Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Wedding Wednesday | DIY Wax Seals w/ Jacquelyn

Happy hump day/Wedding Wednesday folks! Today I have a treat for you guys because this girl has been around this link up for a while now, so you may recognize her. If you don't then please go send her some love, she's such a sweet person with an awesome new Etsy shop that's great for baby slippers that are homemade!! This DIY she is sharing is so neat and sounds easy enough for even me! Now I'll let her take it away...

*****************************

Hey guys! I'm so honored to be guest posting for the very first time on Nikki's blog. You might recognize me if you've been linking up on Wedding Wednesday for a while.. I'm Jacquelyn and I blog over at Lowcountry Mama, where I write about life in Charleston with my husband and baby girl. In addition to the title of mama, I also recently started an Etsy shop called Artsibaby, where I sell handmade baby slippers. I share a lot of sewing DIYs on the blog but I'm finally here with a DIY that doesn't require a sewing machine, which I know will make non-sewers happy =)

DIY Wax Seals for Wedding Invitations | The Lowcountry Mama

A little over a year ago I was getting ready to send out our wedding invitations. I designed them myself, had them printed and addressed them on my own too. When it came time to assemble them I knew I wanted to include a wax seal, so I bought a wax seal kit at Hobby Lobby. It turned out to be time-consuming, messy, and really hard to get the seal just right. I was sitting at the table with a candle, dripping wax on my invites drop by drop like it was the 1700's.. not fun.
I came up with a new idea that was SO much easier and cheaper. 

Here's what you'll need:
• A glue gun 
• Metallic glue sticks (I got mine at Walmart for like $5) 
• A metal wax seal stamp (I bought mine at the local art supply store.. I also just checked and there's some on Etsy)
  1. Decide where you want to put your seal. I did mine on the paper enclosure that held all of my materials together.
DIY Wax Seals for Wedding Invitations | The Lowcountry Mama

2. Put the glue stick in your glue gun just like you would normally. Wait for it to heat up and glue a dot about the size of a quarter.

DIY Wax Seals2

3. Put the stamp down right away, carefully, and keep it there for about 30 seconds. During this time I think I was addressing the envelope- I had an assembly line going.

DIY Wax Seals3

4. Carefully pry off the stamp by rolling it off, don't pull it. All done!

DIY Wax Seals4

Hope this helps some other DIYers out there to get a professional look without spending a ton of money. I literally did everything decor-wise for my wedding by myself (with the help of family!).. I even wanted to grow and assemble my own flowers. And bake my own cake. But no one let me do that, thankfully haha.
Looking forward to meeting some of you =)

******************************

Ok guys, this is seriously the easiest sounding DIY like I could possibly do this!! This would have been awesome to do for my save-the-dates, but I may do these for thank you notes because this is such a fun little personalization!

******************************

Now it is your turn! We would love to have you link-up with your wedding tales, planning adventures and day-of memories.

Make.Up.HER



As always, we would love to have you linking up with us and sharing your wedding inspiration, stories and photos of your own! Just please remember to link back to either mine or Macy's blog in order to keep the Wedding Wednesday fun going around.

Monday, December 7, 2015

Weekending | Christmas Decorating Craze

Happy Monday folks! I almost didn't have the energy to get this post up, but wanted to talk about the fact that I've kind of gone nuts decorating for Christmas this year. Knowing that it's my last Christmas at home is totally bittersweet and I want to make sure I enjoy it fully! I made a beautiful wreath for the front door, got an adorable gingerbread advent calendar and got some special new ornaments with my sissy.



Loving my stockings and the stocking holder, of course most of my decor is from Tar-Jay or Michaels!


The rest of my weekend was spent drinking as much hot cocoa as possible and watching any and all holiday movies on Lifetime, as cheesy as they are, I'm a sucker for it! 


Sunday night, my mom, sissy and I went to our favorite local spot for Mexican food and I was so stuffed that I could have passed out at the table!


******************************

What did you guys do this weekend? Linking up with my fave for weekending B!

Thursday, December 3, 2015

Travel Bug with Kate

Happy Friday eve friends!! So during the holiday time either people love to travel or plan their upcoming travel because the deals are great. I know A and I are figuring out a place to travel to early February for a pre-wedding trip/anniversary trip. If you don't know her by now, you will seriously love getting to know her as I have over the last few years, Kate is one of the nicest and knowledgeable bloggers there is when it comes to travel. Seriously guys, she has traveled to some pretty amazing places. I have her here on the blog today to give you guys some tips about traveling to different locations, plus some pictures that will sure make you jealous looking at them. I know my travel list has all of the places she's gone to and then some...check out what she has to say below and show her some serious love!!

******************************

Good morning makeupHER readers, my name is Kate and you can find me over at Green Fashionista where I blog about fashion and beauty reviews, recipes, weekend shenanigans, and my all time favorite hobby - traveling. I know this is a hobby that Nikki and I both share, and I can't wait to see where she and A pick to go on their upcoming honeymoon!

