My Very Own Big Arse Hair Flower

Okay, so mine isn't as big as Mrs. Perfume's, but I still love it! Especially since it's semi-homemade!

I purchased my peony fascinator from Etsy Seller EnchantedlyYours for only $16.50 shipped, but I wasn't really feeling the rhinestone center when it arrived.


So I decided to do something about it. I found some cheap (like $2!) crafting beads at Michael's that included white, ivory, and light pink pearls in a variety of sizes. I chose the variety pack because I didn't know which color or size I would end up liking.


First, I carefully removed the rhinestone center using a spoon to pry it from its hot glue setting.


After I had removed the rhinestone, I played around with different bead coloring and sizes to see what combo I liked the most. I used the now empty center to arrange them before committing to the glue gun. I ended up choosing the white pearls because the light pink didn't look like what I had pictured in my head. Good thing I went with the variety pack!


Once I was happy with an arrangement, I made a pool of glue in the center.



I had to work quickly to set the pearls in place. I used tweezers to place the beads in a position where their holes (for threading) wouldn't show.



I didn't like the simple 6 pearl setting, so I added some of the smaller beads until I had something I liked.


All done! I used 6 big pearls as the base, then built on it using another layer of medium pearls (5), then one small pearl at the center on top.


And because I did this right after a workout, there was no way I was going to take a picture of my semi-DIY fascinator in my nasty hair. Luckily, my yellow Labrador, Dixie, was sitting nearby. She became my reluctant model.


But she's camera shy and quickly ran off to hide under the coffee table...


I love my big arse hair flower! And I saved about $45 to comparable hair pieces like the one below!

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The Bridal Party "Look Book": Inspiration Boards Included!

Okay, are you ready for the big reveal? *cue drumroll*

For my bridal earrings I chose the lovely gold and pink bow earrings for the amazingly low price of $13.oo plus $3.50 shipping and handling! (Can you tell I'm channeling my inner Billy Mays? Man, I'm gonna miss that guy.) Aren't they beauts?

I could have easily picked any of the choices in my previous post because they are all so beautiful. But it was ultimately the price tag and Mr. Lab's approval that did it for me. (I had him pick his favorite before telling him my fave-we both picked these!) I think they'll also compliment my dress and whatever pink shoes I end up with perfectly. My bridal "look" is coming along quite nicely but is missing a little something. Perhaps a dainty bracelet to match the earrings?

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I love the romantic and vintage look of cameos. And this bracelet fits pefectly into the bridal color scheme! But oy! Again with the price! $278?!? No thank you. Back to combing the interwebs for an affordable cameo bracelet....

Wait, what's that you got there Ebay? Oh, a cameo bracelet just as charming for a fraction of the price? I see how you do!

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So for less than $25, I will have wrapped up my bridal jewelry for the big day. Yes, I am a full-fledged bargainista. :D

Warning: Sensitive information coming up. So if you go by the WB moniker of Mr. Lab, stop scrolling now. I mean it!

In honor of these great new finds (and my obvious new obsession with Picasa's collage feature), I created a "bridal look book" inspiration board:




I'm being serious Mr. Lab. You go any further and I'll sell one of your kidneys on the black market to pay for my Louboutins! ;)




Okay, I think the coast is clear.

*TA-DA!*

This board features: My earrings and bracelet and the shoes I covet. My hair and makeup inspirations. My dream dress and a gorgeous fascinator. And an adorable clutch and lush bridal bouquet*.

And no, I haven't forgotten my bridesmaids! For them I chose the pink topaz and swarvoski crystal earrings.

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Although these are $39 a pop, I couldn't help but fall in love. They would match the bridesmaids' dresses so perfectly! So I crossed my fingers and contacted the seller in hopes of finding a way to negotiate the price. After a few messages back and forth, she offered to replace the pink topaz with pink quartz and give me a 12% discount because of the larger order. That brings the total down to $22.88 for each pair. Still a bit more than I was looking to spend, but definitely doable for such gorgeous pieces that I will be gifting to my fabulous girls. I may even see if my MOH's MIL (holy acronyms!) could replicate these for me since she's somewhat of a jewelry extraordinaire. Anywho, the moral of my Etsy story: never hesitate to negotiate price with ANYthing on Etsy. I saved a ton on my save the dates by negotiation.

And so the bridesmaids aren't left out of the inspiration board fun, I created this:

Their dresses will have a skirt closer to the chocolate color swatch shown. And I just decided today that I will be making their (fake) bouquets using dahlias, ranunculus, peonies, and possibly hydrangeas, all in a monochromatic pink tone. The girls will wear whatever shoes they like since no one will see them anyways. Now I just need to decide whether or not I want them to have necklaces to go along with the earrings, or just go with bare decolletages.

*Yes, I'm changing my bouquet color! You shall hear more about this soon enough!

Bridal Jewelry Lust

One of the many ways I'm cutting costs for the big day is through jewelry. I'm not a fine jewelry person because I usually lose or break it. I only buy cheap, fashion jewelry from places that frequently offer buy 2 get 1 free in the mall. I'm always warning Mr. Lab that the only expensive piece of jewelry I ever want to own is my engagement ring. So when it comes to wedding day and bridal party jewelry, I'm following my own instructions.

So began the search for the wedding jewelry. I knew I'd want something with a hint of pink in both my jewelry and the bridesmaids'. I happened to run across some gorgeous pink topaz drop earrings during one of my many Google searches.

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These earrings have gold in them, which isn't one of our colors, but I thought that they would blend in very nicely with the overall color palette and with my possible shoe choice. I was immediately thrilled that I may have found my earrings so quickly!

And then I saw their price: $525. Ouch.

Okay, maybe my search wasn't starting out too smoothly. But I still loved the pink and gold combination and decided to set off to the one-stop shop of inspiration with that color combo in mind: Etsy! There, I found not only a few choices for moi, but also for my girls! I even found a couple that have chocolate in them, to match our colors!

Click to enlarge!

Sources: left to right
Top: 1, 2, 3, 4
Bottom: 5, 6, 7, 8

How gorgeous are all of these?!? And they are all very reasonably priced. Even the more expensive ones come with a discount if you order a lot at once. It was hard sorting through so many beautiful pieces, but I think I may have my choices narrowed down to the ones I want for the bridesmaids and the pair I want for myself. But before I tell you which ones I picked, I want to know which ones would you choose?

And the Winner for Mr. & Miss Lab's Save the Date is...

The vintage Savannah postcard! They'll be customized with our information on the back, a circle around the square we're getting married at in the front, and will be super easy to send (just a stamp and they're off!).

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The voting was very close between the Funky & Fun and this one. In fact, the Pose Print came in first with 40% while the postcard garnered 38% of the votes. I really appreciate everyone helping me make a timely decision.

I ended up going with this choice for a few reasons. First off, I was already leaning towards it before the voting even began. I was just wanting people to ease my mind on the idea of such a different STD. Then, I found out right after I made the post that the seller was willing to negotiate the price! As soon as I found them on Etsy, I sent a message to let her know that I was on a tight budget and she wrote back to say that because I was ordering so many, she could offer them at $.85 each! So that definitely helped seal the deal.

Finally, some of you voters gave me a good idea on how to essentially have all three designs throughout the wedding process! I get the postcard for the STD, I can use the Pose Print for a shower or party invite (which does seem more appropriate), and I can use the damask print for the actual invites and other wedding paper (menu, program, etc)! Having my cake and eating it, too! ;)

So hive, thank you for all the help! I'm sure I'll be coming to you many more times before November. Does anyone else have important decisions that they couldn't make without the hive's help?