We Got Our Bling!

Yesterday, the Office Groom and I picked up our wedding bands. WHOA!



Even though I've been sporting my fabulous engagement ring for the last year and a half, there was something about getting these rings that made it seem so much more real. Maybe it was because this was something we were doing together as a couple, as opposed as a gift from one to the other.

And I gotta tell you that it felt really good to put on my new ring, and even better to see OG with a little bling on his finger now :)

Our rings were custom made by a Toronto-based jeweller / friend-of-a-friend. The whole process was painless and intimate, and we got exactly what we wanted at our price range.

After we wrote a big cheque and walked away with our bling, we decided that a little mid-afternoon celebration was in order. So we decided on a chocolate brownie with some Tim Horton's coffee...



...What can I say? We're Canadian...

A Gift That's Close To My Heart

A couple of weeks ago I celebrated my best birthday yet. The Office Groom and a couple of my BMs oragnized a little at-home shindig and some of my closest friends came to party, and a few of them came with gifts which was so unexpected and greatly appreciated!

One gift in particular almost got me choked up because of the level of thoughtfulness that went towards it. My friend and fellow blogger, Rhonda, bought me this beautiful locket. Her husband and fellow troupe member, remembered that I loved lockets and passed on the info to her. Good memory!



But here's the best part. Inside the locket, she inserted hand drawn pictures of The Office Groom and our cat! How amazing is that?!



I'm wearing the necklace today, and will be sure to show it off as much as possible throughout the day :)

With This Ring...

Today during lunch, the Office Groom and I are meeting with a local jewellry designer named Dana McLaven. She's a friend of one of my co-workers and was highly recommended. Dana creates custom designed jewellry. According to her site, "because the “middle man” is eliminated, and there are no expensive overhead costs associated with traditional retail operations, Dana can pass on a significant savings to her clients."

Originally, OG and I thought we would just go to one of the big retail stores to get our rings, but the idea of getting custom rings came up after hearing about Dana really appealed to us. Something uniquely ours and one-of-a-kind - sounds good to us!

Today Dana will bring in some samples of her work, along with other samples that resemble the rings from inspiration photos we sent her via e-mail. Hopefully we'll be able to develop a design for both rings that will fit our style...and our budget perfectly.

Here's hoping!

DIY Paper Pendants

Last month I posted about a paper pendant workshop that my sister-in-law was going to take me to, and last night was the outting!

Together with a few other lady friends, we enjoyed a healthy dinner at Fresh on Queen Street W (Try the "Green Destiny," it's delish), and then headed to the Paper Place to get our craft on.

We were a small group of 8, which made it more intimate and less hot (for all those in Toronto, you know that I'm referring to the incredible heat wave we had yesterday). Each person was given their own set of materials and tools to get started. A cutting board, utility knife, 3 types of glue, glass pendants, and oodles of pretty paper to choose from.





The process is fairly simple. Choose your paper (which is probably the hardest part!), clean the glass, add a few drops of Diamond Glaze glue to the flat side and smear it around, and then place it on the paper. And wait...

The waiting is important. You need to be sure the glue is completely dry before you go to the next stage - cutting around the edge to get rid of the excess paper. If the glue isn't set yet, you run the risk of ripping the paper or moving the glass from the desired position.

Once you've cut around the edge, you should end up with something like this:



Oooh...pretty isn't it? Luckily the paper took care of most of that for me :)

To preserve the baskside of the pendant (which is the paper) from wear and tear, add a thin layer of glue on the back, and again, wait for it to dry. When it is, you can then add the hook to the back using the second type of glue, E6000. This is an adhesive (like super glue) so be careful not to get any on your fingers!

Depending on how many you make or how creative you get using different paper and cutouts, the whole process can take anywhere from and hour to two. And again, most of that time is used to select paper and wait for glue to dry.

This is what I ended up with after our 2 hour workshop.



I'm keeping a couple for myself, giving one to each of the moms, and probably the others to friends. Fun times!

Wood you marry me?

Sorry - I like puns.

But seriously. Wood rings - how uniquely cool and beautiful are these? If I wasn't so worried that these wouldn't last as long as a traditional metal ring (unless they do, in which case, I plead ignorance) or that I would break it (that, I can be sure would happen, being as clumsy as I am), I'd be all for it! Office Groom and I are urban tree huggers - meaning - while we love living in the city, we equally love and respect nature, and do what we can to live a "green" lifestyle.

These rings come from Simply Wood Rings - a eco-conscious company that uses salvaged wood and other materials to create these beautiful pieces.


Source


Source


Source

Etsy seller MinterandRichterDes also carries a great selection of wood rings. This one's my fave:


Source

I love how warm and organic all of these rings look. Waddaya think?

Stain Glass Goodness

One more gift purchased this week! For Office Groom's mum!

