DIY - a project that's pulling me under!!

With the economy in the dumps these days, I find more and more brides turning to the DIY projects. From flowers, to favors, and everything in between...I'm seeing more and more unique ideas that brides are picking up and making on their own. But is this really the best idea?

I'm going to consider myself extremely lucky...partly because my parents were gracious enough to cough up the money for the wedding and partly because of all of my wedding knowledge and connections.  Had it not been for these specific factors, I know I would have to make more sacrifices in order to see my wedding dreams come true...not to mention more DIY projects.

Last week, Kiel and I came across a dilemma...honeymoon or no honeymoon.  We had enough money from the budget my parents extended to us to be able to go on a honeymoon...but as many of you know, Kiel is a penny pincher, so he was really hoping to bank on the remaining balance, and in some ways, it would be nice to have that additional money. But let's keep in mind, we will only have 1 honeymoon...so why not?! It took a lot of talking, tears, disagreements and lots of compromising (or as I like to call them, negotiations) to finally pin down a honeymoon.  Bottom line is...I compromised by making small sacrifices...no more going out on date nights, adding extra money into the savings account, AND...finding more DIY projects to cut back on the costs of the wedding.

DIY...seems simple enough, right? But have you actually thought through EVERYTHING when it comes to doing things yourself?  I consider myself pretty creative and have been told recently that I am crafty...and while I can agree with this...I can also add perfectionist and getting myself in over my head with projects I ultimately choose to do myself. And it was no exception when it came to making my favor boxes for the wedding.

LESSON #7:
A DIY project is great in saving money...but sometimes spending the extra money is worth the stress and frustration you'll ultimately end up avoiding!  

After the weekend of honeymoon discussions I started trying to think of things I could cut back on.  The favor boxes I really wanted

The original favor boxes

were ultimately going to cost me about $120 for 100 of them...not including the candy inside! YIKES! 
Keep in mind, price when I found these pretty little things, wasn't a factor at the time...and in my mind, I thought...perfect!!!!! They matched my colors, and would look fantastic with how I was going to be having the tables set! But the best part about these boxes: They were already assembled and all I needed to do was add in the candy! Ahh, sit back and relax, the hard part is finished!
Sadly, reality set in, and I started hearing Kiel in my thoughts..."is it really worth more than $1 a piece without candy?" "Are people going to appreciate these little boxes, or even keep them??"  And let's face it, Kiel really had a point...and as much as I didn't want to tell him he was right, I had to swallow my pride and find a different route...especially if I wanted to go on that honeymoon!!!

So after careful thought and searching for new ideas, I came across another cute idea...and not much DIY involved. Plus, it was perfect in regards to how Kiel popped the question (at a Chinese restaurant)! I had found these cute little Chinese to-go boxes at Michaels...and at $60 for 100 of them, I had just cut my wedding favor boxes budget by half! SWEET! After getting Kiel's thumbs up as well as his word

The favor box option that fell through

that he'd help with the tags and bows, I went back to Michaels to purchase them...but as wedding stuff will go, when I got there, I was told the boxes were on back-order, and they had no clue when they'd be getting more.

Back to square one.  Okay creativity...it's time to kick in.  Thankfully, I had some time to kill, and started walking around Michaels to scope out some potential ideas.  As luck would have it, I came across some basic white boxes...100 of them for only $20!!!  They looked exactly like the little boxes from the gerber boxes I originally wanted...maybe I could DIY!!!! Next thing I knew, I found myself in Hobby Lobby, getting some orange, pink and brown fabrics to make it into flowers.  Really, how difficult could this be? Remember, I did tell you I was creative and crafty. Crap, what did I get myself into?!

Low and behold, that night, I found myself sitting on our living room floor cutting little petals out of fuchsia and brown satin and tulle, trying to replicate a picture. Tulle was all over the place, pearls were sprawled everywhere and I was pretty sure I had hot glued myself to our floor!  45 minutes later...my master piece:

First Attempt

New and final version in orang

Now...if we all remember correctly, I'm in need of making roughly 100 of these little guys! And at 45 minutes a piece, this would take me 4500 minutes of valuable time making these things!!!  It was now time to figure out a different route with making these boxes.  I had already purchased the materials (a total cost of $40 for everything) so I knew I had to continue forward with making these! After careful research and some Youtube.com tutorial videos, I found an easier way!  Now, it didn't cut a ton of time off maybe about 15 minutes per flower...but that was before my AMAZING neighbor came to my rescue...yet again! After cutting circles for hours out of my fabrics, I was showing off my master pieces to my neighbor (another DIY gal!) who looked at me and told me she had the perfect tool for me...a cutter that was specifically meant to cut circles! Last night, I cut out 20 circles in 5 minutes!!! Now the only part that will take forever is burning the edges of my flowers and sewing them together. 

New and final version in pink

TIP #6:
Be sure you're 100% prepared for the time and effort a DIY project will take.  It might be in your best interest to recruit some of your bridesmaids to help accomplish your project.  And be prepared to have things not go right...keep in mind that in the end, your DIY project will look great and you'll feel amazing that you did it on your own...plus it adds that personal touch!

All in all, I'm still happy with they way they have started to turn out!  I know the next 96  flowers are going to take a lot of time and effort...but I'm lucky I have a maid (soon to be matron!) of honor that is willing to take a day out of her time and make a day of it with me!  Thank goodness for best friends!!

I hope you have fun with your DIY projects! Tell me about them! I love to see how creative people get!

Love,

Cydney AKA The Soon to be Mrs. Johnson