Mom Pineapple Did Me a Huge Favor

She did 95% of the work for the scarf favors herself! Really the only thing I did was design the tags and draw the lines for her to cut along. Mom Pineapple is a crafting queen and you can bet the lines she cut were perfect. She even counted the tassels on each scarf to make sure they all had the same number. Intense!

I know it is creepy when people dress their pets, but Rooney is different, he loves fashion. Last night he jumped onto our bed with his sweater in his mouth and lifted his paws so I could put them through the sleeves. You'll see him on season 15 of Project Runway.

So here is the step my step guide to making Scarf wedding favors:

Each scarf is 8 inches wide, so you can get about 4.5 scarves per yard of fleece. I was able to get the fleece on sale at Jo-Ann fabrics for about $3/yard. Each scarf costs about $0.67 for fabric.Then I spread the fleece out on my floor and used a yard stick to very very lightly draw lines every 8 inches. As you can see, Harrison the cat helped by getting the fleece all fury and playing with the yard stick.
Then Mom Pineapple then cut the scarves apart.
The next step was to cut the tassels. No need to draw cut lines for this part because any variation would go unnoticed. At this point you have a scarf!I had a hard time finding a local screen printer so I called Sister Pineapple in NYC to rescue me. She made tags for her own scarf project last year. She went back to that screen printer and had him make tags for me. They are brown ink on a thick white fabric. I made the file that she gave to the printer in Adobe Illustrator.Then Mom Pineapple used fabric glue to glue the tags to the scarves. You can then sew all the way around the tag, but the fabric glue works pretty well. We attached two tiny buttons in opposite corners of the tags, just in case.Now just do all of that 100 times and you are done! We are probably going to drape them over the backs of the chairs in the dining room. I think it will be so nice and cozy with all the fleece and candle light.
I cannot thank Momma P. enough for her many many hours of hard work on this project!

Did you make handmade favors?

The Sweetest Addition

When I was a very little girl my parents used to take all of our Easter candy and put it above the freezer so they could ration how much we ate at a time. Well, there was no fooling me. I would sit in front of the freezer with my arms outstretched making sure no one could get to my candy stash.

I never out grew my obsession for sweet treats and growing up sometimes my mom and I would sneak off to the mall and hit the candy store instead of the food court for lunch. (In case you are wondering, no she didn't win "Mother of the Year" that year. I am pretty sure with all this wedding help 2008 is going to be her year though.)

Last week Mom Pineapple and I were at the local greasy spoon eating french fries and ice cream for dinner. It was a couple days after my Sweetest Day post and we were talking about the funny holiday and about Mom and Dad Pineapple being married on Flag Day. I said "if ever there was a excuse to have a candy buffet, Sweetest Day would be it." Mom Pineapple put down her spoonful of turtle sundae and said "Wait. What is a candy buffet?" Her eyes got huge as I described a table full of colorful candy and what has to be one of the biggest bridal trends in recent years.

Once Mom Pineapple's wheels started turning there was no stopping her with talk of giant pixi sticks and a fish bowl full of Swedish fish. Needless to say, once our bowls were clean we headed across the street to the dollar store in search of candy dishes.
Here is the sign for our candy buffet. We bought both this frame and stand from the dollar store. I spray painted the once red frame with metallic copper spray paint. The sign says:
"10.18.2008 is Sweetest Day

A holiday celebrated primarily in the Great Lakes region and parts of the northeastern United States, Sweetest Day takes place on the third Saturday of every October. It is an occasion which offers all of us an opportunity to remember not only the sick, aged and orphaned, but also friends, relatives and associates whose helpfulness and kindness we have enjoyed.

