Less Than A Month To Go!

My focus has shifted onto wedding prep, yet again, so the organizing and unpacking has found itself at a standstill while I finish creating the remainder of the gifts and decorations!
Tonight, I find myself making origami boats, as an additional idea for the centerpieces. It ties in with the table activities, which people may or may not be interested in, since we have an awesome DJ, who knows how to keep people occupied! Mostly, I figure it's probably because I like to make things more complicated than they have to be. If there's no real challenge, my perfectionism won't let me present it to the world with a feeling of accomplishment.
The centerpieces have proven to be one, as I wanted to copy this pin as best I could on a budget and without having to deal with heavy glass vases of water. So, I went out and got Styrofoam balls, toothpicks, and pearl acrylic paint. It was quite an ordeal, especially with Lucy thinking I put them there for her to play with...

After one coat

After two coats

Drying overnight after 2 coats of paint

 Then, I had the challenge of trying to dress up the vase, as pretty as it was with just the "pearls" in it.

In the dark

In natural light

It just seemed too plain. I tried fake ivy around it and it was waaaaay too much. I tried just putting fake white mini roses around the base, but that was impractical and still looked weird. I tried thick ribbon around the middle, big bows, little bows, different colors, and everything I could imagine.
Finally, I found it!

Simple, with just a touch of color. I like the idea, too, where the two ribbons are being joined together - very wedding-esque!
Now, it is 0100 and I find myself, once again, working on projects for the wedding and the house. If only the human body could live without sleep, haha. Good night, all, and thanks for reading!

Also, as the United States has been shocked again by a senseless act of violence, I pray that God shows us what His goodness has in store for those who were most affected by it. "But as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good." Genesis 50:20a

After A Hiatus to Pack and Unpack!

So, it's been a while. I didn't realize it had been this long, as I've been incredibly busy these last 3 weeks! My fiance and I were able to close on a house right before my apartment's lease was up - woohoo! I'm mostly excited, besides the fact I never thought I'd own a house, because this most likely means I may not have to move again in the next few years. Moving is the worst, especially with cats. They get so nervous and upset when uprooted from the place they thought was home. I can't imagine doing it with kids! When I was a kid, I remember saying I was allergic to change. Being in transit since college and even moreso since officially moving out of my parents' house 5 years ago, it's nice to feel like I can settle somewhere, finally!
Meanwhile, the cats are settling nicely and I finally got them to stay downstairs with me all day. They are scared of frictionless flooring and most of the downstairs is hardwood floors. We put rugs down where we could, without making it look tacky, but there's only so much we can do to baby them! When they get older, I will probably baby them a little more, since they are probably more prone to arthritic joints, etc. Maybe I will even construct them some sort of wheelchair, if their disability starts affecting how they live.

One of the first nights both cats came downstairs to eat dinner

Lucy looks out the sliding door

So, last night and today, I worked on some projects I've been wanting to finish for the house and wedding. It was good to release some creativity again, after not having time for it, then only being able to use it for interior decorating, the last week or so. I will say interior decorating is definitely not my forte, haha.
The one I started and finished last night, I got the materials for about 2 months ago and couldn't wait to use them. However, it seemed silly to make a decoration for the house and not even have one we were in the process of settling on, yet. I got the inspiration from this pin, to use a letter instead of a traditional round wreath for the door. With both our first names, as well as my fiance's last name starting with a "J", it only made sense to pick that letter!

The final product on our door!

I selected a wooden letter "J" from Michael's and picked up some brightly-colored discounted flowers and sheer navy ribbon to decorate it! I'm pretty happy with the results. :)
I also spray-painted our new mailbox with the house number and our (future) last name, but the spray paint apparently leaked out and we will have to fix it with brown paint. (I just HAD to have the brown mailbox, not the black one, that would be easy to match paint to...)
Today, I finished the ceremony pew decorations, minus the tulle. They were inspired by this pin. But, since we have an indoor nautical theme and not a rustic outdoor theme, I went with anchors I found in Benjamin Franklin instead of tree slices. I painted them navy and wrote on them with silver permanent marker.

I added some ribbon to the tops, so they could be hung from the chairs by pushpins. Add some tulle and voila! Hopefully, decent-looking pew decor, haha.
Then, my final project was working on the hanger for my dress, inspired by this pin. I've never worked with wire before, except briefly when I did some bead-work jewelry as a kid. I think it turned out pretty well, considering that, though!

I might try to smooth out some of the letters more, but wire is hard to work with, without destroying the smooth texture of the wire with the pliers, I found.
So, that's all I have for today...except this fun picture of the bird who has been diligently working on a next outside the window!

Thanks for reading!
- Jess