DIY Tulle Tutus

February 22, 2013April 11, 2013Leave a comment

I think this may be the cutest craft ever. I seriously can’t get enough of these tutus. Watch the tutorial and you’ll see what I mean. Don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to the YouTube Channel!!

Materials:

Tools:

Scissors (find a similar leopard pair of scissors here)
Tape Measure

Total cost: $12

Time: 30 minutes

Steps:

Cut elastic 2 inches shorter than flower girls waist measurements.
Use fabric glue to hold the elastic together.
Cut tulle into 2 foot long pieces.
Wrap the elastic around your leg to hold it into place.
Take one piece of tulle and hold it in half. Thread the tulle under the elastic, leading with the folded end.
Take the two ends of the tulle on top, pull them through the folded end (loop). Continue pulling down and use the index finger from your other hand to place the knot and tighten as you pull. Repeat this step until tutu is complete. Trim ends if needed.

Tips:

I also suggest doing a few cross stitches on the elastic for extra hold.
Adjust the length of the skirt but cutting longer stripes of tulle.
Perfect for flower girls, birthdays, baby showers, etc.
Tulle is available in a wide variety of colors so it is easy to match the wedding color palette. I used the glitter tulle for one of the tutus I made and I need to warn you, that the glitter gets EVERYWHERE. If you do want to use it, I suggest doing the craft outside, or avoiding using the glitter tulle altogether so that you aren’t constantly cleaning it up.

Also, if you like working with tulle check out my other tutorial on how to make a tulle headpiece.

DIY Bridal Tulle Headpiece

February 15, 2013April 11, 20132 Comments

With wedding season fast approaching, many brides-to-be are looking for unique ways to customize their big day. In this tutorial I’ll show you how to create a Tulle Headpiece that can either be worn by the bride, flower girls or wedding party. This is a great way to call out the bride for a bachelorette party as well (especially if you aren’t into the typical bachelorette decor).

Materials:

8 inch wide tulle (12 pieces)
Headband or combs
Twine

Tools:

Scissors (find a similar leopard pair of scissors here)
Hot Glue Gun
Ruler

Total cost: Under $10

Time: 20 minutes

Steps:

Cut 12 pieces of tulle into 8 inch strips.
Cut 6 inch piece of twine and set aside.
Layer pieces of tulle on top of each other, alternating directions.
Fold tulle in half and pinch the bottom together, secure with twine.
Secure tulle to headband with a drop of hot glue and hold in place until dry.

Tips:

I prefer to use tulle with texture like the birdcage type or I mixed regular tulle with a swiss dot style in the video.
If you are going to use a comb you will only need 6-8 pieces of tulle depending on the fullness you want.
Using a straight edge/square shape tulle will give you a more avant garde look, using rounded edge/circle shape tulle will give you more of a rosette style.
Have the bride where it the Bachelorette party and/or bridal shower in order to call out the bride-to-be.
Consider making versions for the bridesmaids or flower girls, tulle comes in various colors that will match the wedding color palette.

Leave a comment and let me know if there are other tutorials you would like to see!

Wedding DIY Tutorials…coming soon!

February 12, 2013February 12, 2013Leave a comment

Last Saturday marked the start of wedding season for me, 5 more to go! I’m so looking forward to see my beautiful friends get hitched this year, and with all the wedding buzz around I decided the next set of DIY tutorials are crafts to help personalize the big day. The videos should be up in the next week or so, stay tuned…I can’t believe in only 2 weeks the channel has over 5,000 views, crazy! Thank you for all the support!

DIY Chalkboard Platter

February 8, 2013April 11, 2013Leave a comment

Here is the last video from the first set of DIY entertaining tutorials – check out the many uses for a chalkboard platter. Warning: this was the very first one that we shot, so clearly I had some warming up to do! It got a little easier the second time around, I just reviewed the rough cuts of the wedding tutorials and can’t wait for you all to see them.

Materials:

Tools:

Paint Brush

Total cost: Under $20

Time: 20 minutes (minus drying time)

Steps:

Make sure the plate is clean and dry.
Paint the inner edge of the plate. Be sure to follow the directions of the chalkboard paint you are using, The Martha Stewart chalkboard paint requires you to wait at least 1 hour before doing the second coat.
Write with the chalk to describe what you are displaying.

Various uses for the chalkboard platter:

Cheese Serving Plate
Beer (or your alcohol of choice) Tasting Platter
Perfume Display

Tip:

Turn it into a housewarming gift by including cheese knives, a monogrammed dish towel and a chalkboard pen. I also like the idea of writing the last name of the new home owner on the bottom of the platter, for example “The Brown House Est. 2013.”

DIY Food Allergy Menu Cards

February 1, 2013April 11, 2013Leave a comment

I love hosting dinner parties but with food allergies on the rise it can often create a challenge for the host and the guest (I know from experience). If you are unsure, it’s not uncommon to ask your guests ahead of time if their diets have changed. Your guests will appreciate you going the extra mile to make them feel welcomed in your home. Check out my tutorial video on ways you can easily label the food for guests who have allergies. For more entertaining tips, subscribe to the Likeheared channel: http://www.youtube.com/iamlikehearted

Materials:

Total cost: Under $25 – $18 of this is for the Animal Stamps since I didn’t already own them

Time: 15 minutes

Steps:

Make a key letting your guests know what the stamps stand for. For example, I used the cow stamp to mean “contains dairy.”
For the the menu cards I used the “business cards” from Papersource, they are pre-cut and just the size I needed.
Write out the dish name on a menu card with a sharpie.
Use stamps with ink pad to tell what allergies are in the food.