Knowing how much she loves stain glass windows, Office Groom and I had a look through Etsy (that's right ladies, my man is an Etsy shopper!) looking for unique stain glass gift ideas. Overwhelmed by the 567 pages to go through, we realized that we needed to narrow down the choices.

At first we thought a small art piece that she could hang on the wall was the way to go, but that seemed like the obvious choice. Plus she already has quite a few pieces hanging up at their house. We wanted something that was different and unexpected but still fell under the same theme.

So we started perusing different jewellry pieces that had stain glass pieces and we struck gold! This appeared on the first page of our search and we knew it was the one!


The artist, Anne-Marie, owns an Etsy shop named Color Shoppe Studio. According to her page, she's a member of the Stained Glass Art Association, and Self Representing Artist, so you are guaranteed that all her pieces are handcrafted by her in her studio.

There were so many other pieces we loved like the stained glass leaf and "Solitude" (OG actually wants that one for himself!), but we decided on this one because of the colour combination and the way the glass seems to reflect different shades in the light.

We're very excited to receive the necklace in the mail and even more excited to give it to his mum at the rehearsal dinner!

Now on to my mum's gift. Ugh! Pressure!!!

My Cup of Tea

1. I love tea sets. My mom would buy me toy sets whenever we travelled and I have a collection that spans anywhere from the USA to Germany.

2. I love miniature things. The smaller it is the more I love it. I also developed this love through my mom, who collected the Red Rose miniature ceramics.

So when I stumbled on this little gem on Etsy while searching for a thank you gift for my mom, I knew I had hit the teapot :)



How adorable is that?! Not only that - it also looks like a miniature version of my mom's Royal Doulton China (which I posted about last week)!



While it may not be the most adult gift or not necessarily something to wear for the big day, I think the sentiments behind it outweigh everything else. I use to love eating off my mom's Royal Doulton plates and hoped for my own set one day. And last Friday, my mom overwhelmed both me and the Office Groom when she bought us our own set as a wedding gift! It was a great afternoon with just the three of us, and there were a lot of hugs and thank you's afterwards :)

I'm hoping she'll know how much we appreciate her generousity and help throughout this whole process with this little token of love!

BM Gift #2 - Swarovski Crystal Jewellry

My bridesmaid jewellry came in the mail yesterday!!! I had ordered them almost a month ago but due to an mailing error (not the sellers fault) it was delayed by another two weeks. On the plus side, because of the delay, the seller reimbursed me $15 which was really nice of her to do.

So - here they are!

Already packaged in a box, ready to give!


Swarovski crystal necklace and matching earrings


I was really intent on getting the girls Swarovski crystals because I think they are both beautiful and classic. My dress also has Swarovski crystals beaded along the bodice, so it ties in nicely.

When I first started my search, both on-line and in real stores, I was surprised to see that "Swarovski crystals" were available everywhere! I was always under the impression that they could only be purchased from the actual Swarovski store, but as it turns out, this was not the case - as long as you were actually buying the real thing.

Thinking about getting Swarovski, but can't tell real from fake? First you need to avoid the confusion between the name itself. Swarovski, the brand, uses crystals known as Austrian Crystal Beads. So technically it's the type of crystal you need to look out for, not the actual name Swarovski. However, there's more to it than just that. According to Your Swarovski, "there are some who try to sell the far lesser quality glass beads as Swarovski." So if you're a stickler for details, you should look out for things like weight and color. Associated Content has a good article that you may find useful. Regardless, for Budget Conscious Brides this is a great alternative to the actual Swaroski product line without paying for the name.

I have to admit that I didn't do as much research as I could have, since I was addicted to Etsy at the time of my search. I ended up going with Whitney Lynn (formerly Wynn Studios), who not only has a beautiful collection of jewellry but has great feedback from past buyers. So I guess I took a chance buying it, but I'm so happy I did!

I can't wait to see my girls open their little boxes and try them on!!

At long last - my SHOES!!!

Left work yesterday feeling pretty tired after 9 hours in front of a computer (and catching up after a fun/beer/deep dish-filled weekend in Chicago). Got on the subway, and realized we didn't have anything for dinner, or for the rest of the week for that matter, so I grudgingly went to the grocery store to pick up some stuff. "Some stuff" turned out to be 5 full bags, which was a good workout for my biceps on the walk home.

But all of this is just a distant memory, for as I approached the front door of our apartment, I saw a beam of light at the foot of the door. A package.

My shoe clips!!!!!!

Needless to say, I picked up the package and fumbled for my keys (while still holding 5 bags of groceries), desperate to get inside so that I could introduce my shoes to their new clips.

The moment I paired the two together, I knew I had the perfect pair of shoes for the big day. And yes, I wore them around the apartment for a good 20 minutes, waiting for Office Groom to come home so he could see them.

Nine West Luceros ($39 CAD) meets Etsy's TwistedCrystals ($16 US).