As much as I love fashion, traveling is where the majority of my fun money goes, even though it makes my closet sad. I'm notorious for over-packing and have gotten much better over the years after realizing how I only use about 20% of what I packed.

Beach Vacay Necessities
Beach Vacay Necessities

On a beachy vacay, you'll spend the majority of your days at the pool or on the beach, so I pack several bathing suits and cover ups for the day time and sundresses and sandals for dinner and night life. Don't forget sunscreen *practice safe sun*, your makeup bag, and a beach bag. And most important of all your passport! You can pick up anything you may have left at home, but you're not getting anywhere without your passport.

 *Punta Cana ~ 2015*


*Boca Raton ~ 2015*

*Punta Cana ~ 2013*

*Bahamas Cruise for a friend's 30th b-day*

*Jamaica ~ 2012*

*Snorkeling the South Pacific in Fiji on our Honeymoon 2010*


City Vacation Necessities
City Site Seeing Necessities

When siteseeing in a big city you'll want to pack comfortable clothes such as your favorite pair of jeans, a flowy top, and walking shoes for the daytime. The best investment I made for our trip to Europe last year was a cross-body bag. I loved having everything I needed right there where I could be hands free, and keep it where I could see it to avoid being pick-pocketed. Also, don't forget to carry cash for cab rides and for tipping and to bring a cocktail dress or two for dinners out. Nothing makes me feel fancier than dressing up and going for cocktails before dinner on a trip. If you've booked any tours beforehand, don't forget your itineraries and vouchers.

*Chicago ~ 2014*

*Barcelona, Spain 2014*

*Lisbon, Portugal 2014*

*NYC 2013*


*You can keep up with my travels on my travel tab*

***************************************************************
Don't forget to join myself, Emily, and Kerri on the 2nd Wednesday of each month for our monthly travel link up. Hop on over and link up your favorite travel recaps or your travel wish lists, next linky party is on Wednesday, December 9th. 

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Wedding Wednesday | Thanksgiving Wedding Weekend Fun

Hey y'all! I'm finally back at home and let me tell you as much fun as I had in Houston, it feels great to be back home and sleeping in my own bed! I'll do a full recap of my trip, but wanted to showcase one of the main reasons why I went to Houston during Thanksgiving. My fiance's friend got married over the weekend and it was seriously such a gorgeous, Pinterest perfect wedding! I'll just let the pictures do the talking now...

******************************














******************************

Seriously gorgeous wedding right?! Her sweetheart table and cake table is seriously straight out of my Pinterest wedding board. It was such a beautiful wedding and I'm so glad I got to spend it with my love and celebrate the newlyweds!

******************************

Now it is your turn! We would love to have you link-up with your wedding tales, planning adventures and day-of memories.

Make.Up.HER





As always, we would love to have you linking up with us and sharing your wedding inspiration, stories and photos of your own! Just please remember to link back to either mine or Macy's blog in order to keep the Wedding Wednesday fun going around.



Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Emily's Wedding Tips For Bride To Be's

Hey folks! Can y'all believe it's already December!!!! 30 more days and this year is over with, that's crazy talk!

No you haven't read the date wrong, it is not Wedding Wednesday today, but I wanted to share this post today because who doesn't love a double dose of wedding talk?! Today I have the beautiful Emily giving you all some tips and advice for bride to be's to remember for their big day! She had such a beautiful wedding I know pictures won't do it justice, but I'll let her take it away!

******************************

Hi everyone! I'm Emily and I blog over at Martinis & Bikinis where I talk about life in the Sunshine State along with my travel adventures, yummy recipes, and occasional shopping and fashion posts.

Since Nikki is in the midst of planning her wedding, I wanted to share five tips of advice for her wedding day plus some of my favorite photos from my beach-themed wedding back in Summer 2012.


5 Tips For Your Wedding Day 

1. Get a good night of sleep the night before the wedding so you feel refreshed for your big day since it is usually a long day of festivities.

2. Hire a wedding coordinator for at least the day of the wedding. If you're unable to do so, have your bridesmaids help with odds and ends so you can focus on getting ready.

3. Keep calm and don't sweat the small details. Give your phone to one of your bridesmaids to handle any texts or phone calls so you can focus on getting dressed. If things don't go 100% to plan, remember the purpose of your wedding is to marry your love. Life is not 100% perfect after all. 

4. During your ceremony and reception, look around and take it all in. Every bride I've spoken to says their wedding day just flies by in the wink of an eye after months of preparing. Make sure to take a moment and look around to acknowledge all the details and hard work that went into planning your big day. 

5. Remember to eat, dance and greet all of your guests. Most importantly, spend time with your husband and chat while you eat dinner.

Here's a quick photo recap of my wedding. Wishing Nikki the best of luck planning her special day!



 

  








  

Photos are courtesy S & S Photography based in Orlando, Florida. 

Feel free to follow my adventures on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.