Secret Wedding Details

Sometimes the best things in life are the littlest details. While grand gestures are amazing and awe-inspiring, sweet nothings are just as nice. There are many ways you can incorporate secretive messages and details into your wedding day celebration. Here are just a few we thought were worth sharing:



via On the Go Bride via Brenda's Wedding Blog

via Spot On Events

via Andrea Loves

This year has absolutely been full of some HUGE life events. Sometimes, however, it's good to just sit back and appreciate the small things, which is exactly what intimate wedding details are all about.

Photo Booth Save-the-Dates

The first step to ensuring you have an awesometastic wedding is making sure there are people to come-by sending out your save-the-dates! Now, we know this isn't a MUST DO for every bride, but if you do decide to do Save the Dates, remember, this is the very first impression for your guests of your wedding....



We love seeing the ideas that people come up and fell in love when we saw these on WedShare Daily.  How awesome are these photo booth inspired save-the-dates (and easy too!)?!?

                                          We love when couples have fun with it!

Your guests will love getting something personal from you! Are there any creative ways people you know have invited you to their weddings??

Kid's Corner

Although the planning might be considered one of the most stressful aspects of the wedding experience, sometimes it feels as thought the thought of entertaining kids at the actual ceremony may come in at a close second.

Have you thought about inviting that one Aunt you have but don't really want to imagine her 6 kids running rampant?

Or wanted to attend a wedding but didn't want to spend the night chasing your kids around because you couldn't find a sitter?

Well fear no more- if you know there is a possibility that there will be several kids at your wedding, you may want to invest in the creation of a kid's corner. Spending a little extra cash hiring a professional sitter and providing them with some distraction toys may make your night a whole lot more enjoyable-as well as the night of their parents! 

Table as seen in: Intimate Weddings

Personal tins eliminate the need for sharing-because we all know how that can go-or....not go. 

Photo Taken From: Kate Parker

Photo Taken From: Kate Parker

Markers, and play-do, and toys, oh my! You may even need to look for some of your "adult" wedding guests at these tables! 

What are some of your ideas to keep kids busy during a wedding reception??

they're like Pringles!

addicting little guys, i tell you! i squeaked out one more before the holiday rush ( and eh, clean up...)   lOVE this book! Love, LOVE this method of piecing!!

( just trace, title your pieces, cut them out & iron them onto the fabrics you love!... the book will show you how to do it! sigh.... )

i can't wait to make another today... but first, i'm off to my local gardening store to pick up a "How to Book", another goal for 2012!! Any good books you all can share with me on Gardening??

I'm a green little newbie!! :)

Xo, Heather

Baby's Breath Bouquet

Sometimes the best things in life are those that are a bit underrated. For example-baby's breath flowers oftentimes make a floral arrangement, but rarely get acknowledged. In this case Intimate Weddings showed us that these tiny flowers can be the centerpiece, and are they gorgeous or what?



This gorgeous series of bouquets would be so perfect for any Winter Wonderland ceremony or even a delicate, chic wedding!

How perfect would these be for a rustic or outdoor themed ceremony?!?

Paper Flower Lanterns

As I may have mentioned, I am a big fan of paper lanterns. They look so amazing when they're all lit up-simple but elegant. Here is a twist to the paper lantern I loved-flower paper lanterns.



These flower paper lanterns from the Crafty Nest are a simple Do-It-Yourself that I think you'll love!

Step 1: Begin placing the fake flowers around the paper lantern using a hot glue gun. 

Step 2: Hot glue a pom pom ball into the center of each fake flower. 

Step 3: Insert the cord and hang! 

You can find more directions on the Crafty Nest.



You can get creative and use any kind of fake flowers you want to match your color scheme. How fun are these lanterns?!?

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Chistmas Kids!!

Xo, Heather

Merry Christmas!

Blogesphere meet Zachary, born November 9th! Our insanely cute little miracle!

Merry Christmas from our little stocking stuffer to your family!

Merry Christmas! Feliz Natal! Feliz Navidad! Joyeux Noël! Frohe Weihnachten! Buon Natale!

I'll be back after a short vacation break!

Voltarei depois de umas pequenas férias!

Celebrate!

I have been writing this post in my
head for a long time.

A long time.

And now that the time has come to
actually write it, I am almost a loss for words.

This never happens to me.

For those of you that don’t know, I
have been a wedding planner for more than 18 years now, and I love every minute
of it. My life has changed irrevocably because of you, my readers, my clients,
the vendors that I love like family, you have all touched my heart and because
of you, my life is full.

