I Craft, You Craft... weCraft!

So I have something unique for brides-to-be to check out in their search for inspiration as well as sharing their DIY ideas to help other BTB's and it's called... weCraft - The Inspiration Marketplace

Go to http://www.wecraft.com/ to request your invite!

Aaron Price is the founder of the weCraft website and inspiration board and got started after being involved with the motorcycle parts world which opened his eyes to DIYers in general. They started with a general site for DIYers to share projects, and crafts quickly became the leading category. As they got more into it they realized how passionate crafters were, but how poor the online tools were to support them. Their vision is to help modernize the industry. Inspiration and community are the two words that drive the weCraft website. If someone finds a project on weCraft and says,"OMG I have to make that", they've accomplished Step 1: Inspiration. Once they make a connection with another crafter Step 2: Community, their mission is complete! weCraft is about bringing creative people together to share ideas, create lasting memories and have fun. It's a lot more fun to spend time making crafty things than it is to browse aisles in big box stores. It's time for a better solution... I craft, you craft, weCraft! Join today, spread the word, and help grow the community.

What weCraft has to offer the DIY Bride:

Project ideas & Simplicity... enough said!

DIY projects for weddings are all over the internet; however a lot of times finding the supplies to make those projects is a big challenge. The weCraft goal is to have a robust DIY Wedding category that helps brides find great wedding project ideas in one place AND buy the supplies to make the projects in the weCraft shop. Brides have enough to do to plan for a wedding, weCraft wants to make things easier for you!

My Review:

So when I heard of weCraft I tried it out for myself... check me out at http://wecraft.com/driftygems and "Swatch Me". On weCraft when you follow a person's projects for inspiration it's called "Swatching", so you can swatch others and other can swatch you.

What I Look Forward To:

weCraft is in the early stages of getting the shop up and running to have Craft Kits of inspiring projects. Once the shop is up and running it will be a great tool for brides-to-be and crafters alike. All you need to do to be notified once the shop is open is enter in your email address and you'll get an email when it is ready.

As the weCraft community grows it will be exploding with amazing DIY wedding and craft ideas, so to help this happen we need to spread the word. That's why I was very excited to do a blog post about it to get it out there in the DIY wedding community. For all you DIY brides-to-be and former BTB's who have lots of lovely pictures of your own wedding projects head over to weCraft and claim your own weCraft page!

What I Love:

When creating my own weCraft page http://wecraft.com/driftygems I had a lot of fun! The weCraft site is very user friendly and the interface to add projects is simple, I love the drag and drop feature of adding images to create a project. weCraft is continually making changes to improve the site and one change they will be making is expanding the list of tags to incorporate a whole slew of wedding related tags for your projects. I love the large layout of the images so you can really see the inspiring project ideas, needless to say the pages are very pleasing to the eye and with the click of a button you can pick items you find inspiring, tweet them on Twitter, and even pin them on Pinterest.

So join weCraft, start swatching me, and add your own projects so I can swatch you and we can continue inspiring DIY brides around the world!

Put A Ring On It!

Solitaire or cluster, white or rose gold, pearls, precious stones, prong or cluster setting, cut, clarity, colour, carat... there are so many options to choose when deciding on the perfect engagement ring but you don't have to follow suit with what you are seeing on commercials, in magazines, or on your best friend's finger. Your engagement ring should be as unique as you are and you don't need to spend half a year's salary to get it. When browsing through the jewelry store don't just stick to the engagement section, venture off to the women's fashion ring section; that is where I found my engagement/wedding band for a fraction of the price of a commercially sold engagement ring. I wanted a ring that resembled an antique ring with the durability of the modern day, and it gets noticed!

My ring was bought at Ben Moss Jewellers and is used as both my engagement and wedding band, you can find other non-traditional rings at your local jewelry stores including these ones from Peoples the Diamond Store.

Jewelry stores aren't the only place to find an engagement ring to suit your style and show off who you are, you can find amazingly designed engagement rings on Etsy as shown here:

                                                 








                                                    Etsy Shop: doronmerav

 

 Etsy Shop: ValerieKStudio

Etsy Shop: onegarnetgirl

 

 Etsy Shop: Beautiful Petra

                        





                                                    Etsy Shop: onegarnetgirl

 

Etsy Shop: RiordanStudio

Etsy Shop: adamfosterjewelry







Another unique option that is becoming more popular is a wood engagement and wedding band. There are so many different versions of the wood wedding ring emerging that fit in well with the beliefs of an eco-couple or a woodland inspired wedding theme. Check out these creative wood rings!

Simply Wood Rings - Eco-conscious Wood Jewelry

Stout Woodworks - The Original Bentwood Ring

And finally another option is The Shopping Channel, this is where my sister-in-law Kim found her engagement ring and then had it customized at a jeweler to have a wedding band fit into it. Here is Kim's engagement/wedding band:

Check out these fabulous rings found on The Shopping Channel some are made in the U.S and others made with Canadian diamonds:

So when you are on the hunt for the perfect engagement ring remember your options don't just end at the jewelry store. Envision who you are, what you believe in, and your ideal vision of symbolizing your love with your partner. Your ring will hopefully be on your finger for the rest of your life, so choose wisely and have fun doing it!

