I have been a crafting maniac this weekend! I am trying to finish up the end table that I bought (I showed you the before pic in an earlier post *shudder*). I wanted to do some kind of medallion stencil on the top. I ended up choosing something at AC Moore that was the best I could get but after doing it yesterday….I don’t like it. But I may just live with it for now because I really don’t want to have to repaint the top! I’ll show you the result when I’m completely done.

I also made one of my bridesmaid gifts. They turned out really cute and I wish I had made me some too.

Then I also had an idea to make a framed chalkboard to display an announcement at our reception. The actual announcement is a surprise so stay tuned, but all I needed was a frame from Goodwill and I was good to go. Well I stopped by there after work on Friday and found something perfect! It was a bit longer instead of square (which I wanted) and had some visual interest to the frame itself. Here is what I found:

Hideous, am I right? And excuse the ugly chair it sits in, it’s my mothers. Sorry mom, but it’s true. Back to the frame. I love grandmothers as much as the next person, but that is better expressed in a card or poem or even interpretive dance. Not with this framed monstrosity. The tag on it said $6.50, which in my estimation was a serious rip off for this thing. Especially since they were selling a nice, solid, wooden child’s bench right beside it for $15. But apparently Goodwill does not negotiate on prices. They won’t even let you finish your sentence where you implore them to accept your $5 bill instead of charging on your debit card. So don’t even try. Also can you believe I had two people tell me this thing was pretty? I had to think “no, it’s ugly but it will be pretty soon!”

So I brought it home and spray painted the frame with some pink paint I had leftover from another craft.

*side note* have you ever painted outside when the wind is blowing? That is a real treat.

While the frame was drying, I spray painted the glass with some chalkboard paint. And of course I look down and notice that the gusts of wind have apparently blown one of my hairs directly into the paint. Lovely. So now there is a slight hair-like streak from when I tried to gingerly pull it out. Mistakes give character, right? A couple coats later it was done! Easy craft and now my eyes don’t hurt when I look at it! Here’s the after:

Now all I need is some chalk and she’s ready for the wedding reception. I love crafts!

I remember August 26th. Also known as the last time I blogged. WHAT? It’s a good thing I am not being paid to update because I would been rolling pennies for gas I’d be so broke (thanks Jeff Foxworthy for that phrase which I just stole).

Yes there is a still a wedding and yes I am still preparing for it. Let me tell you about a new obsession: Pinterest. If you are not on it already either, A. stay away lest your life become a black hole of pointless behavior or B. join it and make lots of amazing stuff that people inspire you to do. I have gotten a few ideas off there for the wedding but most stuff I had already planned for.

It’s almost time to send out the invitations and I’m so excited to do that. It seems so much more real that way! Only a little over 2 months until I see Clarence. I’m praying it passes quickly because long distance is very tough. I’m so thankful to have such a sweet, amazing fiance to go through this time with. He’s so thoughtful and caring. But back off ladies, he’s mine

Here are some exciting things that have happened lately:

• we’ve ordered our rings
• plane tickets are booked
• my dress is in the alteration process
• all the DIY decorations are well under way
• honeymoon cabin reserved
• we completed pre-marital counseling thanks to the wonders of Skype

Still plenty to do, but most is done. How am I doing on budget? Well, we are a bit over our 5k budget but there is also a number of items I’m selling afterwards so I hope to break even or even better. If only photographers weren’t so expensive! That is pretty much half my budget. Here is a glimpse of a night of crafting that took place. Any idea what I’ll do with them?

Talking about wedding stuff seems really insignificant in the midst of what is going on in Africa right now. I have set up a fundraising page through World Help and am begging all of you to get involved. People are dying. We have to do something. Follow the link below to read more and to give.

Give to help those starving in the Horn of Africa

I have been determined that I was not going to be a bridezilla through this planning process. So far so good. Let’s hope as it gets closer I can be as relaxed and chill.

