Another great JoAnn find

Perfect for anyone with a bird theme! 14.99 and half off until April 17!
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Much Ado.

As the time left until my 9 a.m. (not my first choice of time by far) bridal hair trial next Saturday gets shorter, I find myself thinking more and more about what to do with this stuff on my head I've been growing out since Mr. Calico proposed last June.

My hair is fine and likes to curl. There's enough of it for an updo, but I'm always more comfortable with my hair down, partially because it hides my gigantic ears.


(source: EasyArt.com)

OK, maybe not that bad. But enough to make me self-conscious. The bigger problem, though, on a day in the spring with weather unknown is the frizz.


(source: JacBeauty.com - Remember that Episode of Friends?)

OK, again, I may be exagerrating a bit. But my hair has always had a questionable response to humidity, ranging from a nice increase in volume to goldfish mentality ("I must fill the space I occupy!") This has made me wonder if it can be trusted to stay put in the beach waves I originally envisioned:


(source: Zimbio.com)

So, here are some of my current inspirations for down-dos and ear-hiding updos, including my current favs, the current forerunner, the Eva Longoria Parker updo:




(source: InStyle.com)


(source: ProjectWedding.com)


(source: weddings.about.com)


(source: HairStyleTalk.com)

And then, after all of this research, this morning as I was driving to work and the air from the windows blew my hair across my face, I developed a fear of a new foe: The Wind.

Is anyone trying to outwit Mother Nature with their hairstyles?

How cute is that?

It's not right for my wedding but this little wooden mail box might be great for someone else's. $7.99 at Joann's.

A little birdie.

[Please see previous jewelry post]

After reviewing photos of my dress, I decided I wanted to incorporate pearls into the jewelry. Pearls say vintage to me, and vintage is the a part of the general wedding theme. A simple strand of pearls and matching earrings would be great. In fact, I already have a set just like that! The problem? They were gifts from my ex. I'm not sure what the wedding protocol is on that, but wearing jewelry that another man gave me on my wedding day just seems wrong. No? And buying a whole new set just seems like a waste of money. So, there went that idea.

Still undecided and obsessed, I spent last evening hunting Etsy for jewelry ideas. I came across a number of items that I loved. Some of them were totally out of my price range. Others were gorgeous but a little too fancy. Some were simple. Maybe too simple?

A few examples of my favorites:


DeniseJewelryDesigns' Garden of Joy Necklace
{http://www.etsy.com/shop/DeniseJewelryDesigns}


kathyoinspirations' The DC Necklace
[http://www.etsy.com/shop/kathyoinspirations]


vsc83's Sterling and White Pearls Bird Nest Necklace
[http://www.etsy.com/shop/vsc83]


WeddingJewels'Infinity Necklace
[http://www.etsy.com/shop/WeddingJewels]


envisage's Birdie Bauble
[http://www.etsy.com/shop/envisage]

I'm still not sure what would look best with my strapless sweetheart neckline. (Mr. Calico, if you're reading, do not go look that up to see what it means!) However, I decided that the option to frequently re-wear the necklace was a very important factor in the purchase. I'm not a big jewelry person. My e-ring is the only thing I wear on a daily basis, along with an occasional necklace. Usually a simple Star of David pendant. But imagine the sentimental value of being able to have that part of the wedding with me. Plus I'd love to be able to wear it the very next day, as we jet off to our Latin American honeymoon... so a piece of any real (monetary) value probably isn't in the cards for me.

So, here's my first purchase:


Lana0Crystal's My Little Treasure necklace
{http://www.etsy.com/shop/Lana0Crystal}

I love the simplicity and the fact that it incorporates pearls without being too fancy. The bird is great for our theme! And may I just say that this seller has been great to work with so far? She answered lots of questions in record time, offered me ideas for matching earrings (which I'm still not sure about) and will replace the garnet flower with one in light aqua. I can't wait to see it in person and try it on. Even if it doesn't make the final wedding cut, I know I'll love wearing it.

In the GPS era...

... do people still rely on paper maps?

When we (I) got ready to put together our invitation packets, we thought it would be helpful to include a map of general venue location with directions "from the north" and "from the south", since the majority of guests would be coming from those directions.

No problem. I followed this awesome tutorial. I got on Google maps, found a good view of the general area, and about an hour later I had a cute little map complete with major roads, the venue and directions.

Then after we reserved a block of rooms at a nearby hotel (actually THE nearby hotel - not a lot of options on that side of town) I made another map, this time showing the route from the hotel to the venue.

I was so proud of my little maps. Mr. Calico approved them (after I enlarged the text a bit). I printed them out on our recycled paper and off they went with the invitations. About a week later, I got an interesting text message from Sis Calico's best friend.

