A Day at the Vineyard
Posted: March 30, 2012 Filed under: Updates | Tags: groupon, ring, travel, trips, vineyard, vineyards, wine, wine tasting 4 Comments »Last week I bought a Groupon for Gregory Vineyards in Angier, NC. I had never heard of it, but the Groupon was for a tour, wine tasting, souvenir wine glasses, a bottle of wine, a cheese and cracker picnic pack, and a paddle boat rental for two hours. It was only $29 for the two of us, so we decided to go for it yesterday. I was having visions of my ring falling off into the lake, so we stopped by a jewelry store near the vineyard to see if they had any of those little rubber ring sizers. Instead, the guy told me he could resize it for $25. It seems I have obnoxiously large knuckles, so he sized to down to a 4.75 instead of 4 so that I can actually get it off. We left it with him and went on to the vineyard.
Gregory Vineyards
The vineyard is very new; they’ve only been operating for about a year now. Read the rest of this entry »
I Got My Ring Today!
Posted: March 28, 2012 Filed under: Updates | Tags: doctor who, engagement ring, geeky, rings, tardis, wedding, wedding band, wedding rings 7 Comments »For those of you who don’t know, John proposed to me (in French) with a beautiful, antique, silver and turquoise ring. He knew I’d like it, because I’d pointed it out at an antique store we went to few months earlier. Did I mention that my fiance has an amazing memory? It wasn’t expensive, but it was what he could afford at the time. He called it a “space saver” until we found a more wedding-y ring that was affordable.
The ring he proposed with
After a lot of searching we found the perfect ring! It’s beautiful, exactly what I wanted, and affordable. We got it from Cavalier Creations on Etsy. It has a blue sapphire in the center with white sapphires on either side. They’re all lab-created stones, of course, but I don’t care. They look quite real enough for me and didn’t cost the $1,000+ that getting real stones of that size and clarity would have cost. It came today and I couldn’t be happier! The only problem is that the ring is slightly loose. I ordered it in a size 5.5, but I guess I should have gone down a quarter of a size. I’m not sure what I’m going to do about it now. I don’t think it’s going to fall off, but it’s quite loose.
My new ring!
A close-up from Cavalier Creations' shop
I’m going to continue to wear the silver and turquoise ring, but on my middle finger. That’s the finger it fits on anyway – it would have cost over $100 to get it resized (I’ve been using a ring sizer to keep it on my ring finger).
We found our wedding bands on Etsy too, but we haven’t ordered them yet. We’re hoping to sell my mom’s old wedding set to pay for them. We’re getting them from Rob & Lean who make a lot of really cool titanium rings. We’re getting their titanium and blue box elder wood inlaid set, which John says is going to be like wearing a chunk of the TARDIS on our fingers. We’re going to have them engraved with “Allons-y!” Yes, we really are that geeky.
They're like awesome TARDIS rings
Can I Please Change My Wedding Venue?
Posted: March 27, 2012 Filed under: Updates | Tags: dinosaurs, history, museum, museum of natural sciences, venues, wedding, wedding venues 1 Comment »Okay, so I don’t really want to change my wedding venue. We love the farm and are extremely grateful to have such an awesome venue for free. However, John and I went to the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences on Sunday.
John with his eyes closed in terror because of the pteranodons...or maybe the vertigo
We were checking out the Acrocanthosaurus and saying how cool it would be to get married there.
It turns out, you can!
Dancing with the Dinos
It’s not that expensive either (in the world of wedding venues). You can reserve different parts of the museum or rent out the whole thing (only at night of course). This is the part you can reserve with the dinosaurs.
It’s only $1,200 to get married in a musuem…with dinosaurs! You can even use their tables and chairs for free. Considering that before my aunt and uncle offered to let me use the farm I was getting quotes back from a lot of venues that ranged from $2,500 to $5,450 for six hour not including rentals, that’s pretty damn good. Especially since those venues, while pretty, were sadly lacking dinosaurs.
How cool would this be?
