Happy Friday!

We’re going to end the week with a fun, easy and cheap DIY that is perfect for all occasions. Whether you decide to keep these pretty bottles to have around the house, use them at dinner parties or put them on every table at your wedding, they are  guaranteed to be a crowd-pleaser. We made our water bottles for an awesome project we can’t wait to share with you (coming soon to Style Me Pretty) and they looked fantastic!

What you’ll need:

Glass Water Bottle

Gold Leaf

Paintbrush

Painter’s Tape

First, clean your water bottle and dry it thoroughly. Then tape out the design you would like. You can make lines, squares, triangles – the possibilities are endless. We used 1″ thick painter’s tape, but you can use whatever thickness you like to vary the size of the spaces between your painted lines/shapes. Using your paintbrush, apply the gold leaf to the blank space between your taped lines. We suggest doing several coats of gold leaf, just make sure to allow the previous layer to dry completely before you apply the next coat. Once you’re happy with the opacity of your gold leaf, slowly remove the painter’s tape and voilà! you have a beautifully painted water bottle that will certainly bring a little something extra to the table – pun intended ;).

Enjoy!

xx Firefly

This past Saturday, we had the pleasure of working on a beautiful backyard wedding in Brooklyn. It was filled with light summery flowers, lots of sunshine, and tons of fun personal touches. We also noticed that for the second weekend in a row, our bride wore a cute flower crown! Check out last weekends bride here. We love this trend, and think it should be busted out whenever possible. For instance, at your birthday or anniversary party…or even just a picknick :) These crowns add such a sweet boho feel to your day, and the best part is that they’re easy to make. So, invite your bridesmaids over, put your favorite summer jams on the ipod, and get crafty…

This first one is the easiest, and happens to be the most similar to the ones that our brides wore. You’ll need a plastic faux floral branch bunch with blooms, wire cutters, and brown wire. Click here for the step by step from A Beautiful Mess .

This next pretty crown uses silk flowers, making it perfect for year round use :) In addition to silk flowers, you’ll need floral tape, floral wire, a pair of needle nose pliers, and a wire cutter. Bluebird shows you how to put it together here

Our third DIY is from oh joy! and features fresh flowers and greenery. Grab some floral wire, and wire cutters, and your ready to go. This one is a little more challenging, but totally worth it! Get all the details here.

Happy Crafting!

xx Firefly

1. Start by cutting your lace ribbon into a strip about 5′-6′ long. This will take the place of the ribbon holding the balloon.

2. Cut fabric into rectangles approximately 1′x1.5′. If you are using tissue paper there is no need to cut, just fold the sheets in half lengthwise.

3. Cut strips in the fabric/tissue paper leaving approximately 1.5″ at the top uncut.

4. Tie a piece of lace or ribbon around the center of the fringe.

5. Fold the fabric/tissue paper in half, so the ribbon is on the left side. Roll it up and then wrap the lace/ribbon around the top and tie it in a knot. Make sure to leave a few inches of ribbon free to attach to the balloon.

6. Tie your pieces of fringe on to the lace handle starting at the top. It looks best to vary the colors of the fringe. {Optional: Place a rosette at the top directly under the balloon}

We made these great little Limoncello favors for our Memorial Day wedding, and we couldn’t believe how easy they were to make! We added a name tag so they could do double duty as escort cards.

Where To Shop

Paper Presentation: bakers twine, printable labels

The Ink Pad: name tags (if your not in nyc, you can get them online here)

Beaucoup: small bottle

Gnarly Vines: our favorite Limoncello

Grab a funnel and fill each of the bottles with Limoncello. Pick your favorite font for the labels and fill in the template (it’s super easy!!). Print them out and stick one on each bottle. Use a nice pen and your best handwriting to write each guest’s name on a name tag. Thread each tag with the bakers twine (we used the yellow and white variety) and tie around the top of each bottle. That’s it. We’re happy to report that these little guys were a big hit with guests :) This DIY can be customized in so many ways, and it’s a fun one to do with friends. It’s one of our new favorites!