Allergy Free Entertaining Tips:

Avoid cross contamination by using separate serving utensils with each dish.
Keep all food labels in case someone wants to double check the ingredients.
Ask guests to bring something other than food: bottle of wine, flowers or ice, that way you can control what food is served.

DIY Photo Booth & Props

January 28, 2013April 11, 20131 Comment

I hosted New Year’s Eve and decided to do a photo booth as a way to capture the night’s moments. Watch the video to see how to make your own and check out the photos at the bottom of the post for the final results!

Prop Materials:

Card Stock Paper in black, red & pink
Wooden dowels

Photo Booth Materials:

Kraft Paper Roll
Clear Push Pins

Tools:

Scissors
Hot Glue Gun
Sharpie

Total cost: Under $10

Time: 30 minutes

Steps for Props:

Draw freehand or download a stencil online for lips & mustache silhouettes.
Trace the stencil onto the card stock.
Cut out the shapes.
Secure the shape to wooden dowel with a dot of hot glue.

Steps for Photo Booth:

Find an area in your home that will function as your photo booth.
Take the kraft paper and hang on wall with clear push pins.
Decorate with tassel garland, white lights and/or other decor to match your theme.

Tips:

Use the backdrop as a guest book and have party goers sign it.
Write a hashtag (#newyearseve) on the backdrop as a reminder to guests to tag their instagram & twitter photos.
If you have an old Polaroid camera feel free to bust it out or have your guests download the photo sharing app Flock onto their smartphones (you can send an invite to your friends to download the app before the day of the event).

Time to vote!

January 24, 2013January 24, 20132 Comments

I’ve have 6 weddings to go to this year and I’m in 2 of them, so I’ve decided the next set of tutorials is going to be a DIY wedding series. I need some help narrowing down the topics to feature, vote and let me know what you want to see!

DIY Tissue Tassel Garland

January 16, 2013April 11, 20133 Comments

The Likehearted YouTube Channel is live! I had a blast being a content contributor and getting to share my craft ideas. I’m so grateful for the opportunity that Sitewire has given me, and the beautiful work Snapfactory did on the videos. It’s definitely nerve-racking being on camera for the first time but I’m really proud of the videos and hopefully you all enjoy them too!! More videos to come, so make sure to check out all the tutorials by subscribing to my channel: http://www.youtube.com/iamlikehearted.

Materials:

Tissue Paper
Jute twine

Tools:

Scissors
Hot glue gun

Total cost: Under $10

Time: 2 hours

Steps:

Fold one sheet of tissue paper in half width-wise, then fold it over length-wise.
With your scissors, cut strips of fringe about 1/4 inch wide along the unfolded long edge of your folded tissue, leaving about 2 inches of uncut tissue at the folded edge.
Unfold your paper and cut the tissue in the center, creating two halves. Set one aside.
You should have a sheet of tissue with fringe on either side and a solid section down the center. Using the solid center section, begin to roll the tissue paper up, being careful to keep the fringe untangled.
After the entire section is rolled, twist the center tightly. Then curl it in on itself to create a loop, and secure with a small dot of hot glue.
For a finishing touch, place a small dot of hot glue under the loop and wrap twine around the base, secure with another dot of hot glue. Trim the ends if desired, and string your tassel onto your cord.

Tips:

One sheet of tissue paper makes 2 tassels.
I suggest about 16 tassels for your average size garland = 8 sheets of paper.
To make tassels with longer fringe, during step 2 cut along the short edge of the unfolded tissue instead of the long edge.

Don’t have time to make your own? Purchase the one I made in the video on my Etsy shop.

Mimosa Jello Shots

January 11, 2013January 15, 2013Leave a comment

I made the Mimosa Jello Shots for the New Year’s Eve party I hosted and was surprised how much of a hit these were. I saw this recipe on Pinterest but decided to put my own twist on it and use Orange flavored gelatin. I will admit I did not get those perfectly cut squares that they show in their photo, instead I suggest using the clear plastic shots glasses for serving.

Ingredients:

1 package of Orange Gelatin (Jello)
1 cup of boiling water
1 cup of chilled champagne (I used Cava – Spanish Sparkling Wine)

Directions:

Combine gelatin and boiling water in a bowl. Stirring until the gelatin is completely dissolved. Let it sit and come to room temperature.
Slowly pour in the chilled champagne.
Pour into clear shot glasses until they are about 3/4 filled and set in refrigerator to chill, about 4 hours.
Sprinkle with shimmer sugar right before serving. Note, that the sugar dissolves quickly once on the jello.

Enjoying reliving the college days in a more grown up style.

Originally posted here: http://www.perpetuallyengaged.com/2011/12/champagne-jello-shots.html

DIY Bachelorette Invites

December 17, 2012February 7, 2013Leave a comment

My best friend since 3rd grade is getting married in April and I have the absolute pleasure of being her maid of honor. We are going to Austin, TX for the bachelorette party and I couldn’t be more excited. First order of business in planning the bachelorette weekend is the invitations. I wanted to do something personalize and custom to the Texas theme. I also included “next steps” on the back of the invite which I printed on white stock paper, cut down to size and secured with the Washi tape. I’m no graphic artist but I really love the way they turned out!

Materials: