Easy, DIY vertical succulent garden

Vertical succulent garden by Vera Devera (c) 2012

If you're planning a wedding with succulents, I'm sure you've seen lots of inspiration for vertical succulent gardens. I'm hosting my own birthday party in a couple of weeks and that has motivated me to get our backyard in shape.

First thing on my list: salvage a pallet and turn it into a kickass garden. And that's just what I did!


Materials:

• 1 salvaged pallet (i.e., rescue an abandoned pallet off the street, usually outside a warehouse or store)
• Burlap
• Upholstery staple gun
• 3 cubic feet of soil
• Compost
• Lots of plants

You can follow the tutorial at Life on the Balcony, or you can do what works best for you. I basically stapled the burlap to the back (at least 100 staples) and around the sides and bottom of the pallet. Then with the pallet laying flat on the ground, I worked from the bottom up filling the pallet with soil-compost. The first row was comprised of sedum (best to buy a flat of ground cover sedum at Home Depot for $14), the next row was heirloom Bull's Blood beets with coleus and lamb's ear, followed by a row of petunias and more coleus and ecchevaria. I topped off the vertical garden with more beets, oregano, thyme and other varieties of petunias.

This is a great backdrop not only in your backyard, but I can see it used as an escort card display, especially for a garden wedding. The cards can be "sown" into the soil with wooden seedling markers Or it can be a cool architectural feature as part of the setting the scene for your succulent-themed wedding.

Work in progress: vintage LP record cake stands

Vintage LP Cake stands (c) 2012 Vera Devera

I'm planning a surprise party with a vintage college prep theme at the end of the month and the birthday boy digs his hi-fi collection. I couldn't think of a better way than these vintage LP cake stands to display the awesome dessert bar that Two for Two Cakes is creating!

Materials include: LPs of various sizes ($0.50-$2.00 at Half Price Books), super glue and candlestick holders (I got mine for an additional 40% off at the Salvation Army) to serve as the base. I spent less than $10 for 4 cake stands.

And below is the inspiration (Oh Happy Day). I did go to TAP Plastics as their tutorial suggested and considered using their plastic cake stands but the records I bought were thicker than those made in the 1960s-70s so I didn't think I needed the extra support from a plastic round.

via Oh Happy Day

Easy budget DIY succulent centerpieces

I've got a private dinner party coming up and I thought I'd make my own centerpieces using succulents and found objects. I bought salvaged wooden boxes ($3 each) that I turned upside down to create a platform and spray painted the insides of short sundae glasses ($1) with a $3 can of berry pink spray paint. The succulents were about $1.97 to $5.99 a pot at Home Depot -- fortunately, succulents are very hardy and can be cut and eventually regenerate their roots so I didn't have to buy very many to make these (I just took pieces from a handful of pots). I'm pretty excited to display these! What do you think?

Inspiration #91: Pimp my photo booth

Like many of you, I adore photo booths. They are so much fun and you can be quite surprised by the resulting images you get.

I came across Playing Grown Up on Etsy and if you're DIY-lite me and want to jazz up your photo booth, here are some props you can buy. For example, I painstakingly spent 1-2 hours making a photo booth bunting out of paper, but Brooke has made an adorable one out of fabric. I wish I had known about this to save me time!

Photo booth bunting banner - $35 at Playing Grown Up

Mr. Mustache Chalkboard - $28

Chalkboard Scroll Banner - $32

Reversible Chalkboard and White Board - $30

Dancing under the...umbrellas

A friend of mine gave me 20 red parasols last year when she moved and I've always wanted to do something like this with them...

If you fancy this look as well, you can rent them; the Pagoda style goes for about $20 each -- some of the print ones are $10 each. Head over to Bella Umbrella and reserve your favorites today. [Lucky brides in the Seattle area can save on the shipping cost!]

And for extra credit, check out a 2009 post about Bella Umbrella's retail shop. It's gorgeous!

