The Crafting Bonanza and Other Updates

A lot has happened in the last few weeks since I've posted! It's crazy how quickly time flies. One of my best friends from college got married this weekend to a super nice guy at this beautiful venue near Orlando. Now they're honeymooning at Disneyland and not gonna lie, B and I are a little jealous about that part.

Pavilion on the Lake in Tavares, Florida, where my friend got married. It was beautiful! Image via venues.puffnstuff.com

I've been busy working on lots of orders and projects! I really need to get better at learning to balance my crafting/production time and my blogging time.

I LOVE paper flowers and I know I want to do them for my wedding, so when my bride Stacey asked me to experiment with making giant paper roses, I figured it was as good a time as any to jump in to that. I love how my first one came out and I love the medium! I used the Green Wedding Shoes tutorial and the Martha Stewart flower template.

My first attempt at a paper rose! Via my Instagram.

It really has been a crafting marathon bonanza at my house these past few weeks. In addition to paper flowers, I made boutonnières for a groom in Canada. I love how they turned out!

Creative, Personalized Cake Topper Options

I am so, so excited for this post. I've got some fun things in the works and I can't wait to share them with you all.

Up until recently, cake toppers weren't something that I'd thought about a whole lot. But after painting an adorable pair of peg people cake toppers for my own someday wedding, I thought, "hey, this is really fun, I'd like to make more of these." So the wheels in my head started turning on how to start making this a potential product for my shop. Around the same time, Patience Brewster contacted me about collaborating to show you all some awesome options for cake toppers. So now my head is full of all things cake topper-related (haha) and I can't wait to show my readers some creative options!

Not so long ago, it was really hard to find any kind of cake topper that reflected who you are as a couple, especially if you're a person/people of color, a same-sex couple, or even just wanting something a little different. Thankfully, that's changing and there are so many more options these days. Instead of a traditional one piece cake topper, I love "cake toppers" that are separate pieces, allowing couples to chose different figures representing their personalities, physical features, and gender.

Hand-painted Peg People Cake Toppers

I'm so excited to debut this new item for my shop! These adorable peg people are completely customizable: hair color, skin tone, eye color, clothing, veils, and gender.

You can also go with tall and short, like I've done here or both tall/both short. Or if you've got children you want to include, the parents can be tall and the kids short. All kinds of families and couples should be able to have cake toppers that reflect themselves!

These are the cake toppers that I made for my wedding, using blank peg people from Dandelionland. She makes some of the most adorable personalized wooden cake toppers.

I'll give them clothes when we get a closer to an actual wedding date and know what we're wearing!

Ornaments as Cake Toppers

I don't know that I would have thought of this right off the bat on my own, but after talking with the folks at Patience Brewster, it got me thinking about what awesome cake toppers ornaments can make. It's the same general idea, choose two separate pieces that represent you individually as a couple and bring them together as one awesome cake topper!

Patience Brewster makes whimsical ornaments based on her drawings. So cute and playful!

Here are some of my favorite combinations of ornaments for cake toppers...

Boy/Girl of the same kind of animal (or Girl/Girl, Boy/Boy)

Two different kinds of animals that represent you each individually.

How about some cute little elves?!

Happy Memorial Day!

Happy Memorial Day! I put together some Red, White, and Blue wedding inspiration for the occasion! Summer's around the corner-- already here in Florida, let's be real-- and red, white, and blue would be an awesome summer wedding color scheme, especially for July.

All images via Pinterest. Check out my board for all sources.

Patriotic pretty things and weekend fun times are all well and good, but let's not forget the real reason for Memorial Day, to remember those who gave their lives for our sakes!

Sixties wedding dresses that are totally on trend

Did anyone else see this post on Buzzfeed? I looked through it because I love old photos and retro fashion, but as I was scrolling through, what stuck out to to me was how many of the brides were wearing trends that are super popular right now (and not just the "vintage" trend).

