. My Mom made a bunch up in cotton fabric colors for an added whimsical touch to our buffet tables (see here). So, I decided it was my turn to learn how to do them with my Mom’s help. I’m thrilled at how they turned out and that I finally tackled my fear of sewing machines. If you have any specific questions on how-to, please feel free to comment below and I’ll get back to you!

Inspiration From a Basic Embroidery Hoop! DIY Christmas Wreath Card Holder & Wedding Decor

Heidi — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 02:10:41 +0000

My favorite time of year is by far Fall and early Winter. I love warm, cozy, oversized sweaters…sipping on hot cocoa and apple cider…the music…candles, the decor, the food, all of it. I made apple crisp for my grandfather’s 77th Birthday last night and it nudged me into the Holiday mood – I know…rather early, but still. Maybe it’s the nesting part of my pregnancy kicking in? I recently stumbled upon this Holiday project, first found as a Martha Stewart craft, that would be simple and so fun. Brides could use the same idea and do a collage of different sized metal rings or embroidery hoops to feature pictures or place card holders for their wedding! Many crafty Brides have found whimsical ways to use embroidery hoops for affordable decor (see below inspiration via Doilies and Lace Blog & Tamryn Kirby Blog). The craft projects with embroidery hoops could be limitless. What would you do to make it your own? I found this great tutorial by Lisa fron the fern Creek Cottage Blog. Be sure to check out her creative inspiration!

Soothes the Stomach!

Heidi — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 01:32:47 +0000

I’ve been told by many women who’ve experienced nausea from pregnancy, or even just motion sickness aside from being pregnant, to try Ginger Chews. Despite being 26 weeks pregnant…today was just one of those yucky stomach days where you hope you’ll get sick just for the relief. After heading to the post office to deliver some bridal hair flowers from my ETSY shop orders my husband and I dropped into our Market of Choice Natural Food Store and picked up some of these Ginger People Original Chews along with a Kombucha Wonder Drink – Asian Pear and Ginger. I figured it was worth a try. Ginger Ale wasn’t a good option since the carbonation tends to make things worse for me. The chews I think have become my new go-to miracle anti-nausea treat. The flavor is rather strong, however pretty doable and actually good. They are soft chewy candies with a powdered sugar coating packing some heat from the ginger. I was quite surprised at how quickly it helped settle my stomach and the heat from the ginger was actually comforting. While I do blog about most things wedding, I found that while this directly relates to pregnancy I’m sure it could actually help some brides out there with stomach issues. Ginger provides quite a few health benefits.

Check out these Ginger Health Articles provided by the Ginger People. The Kombucha drink…I’m still sipping on it and haven’t even got through half of the bottle as the flavor just doesn’t work for me, however my stomach seems to be getting better the more ginger I get down. I’d say try it, but be forewarned the flavor is quite unique.

Vintage Inspired Invites on Clearance for $10!

Heidi — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 00:57:59 +0000

I had to run some errands for ETSY orders today and stopped by my local Michaels Arts & Crafts store. I was bummed as I didn’t have my printer set up and didn’t have my handy 40% off coupons that I get emailed to me weekly, however they had a huge sale anyway and everything I needed was already discounted. As I left the store these absolutely gorgeous vintage inspired floral invites from BRIDES Wedding Collection grabbed my attention as they were displayed on the sidewalk clearanced items. Ummm HELLO! I would have loved having these for our wedding invites. They are exactly what I had hoped to find, but ran out of time. So girls, grab your purses and drives your buns down to your Michaels!!! They are only $9.99 for the set. They are normally over $40. The one here in Oregon City had quite a few sets available. This is a huge savings and you get that high end, vintage elegant look. I just adore them!