Rocket Science Weddings and Events

Today this post is in honor of my groom, Tracy, who was the inspiration for this cylinder. At their floral consultation we were talking about doing something undulating and organic for their centerpiece, Tracy suggested something seaweed-like. In my notes I circled "seaweed" and wrote "CYLINDER THURSDAY" next to it.

Unfortunately it is not real seaweed today, although some other form of "seascape" will probably make an appearance at a later date. Today it is vinyl seaweed decals. Of course, I got the decals off etsy. For those of you who don't know, vinyl decals are like fancy, semi-permanent stickers you decorate with. They are a great alternative to painting because you can easily remove them if you don't like them, and they give a much more crisp and clean look. I don't know of any painters who can paint so exactly.

Here is a jellyfish decal in my daughter's room.

So anyway, back to the cylinder. You can get decals made of anything! I think doing a custom monogram/logo would be a wonderful idea for a wedding. Of course you can have anything customized on etsy, but here are a few samples I found.

This one comes in many colors and was only $4! I love the simplicity of it, more can be found here.

Get a little more fancy and add multiple colors and your wedding date.

I bet you are wanting to see my cylinder huh? Almost time... first, here is how I made it.

1. Ordered decal off etsy. Waiting anxiously by the mailbox for it to arrive.

2. Followed the instructions that came with the decal about getting the adhesive on, etc.

3. Trimmed decal to fit cylinder. I think I picked a challenging idea, if you were to do a monogram or some other type of "free floating" decal, it would be a lot easier. I had to line up the decal at the base and rub the seaweed stems on one at a time. It took about 10 minutes to get it on. After I got it on I trimmed the seaweed at the top that hung over the edge of the cylinder.

4. Fill with water and top with a candle!

Some "bubbly" votive holders complete the look! Until next week.

I want to dedicate this Cylinder Thursday to all those crafty brides out there. I love some of the new, non-traditional decor trends that utilize something other than flowers. Like buttons!

For all you brides looking for something completely custom and handmade, etsy is the place to go. I discovered etsy a few years back, and it is one of my first stops when I need something original for a wedding. I probably should do a separate blog post on some of my favorite etsy sites... stay tuned for that in the upcoming weeks. But now on to the cylinder!

So this cylinder is a bit more labor intensive than some of the others I have featured, but if you like crafts, this is the project for you.

1. Round up your buttons. I went to Michael's and bought one of their grab bags, I think it is actually called "Grandma's Grab Bag". One bag fills up the cylinder and decorates the outside like you see in the picture. I liked the vintage feel and playfulness of these buttons, but you could do something much more stylized or in line with a color scheme.

2. Pick out buttons you want to attach to the outside.  Obviously they need to be flat. And I found that buttons with a diameter of an inch or less work best.

3. Fill up cylinder to desired height with buttons.

4. Attach buttons to the outside using double sided tape. NOTE: when taking the buttons off the cylinder, the tape stays adhered to the button, which is nice when it comes to cleaning the cylinders but makes the buttons unusable again.

I suppose you could do the whole cylinder covered in buttons on the outside, leaving the inside available for a candle...

Here is a way to incorporate buttons in to the escort cards. Easy and cute! You could even use buttons to designate the meal choice if you wanted to be super fancy!

A bridal bouquet made out of buttons, love the black and white color scheme and the vintage lace collar.

A matching button boutonniere for the groom!