With a cherry (blossom) on top

I very much like cherry blossoms. So much so that I have a tree blooming with them behind me at work. Mr. Woo even included a couple branches of blossoms with my Valentine's Day surprise last year. Unfortunately, I couldn't incorporate it into our winter wedding, but I did try.

It's exciting to find outlets for our likings, and when an opportunity came for me to create Valentine's Day cards I definitely went this route. I participated in a card swap this year. I was sent three names/addresses to send my cards to within a time frame, and then was to expect three Valentine's in the mail myself! I sat and pondered for some time, before I came up with the idea of mimicking my tree.

Part of my bargain-hunting is to dig through clearance items, even if I don't have a current need. I keep it in my stash, much like a squirrel I suppose, for a later purpose. So whenever I'm crafting, I'll look through what I have first, before going out to make a purchase (with coupon in hand). One of these items would be the card that I used as my base. It was a gray dictionary-like front and back with many words and definitions. To complement this word-y theme, I chose to include my own haiku on the inside as well (just like my wall!).

It wasn't difficult so much as tedious. It doesn't require much supplies, so I was able to use leftover materials from my wall.  Here's how I got it done in time:

Materials needed:

• Card or cardstock
• Pink tissue paper, various shades
• Brown crafting paper (I used butcher paper)
• Green construction paper
• Glue
• Patience and nimble fingers

Time: 25 minutes per card

Note: Finger tips may hurt from so much pinching.

1. Start with a base, the card. If you can't find any with words on it, you can type/print it on or even use some stamp letters.
2. With your brown paper, cut off a strip the size that you would want your tree trunk to be. Tip: Start with the width, then adjust the height (or vice versa). Also, you may want to crinkle your trunk to give it some interesting detail. Be careful not to rip it completely!
3. After you "plant" your trunk onto the card with glue, cut off a few smaller strips of brown of various lengths. These will be your branches. While crinkling, try twisting off the ends of the branch for a less blunt end.
4. Start planning where you want to place your branches. When you have made more, taken some out, and finalized the look of your tree glue them down.
5. With the pink tissue papers rip off small pieces (cutting it off won't give much of the flower-y texture). Then crumble it up into a wad. If you're more meticulous, pinch tissue into a rosette-like pattern.
6. Just like the branches, you can plan your placement of each blossom before gluing it down. Use 3 different shades for more "pop" and bloom them in clusters of 2 or 3.
7. If you'd like you can add some fresh, green grass. I cut it in a zig-zag, angled patter to give more appeal. Add any adornment (and a haiku perhaps?) that you wish!

For the envelope, I took blue colored paper and use a die-cut. I folded along the creased edges (created from the die-cut) and glued it in place. To make it look more attractive I sealed the top fold of the envelope with pretty flower stickers instead. Ta-da!

You can now see it featured among some fabulous Valentines here!

Did you DIY any Valentine cards this year? :)

Discount School Supply

To all the mommies and teachers:

Discount School Supply has an offer of 10% off every item with coupon code TENOFFEV. Offer good through August 3.

If you're in need of art supplies, curriculum, manipulatives, play toys, and other child development tools, head on over and take a looksie. Don't forget to sort through their free arts and crafts activities too!

For what it's worth, I made two orders in the past (including their $10 off $10 promotion) and received speedy delivery and exactly what I was expecting. My purchase included sparkle paint, brushes, paper bags, water colors, and fabric squares. A happy customer has been made! :)



The other go-to site, not only as a teacher but for scrapbooking and some wedding supplies, is Oriental Trading. For our school carnival, I was able to put together so many goodies for the students. They frequently have free shipping, and sometimes + __% off or free gift, codes as well. Currently you can use WCX8262 for Free Shipping + 15% off orders of $49 or more until August 4. (This may not be worth it for small purchases. If you're looking to order but don't have enough to fufill the minimum, you can contact me to see if I'm placing an order any time soon. Chances are, yes, since I always have items in my cart.) When I throw parties for my future children, I'm going to this site first.

Enjoy!

Note: No, I am not getting paid a cent to give my positive feedback. I still have my minimal teacher's salary (which I am thankful for). Providing my readers with resources is satisfaction enough. :)

Ball gown! ...Is this thing on?

If I could get married again (to the same man, of course), I would.

But I can't (I already asked).