Short Dresses

I love Say Yes to the Dress and fairly often, there's a mama on there freaking out because her daughter wants to wear a short dress instead of a long traditional dress. Haha, well, this is 50 years ago, look at all the short dresses! So many!

via Buzzfeed

via Buzzfeed

via Buzzfeed

via Buzzfeed

via Buzzfeed

Wedding Dresses with Color

Wedding dresses that aren't all white or ivory are a huge trend right now. So many people want a white wedding dress because they're traditional. Even though it's no secret that that "tradition" only goes back less than 200 years to the wedding of Queen Victoria, even in the 60s, there were wedding dresses in colors besides white.  

via Buzzfeed

I mean, how awesome is her light blue wedding dress?!

Alternative Wedding Bouquets

As I've mentioned before, I'm pretty new to Instagram and I love it. Besides being fun because of all the pretty pictures, it's a great way to meet new people and find new things. I've long been obsessed with paper flowers and I'm planning on using them for my wedding. Through Instagram, I've found several paper florists (is that what they're called? is that a thing?) that I was previously unaware of. I also found another cool alternative to fresh flowers that even though I probably won't do, I'm super in awe of them. And well, I make alternative bouquets too, so I'll talk about myself a little (haha).

Like I said, I've been loving on paper flowers for awhile now, but I just recently found a few really good makers of them on IG. Probably my favorite is Margie Keates from The Lovely Ave. I've been Instagram stalking her for the last few weeks and she does some great work. I'd love to have some of her flowers at my wedding (if I haven't been too creepy of a stalker and she'll talk to me, that is).

From The Lovely Ave @thelovelyave on Instagram.

From @thelovelyave on Instagram.

Super pretty, huh? And check out her beautiful new website!

The other super talented maker of alternative bouquets that I've been in awe of lately, is Meghan LaCroix. She makes the most gorgeous, fresh-looking bouquets that I would never believe are actually dried and preserved.

From @MeghanLaCroix on Instagram

Roundup for the Week: Bridal Market, Prom, and Self Esteem

Hello! I've been a little more absent from the blog lately, so I've been amassing a bunch of things that I want to share with you! 

I had no idea that this week would be Bridal Market, but it's been blowing up my Instagram and Facebook today!

RIVINI Fall 2015. Photo from Bridals by Lori on Facebook. I love the shape and embelishments, but maybe a little too sheer in places for my tastes.

RIVINI Fall 2015. Photo from Bridals by Lori on Facebook. I'm loving all the sleeves and in general, the lack of strapless! So glad that trend is at least temporarily over.

Happy St Patrick's Day!

I love green and being Irish, so St Patrick's Day is one of my favorites.  Hope you have a great and safe day, whatever you choose to do!  

Here's some green and white wedding inspiration for the occasion!

-Robin

Daylight Savings Time: Spring Ahead Wedding Inspiration

This Sunday was Daylight Savings Time!  While I'm not a huge fan of the concept itself, I love when it's finally spring time and we can set our clocks ahead.  The lost hour of sleep was a big bummer (and it's always on a church morning), but I love it when it stays lighter out later.  It's super hot here in Florida today and there's no denying that spring (summer for us Floridians, who am I kidding) is on its way.  This winter has been a difficult one for us in many ways and I'm so excited for the promise of new beginnings that comes with spring and Easter.

The wine is from an awesome local winery, Keel and Curley Winery.  They make wine that incorporates great local flavors like strawberry, key lime, and blueberry.  Almost spring means it's strawberry time here in Central Florida!

I'm very excited for this time of year.  What about you?

-Robin

St Patrick's Day Wedding Inspiration

Now that Valentine's Day is over, the next big holiday is St Patrick's Day, one of my favorites!  Lots of green, Irish pride, and not a lot of religious traditions for consumerism to trample.  So in honor of St Patrick's Day, I put together some green (and white) wedding inspiration!

All images via Pinterest, check out my St Patrick's Day Pinterest Board for original sources

I think around St Patrick's Day would be a great time for a wedding!

-Robin

My most pinned image

Just a little bit of pretty to brighten your Friday!  I loved this image when I pinned it: the pretty tattoos, the Sarah Seven dress with which I'm OBSESSED, and the fact that it linked to a blog post about a budget wedding with a Smashing Pumpkins recessional.  All things I love.  It's since become my pin with the most re-pins and likes!  I wish I could take a little more credit for how awesome it is, but it still makes me happy when I check Pinterest and almost every day it's gotten more re-pins!

