Thanksgiving Prep: Stage Two ~ The Madness!

Mind goes *Ping*

Here's a Glimpse...

Of the Madness...

Got a stick...

Hang a Stick....

Stick lights on stick

Got a tree... One too sparse, two too fluffy....

Three, just right!

Sink hole in front of the house...

They patched it.

Boxes of stuff... All decorations...

I took what we're using out...

Pack the rest away...

Working on the vignettes...

Lights are going up outside today...

Bc snow is coming tomorrow!!!

I'm not going to stop till it's done!

Go! Get stuff done! 

And don't forget to MAKE SOMETHING!!!

XOXO

~JM

DIY Research & Development for Thanksgiving

Oh my goodness there's so much to do!

Next week is Thanksgiving! 

We are gathering up ALL the family...

We have to figure out where to put em!

I like to push & pull furniture around to see how many seats we can fit...

What I like to call a Living Sketch 

I start on paper...

Get your mesuring tape out!

Smoosh two tables together...

Use some charger plates to judge distance...

Mull it over with help from the Charli Dog...

Then dismantle it! 

It will be an easy conversion to Company Ready the night before!

Guess work is all done!!!!

Now to work on a few recipes for cocktails & savory dishes!!!!

^^buzzfeed & Pinterest^^

Fambly & Noms!

A labor of LOVE!

Make your Sketches now...

So it's not Sketchy later!

Make some NOMS!

Make some Family Time!

Make Something!!!

XOXO

~JM

Bitch, Make Your Own Wedding: Table Tops

SAVE ALL OF YOUR JARS! 

No brainer, right!

You eat salsa, spaghetti sauce, peanut butter, PICKLES! 

Don't put em in the recycling, set em aside in boxes, bags, bins...

They can hold Props, Favors, Photos, Candles, Utensils, Flowers & Vegetation of all types!

^^Pinterest/Etsy^^ See! How cute is that!!!

You can even serve drinks in them!!!!! 

These buggars are indispensable!!!

My inspiration was Rustic-Bohohemian... 

What? No Way! LoL

^^pics like these on Pinterest, made me drool! 

So I got to work!

We saved jars/bottles & vases for **no kidding**... A year & a half! 

Yes, really.

We had a SUPER tight budget... (I believe the fashionable term is "Micro-Budget")

And we would be having a reception for a possible 200 ppl... 

That's a lot of table space to dress....  

Get em clean & label free by soaking in warm soapy, or diluted bleachy water. Hubby did this step for us soaking & scrubbing off hundreds of jar labels from our tub...He's such a trooper! :-)

^^ that's just one batch!

I set up a lil assembly line. 

Doilies, glue dots, twine... 

Spray paint, lace, glitter tape...

Pebbles, tea lites.... OMG!

Tried em out!

Some of my designs didn't make it to the tables...

I set up a few table-tops to see what I liked...

As the winter before our spring wedding dragged on...

We began to crave bright colors in the table scape ideas...

Which begat these inspiration pics...

I opted to keep the design cohesive by using the most similar shapes in jars & vases ;-)

Colors a-Poppin! 

Gathered my Blooms from...

Trader Joes & local Grocery Store (Big Y) TWO DAYS BEFORE!!!!!!!!!

(to let tight blooms open up n get Fluffy!) ;-) <-- wink indicates Pro-Tip

I snipped the stems & used the flower food packets they came with...

I also changed their water once a day! ;-)

BTW...

Don't forget to ask for help when setting up! It is VERY TIME CONSUMING!

REMEMBER: Just because you are DIY-ing it...

Doesn't mean you have to DO IT *ALL* YOURSELF! 

This is a Great way to bond with Friends and Family!

Get em on the tables!

Light em up!

Flower crown favor... ;-)

Wood Slices...

Our table...

W/Headboard Bench from Dads Handyness :-)

To sum up...

Before ~ Millers Falls Rod N Gun Club Pavilion 

My Inspo...

After ~ Sweat Equity Baby! 

W/the help of:

Lots n Lots of Candles, Flowers, Fabric, DIY Rag Chandeliers ;-)

FAMILY & FRIEND HELP with Set Up! (1.5days worth!)

!!!We couldn't have done it w/o you!!!

Anyway...

"Micro Budget" Breakdown:

Pavilion ~ $150 to rent it on a Saturday (w/their letting us set up for 8hrs on the day before!)

Fabric ~ $40 to supplement what we already had at Salvation Army 

Jars ~ essentially FREE!

Tea Lights ~ D'Light Online 7hr burn tea lights $12.50/100ct we ordered 2

Pebbles ~ Home Depot $25 I still have plenty left!

