Why Hire a Wedding Planner?

Is it worth to hire someone to do something you could do yourself?  Or can you...?

This may not be news.  Hiring a professional to guide you though unknown waters can save two valuable things:

- Money
- Stomach lining

If you just got engaged, now is the time to think about talking to a planner.  But, hold on!  This doesn't mean you have to hand over your creative control to a stranger who may or may not satisfy your needs.  A planner, a GOOD planner is not there to take over the vision of your wedding and cut you out of the loop.  

The role of a GOOD planner is to be YOUR agent.  They are there to argue on your side, arrange price breaks, advise you on common pitfalls, mediate family opinions and preferences and eventually, execute your wedding plan 
 
The most valuable (and possibly unreported) asset the wedding planner can provide is objectivity.  With the ever changing landscape of wedding etiquette, a knowledgeable planner can shed light on the common traditions and help you determine which ones are meaningful to you.  They can also help you navigate the sometimes treacherous waters between mothers/mothers-in-law and anyone else who wants to give you helpful guidance. See this post for more on the editing process.  What is Essential to a Great Wedding - and What Isn't.

Many times in my life, I have been attracted to the less expensive Do It Yourself solution to problems.  Sometimes that works out just fine.  Other times, I just end up spending my money twice.  Once, for all the supplies and fixes that come with the learning curve of being an amateur.  Then, again, to hire a professional to do it correctly.  

Your wedding, however, is not going to have a second time around!  Hopefully, you nail it the first time out of the gate.  

Simply, a wedding planner can help set you on a course to realize all of your dreams without the learning curve!

- They can save you money
- They can mediate difficult family disputes about taste and tradition
- They can be there for you when members of your wedding party are too busy to help out
- They take the whole journey of creating a perfect event with you and are ultimately the one who will supervise the decoration and execution of all details that you may be too overwhilemed to deal with two days before the big day.

My opinion: 

A planner is not for everyone and everyone needs a different level of assistance with planning an event of this magnitude. Seek out a planner who meets your individual needs and consult with them. You won't regret it.

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Christmas Advent Calendar Blocks By Janice K. Wallace

Christmas approaches beautifully with these hand-painted blocks that count down the days until the big morning!

 

These amazing blocks were handmade and hand painted by the amazing Janice K. Wallace of St. Louis, MO. (more on her in a later post) Janice is an abundantly talented and prolific artist.  She surprised us last Christmas with this incredible set of birch blocks.

 

 

Each block has a different theme on each of its six sides.  Letters, dates, hand-painted snowflakes, a pine tree stencil, fabric patterns, wood grain and that awesome silver circle design!  I can never decide which side I like best. 

 

 

The woodgrain is exposed on one side and the rings are selectively painted, then covered with a layer of polyurethane.

She also painted these dainty little snowflakes on one side of each block. 

 

 

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DIY: Holiday Tissue Paper Pom Poms

A twist on basic pom poms! Add fun and holiday spirit in a flash. 

 

These puff balls couldn't be easier to make.  Both my kid and I have them hanging in our bedrooms year round.  They really add life and lightness to a space.

But! A couple of weeks ago I was shopping and saw this cool candy cane striped paper, then red with white star bursts, then red tissue with hologram glitter!

I decided that I should make hanging pom-poms out of that cool tissue paper. I figured those patterns would add a little extra holiday spirit.  Now I have them hanging everywhere in the house!

Once you have your materials, these pom poms should only take 15 -20 minutes each to make.  If you have older kids, they will be totally able to handle this project with you.

MATERIALS YOU'LL NEED:
- 8 to 10 sheets of 20"x 30" tissue paper.  (The sheets can be different sizes as I have pictured in this post, but make sure your dimensions are proportionate.  Square pieces of tissue make oddly shaped puff balls).  Any color will work, I got these patterned papers at Walmart, but you can use any pattern, color or style you can get your hands on.

- Thin wire, like floral wire.  Something that's easy to bend with your fingers.

- Sturdy sharp scissors.

- Twine or fishing line to suspend the pom poms.


**Optional Materials** For glitter, eyelet pom poms, you will need:

- A standard hole punch

- Glitter (any color or size)

- Glue (Elmer's or PVA are ideal)

- A small paint brush

- 10" - 12" wooden skewer

Watch slideshow below for all the steps!

STEPS:

 1: Orient the paper so the short end is facing you.  Fold the tissue, accordion style, into 2" folds.  The width of the folds will vary depending on how large the paper is.  For smaller puffs, your folds may be closer to 1" wide. Medium size; folds should be about 1.5". Get it!?

2: Cut the ends of the strip so they have a nice curved edge or a pointed tipped end.  THEN! Fold the strip of accordion folded paper in half lengthwise and gently crease it.  Cut a small notch out of the top and bottom of the middle of the paper. 

3: Cut a length of wire about 10" long.  At one end, make a small loop and twist the wire back on itself.  Then, take that wire and wrap it around the center notches you just cut. Twist the wire back on itself, with the wire loop pointing upward; this will be your hanging loop.

4: Fan out the folds and  gently lift each layer of tissue paper.  Be careful not to tear the pieces as you pull them apart. Try to maintain a little horizontal wave in each layer so it looks more flowery and less like flat layers.

5: If you want to hang it, just tie a piece of string around your metal loop and you've got it!

Now, that you know the basics, you can build on that!  My favorite of all the puffballs is the eyelet variety.  

To make them, just follow steps 1 - 3.  Then once the layers are fanned out, use a hole punch to create a couple rows of eyelets along both edges.  After that, proceed with steps 4 & 5.  Just be extra careful when pulling apart the layers as the eyelet holes make the edges sort of fragile.

  

Aren't those pretty?  

I tried the same thing with that cool hologram glitter tissue.  Very cool! 

Puffing In Progress with Melanie and Meg

The last thing we tried was to make glitter puffs.  It's a little more time intensive, but boy are they sweet! I tried these with a couple friends and we did tag team glitter and it made it go faster and way more fun!

STEPS FOR GLITTER PUFFS:

Again, repeat steps 1 & 2.  Then, you will take the layers apart and glitter and glue them separately.  It doesn't matter if you keep them in any kind of order.  Ours got all turned around and it actually looks a little better!

1 & 2: Just lay the pieces flat on a large piece of scrap paper.  Put the glitter and the glue in separate bowls.  Paint the scalloped or pointed edges with glue; (you have to work kind of fast).  The glue may seem a little dry, and that is alright.  DO NOT WATER DOWN THE GLUE! 

3: Once the edge is painted with glue, sprinkle it with glitter and shake off the excess.  Repeat until all layers are glittered.  Let the sheets dry for 20 minutes or so.

4: Realign the sheets and refold them.  

5: Proceed with steps 3-5.

** 6: Orrr.....  You can make flower out of your puff!  Just cut a longer piece of wire and instead of a loop, wrap the wire around the middle of the tissue.  Take the remaining length of wire and tightly wrap it around the wooden skewer.  Then once you have pulled apart the layers, you can stick the skewer into a vase or a potted plant or something like that.

That's it!  I would love to see pictures of your puff balls/pom poms!  Does anyone have any other options to share?

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