Wedding Planning Wednesday: Wedding Cake Sugar Cookies and Bridal Shower Gifts

I had my first wedding shower!  It was so fun.  I was super nervous beforehand and it was a great time.  I feel awesome now!

My mom's girlfriends threw the shower and they did an amazing job.  The food was great, there was a yummy and gorgeous cake, and it was wine party themed.  They had 6 wines that spelled out JODIE B.  How awesome is that?  I got some great gifts and it was just wonderful.

To thank my lovely hostesses, I made some gifts!  I got coffee mugs from bed bath and beyond, and then put a Starbucks gift card and a homemade sugar cookie inside.  Then, I printed off a "Thank you a Latte" card and wrapped everything up.  They loved the mugs and the cookies were a huge hit!

Wedding Cake Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:
Cookie:
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp almond extract
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups flour (or gluten free flour)
Frosting:
3 cups powdered sugar
2 egg whites
2 tsp lemon juice
optional: food coloring
optional: sprinkles

Directions: 
1. Preheat the oven to 375 and line a baking sheet with a silpat mat or parchment paper.
2. Beat the butter with the powdered sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in the almond extract, vanilla, egg, and salt.  Place in fridge for 20-30 minutes.
3. On a clean surface, sprinkle some powdered sugar.  take the chilled cookie dough and roll it out until it is about 1/2 inch thick.  Cut with the cookie cutter and re-roll as needed.  Place cookies on the prepared cooking sheet.
4. Bake for 8-10 minutes and then let cool completely before frosting.
5. For the frosting, beat everything together.  Then, dye the frosting as needed and frost your cookies!  I used the pearl sprinkles to decorate mine.

Enjoy :)

Wedding Planning Wednesday

So we are really winding down to the last few things!

The invitations are printed, we are ordering stamps, and they will be ready to be sent out by the end of the week! My friend Alyson designed them and she did an unbelievable job!  I am so impressed with her crazy skills and I just feel that the invites are so special because she did them.  They are truly beautiful and I can't wait for people to see them!

My first shower is this Sunday!  I can't wait!  I am working on some finishing touches for a little hostess gift and then I will be ready!

The biggest project I am working on right now is getting my gifts together for my bridesmaids.  I decided that I really wanted to wear converse sneakers for the reception and so I had some adorable Bride and Groom sneakers custom made for the big day.  Then, I thought it would be so fun to have all the bridesmaids and groomsmen in converse as well!  So, I bought my girls (and guy) their converse shoes!  Then, I also got them a little bling to wear on the big day!  To put all of this together, I found some tote bags and then I saw this great DIY project over at Design Sponge and I decided that it would be perfect!  I am going to decorate and personalize the totes for my bridal party and then put the shoes and jewelry in the bag.

These tote bags can be found through amazon or other suppliers and are about 60 dollars for 25-30 bags.  Then, I am going to get to work on making them look adorable :) 

Wedding Planning Wednesday: I decided to make my own weddingfavors...am I crazy?

The title pretty much says it all, but here's the deal:

I decided that since Bri and I like candles and our theme has turned into a sort of rustic/classic loft style, it would be cute to have miniature mason jar candles as our wedding favors.

I wanted something that guests could enjoy after the wedding was over and I didn't want it to be edible.  I felt like a cute candle would be perfect!  So, I got to shopping and as I was browsing the internet, I found that the cheapest mini mason jar candle I could find was about $4 per candle.  We are expecting about 250 for this bonanza and that was just too steep.

Then, I started thinking: I can be crafty when I really put my mind to it...

So I decided that I would make my own.  People make candles all the time.  I priced it out and buying mason jars in bulk, 20 lb packages of soy wax, and 50 piece packages of wicks, ended up being about $1.50 per candle.  Isn't that great???  Then, I decided to use vanilla fragrance oil to make them scented and I was in business.  My mother thought I was crazy, but I already started and I am up to 72 candles!  At this rate (about 24 each weekend), I will be done with all my candles in March and still have plenty of time to decorate them (tie a ribbon around them and stamp our monogram on the lid)!

Here is how they are made:

1. Scoop some soy wax flakes into a large pot and heat over medium on the stove.  Soy is all natural, so don't worry about this messing with your kitchen supplies!  Once the wax is completely liquid, stir in some fragrance oil if you are using it.  Then, using a glass measuring glass, scoop some wax out and get ready to pour into your mini mason jars.
2. Pour a thin layer of wax into each jar and place the pre-tabbed wick into the middle of the bottom as the wax hardens.  This helps hold the wick in place.

3. Once your wicks are in hardened wax, pour more melted wax into the mason jars until they are full.  Let this harden.

4.  Once your wax is hardened, trim the wicks down so that about 1 inch is still above the wax.  Place the lids on and decorate if you want!

The moral of this story is: If you want to make your own wedding favors, I say go for it, just plan it out carefully and give yourself a ton of time to get it done.  When it comes to decorating these cuties, I am planning on getting my "team bride" together so that I have help!  We'll make an event of it and it will be fantastic.

Here is the finished product:

Wedding Planning Wednesday Part 3

Well, I'm a little bummed out today.  I didn't get selected for the lottery for the Chicago Marathon.  Now, I have to decide if I should just run a different marathon or if I want to raise $1000 for a charity and get a guaranteed entry into the Chicago Marathon.  What should I do????

