DIY: Flameless candles

Do you remember my mercury glass pillar candle holders? Well, it only makes sense to have pillar candles to go with them. Only one problem, no open flame is allowed at Waldenwoods. Boo. After considering our options, we decided flameless candles might be a good option, but they are so darn expensive. My mom and I found ivory flameless candles at Sam's Club for a killer price. Ivory isn't one of our colors, so I tried to paint them. Just so you know, neither frost paint or white paint work well. It ends up just looking like a pillar candle painted white. In other words, it looked stupid. Plus, the flamess candles glowed fake orange. Double bummer. I studied the construction of the flameless candle and convinced myself that I could make one for cheap. It was a success!


Supplies:

white pillar candles about 3 inches wide - Michaels (USE YOUR COUPONS!)
Electric drill
1 or 1 1/2 inch spade drill bit
SOFT white LEDs - like these
Lithium CR2032 batteries - like these
Toothpicks
tape


We drilled a hole using a spade drill bit into each pillar candle from the top. We have pillar candles about 6 inches tall and we drilled about halfway down. We tried both the 1 inch and 1 1/2 inch and we liked the 1 1/2 inch better.

Put two of the soft white LEDs so that the pins straddle the lithium battery. Tape the LED pins and a the tip of a toothpick to the battery so everything stays together, like so:

Put your LED into the hole of the candle and push the toothpick into the wax so the LEDs stays upright. DONE.

Full light:

Medium Light:

Dark:

The only bad thing is that you can't easily turn them on and off, so I will have to assemble them the morning of the wedding. Not bad for a cheap DIY project!

Saving for a (hopefully) sunny day.

I have been thinking a lot lately about money and how finances work in relationships. Obviously, no financial plan is the right one, per se,  and, what works largely depends on the couple… and even if a financial plan works, it is never without its faults. Love is a powerful card, but when you aren’t on the same page with your goals, money issues can trump all.  

It was a choice by both of us to save money for this wedding. We want certain things for our wedding and we believe those things are, for the most part, our responsibility. As I said before early when I started blogging about this experience, I was shocked about how much weddings cost. A wedding definitely doesn’t have to cost very much. I am so happy for couples that have found a way to keep their wedding under $5000! Click here for a good example! I wish I had found a way to have everything we wanted for that price, but that was not going to happen. And, we are having a big wedding because this is one of those things in life worth celebrating.

I have now seen what the cost is of each part of our wedding day. I have worked very hard to find the best price for everything. And, I have (sort of) accepted that this is what a stack of paper costs….this is what food costs…this is what a person’s time is worth... this is what MY time and peace of mind is worth. What I am trying to say is if something truly does cost X and you really want that something, then you have to pay X to have it for your wedding. Knowing all of this and knowing that I don’t have to have it for my wedding, I don’t feel like I can complain about the cost of a wedding anymore.

To have the things we want, we have been saving our butts off.  It has been sort of difficult to limit our social lives in this way for so long. Coupons have helped. JI just found out that if you go to Target.com that you can print out so many coupons for just about everything to take with you to the store. I. love. Target. (Almost as much as I love Michaels.)

I truly believe saving for our wedding has brought us closer together as well. We are definitely on the same page. We agreed on a savings goal and we talk about how we are doing at meeting that goal at least once a month. We both want to be good savers even after the wedding. It is very comforting to know that I have a partner who cares as much about making sure we save for what we want and that we are financially secure. Wes is going crazy right now worrying about getting a job. (PLEASE New Jersey, give him a job!) We also both want balance in our lives. We said way back in 2010 that we didn’t want saving for the wedding to result in us having no life at all. I think we have done well with that.  The most significant thing is that I am so proud of us for saving as much as we have. We have worked and will continue to work hard. I am very confident that each time we set a goal that we will both work equally to meet it.

We have considered the difficult question of whether our relationship can withstand life’s tests (illness, children that take after their mother haha, our own insecurities, other unforeseeable events). What I know for sure is that we can and want to work together through everything. For that reason, whenever I wonder about those difficult questions, I feel confident that we have something great and that will continue to be great as long as we put in the effort.