Photo by Gabriel Ryan Photographers; see Real Wedding on 100 Layer Cake

This is one of my faves -- in green and silver with an amber handle

This one is only $10 and would be perfect for an art deco look

And this would be perfect for an engagement session in the spring 

 Bella Umbrella Shop in Seattle. Photo by Bethany Murphy Photography

Pretty invites for under $100!

Since we had such fab and custom Save the Dates, we skimped on our wedding invites. And sometimes I feel a twinge of regret, especially when I see lovely designs on sites like A Printable Press.

For $70, you can download a PDF of a design you choose and then you can print it as many times as you need -- or want. If you love an invitation but want to change something -- like the dimensions of a card, color, or font -- then you pay an additional $25 per change. After you get the PDF, you can send it off to online printers, like VistaPrint or UPrinting, or to local printers, like Mercurio Brothers and Greener Printer -- both here in the San Francisco/East Bay Area.

Here are some of my favorites. What are yours?

Swallow and Bee, from Birds and Beasts Collection, image from A Printable Press

Amor from the Sheer Whimsy Collection, image from A Printable Press

Let's Make Lemonade, from Modern Vintage Collection, image from A Printable Press

Birch Bark Love, from Into the Woods Collection, image from A Printable Press

Inspiration #89: What to do with your dry cleaning hangers

Photo by Vera Devera @ Anthropologie 4th Street Berkeley

The merchandise manager at Anthropologie is brilliant! I love how she transformed these dry cleaning hangers into a cool art installation. Can you imagine this at a wedding reception above a dessert table or head table?

We're the Budget Savvy Bride's Wedding of the Week!

Vera + Fred, photo by Davina plus Daniel

Jessica, owner of The Budget Savvy Bride, raves that our wedding might have some of her favorite details of all time! Check out Davina plus Daniel's gorgeous photos and see my extensive write-up on the budget breakdown.

$10,000 total budget: Read how at The Budget Savvy Bride's feature of our wedding

• Accessories and apparel, including rings (e.g. $145 for both) alterations and buying the bridesmaid dresses: 15%
• Venue, including reception hall and church: 20%
• Photography, day-of and e-session: 16%
• Cake: 6%
• Stationery: 4%
• Catering including rentals, labor and tips: 17%
• Makeup: 1%
• Music: 10%
• Flowers/decor: 6%
• Officiant: 5%
• Coordination: 0%

Cheap and easy-to-grow centerpieces

I know it's still early December but I'm already counting down the days to when daffodil and paperwhite bulbs spring up at farmer's markets and nurseries. These bulbs are so inexpensive and easy to grow (just place in a beautiful urn-style vase, aged terracotta pot with pretty gravel,or whatever vessel you choose over shallow water). They're perfect for a winter wedding!

Here are good tips for growing your paperwhite strong and tall.

From Beautiful Living Style

I'm a sucker for bows

When people ask me where to find affordable bridesmaid dresses, I often reply "J. Crew!" Look at these darling "bow monde" silk taffeta bridesmaid dresses for $99-198 depending on the color.

P.S. There's even a wedding dress but longer!

 

And this is my very favorite, the Silk organza soiree dress for $275, alas no bows, but plenty of tiered ruffles!

Inspiration #88: Sweetest Wedding Gift

My friend, Linda, gifted us with this graphic illustration of me, Fred and our dog, Munch, as rendered from our engagement session with Stephen Hughes. It's absolutely darling and I totally gasped when I unwrapped it. She's a new seller on Etsy as Bashful Onion. Custom illustration ranges from $40 to $70, plus $10 for a pet.

Photo booth love

Here's a sneak peek at one of my favorite photo booth (thanks, Green Cheeze!!) with my girl friends, Marie and Jen. The scrapbook that our guests made were even awesomer...Will share when we get back from our honeymoon!

The font is Jane Austen downloaded from Dafont.com and the background was on sale at Joann Fabrics for $4.99 a yard.

Our Wedding Invites!