Still, I delight at the thought of being able to wear a pretty crisp white dress, swoon over new venues I discover, and gawk at the massive deals around. I'm no fairy godmother (I'm more of a Glinda who can't perform spells), but I shall share some of my findings to an audience who may benefit from my research - or just enjoy the eye candy. :)


Exhibit A: David's Bridal
You can't really go wrong with the most-brides-will-check-it-out bridal store. And with their frequest $99 gown sales, who can blame them? Let's take Style: VW8893 for example. The organza, the ribbon, the buttons(!) down the back, the sweep train... sigh. This dress could make even little 'ol me look tall and slender with its trimmings in the right places (think telescope)!

Exhibit B: WeddingBee
This wedding blog has become a big hit among the wedding community. There's pictures, a group of 20 bride-to-bee bloggers (plus the past bees), pro advice, and a classifieds. I came across these glass vases and thought they would make chic centerpieces. Imagine the possibilities with the white - tabula rasa! I'd like to have a few myself and display them on a black shelf with some magazines/books to add some color.

Exhibit C: Ebay/Craigslist
I've said it before, and I'll say it again - do your homework! There's really no reason to pay full price if you can, with a little research and patience, find steals for much less. If you want help, e-mail me and I'll dig through the endless pages of the WWW to find what you need. Dresses, decor, photographer, whatever - it's all there. By the way, my shoes came in and fit wonderfully.

Exhibit D: Etsy
Where to begin... Etsy is like a cute little store (that has grown to be ginormous) of handmade products. You'll find adorable cake toppers, "green" flowers, brilliantly made boleros, gorgeous fascinators, and so much more. But be careful, the sellers who are making a name for themselves and asking for a lot more now. My favorite trend at the moment: birds and branches. I'm really liking birdcage veils with fascinators too - super chic.


Gone are the days when people were unable to research much online, or even refuse to order anything from it when they could. Sure you could plan as they did back in time during the snow-was-up-to-here-when-I-walked-to-school-(barefoot) era. But today, without the Internet, wedding planning would definitely not be the same. I'd advise you to take advantage of it.

Which aspect are you most looking forward to/did you enjoy most in planning?

Down by the (e)Bay

where the watermelons grow / back to my home / I dare not go / for if I do / my mother will say... / you bought shoes again???

Okay, so that's not how the song goes, but I wanted to share with you the wonder of eBay! Most people know that it's a site to auction items off. But not everyone thinks to search here. I did some hunting for our budget wedding on eBay, but ended up not making any purchases for various reasons. You'd be surprised to find Vera Wang wedding dresses, the latest Honda Accord sedan, or even turtle poop (the thought came to my mind from Tad). Crazy, aye?

For Sara's upcoming wedding, the BMs are wearing different styles of Berry colored dresses from the Jasmine line. She's requested nude/tan colored shoes. I did get sidetracked while looking for this shade as I found myself looking at a pair of black sequined heels (should I go for it???), but had to refocus my attention.

Then I found them - a pair of satin champagne Steven heels! There were a handful of bidders before me, a few with automatic bids. I took a potty break and came back to start my mission. I like to wait until the last couple of minutes (depending on the item, view count, and number of bids) to make my pounce. I also like to throw in a couple extra bids (only up to my max amount) in case I'm outbid by another wide-eyed soul whose heart is also pounding in her ribcage. I'll also share a tip that I probably shouldn't be doing on the WWW: Instead of bidding $10.00 for something, try bidding $10.02 or something a little extra more than what can be expected from others. There. I put my CAL degree to work (American Studies: Social Psychology & Media Representation in the U.S., remember?).

Back to my shoes. So instead of working on my progress reports, I finished a quilt, updated more posts, and purchased the following shoes:

Steven, champagne, satin, peep toe, clean lines.

The best part? They only cost me $5.50 + S&H. :)

Kitchen-where in your wedding?

While at work, my hubby sent me a link asking me if I wanted any of these table runners from Chefs that were on sale. I'd never heard of Chefs before, so I decided to see what else their Sale section had to offer.

That's when I saw it - the first item on the page...


Would this not be very functional for the popular-right-now dessert bar at your wedding? I like that the various heights allow for better creativity, rather than displaying something that you would see at your local Sweet Factory. The clear jars let you choose any color in the rainbow to fill it with, as well as allowing for ribbons, monograms, and the whole shebang.

