Tips For Storing Your Wedding Dress

Melissa Papaj Photography

Chapter 10: Storing Your Wedding Dress
 
Have your gown professionally cleaned immediately after use,
even if it looks spotless. Do not hang the dress. Keep it in a storage
box in a room or closet with constant temperatures and humidity
levels (attics, basements, and closets next to exterior walls usually fluctuate
too much). Where possible, line any folds with nonacidic, undyed
tissue paper. Check your dress once a year for yellowing. Always
wash your hands before handling the gown.

Melissa Papaj Photography

Wedding photos courtesy of Melissa Papaj Photography
http://www.melissapapajphotography.com
http://www.melissapapajphotography.blogspot.com
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Melissa-Papaj-Photography/34435591056

Learn more about Diamond Rings Are Deadly Things and all of the chapter tutorials here

Melissa Papaj Photography

Courtesy of www.mashedpotatoesandcrafts.com

Save the Dress! Stain Remover

Save the Dress! Stain Remover

In a crisis with a stain? We know all about that at Pyper's Dream Weddings. Here's a quick fix we keep on hand to treat stains on the spot!

Here's what you need:

2/3 cup dishwashing liquid

2/3 cup ammonia

6 Tbsp Baking Soda

2 cups warm water

Mix all ingredients together. It looks like some kind of weird science project with that green, doesn't it?





Pour mixture into a spray bottle.

Shake before use.

Spray on stains and let sit for one minute, then launder as usual.

Learn more about Diamond Rings Are Deadly Things and all of the chapter tutorials here

Chapter 8: Save the Dress! Stain Remover
Mix together 2⁄3 cup dishwashing liquid, 2⁄3 cup ammonia, six
tablespoons
baking soda, and two cups warm water. Pour mixture
into a spray bottle. Shake before use. Spray on stains and let sit for
one minute. Launder as usual. *I always keep a bottle handy at the
shop for accidents!
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Sparkler Send Off Wedding Favors

Kristie here from Kristie Kreates. 
Today I have a fun project that will add some sparkle to your wedding.

The first thing you will need is some card stock.

I have used a variety of colors for my examples, 

using your wedding colors would be lovely.

Cut the card stock to 4" x 6"

Choose a stamp that you like and randomly stamp

on the 4x6 cards.

I have used a corner rounder on my cards, if you don't have one

you can leave them with squared corners.

Next you will need to print out the

"invitation" to "The Big Send-Off"

I have printed mine in a coordinating color of ink

Now cut them to approximately

2 1/4" x 4 3/4"

You can leave the invitation plain or take it a step further 

and stamp with the same, or perhaps a different coordinating stamp,

 in the corner of the invitation.

Now adhere the invitation card onto the base card.

 

Using a craft knife, cut a slit approximately 3/4" long along the top 

of the invitation card, as well as along the bottom.

Using long sparklers thread them from the front of the card, through the slit

to the back and out the bottom slit.

On the big day, have the sparklers handy for your guests.

Perhaps you could have your flower girl or ring bearer hand them out.

Or arrange them in some favorite vases.

If you are having a beach wedding, how about in pails.

Or in a basket.

You might want to leave whatever you put them in plain

or you could decorate it with ribbons or flowers.

How ever you decide to do it

"This Sparkler Send Off "

will be sure to light up the night.

 You may have noticed that my 'sparklers' look a little different.

That's because they aren't real sparklers.  

Where I live fireworks are illegal, except sparklers,

but they are not readily available other than around July 4th.

So, I made some "faux sparklers"  to be able to show you this 

project idea.

I hope you have enjoyed this fun wedding idea.

Learn more about Diamond Rings Are Deadly Things and all of the chapter tutorials here

Chapter 15- Sparkler Send-Off
The big send-off is at 11:00 p.m.!
Print announcement of the send-off on 4 x 6-inch pieces of
heavy-weight cardstock. Cut two slits, one at the top and one at the
bottom of the announcement. Slide one sparkler through the slits.
Arrange sparklers and announcements in a vintage bucket or basket.
Have helpers ready with torch lighters just before the time of the
send-off.
Courtesy of www.mashedpotatoesandcrafts.com.

Bryn’s Raspberry Cheesecake Squares

Hi, I'm Adrielle Pyper. My mother, Laurel and I love sharing "How To" craft and recipe ideas with you. We created this site with our friend Rachelle Christensen to bring a little crafting goodness to your home from Mashed Potatoes and Crafts.
Our mission is to encourage crafting happiness and a love of homegrown cooking!
Let's celebrate with something simple! It's raspberry season and my 3 year old  niece Bryn helped invent this sweet treat. It's featured in Chapter 13. Enjoy!
Bryn’s Raspberry Cheesecake Squares

Spread cream cheese on one graham cracker. Top with raspberries and chocolate chips. Break in half and share with a smile.

So easy, so delicious!