So much has changed in 18 years,
married, started MasterPiece Weddings, did some amazing weddings, cancer, I
kicked it’s ass, we can’t have babies, oh wait, we did, and Gabriel has changed
my heart forever, incredible clients with amazing weddings, cancer again,
kicked it’s ass again, oh another  baby….
Zachary has shown us how big your heart can grow. These two widdle miracles
have forever changed our lives. Seriously.

I love my life! I love my clients! I
have countless clients that have had babies, we’ve even done a few weddings for
client’s children –that means I am getting OLD! But I am seriously blessed to
have played even a small role in the beginning of their lives together.

I have countless letters from
clients thanking me for the hard work, and how much relief they felt from me
planning their event, but really, honestly, I have learned so much from my
clients, who I now count as friends, each one hold a special place within my
heart. And it is with that knowledge, that I will move forward and grow,
professionally and personally.

Life has given me so much to be
thankful for, there are not too many people who can say with a smile on their
face that they have started a business, grown it, nurtured it and watched it
grow for 18 years. I have.

But, it is time to move on.

So, I am proud to announce that
starting January 1^st, the new Owner and Lead Planner of MasterPiece
Weddings is Rachel Griffin! You will learn more about Rachel soon! Rachel has
so much to share and tons of energy, you will love her! That’s right, I am
retiring from Wedding Planning.

Don’t fear, or fret, this blog is
not going anywhere, I am still going to be writing it, and have SO much in
store for the blog! Plenty of product reviews, absolutely incredible weddings
to show you, details, and  ideas galore.
Please don’t think that I am leaving you, I am still going to be write here
(pun totally intended) – Rachel and MasterPiece Weddings will have a whole new
blog to share with you.

There is plenty of fun still up my
sleeve and many new projects to start.

So, stay tuned!

2012...?? Sounds fun!

I've been thinking a lot about 2012 and my personal sewing goals that i'd like to pull off lately!! I feel pretty comfortable that i'm not the only one doing this right now either! LOL And, one of the main "Bummer's" of 2011 year for me, was that i didn't do a single quilt-a-long! not in any way... no participation, period! sooOOOOo lame! :(

So this year, i've given it a lot of thought and i've decided to run one ( with friends of course!!). I'm a bit bad at the whole "have to do it RIGHT NOW" kind of quilt alongs, hence a "work at your own pace" one sounds just perfect to me! hehehe...

I also, really liked the idea of a Sampler Quilt like the most beloved Farmer's Wife... but, alas i just never connected to it. I'm just to "City" to farm. But, i think i have found the perfect combination to meet in the middle!  We'll be using the enduring book, "The Civil War Diary Quilt" book as my guide. I instantly fell in love with the stories of the women living during the Civil War and the quilt blocks they inspired. They are tend to be more gritty, edgy, and more masculine looking in nature then the Farmer's Wife blocks ( though i lOVE "most" of them too ). Kinda like me! LOL

I'd love for you to join me and my lovely friends; Amanda, Lisa, and Shelly as we journey through this account of our American quilt history!!! :)  We've started a little Flickr group to support our creations if you're interested in joining us!!

( please note: this book does not give you the math for the blocks and is a foundation pieced adventure, whether using freezer paper or fabric.  I would also suggest looking through the digital images provided by Amazon to verify if this quilting book is a good fit with your current skill level.  I'll be pulling out some hair on more than one block!!  LOL )

Hope to see you there!!

Xo, heather

Christmas Star Escort Cards

One of my favorite parts about the holidays is the tree-I mean, it's a Christmas staple. You have to love the smell, the decorating, and of course, watching the kids unwrapping all the presents that go around it.



Oh the memories... This may be why I fell in love with these Christmas tree star escort cards we saw on Better Home & Gardens.  In fact, I may steal this idea for our Seven Fishes Feast this year!

How adorable are these for a holiday wedding??

DIY Snowflakes

Sticking with the snowflake theme, there is one more DIY project that I thought was so awesome!



Remember back to when you were a kid and you played with those giant craft sticks? Well they're back!



These painted craft stick snowflakes we found on the Crafty Nest would give any home or event that rustic/old north winter feeling!

Check out the Crafty Nest for more detailed instructions and more snowflake designs! What do you think??

Snowflake Garland

What is one thing people always think of when they think of Christmas? White. A storybook white Christmas, waking up to falling snow on Christmas morning, the sparkle of sunlight on the dangling icicles...ahh it must be nice to live up north at a time like that. Minus the below freezing temperatures, of course.