So I continued my browse through the pages, and found many other items that I would like to see used for wedding-related purposes. Case in point:When I saw this, I saw it as a set of unique flower vases for centerpieces. Then I clicked on the image and found out that it's supposed to be used for butter. o_O I'll stick to putting a cute-sized flower arrangement in it, thank you very much.

Now before you start thinking that I use twigs for chopsticks, a fork for my brush, and a mixing bowl as a rice bowl, I should tell you that I did find other kitchenware for a new (or familiar) kitchen. I particularly like the vintage ice cream bowl set and handblown insulated latte cups.

But back to the inspiration I've found... If I were planning the 397,203,028,947,128,099,738,284,295,443,280,195th wedding in this country, I wouldn't want mine to be the same as anyone else's. I'd look for ways to keep lines clean, colors coordinated, and a less-is-more punch with the details. That's just me. :)

Black Friday my heart!

Hive, please tell me you like Black Friday as much as I do!

As usual, I started my day around 5am to make sure I'd get to mall before the crazy traffic began. I couldn't do my pre-sales plans where I map out my day in order of priority last night due to wedding planning keeping me busy.

But(!)

here's what I snatched: Express slacks, Express lounge pants, Remington shaver, Down-alternative comforter, Duvet set, Double sheet set, VS unmentionables, and more!

Yeah... it's a little different than my annual spree. My priority this year was home furnishings, but I'm quite pleased with this round. I hope my Mr. likes the bedding or else it would have been for nothing. And I discovered at the beginning of college that I like to match my own beddings instead of spending so much on a Bed-in-a-bag. The mix-and match allows me to get creative with different colors/shades, patterns, and fabrics.

Here's the bedding I put together:


By the way, I did not pay the price on the sticker.

Have you noticed any changes (or lack there of) in your shoppings since your engagement?

Attention IKEA shoppers!

For IKEA shoppers in the Bay Area:

Tax-free sale Nov. 1&2
both Emeryville and Palo Alto locations

Purchase anything in the store and they pay the sales tax for us! It may not be much, but think about the tax that builds up when you make large quantity purchases or home decor. I'll be putting the cash that I save toward other non-essential goodies, thankya very much.

PLUS free breakfast from 9:30-10:30am. :)

I'm a little late in hearing the word, but for those you can make it, I'll see you there!

*Cruising* along with our wedding plans

Hi Bees!

We finally have another item checked off our list. After an almost-got-frauded, many conversations with various people, and showing the plastic, our honeymoon is now booked!

Mr. and I will be going on a cruise to Mexico Riviera via Princess Cruises! Woo-hoo! We will start off at Puerto Vallarta (the location that we said was a MUST), swing by Mazatlan, and then make our last stop at Cabo San Lucas. This destination was a simple decision for us since we enjoy the beach so much and needed something more affordable than Europe.

The bigger decision was which stateroom to book since there were pros and cons to each. My list is, by all means, not comprehensive and somewhat subjective.

Inside cabin:

PROS - Cheaper. Period.

CONS - Small. No view.

Oceanview:

PROS - View via small round window, More space, Cheaper than Balcony, Tease of a view causing us to leave the room and get more exercise.

CONS - Seeing the view and wanting a balcony, Only a little more for a balcony, Can you see anything out that port window?

Balcony:

PROS: Amazing view to see dolphins and/or whales, Playing games next to the sounds of waves crashing, Reading on the lounge chair with your feet up on the table, Hang-drying clothes outside, Upper decks, Did I mention the amazing sunrise/sunset views?

CONS: More expensive.


Mini-Suite/Suite:

Not going there.

In the end, we decided that this cruise would be one of few (if any more at all) for us so we were going to go "all out." Also, when we were crunching numbers in the beginning, we had decided that we were willing to spend nearly one-third of our 10k budget for the honeymoon because this would be our kickoff to a life-long journey together.

So off we shall go to the white sand beaches~ Now we're figuring out which excursions will be the most memorable and fun.

Oh, and we got our balcony room for $1750, including fees and tax. AND we just received an e-mail today with great news: we got a free upgrade to several decks higher! Mr.'s mom made a call to a travel agent she had used for a previous vacation. PM me if you'd like her info. :)

One of my favorite 4-letter words is...

...is SALE! The bold, red letters jumping out from the store windows makes every bargain-hunter calculate the amount they have left in their checking account (because we don't want to be in debt, especially with the current economic situation being rough and all!). So perhaps this post is for both the ladies and their men...