To thank you, our friends and family, for joining us on this sweetest of all Sweetest Days we would love for you to enjoy some of our favorite sweets."
So, I know what you are thinking. "OMG Candy! Also, those are not your 'wedding colors' Mrs. Pineapple." Instead of trying to find candy that matched the decor (which really is only the paper goods at this point...) we picked out our favorite candy of all time. Some of the candies we included are: Giant Pixi Sticks (my mom once asked my dad for a sun roof in her mini van so she could eat them while driving), candy necklaces, ring pops -- get it?, bubblegum, giant lollipops, skittles, twizzlers, starbursts, caramel apple pops, sour straws, reese's, assorted chocolates, taffy, sour straws and little chocolate sports balls. Mr. Pineapple does not endorse the candy necklaces saying they remind him of a frat party. Now I didn't know him when he was in undergrad, but if he means what I think he means, I hope people are eating each other's necklaces.

We bought most of the candy at a candy distributor in Altoona, Pa and most of the glass containers at the dollar store. After all was said and done we spent about $80 on candy and $30 on containers.

I am so excited about the candy table and even though it isn't as chic as some others I think it will most definately be a hit. We have an open bar, but really, you're not going to find me there when all this candy is around!

If you are having a candy buffet, did you chose candy based on color or your favorites? Also, do we get your stamp of approval Mrs. Eggplant?

Clay Flower Completion!

Diane worked like mad all week to finish the clay flowers for our wedding. Over the weekend she sent me many photos of the final products. They should arrive on my front step by Wednesday!
In addition to being an amazing flower sculptor, her photos are absolutely top notch. She said that while working on this order she really felt like a florist with the vases and vases full of flowers throughout her home.
Here is my beautiful bridal bouquet! It's so lush and fluffy and pretty! I cannot believe all the detail in every flower. Each of the tuberose has 21 petals, the ranunculus have 20-25 petals each the roses have 20-25 and the peonys have 25-30. Plus she made 112 clay stems and all of those stephenotis flowers. Multiply all those petals by 6 bouquets and 12 boutonnieres/corsages and you have a lot of sculpting to do.

All of the bridesmaids bouquets are slightly different. Since the girls will all be wearing different little black dresses, I thought it would be fun to keep their bouquets from being identical as well, and Diane agreed.
Here is a photo of Mr. Pineapple's bout. It is going to look great with his copper tie.
Like the girls, the boys will all be wearing different gray suits. They will vary from light gray to very dark gray. We purchased their ties, all in the same cooper and champagne color pallette, but with different patterns. So, in keeping with the variation all the bouts and corsages are also different.

Many of you have asked about Diane's pricing. Like fresh flowers, the price of a clay bouquet really depends on the type of flowers you would like. (The only difference is with clay you can have penoys in October and they will never ever die.) Her bridal bouquets range from $175-$400. Bridesmaids bouquets range from $65-$200.

Is anyone else having a fresh flower alternative for their bouquet?

Showered with Love: Highlights & Hostesses

The Pineapple shower was, well, very Pineappley. There were handmade and illustrated pineapple mirror favors, pineapple punch, pineapple presents and I was dressed like a pineapple.

My hostesses, Sister Pineapple and Bridesmaid Katie, were amazing. My mom helped me shop for thwir thank you gifts since she lives in south Florida where pineapples are quite popular.
We gave them this wacky pineapple bag:

Inside the bags and under the wrapping was a lime mojito candle and a huge bar of pineapple soap. It smells so good, but the taste leaves something to be desired.

Mom Pineapple and I baked a lot of little cupcakes and one realllly big cupcake.

The amount of time and effort Katie and Krissy put into the shower was so incredibly touching. Hopefully, I can do the same for them sometime soon (**cough cough** Alex **cough**).

The Pineapple ladies: Nana, me, Mom and Sister Pineapple Krissy

We played two games in addition to the cake decorating contest. The first game was really hard. Katie asked Mr. Pineapple two sets of questions a few days before the shower. The first set of questions were about him and the second set were about me. My job was to give Katie the same answers that Ryan did. For every question I got wrong I had to chew a piece of bubble gum. Oh man I had soooo much gum in my mouth at once no pictures will follow. I am pretty sure Mr. P got some of the questions about himself wrong. He said he likes to watch hockey live when really his favorite sport live is baseball, no matter what he thinks. ;)

Second, we played bridal bingo. Sister Pineapple made the cards with words that described me such as "Line Dancing," "Pineapple," and "Weddingbee!"