Hello there! We’ve been running (sometimes literally!) around the city working on a sweet wedding happening this holiday weekend. In the mean time, we thought we’d take a helping hand from some of our favorite DIY blogs. Here are 3 projects using Jute twine and it’s big brother, Sisal rope :) We love these materials because they’re easy on your wallet and you can find them at just about any local hardware store.

All you need for these cute bowls is hot glue and 50 feet or 1/4″ Sisal Rope. Love it! Click here for the step by step.

No secret, we love neon!  You can find these fun neon shades of jute twine at Home Depot, believe it or not. You’ll also need glass milk bottles, craft glue, and a small paintbrush. I can’t wait to put a pair of these vases on my desk, with some simple wild flowers. Check it out here.

This last one is a bit more of a time commitment…but totally worth it! The foundation for this project is the Ikea Lack side table. You might have one of these in your house right now :) You’ll also need sandpaper, 2oo feet of 1/4″ sisal rope, 150 feet of 3/8″ sisal rope, E600 adhesive, a hot glue gun, and ton of hot glue sticks. Here are the details.

Happy crafting!!

Crafters out in the hobbisphere are doing so many great things with the classic white paper lantern.  Here are four of the many ways you can dress up your home!

For more information on how you can get these looks, check out the following links: Feathery, Granny Chic, Ruffled, Paperback Pretty

This great DIY project comes from a wedding that we’re currently working on! The bride, Mary, is a librarian by day and a very crafty lady by night. We’ve LOVED collaborating with her all year long on a ton of fun projects and design concepts. Check out some of our moodboards here!

Here’s what you’ll need:

- 6 square pieces of paper measuring 3″x3″ for the smaller flowers and 6″x6″ for the larger ones. Each of the squares will be a “petal” in your flower. *We made these paper flowers out of old book pages to tie in with our library theme, but you could use any fun paper you like.

- A hot glue gun

1. Fold the bottom corner to the top, making a triangle.

2. Fold the left and right corners up to the middle corner, making a square.

3. Fold those same points down and the folded edges will line up exactly on top of the outside edge of the square.

4. Open up the flaps you have just created and flatten them.

5. Fold the top triangles towards you so they are level with the edges of the paper. This will result in 3 small petals on the inside of your larger petal.

6. Fold the triangles back using the crease you made earlier and glue the outside triangles together.

7. Repeat steps 1-6 with your remaining paper squares, and glue them all together. Be sure to let the glue dry on each petal before you add the next ones.

The first time we made one of these it was a little clumsy and awkward, but as soon as we got the hang of it, it was a fun mindless activity- the kind that’s perfectly paired with a marathon of your favorite new TV show. We’ll be using these little guys as part of our centerpieces, but they would also make cute hanging garlands!

*Mary found this great DIY here

These painted images by Alexandra Valenti are enough to make anyone want to break out the finger paint and add a pop of whimsy and color to your old photos.  You can also translate this idea into a fun yet simple wedding invitation project by making a black and white photocopy of your favorite photo and then using colored pencils to add detailed accents and a Pop Art feel.

What you’ll need:
Canvas Tote- we got this one at Muji for $1.
Stencil- I boughtthis one with the intention of making curtains. Hopefully that will happen this weekend!
Cardboard- Cut to fit inside of your tote.
Acrylic Craft Paint
Paintbrush
Trash Bag
Masking Tape

 Tape a trash bag down on your work surface- this makes for fast and easy clean up! Place the cardboard in the bag so that the paint won’t bleed through. Position your stencil and tape it securely into place.

 Fill in your stencil with acrylic paint. Let paint dry, and repeat on the other side.

 Tip: Gently “unstick” cardboard from the inside of the bag, every 10 minutes or so while each side drys.

 There you go! These would make great gifts or favors. They’re beautiful and unique on their own, or you could fill them with some of your favorite goodies.