Wow. It's been a long time since I've posted and I guess it's for a few reasons. First of all, I'm realizinig that time is quickly slipping by and my wedding will happen before I know it. So I've decided to hang up the dresses (pun totally intended) and focus on working on wedding details.
With a very small budget, I'm determined to make this DIY wedding still stunning. So I'll start posting my projects as I do them, keeping in mind that the postings will follow my attention span. Since Thanksgiving is almost here, let me use a thanksgiving dinner analogy. When I fill my plate for Thanksgiving, I like to take a bite of each thing first, tasting everything. Then I go back and work on something that I especially like. I jump around quite a bit and like to enjoy all the different tastes in no particular order. Bartek, on the other hand, is a compartmentalized eater. He will start with one thing and eat it completely before even trying the next. In fact, he also will ALWAYS save the sweet things (fruit, jello, etc..) for the last. Me on the other hand, the first thing to go is the sweet :)
So my friends, that is how my planning will be going. I jump from project to project as I feel inspired...often leaving things undone until I feel inspired by it again. Now, it will all get done, but it will get done when it's meant to get done!
Enough blabber, this is my project for today. I have been collecting jars over the past several months so I can use them as vases for flowers and my top secret table centerpieces that I'm thrilled about. I wanted everything to be colorful, but also have a cohesive feel since they're all different shapes and sizes of jars. So I decided to try my hand at making faux milk glass jars. It was quite simple, actually.
First step: I collect my assortment of random jars, pull labels off and clean them inside and out. If I can get rubbing alcohol on the inside, I clean it with that as well. Make sure it is completely dry before doing anything with it.
Next, I prepared my paint. I bought these paints from Michaels. It is called Gloss Enamel and is meant for wood or glass. I wanted the paint to be a little thinner so I used a little water to thin the paint a little.
I poured the paint inside the jar and swirled it around the jar slowly until the entire inside was coated with paint. If I added too much water, it would be a little see-through so I'd have to thicken it a little with more paint.
I poured the excess paint back out into my original paint cup and wiped the lip of the jar to keep it looking nice. There should be no paint on the outside of the jar. After letting it dry for a bit, I needed to do a second coat for some of them.
Here is the almost finished product. I like the look of these so much better than if they were spraypainted on the outside. Because the paint is on the inside it gives it a high gloss look. So what I'll do next is let them dry for 48 hours, then I actually bake them to set the paint. You put them in the oven and then let it heat to 325 and bake it for 30 minutes. This should then make it so the paint won't come off when you put water inside. Keep in mind that these are not safe to put food in! I plan on finding a cute yellow ribbon to put around each one as well.
My colors are not red, white, and blue. In fact, I don't plan on having any "colors." My colors are going to be anything bright, cheery and springy. I want my wedding to have a vintage feel to it with a lot of color and vibrance. I just think that red, white, and blue are colors that complement most other colors.
So FYI, here is the place we're going to get married. Quite excited, it's on 75 acres with a spectacular view of
Mt. Si
2. I cut the catalog pages into 10" squares (this is as big as I'll go... I actually prefer a 6-8" square) and used a thin metal rod to roll them diagonally. I had to make sure it was a tight roll, then I taped it at the end. 
3. Once I had at least 100 straws, I sewed them snugly together on the sewinig machine about 2" from the end, ending up with a long string of straws sewn together. 
4. I took embroidery floss and used it to attach the staws to the smaller wreath base. 
5. Once this was done, I carefully flipped it over and used hot glue to attach the larger wreath base to the straws. 
6. After gluing, I used more floss to attach the outer ring to the wreath. Voila!