I’ve been a crafting maniac recently. It’s so fun! There is still quite a bit to do, but I’m happy with the couple things I finished today. If you remember my invitation from the link below, I mentioned that we were incorporating more bunting flags into the day. One way is to hang some on a few tables at the reception. This is what I finished today:

I started by going over to Joann’s Fabrics and perusing the fat quarter fabrics. I knew I wanted some pinks and greens to play off the wedding colors. I was in luck because they were all on sale for .99 a piece! I bought 4 different kinds. I also got some double folded bias tape to connect them all together.

Once home, I laid out the fabric and cut them into the triangle size that I wanted. Then I put two together with the main part of the fabric facing in. I sewed them together and then turned them inside out. It took a bit of work to get the tip out all the way, but nothing a little determination couldn’t handle. After ironing them flat, I measured and laid them out on the bias tape so that they were evenly spaced. I had just enough triangles to complete two of the 3 yard bias tape packets. Perfect. Finally, I sewed along the bias tape to hold the triangles in place. That’s it. Really simple and super cute! Total spent, about $9.

The other craft I finished today was the ruffle wreath!I first saw this craft idea here. Adorable, right? I thought it would be really cute to hang two on the church doors with one of our initials in each. I basically just followed the tutorial mentioned above. I found chiffon fabric on sale for $2 at Joann’s (plus coupons make it an even better deal). I have not completed the second wreath yet because I realized I need a bit more fabric, but between the two it will still only cost me about $15. Here is the completed one:

What do you think? I love them Little touches that make it personal and fun. What DIY have/are you doing for your wedding?

Wanna come see us get hitched?

Invitations are the first impression people will get about how your big day is going to be. I knew I wanted something a little a-typical but didn’t want to pay a lot. Well after a lot of research and tips from fellow brides on www.weddingbee.com, I decided to download a FREE invitation suite from here. They have quite a few modern and cute designs to choose from. We decided to go with this adorable bunting option.

In fact, it is setting the theme for the wedding. You will see how in the future….Gotta leave some suspense, people!

So far we have spend $0. But at some point we have to print these suckers, right? Well, after researching a number of options, I found the most inexpensive but also reliable option. For under $80, we printed 150 invitations here. One thing I love is that they send you one hard copy to approve (for free!) before they complete your order. So if there is something you want to adjust, you can do it before they are all shipped.

Though this site also has envelopes, I found a less expensive version that also gives a little bit of color. Like so…

These cuties were only $5.55 for 50. I found them here and can’t wait to put it all together and ship them out.

Total for 150 invitations (not including postage)?

~$95

Another cost cutting idea? Adjusting the RSVP card in a Photoshop-like program so that it can fit onto a postcard. No extra envelopes to buy.

How many times have I asked that question since I started planning for the wedding? Quite a lot. Followed closely by a “you should be ashamed of yourself.” Granted that part was in my head, but honestly, what are people thinking charging what they do for wedding stuff? It’s highway robbery. All because there are crazy people who pay it. Well, I’m not one of those crazy people. I may be crazy for other reasons, but I am not paying $3000 to have my wedding reception on the grounds of a pretty house.

So then what have I done so far? Well, our ceremony is going to be at my church. Actually the old church, the original one. It’s part of my youth since I grew up around the building and it also has lots of character. Instead of $3000, it’s only a few hundred. Look at this beaut:

For the reception, we are having it at the Aviary. It’s over 100 years old and is a hidden gem in Lynchburg. I’ve lived here most of my life and never knew it existed. It used to be a bird house. So unique. So cute. And so inexpensive! Only $220 for 8 hours. Since it is owned by the city Parks & Recreation, they are not trying to make money like all the other thieves in this business. Haha. I think it’s going to be absolutely beautiful.

Those are a few things we’ve reserved. I have lots more to share! And you can pretend to be as excited as I am.

