If you aren’t having a traditional ceremony, like where everyone walks down the aisle, but certain guests will still have special roles, like making a speech or the parents of the couple, what do you do? Typically the men wear boutonnieres and the ladies in the wedding party carry bouquets but why not have a “unisex” boutonniere that everyone with a part in the wedding can wear? Like the herbal boutonnieres that are pictured above.

You could even have theme drinks based on the wedding parties herbs, like mojitos. Or and this may be a bit much, but you could give each “wedding party” member a starter plant that matches their boutonniere or a recipe that includes the vegetable from the plant and the dried herb they are wearing. Very personalized and pretty practical. Go here for the diy plant favors and here for the diy wedding boutonnieres.

print by Ein Bier, bitter

Some of you may already know this, but I’ve decided to leave Chicago and move back to Wisconsin for the summer and hopefully put down roots in Minneapolis this Fall. And today, even though my workplace knew about it, I put in my letter of resignation, so I thought I’d let you all know, too. If you’re wondering what I plan to do when I pack up and leave mid-July and settle into my parents’ house in Eau Claire… I have no idea. I’ll be working on my friend’s wedding till the first weekend of August, hanging out with all of my family and friends, making a lot of ice cream, teaching yoga and knitting somewhere around town and hopefully knitting a few commissioned pieces. I’m super sad to be leaving all of my Chicago friends who have become my family, but I am really excited for the next chapter in my life. Thank you for all your (hopefully) positive energy!

I haven’t decided what I’ll make my mother for Mother’s day but I’ve done a little searching for ideas and found a few great how-to post for crafts to make mom for mother’s day, check out The Best of The Purl Bee Mother’s Day Projects, Crocheted Washcloths  and Liberty Handkerchief Set. Do you have any ideas on what to make mom for mother’s day?

Tomorrow I’m having a chat with the couple I’m working with about our project timeline, menu planning and you guessed it wedding invitations. Now, you can do a DIY invite but before adding that to your list of things to do, consider ordering your invitations from a designer on Etsy. There are a ton to choose from and most of the shops/designers are willing to work with the customers to make the design just what you want. Below are a few of my favorite designs.

Illustrated Wedding Invite by ellothere

Cootie Catcher by oneLittleM

Are you making your own invitations or ordering them?

What do you think about wedding favors? I’ve been thinking about them lately and I’m not sold on the idea of spending a chunk of the wedding budget to give everyone a small gift that they may or may not take with them at the end of the night. However, I do like the idea of putting a lot of thought and little money, into something small that guests will certainly want to take with them, like a flower lollipop (pictured above).

Or maybe fill a simple paper bag with with the couple’s favorite cookies, made by their families and wrapped in wax paper.

My favorite idea is making a mixed cd and putting it into a sleeve made by the couple. Think about how easy it would be to put 12 songs together, order a personalized stamp and assemble these all in one evening. You may want to throw a glass of wine or a beer or two in there… to help things along.

I’ve been in love with finding “inspiration boards” or picture collages of ideas for the wedding, like this budget friendly wedding board from Snippet and Ink. It is such a quick and easy way to get ideas.

This is one of my favorites, Color Board #5: Dandelion and Slate. If you’re into them too, you’ll want to check out her site, since there are over 500 boards to look at.

My niece Maddy was born on Wednesday and I cannot be more ecstatic that she has joined the world!

Needless to say, I’m already planning all the things that I am going to make her, like onsie dresses and an Easter bonnet.

4 Foolproof Ways to Make a Baby Laugh from Son of Shark Pig on Vimeo.

I’m also making tons of plans for things I would like to do with her someday but most of all, I can’t wait till I get to make her laugh! What was your favorite thing about becoming an Uncle or an Aunt?

As this summer-like weather continues in Chicago, my brain has switched to summer mode and has me thinking of delicious drinks to make for sitting on porches and docks. I was pretty excited when I found this recipe for Grapefruit Infused Rum from Kitchen Konfidence, who also has this book The Home Distiller’s Handbook, which I may purchase. But before I do, I am going to try this great (free) tutorial about How to Infuse Spirits. Have you all ever tried infusing your own spirits? If so, please share.  If not, give it a try.  Happy cocktailing, or as my cousin says, kicktailing!

Did you every watch The Mary Tyler Moore Show? I used to watch it on Nick at Nite and the show’s cast remains my favorite tv news team. Anyway, Mary had a “M” (pictured above) hanging on her wall and I always thought that it would be so neat to have one hanging on mine and I must have forgotten till this Wine Cork Letter diy project came through on my Pintrest feed.

The directions are pretty simple: drink some wine or champagne or have friends and family donate them, save the corks, heat up the glue gun and adhere them to the wood letter (you can buy the wood letter and glue gun at any craft store). Good luck and remember, “you’re going to make it after all!”

I just talked to the bride-to-be this morning about DJs and flower arraignments, so I thought I would talk about wedding stuff today. I’ve been gathering lots of different ideas for table setting and place cards, and I’ve got to say there are so many innovative weddings taking place out there. For example, Bridget (my Sister-in-Law’s cousin) and her husband Andrew, were recently featured in Minnesota Bride.

Or this Winter wedding featured in 100 Layer Cake, with a low cost diy picture display idea. Did you have an awesome diy wedding or know someone that did? Send me pictures, links and stories of how everything happened!