Offbeat Bride has talked about how much we love the idea of making your own wedding ring before. So how could we not take this opportunity to show you exactly how OBT member "merryf" and her FH created their own wedding bands.

Last Saturday my FH and I did the most extraordinary thing and made our own wedding rings. Not designed, but actually took metal and, after eight hours, ended up with wedding rings.

My FH found a ring making studio in New York while surfing the Web. It was all his idea, and I went along with it. This was the one thing that he wanted to spend money on for the wedding. How could I say no?

New York Wedding Ring is right in Lower Manhattan, a few blocks from the WTC subway. The goldsmith, Sam, was so nice, and so helpful. He takes just one couple at a time, so all his attention was on us. The nicest thing was that he didn't touch our rings at all — they were ours to make, and he demonstrated what he wanted us to do on a ring that he made at the same time. (Well, at one point he did help me when I got frustrated and threw it down on the table.) At one point I helped my FH and then he helped me, and that's nice to know that my ring has a bit of him in it, and his has a bit of me.

It wasn't all fun — the sanding and polishing almost put me to sleep and for the life of me I could not file the edge in a straight line. And my FH got a "corkscrew" instead of a circle when he bent it in a machine. And it was not cheap — it was about $1,400 and the actual cost of the metal was just a fraction of that, (the main cost was the time we spent there) but we had a lot of fun, and I learned that I can use those sort of tools and I'm not afraid. It's the ultimate DIY project.

And here is how we did it…

Continue reading "Fire! Hot Metal! We made our own wedding rings!" →

The idea of spending money on tablecloths that are guaranteed to be stained with bbq sauce (to the tune of 120 bucks) made me angry and frustrated. How would I wash them? How could I throw them away? I didn't personally feel good about plastic ones in part because the way the plastic sounds — when it rubs against itself it's like fingernails on the chalkboard to me (heebiejeebies).

So, after a festive jaunt to a local fast-food place, I had an epiphany.

I don't need them! It's much easier to wash the tables themselves.

Then another epiphany, while throwing away the refuse… paper placemats!

So I got home and got to designing and have come up with these babies for our medieval-inspired ("Liz and Kevin are Weird and in Love" – themed) wedding dinner.

It was really fun to work on this together and be giant kids. We plan to put them on the tables with some crayons for all our kids-at-heart to enjoy.

And in case you all would like something similar, I'm listing the links for do-it-yourself game creations:

• Crossword Puzzle
• Word Search
• Maze
• Coloring Pages

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" →

Tracy took her inspiration from Martha Stewart's (all hail Martha!) photo centerpiece idea, winged it and somehow created an awesome, true-to-example DIY centerpiece option! Go Tracy! Only a few materials are needed, and this can be constructed using basic crafting skills (no crazy contractor-style tools needed). – Offbeat Shrie

Finished, unlit lantern

These are really cute and could be made to accommodate a wide variety of themes, applications and color schemes, and in a range of sizes. They're also pretty easy and relatively cheap to make! They just take a little time and a little creativity.

I couldn't find step-by-step instructions on Martha's project so I took a leap of faith and just tried it out! They turned out beautifully and I couldn't be happier with 'em….

Continue reading "How to DIY your own Martha-esque photo lantern" →