Wow, a lot has been going on since July 4th. It’s been a whirlwind of activity. My grandmother passed away on the 4th. She was 92 and quite the firecracker, as many of my family members so aptly put it. We spent all of last week in Nashville for her visitation and funeral. It was bittersweet, as all Christian funerals tend to be. I know I will see her again so there is great comfort in that!

On the way home yesterday my mom started to have some chest/back pains and waves of anxiety. We were driving through Knoxville and my dad hurriedly found the closest hospital. Not a fun situation. We spent the next 5 hours there as they ran a myriad of tests. Thankfully, they ruled out problems with her heart or blood clots. They gave her some meds and thought it might just be chest wall pain that will go away with rest. She will check with her physician here tomorrow. I am VERY thankful that she is ok and feeling a bit better. Long day. Long WEEK.

I mentioned that I would share some of my wedding stuff. Well let me give you a sneak peek first. My inspiration board! I had already picked out our colors for a spring wedding and grew so attached to them that when our plans changed, I decided I didn’t want to give them up. So what if pinks and greens are spring colors and our wedding is in January? We like a little unconventional design. So, tell me what you think!

Just as I mentioned in the last post, there are some BIG things going on my life. The biggest of which is pretty much explained in the title. On January 7th, 2012, I will become Mrs. Wong! I look forward to thoroughly confusing people who see my last name which is in direct contrast with my very white skin tone.

I’ve known for awhile that I was going to marry this wonderful, thoughtful, sweet, asian hottie named Clarence, but we just didn’t know when. In the last few months since I returned from Manila, we have been trying to find Clarence a job in the US, but nothing was happening. He took a 3 month contract position with a company in Singapore and at the end of it, they offered him a better position, but it required a two year commitment. Well after lots of talking and prayer, we decided it made the most sense. Though I don’t look forward to being apart from my family again, I know that it is only for a season and then (as Clarence promised) we will return to the US. I look forward to spending more time with his family there. And, of course, I always like the adventure of living in a new environment. So please do pray that I can find a job there quickly!

So since I’m getting married in 6 months, be prepared for a lot of wedding posts. In the next few days I’m going to share the first details of my ceremony and reception. It’s DEFINITELY a budget wedding and it’s fun to arrange things and plan for some DIY crafts. So stay tuned! I can’t wait to share more. I’m so blessed!

So there is tons to update you on, but until things are more firm, it’s gonna have to wait. In the meantime….let me share the slipcover I just finished!

Months ago I came across an amazing site. A lady who makes slipcovers so beautiful that it looks like she reupholstered the pieces. Then I found out that she actually sells a DVD walking you through the process of slipcovering. So though I hadn’t sewn a single thing since 8th grade home-economics, I decided to be ambitious and try to make one myself. Yes, I am VERY ambitious, haha.

Turns out my mom still had her sewing machine and after checking, it worked perfectly. That was a step in the right direction. Then I found a $30 chair on Craigslist. Here is what the faded, flowerly, scary fabric looked like before:

I saw some fabric used on the site above that I knew I just HAD TO have. So after finding a good deal on it, I bit the bullet and bought about 9 yards of it. And it’s a good thing I did because I literally only had scraps left over.

The first part of it was good and though I wasn’t sure what to do in some instances, I winged it and tried to just figure it out. There was one point where I just had to take a break from it for awhile or else I would end up throwing my mom’s machine across the room. But then I committed myself and finished it within a few days.

It’s DEFINITELY not perfect but I’m proud of my first slipcover. I won’t point out all the mistakes but there definitely are some. Still, I’m proud. Not sure I will do another one anytime soon, but I encourage all of you to try! Here’s the completed chair!

Sorry there is no day 5 but I got sick that day and was not able to make a video. I hope you enjoy the video from our last day. We had such an amazing time in El Salvador. God is certainly moving through the lives of the people here! We all should be participating in missions and this church showed us how much is possible when you serve with all your heart! We can’t wait to show you the finished video! Until then, enjoy day 6