My many wedding projects

With 1 month till the wedding... FINALLY! 2 1/2 years in the making we're finally getting down into the double digits....single digits! Awhile back we decided to plan a full on DIY wedding so I've been busting my butt the last couple months to get everything accomplished that I can. I wanted to share what has finally been checked off our list, and you just may get some inspiration for your own wedding.

Our Wedding: We will be celebrating our marriage on Saturday August 9th 2014 at 4:00 in the afternoon under our ceremony tree surrounded by family and very close friends. The ceremony is taking place in the backyard of Justin's grandparents property. I'm looking forward to seeing everything come together the weekend of our big day.

Everything from the ceremony music to the programs have been made by us! Pinterest has been a huge help through this process even though my husband sometimes gets tired of me being on it.
When we first started out on this wedding planning journey we had a guest list of 100+ for our outdoor ceremony and reception. As time went on and we got into planning the dollar signs started stacking up. We got an estimate for our caterer (at that time) who was practically our wedding planner for food, a large white tent, tables, chairs, linens, dessert, beverages for almost $5k... the stress quickly started getting to us. We couldn't justify spending almost $10k to plan a wedding that would last only a few hours so after many discussions Justin and I had decided to simplify things.

We said goodbye to our caterer and everything we had originally planned and started from scratching with a year out from the wedding. We now have a guest list of 40 which consist of family and very close friends. Everyone has been nothing but generous and supportive with our wedding. Our reception location has changed to a historic building turned restaurant downtown in our hometown. Working close with the owner the past couple months I'm realizing we made the right choice, and I know our bank accounts will continue to thank us years down the road ;) 

I'm pretty stingy when it comes to my money. I know every bride wants a big lavish wedding, but that just wasn't in the cards for us. Between being engaged and buying our first home our priorities quickly changed and trying to justify spending almost $10K on a wedding when we could put that money towards a nice honeymoon and fixing up and making our house a home it just made sense.

StitchedTeagan is back

After a pretty long hiatus ST is back in business with a fresh new look and all new jewelry.
This time around it's been very relaxing and I've enjoyed spending my evenings making new jewelry to list in the shop. As I've probably said before that Jewelry and I have a on again off again relationship... well we're back together right now ;)
The style for this "season" is wire inspired (kinda catchy huh?) I've been trying to incorporate more wire wrapping into my pieces and keeping the designs simple, but eye catching.
I'm really proud of the new shop banner and avatar I designed using a chalkboard style background; very classic.

Be sure to stop by and browse my selection, be in mind it's small at the moment but growing day by day!
Etsy Shop - StitchedTeagan

I'm MARRIED

The new Mrs. Grove!

Yesterday my fiance and I headed to the courthouse to be married legally. Surrounded by our family and siblings we said "I do" and sealed it with a kiss. What a beautiful day it was, and a perfect way to spend the first day of spring!
We plan on having our wedding ceremony and reception this August where I'll still be walking down the aisle in my wedding dress. So many changes have been made when it comes to planning our big day since we set a date almost 2 years ago. We went from a big wedding with 100+ guest down to a small intimate ceremony of only 40 which includes very close family and friends.
We'll be saying our vows and exchanging wedding bands on Saturday August 9th 2014 at 4:00pm. Our ceremony is set to happen under our "ceremony tree" in the back of Justin's grandparents backyard. Afterwards we'll be taking pictures at his parents barn and then heading downtown to celebrate at a historic restaurant which fits right in with our good old country themed wedding!
I can't wait to see everything come together in August, from mason jars hanging from the ceremony tree to cowboy boots on my maid of honor and I. 

I'm so excited to finally call him my husband, after 7 years of dating. God has truly blessed me with an amazing man. I look forward to all the memories we'll make together and the family we will have someday!

DIY - Chalkboard using paint

Chalkboard paint.
5 months till the wedding, and I'm really enjoying any DIY projects I can throw together.
While shopping one evening my fiance and I stopped into a store called "Tuesday Morning" pretty similar to a big lots, or Ollies if you're familiar with that. I spotted this black board the resemble a chalkboard.

I love lettering, or calligraphy if you want to get serious about it. So I wanted to put my "handy work" to the test for a chalkboard to display at our ceremony and reception.

What you'll need:
- Chalkboard paint. I'm using Americana paint from Michael's Craft store about $2.99
- A roller (any paint roller will do. I'm using a small sponge roller also from Michael's)
- A surface to paint on :)

- Painters tape (I'm using Frog tape from Home Depot, left over from paint our master.)

I also picked up a chalk pen which was found in the paint aisle of Michael's for $1.99

• I taped off the area to cover the decorative white design that came on the board.
• As per the instructions on the paint bottle you want to apply 1 coat vertically, and 1 coat horizontally. 
• Let dry for 1 hour and repeat.
• Let cure for 24 hours and condition the chalkboard with chalk. (this part I didn't do)

(sorry for the poor quality)
Once it's dry you can remove your tape and there you have a nice even chalkboard area inside the decorative design.

And my finished project using the chalk pen.

Chalk and chalk pens will easily wipe off using a damp paper towel