A Little Upgrade

For the longest, open-shelving has been on the top of my kitchen wish list.  Every time I see a blog post that features open kitchen shelving, I tag it.  Examples:

Source:  Andrew Tye via Bright Bizarre, Apartment Therapy, House Beautiful via Apartment Therapy, Lillian’s Diary via Decor 8

But alas, our condo is extremely short on space, which means our existing cabinets are filled to the brim.  Replacing these cabinets with shelving that forces minimalism and tidiness would just be unrealistic.  However, I have not let this stark reality hold me back from incorporating a least a little of that for which I pine.  I'll even admit to registering for at least a few items that, while adorable, were less than fully needed in hopes that I would one day have a venue to display them (Shhh...Don't tell Michael.  He's very utilitarian when it comes to housewares.).

Despite Michael's practicality, we registered for and received a wine refrigerator for our wedding.  Once we found a place for that in the living room (...less than aesthetically pleasing, but I'm getting used to it), we no longer needed the wine holders adorning one of our kitchen walls.  This freed up just the space I needed to add in a few shelves.

I picked up some cheap shelves and brackets from Ikea. I slapped on some of the leftover paint from my cabinet painting adventure, put them on the wall, carefully arranged some dishes and cookbooks on them, and now I am the proud owner of open kitchen shelving!  And you're right, I shouldn't be as excited as I am about it, but hey, even Michael is finding them useful.

[Disclaimer: The combination of the kitchen wall color and the over-sized fluorescent lighting makes for absolutely horrid pictures.  In fact, whenever I see pics of my kitchen, it makes me think of anything but eating.  I've tried messing with my white balance, but even that doesn't seem to help.]

BEFORE

AFTER

Groomsmen Gifts: Custom Cocktail Kits

Michael and I got a little crafty with the groomsmen gifts by making custom cocktail kits.  For the life of me, I can't seem to track down where I originally found the idea (which was on a blog, naturally), but we ended up doing two different cocktails.  One used citrus and vanilla-infused bourbon; while the other utilized bacon-infused whiskey.  The corresponding cocktail for the citrus-vanilla-infused bourbon was a Manhattan Bianco.  For the bacon-infused whiskey, we went with both an Old Fashioned and a Manhattan.

We used this tutorial for infusing the bourbon and this one for infusing the whiskey.

Once everything had infused, we funnelled all the necessary ingredients for each drink into bottles I ordered from the Sunburst Bottle Company.  We labeled them with custom tags and topped it off with fresh fruit and the relevant recipes.   So that the groomsmen would have a little something that they could keep even after the cocktails had been imbibed, we threw in monogrammed rocks glasses that I ordered from Gunther Gifts.





Wedding Keepsake Quilt - Part II (aka Total Quilt Redemption)

Finishing up the wedding keepsake quilt was a little slow-going, which, apparently, is something that my quilts can really benefit from!  After what felt like a quilting fail with my last baby quilt, I decided to be more thoughtful with this one.  In fact, I feel like I actually applied a lot of lessons learned from my previous quilting escapades.  First of all, I applied the lesson of "less can be more" by opting for white fabric to go with my wedding scraps rather than a color or (heaven forbid) another pattern.  Second, I recognized the limitations of my (and my machine's) quilting abilities, and I chose a lower loft batting (the thinnest I could find).  Third, I tried to be very careful with my quilting stitching so that my fabric didn't pucker or pull.

I used scraps to make my binding, and since I put such great pains into rounding the corners of all of my wedding stationary, I gave my quilt rounded corners, too.

It is, hands down, the best quilt I've ever made.  The corners match up and everything!  (I'm a little ashamed by how wrinkled it is in these pictures, but I like to wash my quilts when they're done.)

"We Love Nashville" Gallery Wall

If you've been able to check out our living room over on Apartment Therapy, you may have noticed that one of the walls looks a little more crowded than it used to.  We came back from the wedding with a little extra art for our walls.  In lieu of a guestbook, I designed a poster to mimic a wedding certificate so that everyone could sign it, and we would have something to hang up and enjoy everyday.  I got the inspiration for the idea from various blogs, I'm sure, and Etsy products like this, this, and this.  Naturally, I thought, "I can make that," so I turned to trusty 'ole Microsoft Word to whip something up reminiscent of my other wedding stationary.  In order to get a nice big poster, I just uploaded it to zazzle.com, and I ordered a couple of posters for $10.  Everyone signed it at the wedding, and now it has a home on our living room wall.



Since our walls were already at full capacity, this meant that some other beloved piece of artwork was displaced to make room for the poster.  In an effort to find a new home for the displaced art, I decided for a gallery wall, which I've wanted for quite some time. 