Mr. Pineapple and I don't really have a traditional division of labor in our home. I do all the home improvement and he does all the cooking. Most of the gifts from his family were cooking related, including a copy of the family cookbook. Do you think they are trying to tell me something?

Mom Pineapple gave me a box of fun things for the bachelorette party later that night. Including a pink cowboy hat and boas for all the girls (and one boy). We went to my favorite place of all time, Saddle Ridge. I line danced so much I was disgusting, but I kept the hat on the entire night. The party was so much fun, everyone line danced all night (even those who thought they hated country music) and I was even handcuffed at one point!

What were some of the highlights of your bridal shower?

Clay Flowers in Progress!

When I first stumbled upon Diane's work I was amazed. I thought it would be cool and funky to have clay flowers, plus it was one less thing I would have to worry about. Having the flowers created and delivered before the wedding left out any surprises you may get from a florist on your wedding day. So, it seemed unusual, safe, affordable and a little off beat. It wasn't until Diane sent me photos of the flower mock-ups a few months ago that I really became excited. Blown away doesn't even begin to describe how I feel about her work every time.

Well, with most of her summer weddings out of the way Diane has begun work on the flowers for our wedding. She has been working all day everyday since Saturday and sending me photos to document her progress. Here is what she has accomplished so far:
First she made the tuberoses. Each of the 40 flowers has 21 little petals. The detail is truly amazing.

Next she began work on 60 pearl-centered stephanotis flowers, a creamy white peony with golden center cake topper, peonies, champagne peach roses and white/green ranunculus. For the photos she decided to put them into a bouquet similar to what the final result will be.

The cake topper was a little bit of a late addition. After we picked out our wedding cake, I kept picturing a big white peony on top. So, I e-mailed Diane and she added it to my order. Left on her to do list for my bouquet is the copper colored roses, then she can start the flowers for the 5 bridesmaid bouquets and 9 corsages/boutonnieres. Whew...

Now that Mr. Pineapple and I are already married, I can safely say this is the part of the wedding I am most excited about!

What part of your wedding are you looking forward to the most (other than marrying your significant other, of course)?

Showered with Love: Cake Contest

See that sign in the background? It says "Best Wishes Ryan & Emily" Bridesmaid Katie made that sign by cutting the letters out of pink paper. The amazing part if she didn't even draw them on the paper first, she just started cutting, even the ampersand. Very impressive. (For those font nerds out there Sister Pineapple and I called the letters Comic Serif :) )

A couple days before the shower, Mom Pineapple and I baked mini wedding cakes for a cake decorating contest. The morning of the shower my bridesmaids and I mixed up different colors of frosting and filled decorating bags. Then each guest got a mini cake and we passed around the frosting.I'm pretty sure this messy contest was a hit. We had prizes for the prettiest, most creative, most unusual and most colorful cakes.
My Aunt Laurie won for most colorful cake. We wanted her to be able to win a prize no matter what her cake looked like, so Sister Pineapple and I made up the most colorful category after seeing her finished cake. She loves sprinkles, a girl after my own heart.
Nana Pineapple won for most unusual because her cake was decorated with two hearts, but it was upside down. When I picked it to win the prize I assumed that the creator did it on purpose, turns out, not so much. Sorry Nana! :)

Bridesmaid Kim won most creative for her alien cake. She has been drawing this peanut-like alien for almost the entire time I have known her. It makes several appearances in year books as we grew up. Nice work Kimmy.

Next up we have the prettiest cake belonging to my friend Lisa. Lisa just got married herself so she said she had spent a lot of time recently looking at cake designs.

And for the curious here is a shot of my freckles and my cake, it's plaid.

What is your favorite bridal shower game?