When to say "I don't" to DIY

I love a good DIY project, but not when it looks cheap. I truly believe it is my life mission of mine to make my clothes, jewelry, house décor, wedding décor, etc look expensive but in a super cost effective way. However, there’s a balance. If something is going to be cheap but look cheap then I don’t want it. I spend a lot of time researching everything I buy because I want to make sure I am spending my money wisely. I am not opposed to spending more when it means I am getting a higher quality item, but sometimes it is not worth it! And, most the time, I can find or make something that does the same thing but for cheaper. I mean, seriously, I can’t imagine spending more than $20 for mascara. Dior mascara users – I’m talking to you! Okay, I’ll admit I have been eyeing the Dior Iconic mascara for myself, but I would feel so guilty spending that much for mascara. I guess I would spend that much if someone promised me that it wasn’t made by small children in a third world country and that the packaging was biodegradable…

Getting back on track, let’s talk mercury glass. Oh, that beautiful mercury glass. Real mercury glass is super expensive. It was very popular to have mercury glass in the early 20^th century because it looked like silver but was cheaper. Over years, the faux silver finish in mercury glass flecks away leaving that beautiful old vintage appearance. These vintage pieces come with a vintage price tag. There are processes that mimic this effect, but even fake mercury glass is expensive. Call me crazy, but I am not spending $3.20 plus tax and shipping for each FAUX mercury votive. This was the cheapest I could find online.

Luna Bazaar

So, DIY it, right? There are so many tutorials online on how to make your own mercury glass. Here’s the best one tutorial that I have found from Take the Side Street blog.

Here’s my tips:
I tried spraying vinegar on the glass first before you spray the paint. That just makes the paint run. Spray the vinegar after you paint the inside.

Rub away the paint unevenly to mimic the real thing.

Make sure you have lots of time. I tried it once and here’s what it looked like:

Blah. It looks okay, but when you put a candle in it, it looks cheap. Remember, I hate cheap looking things. I think if I spent a little more time painting it and only used the vinegar after, I am sure could get it to look really good. However, I am sort of impatient and I want 54 votives so I found that this project was too time consuming for just an okay result. Plus, the spray paint isn’t super cheap. For reference, I found mine on Amazon for around $11 for a little can.

I was this close to abandoning my mercury glass wedding fantasy until I found mercury glass votives at Michaels. Sound familiar? Yep, I got all my other candles at Michaels, too! So, I strutted my bad thrifty self into Michaels with my 40% coupons and walked out with my mercury votives (over the course of several weeks). Best part was that with the coupon they were about $.85 for each mercury glass votive. They come in packs of six. I’ll get some votive candles through quickcandle.com to put inside. Behold, inexpensive pretty mercury glass!

DIY next to the Michaels one.

I also bought these tall mercury glass pillar candle holders, too.

Love 'em. Bonus? I get to sell these afterwards and get my money back. I like the thought of re-using wedding stuff and it makes me happy that another bride will get her mercury glass fantasy wedding, too.

LET THERE BE LIGHT

Something I want at our wedding is lots of candlelight. You can’t deny that it looks pretty. And, you can’t deny that everyone looks and feels a little more gorgeous in the warm wash of loveliness.

Photo from Kristen Taylor's blog.

Therefore, it was a must to get lots and lots of votive candles.

It you are a bride with very little extra time or interest, I have a few recommendations for you. Quickcandles.com and dlightonline.com! Super cheap bulk votive candles with both the glass and candle included. They were the cheapest prices I could find and please take my word for it: I did a lot of candle research.

My only problem with these candles is that the wax is not poured into the glass. I know, stupid details to most people, but I love the look of poured candles. (See picture above.) I thought very seriously about pouring my own candles. This blog post shows off how if you DIY, then you can pour the wax into any container you want.