We really have no intention of changing our venue, and let’s face it, we couldn’t afford it anyway, but I wanted to share in case any other dino-nerds with more money want to get married there.
After wandering around the Museum of Natural Science for a while (and me running through the anthropod zoo trying to avoid looking at the centipedes and millipedes – they really freak me out), we went next door to the NC Museum of History. You can also rent the Museum of History for weddings, but it’s not something that screams awesome wedding to me.
Though it might be worth it have this in your wedding album
Of course, like all history museums there were a number of pretty depressing exhibits, though they were pretty interesting too. They have an exhibit right now with photographs of child laborers in NC from 1908-1918. In the permanent exhibit, they obviously had displays about slavery, Jim Crow laws, and other awful things from our state’s past. They also had what must be the most horrifically terrifying KKK mask of all time.
Demonic Clown Mask
Yes, apparently klan members haven’t always been content to dress up like crappy Halloween ghosts. Some of them used to dress up like demonic clowns. As though anyone needed another reason to hate the KKK. Or clowns.
Despite that terrifying visage, it was a really fun day at the museums, and luckily I avoided having centipede or clown infested nightmares that night.
DIY Record Desktop Organizer Tutorial
Posted: March 26, 2012 Filed under: DIY | Tags: crafting, crafts, diy, diy organizer, organizer, record, records, tutorial, upcycling Leave a comment »
Everyone needs one
Have you been waiting in mute anticipation to find out more about this cool upcycled vinyl desktop organizer? Well, if you didn’t immediately go to my Etsy shop and buy it, then I assume you want to make your own. This project is a bit more involved than the record bowls I showed you how to make last week. Read the rest of this entry »
Birdcage Veil with Record Fascinator and Etsy Success
Posted: March 24, 2012 Filed under: DIY, Updates | Tags: birdcage, birdcage veil, bridal veil, crafts, daleks, doctor who, etsy, headpiece, k-9, records, upcycled records, vinyl, wedding, wedding headpiece, wedding veil Leave a comment »First of all – yay Etsy! I put my Dalek cake toppers up last night and so far today I’ve had 280 views on my shop! No sales yet, but at least people are looking. And come on, they are pretty awesome.
I put my awesome record fascinator with a birdcage veil on Etsy as a custom order. I’m not selling that particular one, but I’ll make one like it to someone’s specifications (whatever color veil they want/different types of flowers, etc.). I stopped by Carmine’s this afternoon and made John take some pictures of me in the veil that were halfway decent.
I love this!
I used also made a red one that I put on Etsy as well.
Now available in red
John thinks that we should go to Surplus Sid’s and get matching top hats for the wedding, and I should just add a veil to the top hat. I kind of like that idea too, honestly. And speaking of Surplus Sid’s, if you’re in the market for a homemade K-9 made from what appears to be part of a popcorn maker and the top of a litter box for $17, stop by Sid’s in Carrboro.
.K-9 looks so sad - give him a home!
We also found a Dalek Sec hybrid mask. I have no idea how much that is, because it was up high and I already felt like I’d bothered the woman working there enough.
What are you doing for Halloween this year?
I’m on a bit of an upcycled vinyl kick recently, so I’m going to attempt to make a record purse sometime soon. I got the handles for it today, but I need John to fix my sewing machine so I can make a lining for it. I also have a design in mind for a TARDIS apron that I want to try once I start sewing again. I have a new DIY tutorial for my record desktop organizer that I’m going to post on Monday, so be on the lookout for that.
I was about to go yell at the cats for scratching on something, then I realized that sound was actually hail hitting the window! I guess they weren’t kidding about the tornado warning / severe thunderstorm watch. I guess this is a good stopping point for this somewhat disjointed post.
Dalek Cake Toppers & A TARDIS Candle Holder
Posted: March 23, 2012 Filed under: DIY, Updates | Tags: birdcage veil, daleks, diy, doctor who, etsy, fascinator, tardis, wedding, wedding diy, wedding headpiece 1 Comment »So many projects, so little time. It’s been another busy day for me. I went to Walmart, Michael’s, and the Habitat Restore to pick up some more supplies. Then I got down to the crafting.