Snowflakes are integral part of the Christmas season and they can be an integral part of your Winter Wonderland wedding too or the windows on your house! This DIY snowflake garland from Intimate Weddings is the perfect touch of winter for your wonderland!

Photo Taken By: Katy Elliot

How awesometastic is this Anthropologie storefront window decorated with streams of snowflake garland?? " It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas..."

can you smell it??

Christmas is getting so close! my boys are home now and it's been a mad rotation of Harry Potter and Star Wars on constant repeat!! LOL Luckily, i like them both... so i haven't had to snap any DVD's... yet! :P

I recently received the most amazing swap item EVER from Angela... which has caused me to be a bit late in the "wrapping of the presents" event, so i can look at it longer... isn't she just a beauty!!!???

She also sent a gorgeous apron and coordinating ornament in this package too!!! I must take more photos!! hahaha

my packaged arrived safe and sound too... looking all Arizona sun warmed! hahaha...

and i've been keeping myself more than busy with the big 2012 re-shuffle of fabric that's taken over, while we moved around some furniture for the new treadmill the boy toy bought me! Lord knows my ass will be thanking him right after the New Year starts... even though my brain, kinda wants to poke him in the eyes now??...

Hope you all are having a great pre-Christmas week kids!!

Xo, Heather

ps... my friend Johnny has been up to some serious funny business lately!  Check out his blog for a ton more... this ones my fav though!!

 

Birdseed Heart Favors

One of the best parts about Christmas is the tree, especially when it's all lit up and decorated!

When I picture forests of pine trees I also think of those cute little birds that live in them, which reminded me of this fantastical wedding favor idea I saw on Intimate Weddings.

These birdseed heart favors are just wonderful and can be used as decorations inside the house or placed outside for the birds when your guests get home! They're so easy to make and SO adorable!



In fact, one of our brides used these very favors at her wedding, so we got to see firsthand how awesomesauce these favors are!

via Russell Martin Photography

via Russell Martin Photography

How preciously perfect, right? Here is how you can make your very own birdseed favors:

Step 1: Mix the flour, water, gelatin, and corn syrup. Add birdseed and stir well. 

Step 2: Press the birdseed mixture firmly into the heart shaped cookie cutter. Make sure you wipe the cookie cutter down with cooking spray so it doesn't stick when it's done!

Step 3: Using a chopstick or skewer, make a hole near the top to thread the twine through. 

Step 4: Remove cookie cutter carefully. Let dry for 6-8 hours. 

You can find more detailed instructions at Intimate Weddings!

A little bird told me that these favors are to die for. Do you agree?

soy-licious Candles!!

okay... as promised a little very basic Tutorial on my Soy Candles!

first... you must go vintage shopping and find some flashy glass goodness at your local Goodwill or Salvation Army!!

then you buy this! ( and only THIS!! ) hahah....

most of my glass wares held around 10 to 12oz... so, using a big o'le plastic ( never going to eat in it again ) measuring cup, filler up with your soy wax flakes!  this will reduce once heated to 1/2 the size in liquid form!  :)  i usually eyeball mine! 

using Soy Candle wicks that you will also purchase with your wax, secure it into your candle container!

okay... here's the fun/ tricky part ( if you will ) adding in the scents!  i have done quite a bit of research on the theory behind the smells of candles and i will tell you none of it made any sense!  LOL  but, what i did figure out was that, i wanted to use Essential oils instead of Fragrance oils, because they were not chemically achieved.  This did result in a lighter, but cleaner smell... which is my preference.

i used 4oz of Essential oil in each container... which can get spendy if you're buying them at a craft store, so i would suggest supporting your local Etsy sellers!!  Feel free to mix scents too!!  i used either Cloves or Peppermint in all of mine with a fruity addition to keep up a holiday feel!!  yum!!

then, just pour it it in!

start lining up your beauties... and note your wicks will move on you a bit, but just try and keep them somewhat supported and balanced!  you can do it!!  :)

then let them rest until they set up ( not long at all!!  a night resting would be enough to give your gifts away the next day!! ).

when you're ready... cut your wick down and wipe off all the extra messies & drips ( you may have made while filling them up )... easy peasy!!  and super gorgeous!!

i think, i'm finally done with all my teacher's gifts... i love them all and i hope my boy's teachers know how much i appreciate all their efforts towards their success!!

ps... my oldest just received another 4.0!!! ( including high school algebra... he's in 8th grade!! )  i'm super proud!!

Xo, Heather