Poofs and Frills, and Gems and Glitter!!!!!

This blog post is inspired by my sister-in-law Tracey who is getting married in August 2014. I am helping her plan her wedding and although her wedding will be very different than mine was, I am sharing with her some DIY ideas and tips on how to keep the budget in check. She loves glitz and glam, the bigger the poof the better in her eyes. So this post is to show the disbelievers that you can actually have a DIY wedding (on a budget) full of all the fabulousness that comes with sparkle and frills!

The Wedding Dress

I actually bought my wedding dress on Etsy for a total of $57 with shipping! I added a brooch and some lace to the bottom and it was perfect. It was vintage and simple but totally me, and I didn't care that it went in the garbage after a messy "Trash the Dress" photoshoot by Jeff Cooke Photography.

Shop Etsy:

For all of you fancy brides-to-be, here are some examples of what you can find handmade on Etsy to fit in with your classic or fairytale wedding vision. The big poofy ball gowns are for my sister-in-law... check out these budget friendly dresses Tracey ;)

                                                            
                                                   $379 U.S by Wonderuxe

                                                       
                                                 $229 U.S Kiss Bridal

                $249 U.S by Lemandy Wedding Dress

                                                                          $298 U.S Angel Wedding Dress

                                                   $299 U.S Lass Dress



Bridal Accessories

I made most of my accessories, and those that I didn't make myself I bought handmade. And you can do it too!

Do-It-Yourself:

Most DIY wedding projects start with a vision, this could be a photo, something you saw on t.v, or even something a friend told you about that they saw at another wedding. Regardless of where the idea came from you can make it your own by adding and changing details. Here is a video that shows you how to do just that by The Knot (which by the way is a great wedding planning tool).

Pinterest is a great tool to start compiling your wedding and DIY ideas. Look online and in magazines for the style of accessories you may want to include in your overall wedding look and start collecting your supplies. You can get DIY wedding accessories supplies from: Michaels', Etsy, Ebay, Joann's, and your local craft stores... even your local dollar store for the budget friendly bride-to-be. Here are some DIY wedding accessory ideas for your glamorous wedding look.

                                               Wedding Shoe Embellishment

Buy a reasonably priced pair of white plain heals or flats (You will likely only wear these shoes once so why spend a lot of money on them, not to mention you will end up taking them off on the dance floor after the first 5 songs...) Pick up a pair of clip on earrings at a thrift shop, antique store, or your grandma's jewelry box. Clip them on if the clip has a tight clasp, or take the clips off and hot/super glue them on and voila! Fabulous wedding shoes. If you want a bigger embellishment just buy matching brooches.

             
                                                      Hair Accessories 

Much the same as the shoes embellishment, determine what type of style of hair accessory you would like such as a facilitator, headband, hair pins, birdcage veil, or long veil and fancy them up! You just need to get the basic hair accessory supply depending on the look you want then start gluing on decorative details such as brooches, earrings, gems, crystals, feathers, flowers, lace, glitter, etc.

                                                           Jewelry

Now this is one that takes a little more skill than using a glue gun but can still be done by most brides-to-be or someone they know... perhaps a bridesmaid or two. If you know the basics to jewelry making and have some supplies all you need is a photo as a guide to making your own custom jewelry if you choose. Or again you can find some really great pieces for a great price on Etsy. This is where I bought my earrings and the earrings my bridesmaids wore at my wedding. I did however make my own necklace and bracelet. My inspiration came from the last picture on the right from the Style Me Pretty Blog.

For a more glamorous look try some of these ideas...

                                                     










Bridal Bouquet

Bridal bouquets are no longer made just of flowers; brides-to-be have taken this focal accessory into a creative direction and bouquets are now made of buttons, brooches, rhinestones, pearls, fabric flowers, feathers, wheat, and even veggies... yes veggies! If you are looking for more of a traditional look with flowers, springs of green, and baby's breath don't think you have to call up the florist immediately to put in your order. You can DIY your wedding bouquet also, trust me, it's not as hard as you may think. For my wedding I made a DIY vintage brooch bouquet (and a hand tied toss bouquet) and my bridesmaids made their own bouquets from locally grown flowers I picked up at the market.

Here are some other bridal bouquet ideas that you can DIY for a more formal, classic wedding...

And for the floral type, go hand tied. Check out the examples on OneWed that you can create for your special day.

For a how to video on hand tying floral bouquets check out eHow's video explaining the steps. This can be a fun and relaxing process so get creative!

Here are some hand tied bouquets I made for friends' weddings.

So, when you are planning your wedding try to think outside of the box and don't assume you need to pay top dollar for your dress, bouquet, or shoes. You can buy handmade, enlist your crafty bridemade to get her hands dirty, or DIY and save yourself some hard earned cash! There is nothing wrong with being under budget...