THE TO
OF
Putting a personal touch on wedding details can be as easy as A-B-C (we promise!). With our smart strategies, a few chic and simple ideas, and the right resources, you will soon be pulling off custom elements for every part of your day. Consider this your handbook to the handmade. T E X T BY JA I M E B U E RG E R P H O TOG R A P H S BY B R YA N G A R D N E R
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A is for
Approach Before you say you’re too busy or just not crafty enough to attempt anything DIY, remember there’s more than one way to put a signature spin on your day. But first, a few ground rules for keeping your sanity: Pick easy projects (like the ones on these pages!) and plan ahead. We’re all for being ambitious, however trying to bake a wedding cake or arrange your own flowers in the hours before your nuptials— unless you’re a pro—is a one-way ticket to crazytown (believe us). Instead, think about what you’re naturally good at and would enjoy doing with your friends or family in the weeks or months beforehand. Whatever your skill set, we’ve got you covered.
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Color Palette
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Bone Folder
By now, you know we love color and working with a scheme. The big reason: It makes everything look cohesive, and once you choose two or three shades to represent your wedding, all design decisions become that much easier. If you love lilac and blush, for example, you’ve got a starting point for picking ink and paper for your stationery, and a spectrum for decorating ceremony programs, favor packaging, tabletop details . . . you get the idea. Let your favorite hues inspire you, or play off a palette that already exists at your venue. To stick to the right shades, pick up paint chips or fabric swatches and pass them on to vendors and attendants (and bring them with you to crafts stores).
To make the straightest and sharpest folds in everything from cardboard to tissue paper, a bone folder (available at crafts stores) is indispensable. We relied on one to create the crisp creases in the tented escort cards below—and just think how handy this slim guy (no longer always made of actual bone) will be when folding 100 ceremony programs.
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Fringe Scissors
Easy Embossing Warning: Once you pick up a handheld embosser, you’ll want to use it on everything. To create a custom design, choose a monogram or motif (see “M” for icon ideas) and e-mail a PDF of it to The Stamp Maker (from $49.50, thestampmaker.com). Then press it onto envelopes, cocktail napkins, place cards, favor boxes—you name it.
Dip It! If you can dunk a doughnut, you can do this. We reached for find-it-anywhere Rit liquid dye and good old-fashioned food coloring to prettify the printed paper goods at left. For the escort cards and menus, dip one corner of the paper into the dye, and let dry completely before dipping into another color (we used teal and royal blue, $4.50 each, michaels.com). If the paper wrinkles, iron it flat on the backside. The same technique works for the muffin cups: Mix 10 drops of blue with two drops of green McCormick’s Specialty Extracts Food Color ($2.50 each, walmart.com).
G Glue
To secure any project, you need the right stuff. Here, a roundup of the best ones for the job.
This spray adhesive mounts photos and attaches fabric (3 M Photo Mount adhesive spray, $18, michaels.com).
No-mess Glue Dots fasten lightweight items to virtually any surface and come in removable or permanent versions ($5/roll, michaels.com).
Its ultra-fine tip is ideal for applying small details like glitter and stickers (Martha Stewart Crafts glue pen, $3, michaels.com).
Our go-to for permanently affixing stones, gems, and beads to ceramics, metal, and plastic (E6000 crafting glue, $5 for 4 tubes, michaels.com).
Streamers, confetti, and tassels, oh my! For little projects that have a big impact, grab a pair of fringe scissors (Martha Stewart Crafts, $13, michaels.com). They’re also optimal for adding fluttery trim to programs, escort cards, menus, and more.
Aleene’s Tacky Glue works on most papers and fabrics, and creates a flexible, not stiff, hold when dry ($1.25, michaels.com).
Suspending lanterns, garlands, and other décor from above is one sure way to wow. Check that your venue allows it, and then enlist our favorite medium for invisibly elevating things: Beadalon “Supplemax” monofilament illusion cord. It’s clear, so lightweight decorations appear to be f loating ($3.50 for 164 feet, michaels.com).
Hot glue instantly bonds with no drying time, and is particularly good for filling in crevices or small gaps in projects (Art Minds mini glue gun, $4, michaels.com).
