Looking Back

Today was my anniversary, but before you start to think things are rocky (because I'm writing about it instead of celebrating it), you can rest assured that all is well.  We celebrated on Friday night with dinner at a Brazilian steakhouse and a little Louis C.K. at the Minneapolis Convention Center prior to my husband's business trip.

Anyway, I thought I'd share some crafty goodness from the day in question.

Setting up at Sand Rock Farm, Aptos, CA

The color scheme evolved as I started to make my centerpieces.  I used the Magnolia Flower Kit from Paper Source.  My inspiration came from this wedding, where someone had made the bouquet.  I loved her color scheme and wanted to recreate something like that.  When I tried, however, I absolutely could not stand the outcome.  It looked ridiculous and, since that was many years ago, I have no photographic evidence to prove it.  Just take my word for it.

Anyway, then I started to play with yellows and oranges and I happened upon my colors.  ("My colors are blush and bashful."  "Her colors are pink and pink!" -- Steel Magnolia's, anyone?)

I added a little piston-thing to the center of some of them.  I changed up the colors of the greens for the leaves.  Getting going it felt like these took forever to make, but I eventually got a little assembly line going.  I used a metal wire wreath frame to wound around the floral wire stems and then I finished it off with some light green ribbon...to cover up all the wire bulk.

For the final centerpiece, I borrowed some fishbowls with floating candles and there you have it:

I didn't have that many tables -- maybe six -- so I didn't have to make a ton of these.  As for those little gold boxes, those are not DIY'd.  We went to Mackenzies Chocolates in Santa Cruz, picked some yummies, and they wrapped them up the gold boxes with the little orange ribbons.

Continuing around the table, I chose little seed packets from Renee's Garden (a local company) as another favor.  I loved that the colors of the packets matched the colors of my flowers. Plus, California Poppies are awesome! But I don't know, did anyone even plant them?

And, yes, I know that the name tags are not super calligraphied or gorgeous in any way.  I don't care.  I did them that morning.   Something always has to be messy.  Isn't that the saying?  

Something old

Something new

Something sloppily handcrafted

Something blue

Anyway, who cares?  Spilt Milk, remember.  

Also, in case anyone is wondering, I also should have put the little mini-grommets (or are they called eyelets?) on the other corner of the seed packets so that they didn't wrap around like that -- they should have draped over the napkin. Oh well.  Honey badger don't give a shit.

Next up, we have the guest book table.  This was also a last minute thing, decided upon maybe the day or so before.  Instead of an actual book, we put out little receptacles for people to predict at future at one year, five years, and twenty-five years. 

I got those little, clear plastic paint cans from the craft store and fancied them up with some scrapbooking paper and stickers.  We opened can 1 on our first year anniversary and it was fun to figure out who said what.  

And then there was the cake.

Or should I say cakes??

That's right.  We had four cakes.  All were so delicious and from local bakeries around the Santa Cruz area.  I didn't make them, but I did make the little signs for them using my go-to font for everything from resume headers to weddings: Copperplate Gothic Bold.  I put the title of the cake and its origination bakery.

And the cake topper was found on Etsy.

What else?  I think that was it except for the bouquet and boutonniere (had to look that up!).

I used the same magnolia flower kit, but I used metallic papers to fancify them.

So that was it!  Happy Anniversary!