From the blog: Mission: Wedding

Much prettier than just sticking a votive in a jar. And, it is certainly cost effective, but time consuming. I have no problem devoting time to wedding stuff, but I am a girl with a job and a part time job, so I pick my wedding battles. My challenge, then, was how to buy poured candles for a cheap price. I never thought this would be possible, but it was just as cheap to buy poured candles from Michaels as it was to buy those bulk candles online… with one caveat:

http://www.retailmenot.com/

Can we just a have moment of silence for this awesome piece of awesomeness? *pregnant pause* Seriously, if I ever catch any of you walking into a Michaels without one of these babies in your hands, I am going to hunt you down.

I couldn’t buy all the candles at once, though, because of the “one coupon per person per day” rule. So, these past months became known as “the great candle heist of 2011” in our household, and unfortunately it has extended into 2012. Every week, I (and sometimes Wes) take our 40% or 50% coupons to Michaels and buy candles.

A 12-pack of white votive candles = $7.99+tax… with 50% coupon it is $4.27 (NJ tax included). That’s $0.36 per candle, and there’s no shipping costs meaning I spent around $30 for 72 candles. BAM.

I seriously felt like I was stealing because it was such a good deal. I mean, it by no means trumps my mom who is the queen of finding deals. I beared witness to her once walking out of Old Navy with 3 blouses and 2 totes for the bargain price of $0.00. No joke.

Anywho, if you have the time and a desire for poured votive candles… go to Michaels. With a coupon. Happy couponing!

Holy nails, Batman!

I have a really really really bad habit. I bite my nails. Ew. I know. Very gross.

I hate that it has been something that I do for as long as I can remember. I have tried to quit oh so many times. Every year I make it my new year resolution to quit for once and all. I usually make it a few months and then something stressful happens and once again I have ugly nubbins. I. Have. Tried. Everything. To. Quit. I remember a long time ago saying that I would have to quit biting before I get married.

Well folks, that time is obviously just um, 5 months away. And, I’m happy to tell you that I quit biting my nails September 2010 and haven’t done it since. I looked down at my hands the other day and literally said “Holy nails, Batman! My hands look GOOD.” (Do any of you still use this phrase? Just me? Ok... I'm a loser.)

Before:

After:

Trying out some new polish.

It makes me so happy that I will have real nails for my wedding day. I can’t explain how proud I am of myself. It used to make me feel so bad when I realize that I just had gnawed all my nails off. It was a personal struggle that I overcame and I will get to show off pretty nails in June. When we got engaged I had fake nail put on because I didn’t want people to look at my engagement ring and then gag when they saw my nails. But, that thinned out my real nails badly after a few months of getting them and what I truly wanted was REAL nails. Want to know what finally worked? This:

Got mine at Amazon.

This stuff is awesome. My problem with relapse is that my nails are soft and get breaks on the sides so that they crack horizontally. Aftertime, breaks in my nails caused me to start biting again. Nailtiques has prevented that from happening for the most part. I just had my thumb nail crack, but that is because I wasn’t using the stuff as often and I was being lazy about conditioning my nails. I do have to say that I don’t love that this stuff isn’t formadehyde free. Most nail polish isn’t and I commend brands like Sally Hansen and Essie for making their products without the really toxic preservative. But, like I said, this stuff works. Beggars can’t be choosers. Best part of it is that it dries in literally 30 seconds. So. Easy. Just brush it on and go. You can put color over it. I also usually rub cuticle oil on my nails at night so they don’t get brittle. If you know a bride or anyone for that matter who has nail issues, please tell them to try this!!!

So, this year I was able to make different new year resolutions which were to be more patient (I love you Wes) and to be the healthiest person I can be this year (aka: less microwavable macaroni and cheese, more Jazzercise). I want to feel really good about my health when we decide to try and start a family. I finally cut soda mostly out my diet by drinking fizzy water. I can thank Finland for that. What are your new year resolutions?

So long inspiration station.