Learn more about Diamond Rings Are Deadly Things and all of the chapter tutorials here

Chapter 13: Bryn’s Raspberry Cheesecake Squares

Spread cream cheese on one graham cracker. Top with raspberries

and chocolate chips.

Courtesy of www.mashedpotatoesandcrafts.com

Keep Your Diamonds Sparkling

 Chapter 7 Tutorial: Keep Your Diamonds Sparkling

A little tip from Rachelle

 I've been married to my sweetheart, Steve, for 15 years and this is the diamond ring he gave me all those years ago. It's been through a lot of wear, had to be re-pronged and frequently is dirty since I have four kids and endless household chores.

 I only get it cleaned when I go to the mall, and the shop we bought it from checks and cleans it, so if you look closely in the picture, you can see it isn't sparkling today because I don't go shopping much.

Here's a great little solution that only takes five minutes to keep your diamond sparkling!

Soak your diamond ring in a warm solution of liquid dish

detergent and water for five minutes.

Use a soft brush if necessary

to remove dirt. Soft is the key—don’t use a brush with bristles that

are stiff enough to scratch the ring’s metal setting.

Swish the ring

around in the solution and then place it in a colander (so you don’t

lose it down the drain). 

Rinse it thoroughly in warm water. Dry with

a lint-free cloth.

 Now look at that diamond ring sparkle! Hopefully you can tell a difference from the pictures. If not, try it, you'll definitely smile when you notice the difference on your own ring!

Courtesy of www.mashedpotatoesandcrafts.com

Learn more about Diamond Rings Are Deadly Things and all of the chapter tutorials here

Conversation Starters: Place Card Tutorial

Chapter 11- Conversation Starters: Place Card Tutorial
Hello! Kristie here from Kristie Kreates
Today we're going to talk about place cards and conversation starters.

Adding a quote about love at the bottom of you place cards

gives them a unique and special quality.

Place cards can be quick and easy to make.

First you will need to find some quotes, I searched the internet for

"Quotes about love." and found there were a lot to choose from.

The next step is to design a place card face on your computer.

This can be as simple or as fancy as you like.

I decided to go with a simple and elegant design.

I chose to use the wedding color scheme of 

Ivory, Forest Green and Burgundy.

Once you have the card face designed, 

add quotes to the bottom.

You can have all different quotes, or choose a few and repeat them.

It's all up to you, it's your wedding, so you make the choice.

Add the names of your guests and print them on your chosen color of card stock.

I have made my card faces to measure 3 1/2" x 1 3/4"

Next cut your base card stock to 4" x 4"

Once these are cut, fold them in half.

Scoring them before folding will help keep the card stock from cracking

along the fold.  If the fold does crack, simple fold it the other way so the cracking 

is on the inside and no one will ever know.

The next step is to cut the card faces down.

 

I cut mine leaving a 1/16" of ivory surrounding the design.

This size fit perfectly onto the card base.

Using your favorite type of adhesive, mine is an ATG tape gun,

apply adhesive liberally to the back of the card face.

 

Adhere the card faces to the place card base and you are done.

  

(click on the picture to see Adrielle's place card larger)

The quotes I used for these 4 place cards are:

"Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without one"  Chinese Proverb

"Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own."  Robert A Heinlein

"Love is a canvas furnished by Nature and embroidered by imagination." Voltaire

"In dreams and in love there are no impossibilities."

Another idea for using these conversation starters is to print them onto paper that will be used as
silverware wrappers.
Simply print the quotes onto printer paper, cut them into 1" - 1 1/2" wide strips.
These can be wrapped around napkins and silverware and adhered with tape.

Learn more about Diamond Rings Are Deadly Things and all of the chapter tutorials here

Chapter 11

  Conversation Starters
Print quotations on paper silverware wrappers or along the bottom
of place cards for fun conversation starters. Example: “Better a
diamond with a flaw than a pebble without one.” —Chinese proverb
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Comfort Me Hot Cocoa

Chapter 21- Comfort Me Hot Cocoa
When you're in the mood for a comforting cup of hot cocoa, nothing beats Mom's homemade recipe. Don't go for the mix, whip up a cup (or a batch) from scratch. It's delicious with much less sugar than store-bought mixes!


The ingredients are simple. I have step-by-step photos and the recipe in full at the end of the post. Enjoy!

Heat one cup milk, two tablespoons sugar, one tablespoon cocoa,
a pinch of salt, and ½ teaspoon vanilla in a saucepan at medium temperature.

Do not allow to boil!

When mixture is warm, add a little

half-and-half or top with whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Learn more about Diamond Rings Are Deadly Things and all of the chapter tutorials here

Chapter 21- Comfort Me Hot Cocoa
Heat one cup milk, two tablespoons sugar, one tablespoon cocoa,
a pinch of salt, and ½ teaspoon vanilla in a saucepan at medium temperature.
Do not allow to boil. When mixture is warm, add a little
half-and-half or top with whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon.
Courtesy of www.mashedpotatoesandcrafts.com.