Twine ~ Michaels $13

Doilies ~ Grocery Store (Market Basket) $4 on sale!

Flowers ~ $100

Wood Slices ~ Nature & Dad

Decked out Table Tops for our Reception for under $350!

It's only been 7 months since it all went down...

And it already seems like a distant & faded memory...

We Made some AWESOME Memories...

We Made the Most of our Time, Resources, & Money!

We Made some Great Table Scapes!

I sincerely hope that this helps some of you plan w/your "Micro Budget"...

And it Inspires you to MAKE SOMETHING!!!

XOXOXOXOXOXO

~JM

Stay Tuned for More Wedding Makes in My "Bitch, Make Your Own Wedding" Series!

~The Dress

~The Invitations

Check us out on Facebook to get daily updates & inspo!

Glam Witches Lair DIY Halloween

This year we went ALL out TWICE!!!

Once for our towns Pumpkin Fest...

(above photo collage by our friend Nikki)

And a Second time on Halloween!

First, P-Fest!

We had the Nooks n Crannies all decked out!

Pumpkin Charli, Pumpkin Vignette, Skeleton, Sugar Skull Jack O' Lantern (won "very cool pumpkin" ribbon)...

Bats in the Lampshade! Classic! 

Come & sit for a Spell..... ;-D

Our Living Room, & My Studio had Lots to look at...

Bat Wall (bat wall post here), Headless Woman, Ominous Crows, Spider Wall, Pumpkin Tree, Wigs, Makeup, Hats, Glow Sticks...

CANDY...

I spray painted this plastic tub matte black & primed it by rubbing my chalk eraser on it...

Now it can be drawn/written on or labeled whatever I want... It is now my minion.... >;-)

Don't forget the GLITTER!

Giving guests the option to get their Glam on.... 

$ Store Face Paints,Glow Sticks, Glitter Nail Polishes & Hair Sprays...

So many Spiders... The pkg of 150 Spiders from Target went a LONG WAY!

Lots of appropriate Art in the Kitchen to help brew up some spells n potions...

Great Pumpkin Mug comes out for the Most Sincerest of Keurig Coffee Makers...

(as far as the eye can see!)

And a VooDoo-y Bath...

That spooky piece of art I made years ago sure looks Witch-Tastic here...

B&W Candle Print from my Art School Days flanked by tatty pages from Edgar Allen Poe...

Goat Head, of course... So Witchy! 

After the Pumpkin Fest we enjoyed the decor for a couple of weeks till....

All Hallows' Eve...

Going w/the Glam Witch Theme... 

I played around w/some makeup...

Green eyeshadow for bronzer as well as on my eyes...

A wetted angle brush w/dark n sparkley shaddow for the liner-

To not take away from the Demi false lashes...

Large glitter stuck on with eyelash adhesive...

An overall dusting of glitter for good measure! 

Perfect Witch Glamour!

Charli enjoyed trying on a new look... Meowoof!

And all I needed now was...

The Hat...

I found these pics on Pinterest for Glamming up The Hat!

$3 for the plain witch hat at Target...

I put my Flower Crown from the Pumpkin Fest on it (made from $Store flower arrangement)...

Stuck some feathers I had spray painted copper & silver in there...

Then I made a bow w/some sheer black wired ribbon from Michaels I had lingering from the wedding crafting...

You can see the spider in the Hat details in this pic of my Witchiness w/Mr. Mars...

Black Cats ham it up on Halloween! 

Told Hubby to put a wig on it & set our Witchy Table for Two.

Our Candy Cauldron needed some bubbley foam (tulle)...

& some Fire (tulle w/sticks, & flickering flameless candles)...

& a Witchy Chant to cast the Perfect Candy Loving Spell!

A wee video of the Candy Cauldron...

Ooooooo.... Dark & Spooky Candy Goodness!

No-Carve party Pumpkins!

I went the no-carve route to preserve the pumpkins for further fall decorating...

And to save time...

And to save my wrists... CarpalTtunnel y'know... ;-)

Michaels for the Masks, & Stashes, $ Store for the Glow Sticks (left overs from Pumpkin Fest)...

Wicked.

A Crow, Cat, & a close resemblance to Nick Offerman.....

Totally intentional....

The perfect night watching the ghosts n goblins from the porch w/my Love...

& Candy! 

This Witch Made some Magic, 

You should Make some TOO!

XOXO

~JM

P.S.

Don't forget to pack all your stuff away once Halloween is over...

X-z lol my house is a MESS! The true HORROR of Halloween...

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