So. We are not having a purple, gray, navy, orchid wedding. When we changed our venue to Waldenwoods, I realized that something about that theme just was not clicking with me. I wanted something fun, relaxed with a touch of sophistication. Wes and I are not “blingy” people. (Yep, I just made that word up.)  As beautiful as jewels dripping off of flowers are, I would just feel out of place as a bride at that wedding. And that is exactly how Meadowbrook made me feel: out of place. I love really fancy affairs, but I know that for some, they can be uncomfortable and I didn’t want anyone at our wedding to feel that way. Even if we had unlimited funds, I would still want my wedding to be more laid back than glam. We really don’t love modern looks. Well, I love a modern look done in the right way, but Wes really hates modern looking stuff. I know... surprise, surprise - Mr. Traditional hates modern. :) We definately love more natural looking things. Unfortunately, orchids have a way of turning a wedding into a modern affair. I really didn’t want that. I want our wedding to reflect us. I know that our wedding is not going to be everyone’s ideal wedding, but I hope that everyone appreciates that all the things we are doing, were chosen because it reflected us.

Instead, we are having a purple and gray shabby chic wedding with both relaxed and fancy touches.

Urban dictionary definition of "shabby chic": Something (maybe someone, i.e., Joan Collins) that's rather worn out/tattered yet has a touch of understated class.

It is probably THE most popular wedding theme right now in weddingland, but I don’t care. I love this theme. Think, mason jar meets mercury glass. Still don’t get it? Well it just so turns out that I have made you an inspiration board!

Unfortunately, I cannot remember where I got any of these photos... please don't sue me.

Oh yeah. I love everything about this inspiration board. Especially the chalkboards! Can I just say that chalkboard paint is awesome?! 

What does your ideal wedding look like? The inspiration point of my wedding planning in coming to a close. Now it is do or die time. I have already had one DIY project die on me! But, Kristen, our cousin in Miami, is just now pulling into inspiration station.  I am so excited for her because it was definitely my favorite part of this ride. Congrats to Kristen and Mike on their engagement!!!

The wedding that wasn't

If you remember from this blog post, Wes and I thought for a few months that we would be getting married at Meadow Brook. So, I started designing the wedding “look” with Meadow Brook in mind. Meadow Brook holds receptions in a big white tent and is generally a fancy place that can be dressed up or down. The big white tent is very very white, so, in my opinion, it needed some color in there. Call me crazy, but I just didn’t want my wedding to feel like we were in the middle of cloud. So, I ruled out having white linens. Sadly, this ruined my initial imagery of white long tables.

Long white tables

Love, love, love, love love, love (voice inflection goes up and down). However, that’s too much white in a white tent. So, I was thinking navy fabric on the standard round tables included in the wedding package. Round tables don't give the same family table feel that I love, but hey, I don't argue when things are free. And, navy table linens would have meant that the bridesmaid and mom dresses wouldn’t blend into the décor. We want those important people to stand out!

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I was also thinking lots of candles.

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Maybe silver chiavari chairs.

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A mix of purple flowers held in silver vases with orchids tucked here and there.

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Oh yes. At one point the wedding was designed around orchids! I was under the weird impression 4 months after getting engaged that a wedding needed an obvious theme. I thought long and hard about what sort of theme would fit into Meadow Brook and its fabulousness.

Birds? Cute, but not really us.

Maps? We have no money to travel, so certainly not us.

Then, my mom suggested orchids! Well, yes, of course! Wes and I love orchids! We grow them. We read a book together early in our relationship about Florida and orchid hunting, The Orchid Thief  by Susan Orlean. We bonded over this book because we found Susan’s search for life’s perfection moving and strangely close to home. Specifically, the book is about ghost orchids.

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This beauty is a protected species in the Everglades so obviously we couldn’t actually have them in our wedding, but certainly it could go on our paper materials!  So 4 months into our engagement, a purple/gray/navy orchid wedding was being planned. But, would that theme work? Well, no, as you can tell from the title of the post. A venue change to the much much better Waldenwoods changed a lot about how we wanted our wedding to “feel”. Yes, weddings have feelings. Fancy, glamorous, romantic, ordinary, warm, modern, stuffy, crazy, relaxed, fun. You know! Feelings! And two, I just couldn’t make the ghost orchid work on my own and I am determined to make the invitations myself.

Did anyone else change their wedding’s entire concept? Or is it just me because I’ve had SUCH A LONG ENGAGEMENT! Can we get married already!?!