On the other side of things, I have this really cool DIY project to share!  Wedding planning is going pretty well.  Last week, I shared our engagement party and how fantastic that all was.  This week, I am sharing a cool project that I made for our engagement party: Instagram Coasters!  There are tons of great sites that have instructions for this, but here is what I did and it worked out great!  This is such a cool project and I am totally not an artsy person, but I was able to do this!  These coasters take some time to dry, but otherwise the process is really quick and easy.  Plus, you get adorable coasters when you are done!  This was a great addition to the engagement party and people got to look at cute photos while enjoying their drinks! 

DIY Instagram Coasters

What you will need:

4 by 4 inch tiles (I found mine at Lowe's)

3.5 by 3.5 inch pictures printed out on regular paper

Delta Creative Gloss Ceramcoat Varnish
Acrylic spray

Wide paint brushes

Small, circular foam pads (4 per coaster)

Directions:

1. Clean your tiles and make sure they are completely dry.  

2. Brush a layer of Delta Creative Gloss Ceramcoat Varnish on the back of a picture and place in the middle of the tile.  

3.  Use a credit card or something similar to slide along the picture and make sure that the picture is completely flat and sticking to the tile.  This will get all the bubbles out and make sure that your picture stays put.  

4. Brush a thin layer of Delta Creative Gloss Ceramcoat Varnish over the picture so that it covers the picture and the edges of the tile.  At this point, let your tiles dry for about an hour.  Then, repeat this process with another layer of modge podge over the picture and tile.  You can repeat this step 2-3 times more to ensure your pictures stay stuck to the tile.

5.  Spray acrylic spray over the tiles.  This will give them a little shine.  You can repeat this as many times as you like to get the desired effect.  

6.  Once the coasters are totally dry, place the foam sticky circles on the backs so that your coasters won't scratch anything!

Enjoy :)

Crafty: Homemade Silly Putty

My birthday is coming up and I can't say I'm that excited.  I think that it just hasn't hit me yet.  So, yesterday I went shopping with Anna in the hopes that retail therapy would help to inspire me to excited.  I did get some pretty fun outfits and I think I am starting to feel birthday ready.

Tonight, I am going to be starting my baking endeavors for my birthday and I think this will also help me to get in the birthday mood.  I am baking for my campers, counselors, and friends and I have a ton of great ideas lined up!

I have another really cool craft to share today! Last week at camp, the theme was Silly School Days and all of our art projects were like fun science experiments.  We made volcanos, oobleck, and tye-dye t-shirts.  We also made Homemade Silly Putty! This was one of my favorites and the campers loved it as well.  All you need a few simple ingredients that you might even have lying around your house!

Homemade Silly Putty
adapted from Learn Play Imagine

Ingredients:
4 tbsp white glue
2 tbsp Sta-Flo (liquid starch)
food coloring

Directions:
1. In a plastic bag, pour the glue and sta-flo.  Start kneading the bag.  If the mixture is too sticky, add sta-flo, and if the mixture is too stringy, add glue.
2.  Once your mixture looks like it is coming together, add in the food coloring and continue to knead to combine.
3. Turn the bag inside out and peel away all your silly putty.  It should look like silly putty and not stick to your hands.  If it sticks, just add a little sta-flo.

Enjoy :)

Foodie Friends Friday: Christmas in July!

This week, Foodie Friends Friday is back!  This week is all about the Christmas!  What a fun thing to celebrate in July!  Can't you just imagine the beautiful snow with all this crazy hot weather?  Just follow the rules and link up some recipes that are perfect for Christmas or the Holidays! Also, host favorites will be featured on Daily Dish!  This week I'm linking up Vegetarian Christmas Options, Dough Ornaments, and Kissed Peppermint Crinkle Cookies.

Most Clicks:

1. Summertime Spaghetti

2. Stuffed Chicken Breast and Garlic Cream Sauce

3. Balsamic Bruschetta Chicken on Ciabatta

And Host Favorites!

Welcome to Foodie Friends Friday!

Please take a moment to read through the rules before getting started, Thank You!

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Please remember to do this. It benefits you! To thank you, we will continue to feature those with links throughout the year on various outlets.

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Crafty: Homemade Dough Medals

I made some SWEET dough medals recently at camp!  I don't have pictures because I couldn't use my phone, but I figured I would still share the recipe and idea because it was so fun and so easy!  Give this a try if you need a fun activity or it is a great way to make homemade ornaments or decorations for Christmas or other holidays!

Camp has been going well this summer and I can't believe that the 4th week is almost ver! As soon as camp ends reality begins and that is when I will start reporting to high school to get ready for the new school year!

Tonight I have a fun night out planned with a bunch of my co-workers and I can't wait to hang out with them and just relax a little!  Well, I'm off for another fun day and a fun night! Go make some dough medals!!!

Dough Medals or Ornaments
adapted from Cooks.com

Ingredients:
2 cups baking soda
1 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 cups water
optional: food coloring or paint

Directions:
1. In a pot, stir baking soda and cornstarch.  Pour in water (and food coloring if you are using it) and turn heat on to medium.  Stir constantly until you have a mixture that looks and feels like mashed potatoes.  Remove from heat, cover with a wet towel, and let cool.
2.  Roll out the dough and shape!  Let dry overnight and flip to ensure both sides of your shapes dry.
3.  Once dried you can paint them!

Enjoy :)