DIYva Dish: Will You Be My Bridesmaid?

Photo Credit: Etsy

Of course your best friend since the 9th grade knows she is a shoe-in for the made-of-honor gig and your office comrade has already assisted you with picking out your wedding colors and suggested some venues, so she knows she will be on your bridesmaids list. Even if your ladies already know they are on your bridesmaids list, it's always nice to personalize the invitation.  Give them a formal invitation by creating a gift that is unique to your style or friendship. If you like to bake, ask them with some treats. Make a kit with your color swatches and wedding design inspiration or personalize something you know they would love to use.  The possibilities are endless.

~Stay Sweet

1. DIY a gift box w/ wedding details

2. DIY cupcakes in a jar

3. DIY a candle

4. DIY a necklace

Credits:

1. // 2. // 3. // 4.

DIYva Dish: Wedding Jewels

There are a lot of cool DIY projects out there, especially those involving jewels.  I am big on making my own costume jewelry, it's more special when it's personalized and can be inexpensive to make too.  One of my favorite DIY projects is to make cocktail rings out of thrifted earrings. One time, I scored some vintage YSL clip-ons for about $4. It definitely made my day! I have yet to venture out into the bracelet world, but scouring Etsy has motivated me to find some time to do a project.  Why not make one for your wedding or bridesmaids gifts?  To get started you can buy bracelet blanks from here and add what ever tickles your fancy with hot glue or craft glue like E6000 (my fav!). Let these inspire you.

~ Stay Sweet

1. Vintage earrings for the vintage bride

2. Bingo chips for the whimsical bride

3. Glass beads for the destination bride

1 / 2 / 3

Designer Crush on BHLDN's Gifts

For some brides, it's easy to choose specific elements for their nuptials but choosing a gift for those who have help along the planning way is a different story. Buying gifts for your bridesmaids, groomsmen, MOB and FOB can be daunting, especially if you don't know where to start.  Enter BHLDN to the rescue! Their extensive wedding related gift collection is a good place to start for any bride, not just the vintage romantic at heart.

~ Stay Sweet

Bridesmaids: A book celebrating bridesmaid gowns!

MOB: Clutch that adds sparkle to her smile

Groomsmen: Manly Bottle Opener

FOB: Cheerful Flask

Getting Crafty!

Here's a crafty idea for you to try with all those bottle caps you've been collecting over time. (okay okay, maybe I'm the only weirdo who collects crafting supplies)

Bottle Cap Magnets!

All you need to do this project is:

Bottle Caps (obviously)

1 inch paper circles of your choice (or any other small decoration)

Triple Thick or Mod Podge

Glue Stick

Hot Glue (optional)

Magnets

Here's what you do:

-Start out by picking out your decorative circles. I used scrapbooking paper and my 1-inch circle cutter to make mine. But you can really use anything you want, with the exception of images printed onto regular printer paper. I've found that the ink runs in the caps if it isn't on a thicker paper stock.

-So take your circles, and give them a good coating of glue on the back with your glue stick.

-Then press them into the bottle caps, making sure they stick.

-Here's where the Mod Podge/Triple Thick comes in - you'll want to fill the bottle cap, but make sure it doesn't overflow! And remember, it will dry clear - so don't freak out if you can't see the design below.

-Wait and wait until the Mod Podge/Triple Thick has dried, and attach the magnet to the back. I used hot glue, but it raised the magnet a little bit. So you can use Super Glue or even just a little mod podge to make it stick.

- And there you have it! Bottle Cap Magnets

Even Martha Stewart approves this project!

These are so easy to do - and make great gifts. Show us your handy work and send pictures to Megan@diyvadesigns.com

DIY Chocolate!!

I'm convinced that DIYva Designs has single handedly made the DIY phenomenon popular! OK, maybe that's a reach, but when did DIY become so huge?! Lately, everyone is advocating the DIY approach and we LOVE it!

The latest and most relevant DIY fad I'm obsessed with is chocolate! Since the holidays are coming up and we'll all start shopping for creative gifts and consuming tons of chocolate, I thought this one would be a good idea to blog about. Brought to you by Chocri, I am happy to introduce the customized chocolate bar! Just log onto their site, pick your canvas / choice of chocolate and add ingredients! You can add nuts, spices and even decor like real gold flakes to your chocolate bar.

Not so creative? It's ok, because there's a recommendation page, that gives you great ideas on how to create a delicious bar! Here's a sample!

+ Milk and White Chocolate
+ Mango Cubes
+ Chives
+ Real Gold Flakes
+ Walnuts

Need a better reason to indulge? Well, how's this? "All customized chocolate bars are hand-made with fair trade, organic chocolate from Belgium. Our dark chocolate is vegan, and all chocolate is kosher certified. Also, we donate 1% of every purchase to the charity DIV Kinder, an organization that supports kids on the Ivory Coast, where a majority of cocoa comes from. " (Directly from Chocri's website)

So go on, get creative, and make yourself (or someone you like enough) a delicious chocolate bar!

ROCK925 Jewelry!!

I'm really excited to write this post because it evokes some emotion and thoughts of good memories! A while back, (during the time of our launch party) while I was looking for companies I wanted to work with and include in our swag bags, I realized that an old friend had started a new sterling silver/fashion jewelry company!

Although we hadn't spoken in forever, I decided to reach out and see if I could get her some visibility, while getting some goodies for the bag! Of course, she was more than willing to help and provided us with discount cards (for online sales) and a beautiful bracelet (picture below) to give away, which I must admit, was quite difficult to part with!

This is on my want list! (The Letter N of course!) Wouldn't it make an amazing Bridesmaid's gift?

This is the awesome bracelet she sent!

The company is called Rock925 Jewelry and is sold online, and in California salons and boutiques. The mastermind behind the company is the lovely Tanya Kara, whose face you will see on all of her blog posts, as she posts videos showing her jewelry!

Check out her site, but don't blame me if you get hooked!