I wanted to pass along the info that Victoria's Secret is having a not-so-secret sale right now on panties - 7 for $25 - for those who were bummed that they missed the semi-annual sale and were counting down the days 'til the next one in Decemeber. Lots of cute ones, not so many in size Small (at least at the location that I went to). You can check online, too! (Yes, the comforts of shopping from home.) But if you need a little excercise, drive on over to the nearest mall. You burn calories when you're speed walking trying to find the best deals and trying on so many things. Bargain-hunting reminds me of Double Jeopardy - find amazing deals AND burn calories before the wedding!

What you can shop for:
*Bridal shower coming up.
*Girls day out.
*Yourself.
*Him.

Oh, and hurry; Sale ends soon.

The $0 BM shawls

Howdy Bees!

In my previous post, I told you about my $12.50 BM dress. And today I'll give one option of finding cover-ups for your gals - for $0.

Our wedding is at our church and because we don't feel comfortable bearing our shoulders, especially in front of our pastor, we will all wear some type of cover-ups (mine will be in another post).

It's not secret, really, to finding $0 BM shawls. Due to the larger number of weddings we're having at our church, it's been harder to keep track of who wore what. But if you're a bride on a tight budget, there's always the option of borrowing. The recent brides have been accompanied by 8+ BMs so while going through what each of them wore, I recalled one of the cream colored shawls that were used in another January wedding. I ran the idea of borrowing those to my gals, and they liked the idea. Done, $0 BM shawls. And all it took was one question to a few people. :) Hoorah!

However, if you're looking for other options or unique cover-ups, check out Etsy. It's great because you'll find a lot of unique and beautiful items, many who are willing to customize your order. And Ebay has always been a handy source as well. Tip: For a wider selection, try searching using a variety of words (e.g., for cover-ups try shawl, bolero, jacket, etc.)

(Photo taken from sweetcharlotte on Etsy)

Where else can a bride find affordable cover-ups?

Bargain-hunting should really be a sport...

Hi Bees!

(Note to my Mr. - This post is not for your eyes! Serious consequences will occur should you give into temptation...)

Wedding dreses do not have to cost thousands! There's the option of wearing a BM dress, making your own, or even buying a dress that is not custom-made (but I can understand why you would want to). So I'd like to share my story as proof that you can find the dress of your dreams for much less than you think. But because I don't want this post to be only about me, I've decided to color the parts which I recommend others doing as well.

The first place I went to look for a dress was to magazines and online. Doing this gave me a good idea of what was out there and what I might want. I searched various styles and prices, and decided that I wanted a strapless, A-line white dress with a small train for $99. The best price I could find for my simple yet pretty dress was at JessicaMcClintock(dot)com. It was perfect in every way of what I wanted - except for the price (remember, I like the challenge of finding what I want for the lowest price). So with that dress (which we will call Stephanie) in mind, I headed out to the Jessica McClintock Outlet in San Francisco, which was having a 50% off everything summer sale, to try on dresses for size and do the whole "might look better on you than on the rack" thing that we can't do from our computers.

Taking the advice of many, I only took two people, one being my BM, Y. As we were looking through the racks, I found some dresses that were nice but not quite the whole shebang. Thankfully, because I read that your bridal size will probably be bigger than your normal size, I wasn't as alarmed nor feel as fat as I would have had it been the first encounter with sizing. My BM was a great help, not only in looking for a dress, but also, driving, zipping, squeezing, hanging, and "Awwww"ing. But the greatest help was her finding Stephanie! After trying on the dress, I knew it was "perfect." Though the retail price was $400, the outlet price was still about half of that price. So I went to the counter and asked about the price, and was told that it was only $40. I thought I had heard wrong but upon questioning, it was indeed less than half of my budget for my dress.

This was great, so while I was asking, I decided to ask about the price for BM dresses, too. 75% off. This sale was crazy (either that or I was losing it and hearing things that I wanted to hear). Though I had to look through hundreds of dresses, the hard work was worth it. I found the silvery-blue kneelength dresses for each of my gals and was able to go home as one happily buzzing Bee.

Budget for dress: $100
Actual cost of dress: $37.50

Actual cost of BM dresses: $12.50
Actual cost of bargain-hunting: Priceless


And now I present to you, Stephanie (photo taken from JM):

What and where was your best bargain find?