Eksquisite Design Blog» Cake Stands Barnyard Chic

Cake Stands

Erica — Tue, 11 May 2010 15:43:28 +0000

Photo by Rochell Mort

The cake stand is one of those little wedding details that for me was a pain to figure out. I wanted something cute and custom, but all of the options I found online were WAY more than I wanted to spend. I looked into renting one, but the ones available to rent were not my style – too ornate and blinged out.

This is one of the details that is the perfect DIY project, since the odds that you will use it again are probably pretty slim (especially if you had a rather large cake, like I did). I found my inspiration via this tutorial from The Martha.

I wish I had some better photos of our process, but this is basically how we did it:

Tory’s dad got us a hunk of 1/2″ plywood and used a jigsaw to cut it into a circle 1″ or so larger than the base of our cake (the bottom layer was 16″). We then primed and painted it white. I found some really cute knobs at Anthropologie that I wanted to use as legs to give the stand a little height. Tory pre-drilled some holes in the bottom (5 of them) and screwed the knobs in. I hot glued a ribbon around the edge, and viola! A cheap, cute, custom cake stand was ours!

Here’s another really cute DIY cake stand option, from Design*Sponge, especially if you plan on having several smaller cakes, or a selection of desserts:

I love the rustic look of this cake stand made from a lazy susan, an Ikea planter and twine from Brick City Love:

Here is another (adorable) DIY rustic cake stand idea from Once Wed:

I also like this idea using wooden finials and furniture parts from the hardware store to make an elegant cake stand, from the kitchn:

Or, if cakes are not really your thing, here is an adorable DIY tutorial for a wedding cupcake stand from Once Wed:

There a ton of ideas out there for DIY cake stands. Get creative, save some dough, and get the look you want by making your own!

Button throw pillows

DIY Ceremony Programs

admin — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 03:15:29 +0000

I believe that it’s the little details that bring everything together in a wedding, so for ours, nothing was overlooked. A lot of people will tell you to forget about small stuff – that no one will notice or remember. This may be true for some, but definitely not for me – I would notice! And I believe that, consciously or not, others will be affected by the overall design and cohesiveness of the event. So we made a point to infuse small, meaningful and personal touches throughout our wedding.

First up in the details is our Ceremony Programs (first blogged here), which I decided to make into a booklet. They were incredibly labor intensive, but definitely worth the trouble. The covers were cut from sheets of Kraft cardstock and hand stamped with our names and wedding date using a rotary letter stamp. The spines were sewn in a zig-zag pattern using contrasting thread colors. I love all of the little imperfections that the stamping and sewing brought to the design!

There were a total of 8 interior pages. Page one was a simple welcome. Pages 2-5 were meant to keep the guests entertained with a light-hearted idea I stole borrowed from the Martha. ‘What Tree Did You Fall From‘ is a Celtic version of astrology. I changed the size, colors and fonts to match our wedding stationery. I don’t have pro pics of this – so these will have to do:

The next two pages had our Ceremony and Wedding Party details:

And last, but certainly not least was the Memoriam and Thank You at the end. The Memoriam was especially important for us to include because we were married on the one year anniversary of the death of Tory’s Aunt Nancy.

Here’s the text we used:
In Memoriam
On this day of happiness, we would like to remember those who have gone before us. Although they are not here to share in our special day, they will be in our hearts today and always.

Thank You
Thank you for coming together, from near and far, to share in the joy of our marriage! Each one of you has touched our lives in some significant way, shaping us as individuals. As we celebrate the joining of our hearts and souls, we are grateful for your love, support, and friendship. A special thank you to our parents for giving us life, love, and opportunity, and for always supporting our dreams.

All photos unless otherwise specified by Rochelle Mort

Our New Headboard!

admin — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 20:43:33 +0000

So you know how I was talking about the crafty projects that I did on Thanksgiving weekend? Well, here’s another one that I’m quite proud of – I made our headboard all fancy-pants!

Here’s the headboard after I removed it from the bed and before I covered it (doesn’t look like much, I know):

And the after:

Unfortunately, I chose the worst possible time of day to take this photograph (with the afternoon light blazing in), so I apologize for the poor photo quality. Hopefully you can get an idea of the difference a little fabric can make!

Button throw pillows

admin — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 17:08:47 +0000

Tory went to the Stanford vs. Notre Dame football game with some friends this weekend, so I took advantage of my alone time by getting crafty! I’m not really a seamstress so I’m pretty proud of this project: I made button throw pillows for our bedroom. It was time consuming, but I’m happy with how they turned out! I followed this tutorial (more or less).

Here’s the cost breakdown (I purchased all of my supplies at Joann’s):
(2) 14″ x 14″ premium square pillowforms: $11.98 (50% off)
1 yard of waffle weave muslin fabric: $5.99
6 wooden buttons: $1.86 (also 50% off)
Fusible interfacing: $1.59
Everything else I had on hand (thread, scissors, etc.)
Total: $21.42 for not one, but two adorable pillows
And the best part is that the covers are removable and machine washable! Woot!

