Our {Cake} Crown Jewel

Our cake topper dilemma is no more!

The Mister did warm up to the idea of the crown topper after my initial trip to Hobby Lobby last week and gave me the green light to proceed. Since I had already checked my nearest Hobby Lobby, the mister went with me to another Hobby Lobby. A much bigger Hobby Lobby, an I-wish-I-could-trade-with-my-nearest-Hobby-Lobby Hobby Lobby {making you crazy yet?}.

We visited the store armed with last week's 40% off coupon and with a back up plan {me to the Mister: "If they don't have the topper, we'll just buy two sets of three pillar candles for our centerpieces"}. After grabbing a set of pillar candles {What? You thought I was kidding?} we went to the bridal section, scanning the aisle for the crown.

And I'm proud to say, we found it! Along with its $24.99 price tag... and two pearls had fallen off. I was ready to put it right back where I found it, but the Mister insisted otherwise. "I can glue them, it's not big deal," he insisted, so off to the register we went.

After using my coupon, I paid $15 for it, plus tax. Not bad! And the Mister was right, the fallen pearls were quickly fixed by a hot glue gun. However, since I wanted pictures, I glued them instead of the Mister. Please excuse the bad quality of the picture, I'll definitely have the Mister be the official photographer for this blog {and everything else!}.

Have you gone to multiple locations of the same store searching for a particular item? Are store coupons part of your arsenal? How much fun is it to say 'back up plan'?

Fit for a Cake

I remember a wedding-related conversation I had a long time ago with my MOH. I was just beginning to explore all the details that go into wedding planning and I said, "I don't want one of those bride-and-groom cake topper figurines." As any good MOH would do, she agreed with me, "Absolutely, that is so dated."

Of course, back then, I thought that cake toppers only looked like this

Source

It's amazing all the things that I've learned about weddings since then, including cake toppers. I'm still not 100% into having the bride and groom on top of the cake, even if it's with something as cute as this

Source

I'm sure you must be rolling your eyes at me, asking, "Nina, then, what the heck do you want??"

Source

I want a crown fit for a queen a cake. Since I saw that picture, I've been obsessed with the idea of having a crown for a cake topper. Me being, well, me, went into research mode to find that exact crown that you see above. I did find the crown, along with its price. A whooping $625 - that's more than what my wedding dress cost!

I haven't given up on having a crown cake topper, even if the Mister looks at me like I'm crazy. He isn't completely on board with the idea, in fact, he didn't really care for the idea at all. I've been continuing my hunt for cute crown toppers, but haven't found too many. I just found these two yesterday.

Source

Source

I showed them to the Mister, to see if I could warm him up to the idea a bit more, and he seemed to like these better than the first one. In particular, he really liked the third one.

During my research, I was also looking for tutorials on how to make a wire crown. Yes, I am indeed crazy, I have been considering making the crown myself. Mind you, I have no experience making jewelry and using wire, let alone constructing a crown! I haven't completely given up on the idea, and I got some wire at home to play around with.

I visited my local Hobby Lobby yesterday (yay for having one a mere 10 minutes away from home and on the way home from work!) and as luck would have it, I found that third crown in the bridal section of the store. It was the last one left and the price was $24.99, much more reasonable than the $600+ price tag. I didn't buy it because it looked a bit banged up, and the Mister hasn't confirmed he wants to go with the crown topper. I'm also still considering giving DIY a try, even if it's just to see if I can (or can't) do it.

What do you guys think? Should I just go ahead and buy this topper, if I find it in better conditions at another Hobby Lobby store? Should I still attempt to DIY, just to appease my 'what if's'?

DIY Paper Lanterns

I love paper lanterns! I used to have one in my bedroom back in Puerto Rico, until I came home one weekend during college and it had mysteriously disappeared! (Yes, I firmly believe the answer that my mom gave me, the lamp broke, while hanging by itself in the ceiling, with nothing around it, in my possibly 9 feet tall ceiling, yes, I do believe it)

I wish I had seen this back then, it looks so simple and so easy to do!

Source

Wouldn't these look gorgeous at a wedding reception? Or maybe a bridal shower? I think these could be made for any occasion! Just pick the flowers (or any accessories) in the desired colors, and you can have a simple yet beautiful piece of decoration for your bash! You can find the step-by-step article here.