H
Hang
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A TO Z OF DIY
A TO Z OF DIY
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SUMMER 2015
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Motifs
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Dress up invites, programs, menus, and more with your own “brand.” Find these free ones on our site (marthastewartweddings.com/motifs) and others at TheGraphicsFairy.com or VintagePrintable.com.
Kids
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A little goes a long way when it comes to entertaining your smallest guests. SET THE TABLE
Put down a paper runner or place mats, along with markers and crayons, so kids can channel their inner Picasso.
Invitations Embellish your invites with any of these super-simple ideas. 1. PERSONALIZE YOUR POSTAGE Make an extra-special delivery with a custom
stamp (go to Zazzle.com to create one). Or, stick on vintage versions from ChampionStamp.com, which has hundreds of designs and countless color schemes. 2. PLAY UP A PATTE RN Give the inside of envelopes some love—and your guests a nice surprise—with an eye-catching paper liner. Download templates and instructions from our website (marthastewartweddings.com/envelope-liner). 3. ADD A FAVE FABR IC Apply a tactile backer by coating cloth with spray adhesive and pressing your invite on top. Once dry, trim off excess fabric with a rotary blade. 4. IMPRINT IT Place a stylish motif on stationery elements using a custom stamp (make one at RubberStampChamp.com) and colorful ink. 5. TIE ONE ON Bundle your entire suite with string or butcher’s twine for a casual twist on gift-wrapping.
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apanese Hole Punch This mighty gadget can punch through almost anything, including leather (Martha Stewart Crafts screw punch, $25, michaels.com).
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To make these posh pouches, which can wrap jewelry or pocket squares for your wedding party, download our template at marthastewartweddings.com/ leather-pouch.
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N
is for Numbers
is for
ADD ACTIVITIES
OFFER SNACKS
Keep children satiated with grab-and-go packs of universal favorites like gumdrops, popcorn, and juice boxes.
Cut leather according to the template; punch a hole in two opposing flaps.
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Fold flaps and thread a leather string through the holes to close.
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Save yourself time and shop for these top-notch details from the comfort of your couch. A few of our favorite sites: FOR SWEET TREATS
Candy.com Nuts.com PapaBubble.com
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Glerup.com NashvilleWraps.com Uline.com
FOR CUTE PAPER GOODS
ForYourParty.com PaperMart.com ShopSweetLulu.com
Easiest. DIY. Ever. Smooth personalized labels onto favors, welcome boxes, wine bottles, and more. Hit up the local officesupply store for blank labels that you can customize on your computer, or add your info to predesigned labels at Minted.com or WeddingPaperDivas .com. For rustic charm, purchase blank chalkboard labels from PaperPresentation.com and handwrite your own sweet message.
+ See all of our go-to DIY sources at marthastewart weddings.com/ diy-sources
Online
FOR NICE PACKAGING
Labels
Bind inexpensive coloring books, word searches, and Mad Libs–style games with twine and place at each setting.
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Q Quick Fixes
To create glitzy table markers on a dime, take basic wooden numbers (available at crafts-supply or hardware stores), use a leafing kit to gild (we like the Mona Lisa metal leaf starter kit, $10, michaels .com), and voila, as good as gold!
Last-minute adjustments are par for the course. Keep these workhorses handy to repair any snags. 1. Stitch Witchery for undone hems (Dritz, $7.50, amazon.com) 2. X-acto knife for precise trimming of fabric and paper ($7, michaels.com) 3. Gaffer’s tape for temporarily securing items to walls or floors ($23 for 3 rolls, uline.com) 4. Zip ties for fastening cables or cords ($4.50 for 100, homedepot.com)
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Pretty Packaging Good things come in nice packages. Gussy them up in four ways. 1. WINE THEM Wrap mini wine bottles in butcher paper, secure with twine,
and finish with a wax seal, which is also cool for closing invites’ inner envelopes (wax seal, $15, sealing wax, $5 for 2 sticks, nostalgicimpressions.com). 2. BOX IT Welcome out-of-towners with a goody-stuffed wooden box, sealed with a personalized label (recipe box, $3.75, dufeckwood.com). 3. SHOW YOUR COLORS Use a circle punch on a box lid, adhering fabric underneath with double-sided tape (circle punch, $6, michaels.com). 4. TIE A BOW Maybe the most effortless (and chicest) presentation: Lay a jar of jam or nuts on top of a fabric square; gather the two opposing corners and tie, then repeat with the other corners.