Here’s how they turned out:

And here’s a peek at the rest of our bed. We are currently in the process of decorating our bedroom (after 15 months of living here!), so that was the true inspiration behind the pillows. We were able to purchase the awesome Abigail Paisley bedding from Crate & Barrel that I wanted so badly using gift cards we received as wedding gifts. After that I was inspired to finish the room! So far we have painted, added hardware to our nightstands and dresser, purchased and painted the bedside lamps and a vintage fan (both from ebay), and made a display for my jewelry using one of the escort card displays from our wedding.

We still have a couple more labor-intensive projects in this room. Most notably, we will be covering the hideous (in my mind) mirrored closet doors, and making a capiz shell chandelier (like this). I did check off another project off the list this weekend – turning our Ikea Malm headboard into a fabric covered wonder (which I’ll post pics of later). It’s coming along!

Favor Labels

admin — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 02:21:04 +0000

Here’s a quick and easy DIY project I did for our favor labels. We’re using cookies (the ones I had on hand for these photos were Girl Scout thin mints, but you could put candy, nuts, or any other smallish favor in these cello bags – the possibilities are endless. Here’s what I used (you can click on any photo to enlarge it):

17 Sheets of Kraft Cardstock (makes 102 4″ x 1.5″ final sized labels). I bought mine here.
100 4″ x 6″ cello baggies
100 multi-colored buttons, bought at JoAnn’s (I paid $3.99 for a pack of 130)
1 glue gun
1 xacto knife (or sharp scissors)
1 scoring tool
1 bone folder
1 pencil
1 ink pad (I used black)
1 date stamp (can be purchased at any office supply store)
1 ruler
1 self-healing cutting mat
1 corner punch (like this)

Step 1: Measure out and mark off your labels. I made mine 4″ x 3″ so there were 6 to a letter-sized sheet. I also marked where the fold would go so I could score them (the score is the light line in the photo below. Scoring makes it easier to fold the cardstock, and it looks neater, too).

Step 2: Cut out your labels using your blade and ruler. You could probably use scissors if you want, but I find that the blade and ruler method is much more precise.

Step 3: Use your bone folder to smooth out the fold created by your scoring tool.

Step 4: Use the corner punch to cut out your corners. My punch creates both 1/4″ and 1/2″ corners; I used the 1/2″ for this project. I only cut the corners on the right-hand side of the label, but you could do both for a more symmetrical look. I was hoping I could punch through the folded cardstock to save time, but my punch wasn’t strong enough, so I had to do each corner separately.

Step 5: Select your wedding or event date on the stamp. You’ll want to practice stamping with it to make sure it’s lined up how you want. Stamp your favors!

Step 6: Use your glue gun to place a small dab of glue underneath your date.

Step 7: Apply your buttons.

Step 8: Place your favors in the bag. Fold over about a half inch and staple shut.

Step 9: Use your glue gun to glue a line along each side of the label, and affix to your bag.

Viola! A cute, simple, personalized favor. Love it. Ours will have Ginger Elizabeth’s scrumptious chocolate chip cookies in them!

Ceremony Programs

Ceremony Programs

admin — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 17:01:16 +0000

The Ceremony Programs are done! These were a TON of work! The cover is made of Kraft cardstock. I used rotary stamps for our names and the date (here’s a link to an alphabet one similar to the one I found – I got mine for FIVE DOLLARS(!) but the place I got it is sold out now). The spines were sewn using our two main wedding colors in a zig zag on my sewing machine. Here’s little sneak peek (click photo to enlarge), I’ll post more photos of what’s inside after the wedding.

Wedding!

admin — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 15:49:26 +0000

Check out the awesome sign that Tory’s dad made for us, painted by me!

I love it!

DIY Escort Boards

admin — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 01:51:59 +0000

I wanted a creative and colorful way to display our escort cards, but was limited because we aren’t allowed to put holes in the walls at our venue, which means hanging anything was out. I really wanted to do something like these:

(photos from the knot)

There is a long, narrow table at the entrance, and we thought that would be the perfect place to display the cards. I came up with the idea of using old picture frames and placing them side by side horizontally on the table, using colorful fabrics in the center of the frames.

First we got the table measurements from our coordinator, then I went out thrifting in search of interesting frames in a larger size. I bought three frames for $3-4 each, and Tory spray painted them white. I cut out foam core to fit in the center of the frames and covered it with batting and fabric using staples. Then I stapled twine across to hold the cards and I was done!

Stapling the fabric with the world’s smallest stapler from my college days:

I placed a few small nails around the edges, then bent them inward so the board wouldn’t fall out.

This was super easy and I think it turned out cute. I’ll get a pic of them at the reception with the cards and post after the wedding for the full effect

Photo Booths

admin — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 16:34:49 +0000

I want one so bad, but they are so incredibly expensive to rent. I’ve found a lot of inspiration from brides that have taken the DIY approach, and I’m seriously considering creating our own, complete with funky fabric backgrounds, something to write clever messages on, and fake mustaches! Check out these fun photo booth pics:

Photo from here

From A Backyard Wedding

From 2,000 Dollar Wedding

From Wedding Bee

Last two pics from Snippet & Ink

I am determined to find a way to make this work!

Fun Photobooth Props

Invitation Suite Sneak Peek

admin — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 16:09:20 +0000

FINALLY! I’m so happy I am almost done with this. At least I’m almost done with the design part, anyway.