The Challenge: A Wedding Veil

So anyone getting married is faced with the challenge of accessories- one largely being a veil, even if not for a blusher over your face, many (such as myself) want the accent of a bridal veil. However, if you start looking at the bridal boutiques or even the bridal warehouses, the veils start from $50 all the way up to $500 (and up). With a little bit of creativity, you can get away with spending less than $5-$10. Definitely worth it to customize so it matches your dress, and you take in that little sense of pride :)


First, go to your local fabric store, and browse around the tulle section. They have costume tulle, household tulle, bridal tulle, and so on. Most of it can run just $0.99/yard to maybe $4.99/yard. The particular one I chose was $2.99/yard, and I also used my handy 40% coupon. I purchased two yards just to allow myself practice room, as well as I wanted to go with a longer chapel length veil. So, for about $3 now, I have 90% of the veil ready.

When you get home, lay it out, make sure to smooth out (use an iron on the lowest setting if you need to), and fold in half, cutting the bottom with fabric scissors into a rounded shape (or whatever shape you wish). Unfold, and make sure the bottom is the shape you desire. Also note that depending on the fabric purchased, many are 54" width- this may be too full for some- so trim the width if you wish.

Then, the toughest part is if you choose to have a finished edge. Many will leave a blunt/unfinished edge to the veil- which is perfectly fine, but you can also use ribbon, string pearls/beads, or a rolled edge. In this I decided to use a rolled edge, which just has you folding over about 1/2" of the tulle, and sewing along the edge- so that only the seam/sewn edge is on the right.

When you're down sewing it, go back and trim the excess, being careful not to snip the edge/seam. Seeing as I did this the first time around, don't freak out! You can go back with the sewing machine, and fix your mistake. 

Now for the fun part! I wanted to accessorize mine with pearls and a bit of shimmer.There are clear crystals next to the pearl beads. I used a hot glue gun- which is a bit more challenging when considering the heat/strings it can create, but I like the quick drying and no spreading of it. Fabric glue will also work well. Just be careful not to glue the veil to your work table! :) A simple toothpick will help place the beads. (Beads purchased for about $1.00)

Once your down adding your accessories if you wish, then you'll take the top- unfinished edge, and gather using a strong quilting or utility thread. Just make a simple stitch straight across the top, using it to pull the top, gathering along. I left this undone until I pulled the comb I was going to use to attach the veil to. You can also use a tiara, headband, and so on. 

I purchased a simple silver metal comb (6.99 at the fabric store, minus my 40% coupon- about $4), wide width in order to attach the veil to. I used a simple stitch to attach to the comb. Make sure that the fabric is spaced out how you want it before sewing it on. You can either finish the comb by sewing/gluing on ribbon or fabric, or leave it plain. As you may see here, once the fabric is turned over the comb, you won't see the comb at all in your hair. If you wanted a two tier veil, you can do the same steps as above, just having a different length for the top, and sew on the same way. 

Then, there you have it- as I do, I still have several months before the wedding, so I have plenty of time to change it, add to it, or start all over. So for a grand price of $8- there ya go!!! 

Challenge: Expensive Halloween Costumes

Alrighty, last year I fell in love with a costume from a major children's store, but by the end of the day I believe it would've been at least $50+...

Sooooo... here I go again... I didn't take too many pictures during the process, but I'll explain how relatively simple it was- without a pattern/design.

So my little girl was 4- gives you an idea of the size. I happened to find home accent/costume fringe on the clearance rack at the fabric store, then the shiny fabric (or sequins if you prefer) is pretty cheap considering you need only one yard. I went with doing a strapless design more or less, with added on straps. Since this is a straight dress, you simply need to lay it flat, sew the fringe straight across (I started from the bottom and went up), then you can use buttons, a hook & eye, or snaps to fasten it in the back. Then I just sewed the straps on to help give it support, and there we are!

For the headpiece I found an awesome ostrich feature (again- craft store), plus some trim/ribbon for the headband, and simply glued it on... Add on a feather boa (from your local craft store, costume store, or second hand shop), and she's trick-or-treating in style!!! :)

Total cost? About $20... 

Challenge : Kid's Birthday Party

Okay, here's a quick way to save a good $25+, by doing the cake yourself... by investing in a cute cake pan, and some food coloring, you can customize & tackle your child's birthday without rushing to the store and paying out the wazoo... ;)

Quick tip- be sure to sign up for your local craft store's coupons- such as JoAnn's or Michael's. Those 40%-50% off coupons are awesome, and if you plan it out right, will save you a ton. Also, your grocery store's BOGO's for cake mixes & icing? Also a great way to have a backup plan or another cake to make.

So for this one, we have a little girl who chose a horse cake... honestly, I was uncreative and used the suggested design that came with the label on the pan. However, by cooking the cake itself the night before (to allow it to cool fully), then icing it the next morning with an icing bag (I used to use a plastic bag with a small portion snipped off back before I ever invested in the tips/bags- it works pretty well for writing & decorating).

Since I'm a dork, I went along with having both a chocolate and a vanilla cake- wasn't planning on doing two, but didn't take too much extra time. The nice thing about these pans is that it has sort of a raised outline to guide you, so it's not too bad at all! You can either use a nice big plate, or I had purchased the cake boards a while back, and just covered it with tin foil (this was going to be an outdoor party- so less to worry about later on!)

I bought vanilla icing since the white makes it much easier to dye the different colors. Before dying, I started off by just doing drops of icing (you can also "paint" the icing on to give it a smoother texture). I figured the body of the horse face was the base and best to start with for me...

Then I used a little bit of red food coloring to make the pink, and just strung the icing along for the hair & outline/accents. I used plain blue food coloring to make the eyes, then mixed the rest of the blue into the pink to make the purple for the bridle. 

For the chocolate ("Boy") horse, I did pretty much the same, except used milk chocolate icing for the body and dark chocolate icing for the mane, then leftover colored icing for the accents.

Voila! Happy Kids!!! :) 

Total Cost? About $14 for both cakes ($7 for the pan with my coupon- then about $7 for two boxes of cake mix and 4 things of icing -on sale) Keep in mind next time no need to buy a pan :)

For the Love Of...

So you find yourself planning a big event- a cocktail party, a wedding, the holidays, and so on, but the budget just does not allow us to indulge in spending to deck ourselves- or our homes- out like the Martha Stewart, Vogue, Glamour, and other magazines as we may envision. So, I'm determined to find ways to use a little bit of creativity, a fraction of the cost, and some minor labor to create similar looks that you can take pride in by having done it yourself. If you care to laugh along with some of my major busts, by all means! But at least it's worth a try :)