How would you use these? Have you come across simple decorations that can work for any occasion?

Michaels Bounty

A few days ago, I posted about my wanderings around Michaels and all the beautiful items I saw on the aisles. I didn't buy any of them, but I did buy other things, which I promised would be in another post. And like we say back home, lo prometido es deuda*! Here's my bounty!

Personal Picture

I found these in an aisle that was dedicated to metallic-looking objects (like silver journals, golden lipstick holders, etc). These little guys were only $1 each, so I promptly snatched 15 of them! What am I planning to do with these, you ask? Well, right now the plan is to use them for table numbers, but, if they turn out to be too small (they are only a few inches tall), I'm sure I can find another use for them! Like, if we do decide to do a candy buffet, these would be perfect to hold the names of the candies displayed.

So the plan is to spray-paint them in an antiquey-looking** gold, cut out numbers in chocolate brown and use pale pink for the background. Of course, the colors of the background and numbers can be switched around if need be ;-)

What would you do with these little frames?

*Translation: A promise is a promise

**Note: My dear MB, I think I just made up a word!

An Evening of Michaels Wandering

A couple weeks ago I stopped at Michaels on my way home after work. I spent a good hour (could have been an hour and a half) browsing the entire store, just seeing what they had, hoping that inspiration would hit me. Okay, so I would have been happy with inspiration bumping into me or just brushing me on the side. I'm not picky! But it did so much more than that!

I found aisles bursting with the beige and soft pink palette I desperately want for our wedding. I could have easily spend the night just admiring the goods (I swear, I have not been drinking), and Michaels has a lot to offer.

I know I don't want flowers for centerpieces (I'm still deciding whether or not I want a bouquet made of real flowers), and I know I want candles, candles, and more candles. And I'd like to add butterflies as accents to the decorations. And thinking along those lines, I saw these possibilities at the store.

Imagine candle pillars burning in this gorgeous stand, or maybe a mini-terrarium (think moss on the bottom, small branches with butterflies perched on them) surrounded by tea light candles on the table.

Or how about one of these lovely lanterns in the middle of the table, with a cute butterfly perched on top, surrounded by even more tea light candles on the table?

Or perhaps three of these candle holders (taller one in the middle with a shorter one at each side), providing dimension with its different heights as well as a soft, romantic glow?

How unbelievably beautiful and delicate are these? I saw these and all I wanted to do was break out the credit card and buy them all! Adorable butterflies in our wedding colors!!

Sadly, I was very strong and did not take out my credit card to buy any of these items (oh, how difficult that was, trust me!). However, I did take out my credit card to purchase a few items that I simply could not pass up. And those, my friends, will be another post ;-)

Where do you find inspiration for your wedding decor? Do you find yourself browsing your favorite craft store aisle by aisle?

Note: All pictures were taken by me, using my phone, and I'm finally uploading them to my computer thanks to my recent trip to Best Buy, where I purchased (finally!) a micro SD card. 

Etsy Finds: Cake Toppers

I know I haven't posted for the last few days, but it's been quite busy lately! Between a dinner party, Sunday outings, work, gym, and a DIY project, there's barely any time left! So, to make up a bit for the lack of posts lately, I want to share with you some Etsy finds in the cake toppers department.

Warning: Some of these are too cute for words!

Source

Source

Source

Source

Source

Source

Source

It's hard for me to pick a favorite, as they are adorable! Especially the first and third one. I'm sure the Mr. would just adore #4: Game Over! He currently owns a shirt that has a bride and a groom and it says Game Over. (And who gifted him with such a shirt you ask? Well, my bridesmaid!!)

Don't you just love these? Which one is your favorite?

Elegant DIY Centerpiece

When I first started thinking about what I might like (or not like) for wedding decorations, I decided that I wanted candles for our centerpieces. I know that I definitely don’t want fresh/live flowers… and I love candles… but I started looking around at Once Wed and…

How cute is this?

Source

This is such a lovely centerpiece that you can even use at your dining table at home (or something else not wedding related). It looks so delicate; it’s hard to believe it’s not that expensive to create! Check out the DIY instructions!

Have you come across any projects that almost make you re-think some of your decor decisions?