Lizzi's Creations: June 2013

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Project Wedding: DIY Rustic Wedding Signs

Welcome back to my Project Wedding series where I have been highlighting great aspects of Carla and David's rustic, country wedding. In today's post I'm going to show you how I made rustic road signs for the big day that were really cheap and easy.

I made two signs that said "Carla + David Wedding" and two that said "Happily Ever After Starts Here." It was the first thing people driving to the wedding would see, so I wanted to make them cute. I began with fence posts I had leftover from fencing in our back yard. Any reclaimed wood will work, though.

I used white paint and freehanded letters onto the fence boards. The wood was in rough shape, even after sanding, so I had to do two coats on each sign. Stencils and spray paint would work too, but I tend to get into fights with stencils. I painted both sections of each sign onto one fence post.

Once the paint was dry, I took a jig saw and cut the fence post in half. I then took the saw to trim the edges. I used two ottomans from our plastic patio furniture to steady the wood while cutting.

For the stake, I used a scrap 2x4 that my father-in-law had in his shed. You can get these for just a few dollars at stores that sell lumber like Home Depot or Lowe's. I sharpened one end into a point with the saw. You can also find inexpensive pre-cut stakes that are much smaller at hardware stores.

I simply drilled screws into the sign to attach it to the stake. They turned out great! Even though the wood is a little roughed up and the writing is not perfect, the signs were just right for directing drivers and give them a preview of what was to come at the wedding.

Once they had served their purpose at the wedding, I reused part of one sign by detatching the Carla + David board to make a cute gift for the newlyweds.

Thanks for joining me for my Project Wedding series. Click below to see other projects from Carla and David's wedding.

1. Carla + David, A Rustic, Country Wedding
2. Invitations and Programs
3. DIY Rustic Wedding Signs
4. The Decor
5. A Country Flower Girl
6. The Cakes
7. A House Divided Candy Bar - Alabama v. Auburn

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Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Project Wedding: Invitations and Programs

Welcome back to my Project Wedding series where I'm bringing together highlights and tutorials of my sister-in-law's recent rustic, country wedding. Today I'm bringing you tips on making cute invitations and programs.

Carla and David had a beautirful wedding on a not-so-beautiful budget. Carla found these cute invitations on Etsy, but they were way out of her price range.

The Inspiration

So, Carla printed the invitations herself on kraft paper cardstock and wrapped them in doilies she found at Pubix. Jute twine was tied around the invites with a heart punched from white cardstock.

Carla and I, along with another of her oh-so-sweet bridesmaids, pulled an all-nighter and put the invitations together.

It was a lot of work constructing 200 invitations, but the end result was perfect! It was also cheap. Here's the breakdown:

Kraft Cardstock: Michaels, $7.98 for 2 packs of 100 sheets

White Cardstock: Michaels, $3.99 for 1 pack of 100 sheets

Jute Twine: Michaels, $10.00 for 1 roll of 500 feet

Doilies: Publix, $16.90 for 10 packs of 20

Heart Punch: Michaels, $6.99

Envelopes: Michaels, $20.00

Black Printer Ink: Wal-Mart, $13.25

The end result was even better than expected! And even better, the grand total was $79.11, less than 40 cents an invitation! Plus, there were still a lot of materials left over to make the programs.

Carla also made her own programs in the same style of the invites. Kraft paper and white cardstock, jute twine, and a pretty border punch were all it took to make beautiful programs.

The programs were made mostly from what was leftover from the invitations. Carla did purchase a border punch from Michaels for $8.99 (originally $14.99 before 40 percent off coupon).