Image by Lydia Jane Photography, via Green Wedding Shoes

'Tis the season for red and white

I absolutely cannot believe that January is almost over already.  We're only a few weeks away from Valentine's Day.  February just sort of radiates red and pink to me.  I've already posted some inspiration for a wedding in that palette.  Today, I've got a sneak peek for a wedding package I'm putting together for an Etsy customer.  She's planning a red and white courthouse wedding and I can't wait to see how everything turns out!  For now though, here's a little indicator of what's to come...

I love the polka dots and vintage flowers, they look so cheery with the red.  Can't wait to get the rest of the order done and on its way to her!

Check out my boutonnières and other handmade felt items at my shop, Fuzzy Rose!

Hope you're having a great week!

-Robin

Brightening a gloomy week

I can't imagine living anywhere cold.  Sure, sometimes (a lot of times) I complain about the heat, but gosh.  It's been cold (for us) and gloomy for the past few days and I can't stand it.  Not to mention the fact that I've been sick for almost a week now.  How do people do this cold weather thing for months at a time?!?  I've been having a hard time getting going in the morning when it's almost as dark out as when I went to bed.  Florida girl struggles.

(I was just scrolling though my blog feed and I saw several posts with the first few lines complaining about the gloomy weather.  I guess it's not just me!)

Luckily, the sun broke out a few hours ago and the skies are blue again (at least for now).  Still though, I'm daydreaming of summer sun, so I thought I'd put together some sunny yellow wedding inspiration.

Visit my Pinterest board at http://www.pinterest.com/robinrosedesign/sunny-yellow-wedding-inspiration/ for sources.

Also, I can't believe it, but this is my 50th post!!!

-Robin

A Marsala Wedding

A few weeks ago, Pantone announced that its Color of the Year 2015 was Marsala, a deep red color.  I'm not gonna lie, I was pretty horrified when I saw the choice.  To me, it conjures mental images of dried blood and raw meat.  Considering Pantone's pick usually heavily influences wedding colors for the year, it left me thinking, eww... crime scene wedding theme, anyone?  As I've browsed Pinterest though, I've seen it used in some really pretty ways, which brings me to Marsala wedding inspiration!  I still wouldn't necessarily pick it for my own wedding, but it looks like it could be a pretty year after all! (And if not, I'll take one of those Red Wine Slushies with Chocolate Whipped Cream to make myself feel better.)

Check out my Marsala Wedding Inspiration Pinterest page for sources.

-Robin

Valentine's Day Wedding Inspiration

I love it when a favorite pinner, in my case it's usually glitzandlove on the Chic Vintage Wedding Inspiration board, pins lots of beautiful inspiration in a color theme, all at the same time.  Even if they're not colors I would choose, seeing all the pretty clustered in one spot is fun.  Today, it was lots of pink and red inspiration.  Those colors always make me think of Valentine's Day, so cheerful and festive!  Writing about Valentine's Day anything right now seems super premature (and it probably is), but I figure if you're planning a February wedding, now's the time to be figuring out details.  So I've compiled some of the best of the Chic Vintage Wedding pins and added a few of my own!  Enjoy!

All images via Pinterest; the boutonnière is from my Etsy shop, fuzzyrose.etsy.com

Happy Halloween! Celebrating with some Halloween wedding inspiration...

I love Halloween.  It's one of my favorite holidays and the preparations around here can get as frantic and chaotic as the days before Christmas.  We got to attend Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween party this year, which is always a good time.  We were super busy in the days leading it up to it, getting our costumes ready... we went as the War Doctor and Rose Tyler/The Moment's Interface, super nerdy costumes!  Not quite as recognizable as our costumes last year, the 11th Doctor and the Tardis, but the people who did know what we were were super excited about it.  Last year, we were like movie stars.  Both fun!