Our reply cards are starting to roll in and so I'm finally giving you a peek at what they look like.

I purchased the invitation suite (Martha Stewart, Heirloom Ornament) at TJ Maxx for $7.99 for a pack of 48. I hand stamped them with a bird icon and also enclosed a custom made map by Genevieve Walker. I promise to post a blog dedicated to Genevieve later this week -- she was fabulous to work with and incorporated some of the elements from our "musically romantic" Save-the-Date!

The Invitation Suite

Our Save-the-Dates

What I'm Renting from the Runway

Love. Wear. Return.

That’s the tagline for Rent the Runway, an online retailer that lets you borrow high end fashion for less.

I came across this fantastic piece for $50 for a 4-day rental (retail $375). I think it’ll go swell with the hair accessory I’m getting from Etsy’s Pegasus Maiden with the coordinating feather below.

Ciner Antique Cascading Crystal Necklace (Rent the Runway, $50)

Velora by Pegasus Maiden (Etsy.com)

Pink feather for Velora

I love buying secondhand

I love buying secondhand. Not only do you save money, you prolong the life of an object!

On Friday, I dropped by Mignonne -- a boutique that specializes in giving old furniture facelifts -- especially with bold paint jobs. I picked up a newly painted table in metallic silver for $40 (as-is). I didn't mind its condition because I plan to use it as our cake table, which will be onstage with me and Guitar Fred -- no one will see that the back is missing except for us. Here's the table, including a bouquet from Gorgeous and Green and two bluebirds and a nest I picked up as potential cake toppers (yes, I bought a vintage bride and groom but I'm still attached to the bird motif).

Today, my friend, Brittany, and I met up to do a little party planning. We dropped by one of my favorite places for bargains -- the Center for Creative Reuse in Oakland, CA -- and scored some pretty fantastic deals on photo booth props. We got a lime green "Irish" wig still in the package, 100 sheets of black scrapbook paper, dowels (for our black paper mustaches), Mardi Gras beads, vinyl carnival posters, plastic cowboy hats, a large frame, and goggles for $8 including tax.

If you're planning on making liqueur favors, run over to the Center now! They have petite glass bottles with cork stoppers for $1.00 each (or 25 for $18.00). They'd be fantastic for Meyer Lemon limoncello di crema, or an herb infused olive oil.

Inspiration #76: My Anthropologie Teacups

A dear friend gave me monogram teacups from Anthropologie for my birthday. I can fill them with ranunculus and roses to get this look using the books I got from Half Price Books:

 {Photo by Jessica Claire, as seen on Style Me Pretty}

Pingg for cool, free online invites

Recently, I've become a fan of pingg.com. It's a free online invitation and e-card service and I'm loving the modern and indie designs. Plus, you can also send the online invitation via snail mail if you like (for $1.50 each in a clear, glassine envelope). 

Their invitations and e-cards look so refreshingly cool because Pinggs asks artists, photographers, illustrators and stationery designers to submit their work so that we can choose unique designs. Now we can save a LOT of money on invitations. Yippee!

Here's an e-card I recently sent to my bridal party:

 ["Caught" by Lindsay Brackeen]

I am digging the indie vintage feel of this one by Jenean Morrison:

This is a cute one for an engagement announcement:

I really want this one for my bridal shower invitation:

Here's one that would also be fun for a girl's night out:

 ["Bows and Knickers" by Claire Cimbora]

Etsy Find: Romantic Garden Inspired Necklaces

The Perfect Palette recently featured a cowboy themed inspiration board and a necklace featuring a large flower caught my eye.

I ended up buying this one, but how cute are the other designs? And good news, they're extremely affordable (average price $29-32).

Here's the Mod Owl Necklace ($29.95) I just bought:

The necklace featured on Perfect Palette (Waverly, $32):

I adore this one (Teal Crystalia Gardens, $29.95):

This one's cheery (Sarita Butterfly Gardens, $29.95):

 

Mod Romantique, $29.95