Obsessive DIYer and super-involved OBT member Ang, whose wedding we just profiled, skipped right over the programs for their wedding, and instead just jotted down the info on this awesome up-cycled chalkboard frame she made! After the wedding, hang it in your kitchen for your grocery list or in the dining room for oodles of doodles! – Offbeat Shrie

For an eco/budget friendly alternative to programs we did a chalkboard that listed all the members of the wedding party, and afterwards we're using it as a message center at the house. It was a great multi-step tutorial that is a fantastic addition to our abode as a married duo!

The uses for this are vast… and it's a ton of fun to see a thrift store piece of junk transformed into a usable, customizable tool at the wedding, and then in your home!

Continue reading "How to DIY a fancy chalkboard frame" →

DIY maven, craft fundraiser for Swap-O-Rama-Rama and OBTer Hawkswine came up with a perfecto way to save some of those wedding cards and correspondence that you can't bear to throw away. This project is original and SUPER simple. We love it! Hawkswine take it awayyyy!! – Offbeat Shrie

We got a ton of wedding and shower cards and I’m sooooo not the sort of person to keep cards around, but pitching them just seemed wrong! I didn’t want them to just sit in some box so I decided to turn them into a book that I can flip through and enjoy memories whenever I’m feeling sentimental (so about once ever 4 or 5 years).

This project was actually pretty easy to execute. Luckily, my two largest cards were about the same size so I used them for the front and back “covers” of the book. Also fortunately, one of the large cards was in my wedding color, powder blue, so it worked out as a great front page!

Continue reading "How to DIY a wedding card keepsake book" →

The whole wedding planning bonanza is a bit like thrusting your head in a cannon and waiting for it to blow… there is just SO much anticipation and worry. To DIY or not? Should you go all out or pinch pennies? What about decorations and favors?

If your head is swimming with possibilities and your palms start sweating at the mere thought of diving into the planning, take a look at these tutorials. They might just save your wedding — and your sanity!

Continue reading "Tutorials that could save your wedding" →

OBT member "Zephyr" created ring books as an alternative to ring pillows — and the book loving, English major in me is freaking out over them! Luckily for all of us book lovers, she gave us the details on how to make them yourself…

Being the book geek that I am, I couldn't resist bringing books into the wedding! Here's the step by step creation of my own ring bearer books…

Continue reading "How to make a Ring Book" →

The Offbeat Bride: Monica, system analyst and jewelry-maker

Her Offbeat Partner: Eric, animator and artist

Location & date of wedding: Cross-town Los Angeles – ceremony at Immanuel Presbyterian, reception at The Proud Bird — 1/31/09

Continue reading "Monica & Eric's Artsy Craftsy Disney Infused Wedding" →