Anyway,  I'm getting sidetracked.  I'd love to have a Halloween wedding.  Whether it happens for me remains to be seen, but either way, I thought I'd celebrate by putting together some Halloween wedding inspiration.
Clockwise from top left: formalfringe.com, Silver Sequin wedding dress from the Sarah Seven Fall 2013 Collection via Green Wedding Shoes, TellableDesign on Etsy, DIY Lace Candles on Bridesmaid.com, mybungalow.org, AbbyJeanPhoto on Flickr

I have another variation on a Halloween Wedding bumping around in my head, so maybe I'll be back after the fact with another mood board, but for now, here's a start!  I like a subtle theme: pumpkins, lots of grey and black, shimmering metallics, candles, and a few spiderwebs and coffins here and there.

And I can't talk about Halloween weddings without sharing my favorite inspiration photo from Mary + Stefan's Artsy Halloween Wedding on Green Wedding Shoes....

Happy Halloween! Boo to you!

-Robin

Leu Gardens Weddings

So last week, I wrote about Leu Gardens, a great Central Florida day trip.  While researching to write that post, I found lots of images of weddings there!  So this week, I thought I'd share what a great wedding venue it is... in addition to a fun place to visit!

via Rai Cox on Pinterest

Vitamin String Quartet: Alternative Wedding Music that Sounds Traditional

Vitamin String Quartet has been a popular choice for wedding music for quite awhile now and their awesomeness is not breaking news.  Still though, I was pretty surprised when I was reading some comments on Rock N Roll Bride and saw that there was VSQ version of the Smashing Pumpkins' Stand Inside Your Love.  I'm pretty obsessed with the Pumpkins, so I was excited by this revelation.  Then, I found out that there's an entire album, "The String Tribute to Smashing Pumpkins."  I went on YouTube to hunt for it and fell down the rabbit hole of VSQ options. 

 

This cover of 1979 is amazing.

Pompeii by Bastille is a fun song anyway, but it is gorgeous in the VSQ cover.

All I Want is You by U2.  So good....

Welcome to the Black Parade by My Chemical Romance.  So beautiful and the cover has a completely different feel from the (awesome) original.

Wake Me Up by Avicii

And because we love Avicii so much, Hey Brother.

Covers by Vitamin String Quartet are an awesome way for couples to use their favorite pop and rock songs in a way that sounds traditional and pretty, plus doesn't cause elderly Great Aunt Ethel to clutch her pearls.  Although go ahead and use the original version if that's what rocks your boat!

Also, can I just say that being a blogger is awesome, I got to listen to this music all afternoon as "research"....

HOW TO: Make a Fun Rehearsal Bouquet

It's traditional, at least around here, to make a bouquet out of bows from the bridal shower for the bride to carry at the rehearsal.  As the Maid of Honor, I got tasked to make one for my friend Jessica.  It's a pretty goofy, not-supposed-to-be-glamourous tradition, but I still wanted to try to make something cute. 

Lovely Summer by Celest on Etsy: Orange and Yellow Summer Wedding Treasury

I love featuring fun product treasuries from Etsy that I've been included in.  Today's featured treasury, Lovely Summer, comes from Celest on Etsy and features items perfect for a summer wedding in shades of orange and yellow.  Orange and yellow can seem dated, but it seems these colors are making comeback, according to Pantone, at least.

Check out the preview of this fun treasury below and visit the treasury page here for a bigger view and product links!

Alexandra + Ryan's Eco-Friendly Maryland Wedding

Despite the fact that I sell mostly boutonnières for men, most of my clients are brides. Ryan is actually one of the few grooms that have contacted me.... getting boutonnières was one of his only wedding responsibilities.  I was surprised when he messaged me a few months later to tell me that their awesome eco-friendly wedding had been featured on the DC-area blog, United With Love.  Even more to my surprise, United With Love has become the top referring site to my Etsy shop, with over 800 views!  

This green and blue wedding is cheerful and preppy with lots of Etsy-sourced items and eco-friendly elements, including composting and recycling as much as they could! The reception was held at a family friend's property and family and friends pitched in to DIY many parts of this wedding.  It looks like such a bright and happy labor of love!

All images by Jessica Schmitt Photography