One of the roads on the map doesn't exist.

This has induced a mild amount of panic. It's not a major road on the map, but it is the road that connects (or was supposed to connect) the hotel area back to the main highway nearby. Apparently, it's there, but there are no signs with the name that's on the maps I made... it's just a road.

This isn't the first time an Internet map has led me astray. I used to work as an ESL/Spanish teacher for a company here in Indy that sent me to various homes and offices around the area. The receptionist always provided a Yahoo! Map to the location any time there was a new class. I was once sent up to Kokomo with a map that led me to a mausoleum. Creepy. And no one there wanted to learn Spanish.

That was why I went with GoogleMaps instead. Of course, that doesn't seem to help in this case.

The directions provided on the hotel map are only from the venue to the hotel and in order to get to the hotel, the guests would have to pass through that area with the unnamed street. So now my question is this: Should I contact all of our guests to provide an updated map? Or should we assume that the guests who are staying at that hotel will figure it out or be using their own GPS anyway?

My latest obsession: The jewelry

First it was the dress. Then the shoes. The Sis Calico's dress and shoes. Now, not having quite resolved that last one, I move on to my latest I-Must-Find: jewelry for the big day.

I love my engagement ring. It's an estate ring and a beautiful piece of art deco workmanship. So, it seems like the easiest thing to do would be to take that art deco theme and run with it for the necklace and earrings:





(jewelry by 1928, both pics from Amazon.com)

I like them, but I'm not sure I love them. The look great with the ring, but... I don't know. I'm not sure I'd ever wear them again, which is also a problem, since I'd love this little "investment" to be for something I can use again and again.

I've also thought of something like this:


(photo from stylemepretty.com)

They (style me pretty) have a great tutorial, but I'm not sure that's a DIY I want to tackle right now. Plus I can only imagine trying to work with that many things that roll around while all the cats are watching me. They can barely contain their excitement when the hot glue gun comes out! I am also torn about maybe wanting to throw a splash of color up there with my ivory dress and moss green ballet slippers.

Any thoughts? Have you let your engagement ring lead the path of your other jewelry? Did you think outside the box on your wedding jewelry and love it (or hate it later on)?

Our Rustic Birdcage Alternative

Since we're living in an already very full bungalow, Mr. Calico and I are hoping to see lots of cards and envelopes rather than gifts at the wedding. We've registered at Honeyfund.com, so we're also looking forward not only to having our "registered experiences" but also sending out thank you cards with photos of our vacation for those who help us get there.

But, before we could receive any cards, I needed to make a card holder. Somehow, a pile of envelopes just wouldn't look right, you know?

My first thought was a birdcage. Something romantic, a little vintage and not too hard to find, maybe decorated with a few ribbons to match the other decor. Even though Mr. Calico has pretty much gone along with every idea I've had, I ran this one past him and was surprised when it gave him pause.

"But we have a nature-themed wedding," he pointed out. "Does a cage really say 'nature'?"

Uh-oh, I thought. He's right. I brainstormed for other ideas: baskets, a picnic basket, a big recycled glass jar, a bird house. Nothing seemed to pan out. Finally, a poster on the Weddingbee.com boards shared an idea she'd had that turned out to be a little too rustic for her wedding: a stump. I took the idea and went for it! Here's how it went:

My DIY Card Stump
- two round paper mache boxes with lids
- birch bark sheets
- sheet moss
- scissors
- hot glue gun and sticks

A word of warning: I did make one error in this project. The only way to get the cards out will be for us to cut a hole in the bottom of the stump. We've decided to look at that as extra security rather than a problem.

1. Cut out the bottoms of both round boxes, leaving about 1/2 inch around each side.

2. Glue the two boxes together, bottom to bottom. If the lids are removed, you'll have a cylinder.


3. Put the bottom lid back on. (Note: I glued it on.)

4. Cut a hole in the top of the other lid and put it back on. Now you have this:


5. Now it's time to start adding the birch bark. I bought a big box of it from eBay for this and other DIYs, so I first had to look through my stock and pick some sheets that looked similar in pattern and had the right dimensions with the grain going the same way. Once I found what I needed, I trimmed it a bit to square it up, then started hot-gluing it to the cylinder:


I worked my way around:


And finally ended up back where I'd started:


6. Next up: Sheet moss. First, I cut two pieces that would meet in the middle of the top and drape over the edges. Having two halves made it easier to cut the space for the opening, since my particular sheet moss wasn't the world's sturdiest product.



7. The final step was gluing the moss to the top and sides. I also trimmed it a bit and added some pieces where it looked too square, hoping to give it a more organic look. Here's the final result:



I still want to make a little sign that says "cards," but other than that I can cross another DIY off the list.

Is anyone else thinking outside the birdcage?