M A RT H AST E WA RT W E D D I N G S .CO M
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Simple Sewing If you can make a running stitch on a sewing machine, then you can make each of these ideas in 10 minutes flat. 1. HANDY HANKIES For blotting away happy tears, attach folded tissues to
is for Ribbons THESE COLORFUL CORDONS are the
soul and style of multitasking: They make magical bouquet wraps, ring pillows, napkin ties, flower girl sashes . . . the list goes on. For the best selection, we swear by M&J Trimming (mjtrim .com), Mokuba.com, and EastCoast Trimming.com, where you can find the satin specimens shown above.
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Upcycling
Vessels
Get a jump-start on using your new joint initial by bedecking your guest book or other post-ceremony paper goods with a rub-on transfer sticker (custom transfer, from $175, imagetransfer.net). We covered a blank book with a swatch of purple lambskin (from leatherimpact.com), then rubbed an initial transfer sticker on top with a bone folder.
Whether for flowers or candles, think beyond the ordinary for containers. Try (top row, from left) a milk-glass vase, $6.50, lunabazaar.com; “Ai” bud vase, $10, cb2.com; brass julep cup, $4, jamaligarden.com. Middle: silver cylinder, $5, “Cut Work” luster bottle case, $6, and“Optical Line” bud vase, $4, jamaligarden.com; Marta” double old-fashioned glass, $2.50, cb2.com. Bottom: medicine-bottle bud vase, $12 for 6, Nouvel Studio “Twist” tumbler, $24, barneys.com; “Ai” bud vase, $10, cb2.com.
Xyron Machine
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+ Find amazing ways to work a ribbon at martha stewartweddings/ ribbon-projects
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Transfer
When guests sip out of Mason jars at cocktail time, that’s upcycling—giving an old item new purpose— and it’s both creative and environmentally sound. Other ideas: Use maps as envelope liners, or cut slits into corks to hold place cards. Even having your florist move your ceremony marker to the reception space counts. Going green has never been so festive!
STYLED BY KATIE COVINGTO N. ART DI RECTED BY MIC HAEL MCCO RMICK
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programs (your grandma will thank you). Print your ceremony info onto paper, and cut each sheet to 5-by-10 inches (80-lb cover paper, $8, paper presentation.com). Fold the stack in half with a bone folder to create a 5-by-5inch program. Place tissue into a glassine bag, and stitch all together at the top. 2. JUBILANT TOSS Combine confetti in a clear plastic bag. Cut paper into triangles (text-weight paper, $8 for 50 sheets, paperpresentation.com). Sew along one corner to close bag and attach it to paper backing. 3. SPECIAL DELIVERIES Fancy up favors by gently folding a rectangular sheet of paper to meet at the long ends (“Slate & Blue Flourish” paper, $5 for a 20-by-28-inch sheet, papersource.com); sew together to create a seam. Sew one short end shut, then insert a small gift box. Line up a thank-you tag at the other short end; sew to seal.
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CONFESSION NO. 2: We turn to this gadget, which can make a sticker out of nearly anything, when we need flair in a flash. Run fabric, ribbons, coins, or any other relatively flat item through a Xyron machine (#150 sticker maker, $15, michaels.com), and watch as it magically comes out the other end with an adhesive backing, ready for use. To make these decorative trims, we gave lace ribbons the Xyron treatment and cut to the length of the linen.
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W Washi Tape
CONFESSION NO. 1: We’ve long been obsessed with this Japanese import, typically made from natural fibers. It can be as strong as duct tape—but it’s so much cuter. Cut strips to close welcome-bag snacks, affix escort cards to a board, or seal envelopes. Browse literally thousands of colors, patterns, and widths at CuteTape.com, PaperSource.com, and Wishy-Washy.com.
Y is for
Yarn
This homespun staple has upped its fashion game lately with a stunning variety of weights and textures. Tie it around boxes or string up escort cards for a colorful touch.
Zero Stress When you’re feeling bogged down in the details, or find yourself behind whatever schedule you’ve set, this message is for you: Sit down, relax, breathe. Everything will work out, and don’t be afraid to ask for help (that’s what ’maids are for!). Grab your best friends, crack open some vino, and craft your way to your most memorable day. See The Guide for more story details