I finished my Dalek cake toppers and listed them on Etsy. I think they’re pretty adorkable. I started painting another bride Dalek with a metallic white paint too, though it seems to be coming out more silver. I was thinking about getting some small wires and making a tiny paper flower bouquet for her instead of the single, large (compared to her) ribbon flower. If I stick with the ribbon flowers, perhaps I shouldn’t put the leaves on there though. What do you think?
Exterminate the cake!
For our wedding, we have larger Daleks, but we probably aren’t going to paint them. Of course, they’re 5″ tall and might not fit on the cake. We’ll see. Read the rest of this entry »
DIY Record Bowls
Posted: March 22, 2012 Filed under: DIY | Tags: crafts, decorations, diy, diy record bowl, diy vinyl, handmade, record bowl, records, up-cycle, upcycle, wedding decorations 4 Comments »
Have some useless vinyl you don’t want anymore? Want a cool-looking bowl instead? Here’s how to turn your trash records into neat home decor. Be warned – this probably isn’t the healthiest project. Melting vinyl can give off toxic fumes, so make sure your kitchen is well ventilated and don’t do this if you have children around. Read the rest of this entry »
I’ve Been a Busy Girl Tonight
Posted: March 21, 2012 Filed under: Updates | Tags: diy, progress, record, update 4 Comments »Perfect for keeping letters sorted
Since getting home from class at 4:30, I’ve gotten a lot accomplished. I went to Walmart to get some crafting supplies, photographed all of my Etsy items on a white background and edited them in Photoshop, put the first coat of paint on my bathroom door (there was a hair dye incident), started on some Dalek cake toppers, and made an upcycled record desktop organizer.
What every desk needs
Why Customer Service is Important, Especially in the Wedding Industry
Posted: March 21, 2012 Filed under: Rants | Tags: bad customer service, customer service, rant, shopping, wedding, wedding dress, wedding gown 1 Comment »The Bitchy Bride just wrote a post on bad bridal service. I started commenting on it but I realized very quickly that my comment was turning into a post. You see, I care a lot about customer service. If there is one thing that will make or break a business for me, it’s their customer service. I don’t mind if you mess up every now and then, as long as you’re apologetic and do your best to correct the problem. The thing that some people working in retail and food service don’t understand is that even if whatever happened wasn’t your fault personally, you represent the business you work for. I don’t want to hear about how it was really the kitchen’s fault or the day manager’s fault; I just want a sincere apology and an attempt to right whatever was wrong.
I’m not saying that the customer is always right. Sometimes the customer is very wrong. Read the rest of this entry »
DIY Paper Flowers with Sheet Music
Posted: March 20, 2012 Filed under: DIY | Tags: bouquet, crafts, diy, diy flowers, diy tutorial, paper flowers, sheet music, sheet music flowers, tutorial, wedding 14 Comments »
A sheet music flower with two ribbon flowers
I’m making my own bouquet (and bouquets for my bridesmaids) with the ribbon flowers I showed you how to make last week and these sheet music paper flowers. Making these isn’t as easy as the ribbon flowers, but they aren’t too hard once you get the technique down. You can use any kind of paper you’d like with these – book pages and spiffy colored papers also work well. Since I’m making so many of them for the wedding, I usually do them in batches of eight or so and leaving off the stems for easier storage. A note of warning for all cat owners – these apparently make excellent cats toys, so keep them in a kitty-free zone.
What You Need
- Sheet Music – thrift stores are a good place to go for cheap, useless sheet music (I feel bad cutting up anything I like). I found some mine at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore. If you don’t want to buy any, you can also just print some free sheet music from online.
- Hot glue gun
- Measuring tape/stick unless you’re good at judging distances
- A small stick of some sort – I used a Q-tip with the ends cut off
- Pipe cleaners
- Floral tape