Here's what I began with:

Here's some of the inspiration I used:

Source: Apartment Therapy

Source: High-Heeled Foot in the Door

Source: Decor8

Here's my technique (thanks, Martha):



And here's my final product, which I absolutely LOVE.  Although not intentional, the wall is an ode to Nashville as it features our Hatch Show Prints and our collection of Spirit of Nashville postcards. We're okay with this, because, we love Nashville.





Another Baby Quilt

This afternoon, we went to a co-ed baby shower for some friends of ours here in DC who are pregnant.  Actually, before I get to the quilt, funny story.  On our wedding night, we hadn't done a terribly good job of planning how we'd actually get to our hotel once we left the wedding.  Actually, Michael's parents had offered to take us, but by around 11pm, it was clear that that wouldn't be happening (i.e. champagne).  My parents could drive us because they don't drink, but it was at their house so it didn't make sense for them to leave.  Thankfully, our nice (and pregnant) friends Winn and Emily offered us a ride.  On the way to Nashville, we got pulled over for speeding.  When the officer asked if Emily had been drinking, she replied with a respectful, "I don't know if you can see, but I'm really pregnant." To which Winn leaned across and asserted, "Oh, that was me!  We were at a wedding!" To which Michael leaned forward to assert, "Bride and groom in the back seat!"  All I'm saying is that if you're going to get pulled over, you can't really ask for a better situation than to be pregnant with a freshly married bride and groom in the back seat.

Anyway, pregnancy is always a good excuse for me to make a baby quilt, so that's just what I did.  I used a pattern from my Quilts, Baby book and fabrics from Jay McCarroll's Garden Friends and Woodland Wonderland collections.  For the embroidery, I mimicked some of the designs from the fabric. 

I actually think I did kind of a terrible job on the quilting part, which is such a shame.  I think I got overly-confident and rushed through.  I also think I chose a batting too plush for what I'm capable of working with.  Regardless, it's said and done, and here's the final product:

In addition to the quilt, I thought I'd give burp clothes a try.  So, using some extra fabric from the quilt, some towels we were looking to recycle, and this tutorial, that's just what I did.



Gratuitous shots of Pete helping with these projects:

Apartment Therapy Contest

Does anyone read Apartment Therapy?  Right now, they're having a "Room for Color" contest, and I entered our living room because it's colorful and, well, why not?  Anyway, they posted it, so if you do read it, you should vote for us.

VOTE HERE

Unabridged Wedding Craft Inventory

After minimal consideration, I decided to compile an inventory of all the things that I made (in part or in whole) for the wedding.  Some of these, I've already talked about. Some, I may talk more about in future posts, and others, I may never speak of again. So, without further ado...

Save the Dates

Invitations

Centerpieces / Yarn Pom-Poms / Holly Branches
Somehow, I don't think one decent picture of the centerpieces got taken, which saddens me beyond belief, because I really loved my centerpieces.  :( 
You can sort of see them here:

Signs

Sparkler Labels

Family Photo Display
I painted some of the frames, labeled the pictures, and whipped up the little letters to match the font on all my wedding stationary.  These pics also feature the fabric garland quite nicely.

Mandy/Michael Photo Display

Guest Poster
This little guy I made in word in much the same way as the save the dates, invitations, and programs.  Then I got it printed off as a poster using Zazzle.com.  Now, it has a home on our wall at home.

Fabric Garland
Lurking in the background there...

Paper Flowers

Cake Topper

Aisle Streamers
These must not have made much of an impact, because I don't think you can see them in one picture of the ceremony.  Squint and maybe you can see them?

Programs

Photo Email Cards

Bow Ties / Necktie
Love, love, love these!

Bridesmaids' Fascinators

Bridesmaids' Clutch Purses

Groomsmen's Cocktail Kits

Bridal Survival Kits

Floral Arrangements
I made the boutonnières, but everything got so hectic on the day of the wedding that I ran out of time for the bouquets.  Thankfully, my bridesmaid Rebecca's awesomely creative sister Charlotte stepped in and made the most adorable bouquets.

Veil and Hair Comb
The hair comb was just a ridiculously cheap brooch from Forever 21 with a hair comb strategically attached.



Dress Alterations
I took my ceremony dress up in the bodice and hemmed it.  I also took the straps up in my reception dress.  Additionally, I added a "modesty panel" to my mom's dress (left) and hemmed Michael's mom's dress (right).  NBD.


Garter

Napkin Wraps
No pic of this one either.  They were just scraps of fabric tied around napkins / cutlery.  A decent use of scraps, I thought.