DIY: Anthropologie-Inspired Garland

It doesn't take a ding-dong to know that I love garland. I've done so many different kinds for parties, that I feel it's hard to come up with new/original ideas. Thanks to my friend Jody, we designed a whole new fantastic garland for the recent Anthropologie-inspired bridal shower I decorated for. Using twine, cardstock, vellum and LOTS of ribbon and lace (and time!), we created two super shabby-chic garlands.

Paper Garland

Found this fabulous shabby-inspired cardstock book at Michaels for 50% off

I used my both my 2 5/16 round punch, and my scalloped 1.5" for a variety of size

After we layered and double-hole-punched them all, my friend, Jody came up with the brilliant idea to cut in by each scallop, in order to give the paper a more "frilly look"

We decided to bend the pieces out to enhance the whole mood of shabby-chic-vintage-etc.

The final garland...

In the pattern we had created, I tied a small strip of lace onto each of the doubled-cream pieces... So cute!

Ribbon Garland

I found lots of fantastic ribbon and lace at Michaels, A.C. Moore, Hobby Lobby and Hancock Fabrics

Inspired by a DIY I found at The Sweetest Occasion

SO EASY! Braided and knotted yarn, braided lace, braided ribbon and single strands of ribbon

Perfect for a small space or above a doorway!

xo

A Bridal Shower Inspired by Anthropologie

Hi loves! Happy to say, I have survived another party! This time, it was a bridal shower for my friend, Michelle's sister. Michelle hired me to "do the decor", which was my second official party without it being on my budget (my first was the Pig Birthday Party I decorated for my friend, Theresa). Michelle's sister's style/wedding colors included seafoam green and navy blue, with a vintage twist. It was super fun to create the decor for this one, as I pulled most of my inspiration from Anthropologie. Once again, I could NOT have pulled all the creations together without the help from my dear friend/partner in crime, Jody. Seriously. It was tiring to stay up a couple nights until 3am working and innovating, but oh-so entertaining and oh-so worth it!

I definitely wanted to push the bar this time, on coming up with new and original ideas and I was pretty happy with how everything turned out! Think, shabby meets vintage meets Anthropologie. Unfortunately, the only photos I have, are those before the shower (minus the food), after setup was finished. Enjoy!

As I always, I decided to make a paper garland. I fell in love with some fabulous shabby-chic paper and planned to use my circle punches somehow. It was like hitting the jackpot, when Jody suggested cutting the circles after they'd been punched, where we ran with the idea of layering the circles to give them a frilly look once punched. I incorporated little bits of lace and vellum for some added texture {Check out my Anthropologie-Inspired Garland DIY here!}

During the planning process, I about died when I found a post on how to make a felt garland at The Sweetest Occasion. I used the post as inspiration, as I created a similar garland - with yarn, minus the felt. I found tons of amazing ribbon and lace at Hobby Lobby, A.C. Moore, Michaels and Hancock Fabrics.

What says "Anthropologie" more than ruffled poms?? I really wanted to create the cupcake liner pomanders again (like we did for the Rock Star Party), but decided to double the liners, and pack them tight. We hung these above the bride-to-be's chair and above the food table in the Dining Room. I decided to create some tulle poms as well, in cream/white/navy. I love the idea of mixing textures! They turned out really cute. {Check out the Cupcake Liner Pomander DIY I posted a couple weeks ago, or the DIY I found at Kara's Party Ideas}

For the table, I really wanted to use white porcelain and milk glass. I practically screamed in an aisle at Michaels when I found these birds and mauve vases. You should've seen my face when I saw they were all 50% off. Gah!! The white owl (thrift store find) was borrowed from a friend, and I (with Jody) decorated each of the candle holders and vases with lace, twine, ribbon and paper.

We brought some more baby's breathe into the kitchen with some vases, candles and crepe paper flowers I made.

While at Michaels, I came across the cutest little birdcage (also 50% off!), but it was covered in gaudy vines and very plastic flowers. I spent some time trying to think of how to use it for the shower, while complimenting all the birds I found for the table. I decided to use it as a base for wishes/notes of advice for the bride-to-be. After I got it home, I ripped the nasty vines off. I cut the branches off trees we found in my complex and I secured them to the cage with pieces of lace. For the notes, I freehanded a bird and used matching paper from the garland.

xo

Ink, Celebrations and a Huge Birthday Surprise

This year, Justin and I celebrated our birthdays (which are 5 days apart) with extremely memorable gifts! For years, Justin has been talking about wanting to get a couple tattoos. He talked about finally getting one this Spring for his birthday, so we made it happen. After plenty of research and planning, we made a little trip up to Ace of Spades in Asheville, NC. We ended up spending the entire day in Asheville, since they don't do over-the-phone appointment reservations. We met with a guy (who I keep saying looked just like a scary, 'white supremacist' dude), and discussed what Justin wanted. The guy was definitely intimidating.. He was bald with tats all over his head.. He wasn't very friendly, or the jokester-type, and one of his eyes were permanently half shut. Buh. I wanted to ask him for a little zap-dot of tattoo, just to say "I got one!", but I was to scared to ask him. I was proud of my hubs, though. I know it had to hurt. It was cool to watch the whole thing, especially since Supremacy Man had his headphones in the entire time, relieving us from any forced, awkward conversation. 

For over a month, I planned a huge birthday party for Justin with a beach-inspired theme. I had never really thrown him a party before, other than a mini-surprise thing I did a couple years ago (lame!). With lots of help, I planned a pretty fun night, surrounded by good music, yummy food, his brothers and all of our closest friends. If you missed the post, you can view it here! We spent Justin's actual birthday-day driving to West Palm Beach and making a spontaneous detour in Folly Beach! Check out our road trip adventures here!

I really had no clue what Justin was planning for my birthday this year. We had just returned from West Palm Beach the day before, so I expected it to be pretty low key. I knew he was throwing me a little party. I had no clue what kind of party, but he had been spending lots of time in our guest room with the door closed, warning me that I couldn't go in there! I was really curious, because if you know my husband at all, you know that he's extremely good at paying attention to detail and will go out of his way to pull off an amazing surprise. 

On my birthday-day, he came home with sunset orange roses. Augh. I love roses. I know they're pretty common, but I have always loved them!

Like I expected, we had a really low-key night. We decided to have dinner downtown, at Trio. I've only been there a few times, but every time I've gone, I've loved it. Dinner was fantastic.. It was the perfect evening.. laughing and being silly, delish food and sweet champagne.

Well guess what my birthday present was from him? I new little puppy! I just about died when he told me he had done some research and saving, so that we could finally get a little girl Yorkie! It was such exciting news, especially since we've been wanting a little friend/sister/possible wife for Romeo. We made plans to pick her out later that week. She's an absolute dollface and we named her Coco Chanel. Ahh! I'm overjoyed.. 

Not only did we have the excitement of a new pup, but Justin's party for me was the following weekend after my birthday! I spent the entire day hosting a baby shower for my friend Tiffany, so I was beyond preoccupied with making sure the shower went as planned, setting up, taking it all down.. Whew! After the shower, I came home to a clean apartment, totally decorated in the most beautiful greens, aquas and blues.. a total spring-inspired birthday party. Perfection. No joke, it took my breathe away! More posts to come, so stay tuned! 

Such a memorable year already, and it's only April! 

xo