Wedding Planning Wednesday - Crepe paper rosette tutorial!

I'm so excited to finally share this DIY pomander tutorial with you all! I just love how it came out and I'm happy to show you all how I did it! I really, really wanted to do something fun and different for our flower girl because I'm not crazy about the whole basket thing. I was toying with the idea of a paper cone or a handmade pomander of some kind when I stumbled upon this tutorial on Pinterest for crepe paper rosettes. She used them to make a centerpiece (which is a lovely idea, by the way) but I decided to turn it into a handmade flower girl pomander! (The original idea came from Danielle Flanders and you can see a helpful video tutorial here.) These are pretty easy to make once you get the hang of it and you can use them to make a pomander like me, centerpieces, or even hang them from the ceiling at your next get-together! I am already planning to make more for a bridal shower and I think they'd be lovely in different pastel colors for spring!

Materials needed:

1 4-inch Styrofoam ball

2 80 foot rolls of crepe paper in your choice of color

Piece of wide, satin ribbon for the handle

Low temp hot glue gun + several sticks of glue

Glue stick

2 pushpins (optional)

The first thing you want to do is cut both rolls of crepe paper into strips at your desired length. You can play around with different lengths to see what you like best, but the longer the strip is the bigger the rosette will be. For the size rosettes shown, I did 24 inch strips. Once they are all cut, take the first one and crumple it up into a ball and then carefully un-crumple it. This gives it that 'shabby-chic' look. Then, fold the crumpled strip in half, length-wise. This is another thing you can play around with to see what you like better. You can leave them as-is, fold 1/3 of the way down, or fold them in half like I did. The wider the strip, the taller the rosette. I wanted these to lay pretty flat on the Styrofoam balls, but if you want more dimension you can leave the strips wider. 

When they are folded in half, start rolling them until you get a nice center piece. Once you have the center, keep rolling (not very tightly) and then start twisting the tissue paper every now and then to get the look of petals. If you are confused by this part (like I was) go watch the video tutorial to get a better look at how she twists them. The more twists you have the more textured the rose so just play with it until it looks right to you!

Keep rolling and twisting around using the whole strip until you end up with good sized rosette. Then, using the glue stick, dab some glue on the end and gently press together.

Repeat until you have used all of your strips and you should have a great big pile of rosettes. It will look like way too many, but trust me, it isn't!

Now it's time to glue! Cut a piece of wide satin ribbon to your desired length. This will act as the handle of your pomander (if making centerpieces, you can skip this step!). Then, using the hot glue gun, glue down each side of the ribbon to the Styrofoam ball. Be careful not to burn yourself pressing down! If you have 2 pushpins, pin the ribbon down over the glue for extra security. Once the flowers are on you won't be able to see the pins. 

Now start attaching the rosettes! This is where you use A LOT of glue... put a big glob on the ball, stick the rosette on, and press down gently to secure. Be careful not to put the tip of the glue gun directly onto the Styrofoam for long because it will melt! Continue gluing the rosettes until the whole thing is covered. Start with any larger or wider flowers and save the smaller ones to fill in at the end.  

When you're done, you should end up with something like this! Be sure to let it dry for a few hours before letting anyone play with it because it is delicate! There are so many different ways to decorate with these and customize them with any color... I am obsessed! Rosette balls for everyone! You can also use the rosettes to decorate other things like picture frames or scrapbook pages. The possibilities are endless!

My sister just finished making the flower girl dress so I got to see our adorable little flowers girl all dressed up holding this sweet pomander! I. Almost. Died. She looked like such a little fairy princess and everything is exactly what I pictured in my head! My sister is talented, people! I'm signing her up for the next season of Project Runway! 

I hope you all enjoy your Wednesday! Less than 2 months left until the big day and it's so surreal! Ahhh! XOXO

Wedding Planning Wednesday - DIY mason jar centerpieces

 This last weekend Mando and I met up with our wedding coordinator at the LA flower market to pick out flowers for our centerpieces. I knew I wanted baby's breath and peonies but I was still looking for a 3rd option. I kind of have a love affair with florals after working in a flower shop so I was happy to browse around all morning. Peonies sadly were not in season yet, but I found some gorgeous spider mums to play around with in the meantime! I also found the perfect 3rd type of flower which are those white pom pom flowers you see in the ivory centerpiece. I'm all about texture so my main goal was to try and get the perfect balance and I really lucked out finding those at the last minute! I'm super excited to do my own flowers for the wedding. It's been a long time since I've worked with flowers at all, but it isn't something you really forget! I spent the rest of the weekend experimenting with different boutineer styles and bouquet wraps which was really fun! The floral arrangements aren't the only DIY project I have going on either.... I'm also making my own centerpieces. I knew I wanted to incorporate my love of mason jars (which goes perfectly with the rustic theme) so I came up with 3 different designs for each table.

1. Burlap & lace mason jars: Burlap and lace has been a continuing theme throughout the wedding so I knew I had to use them for the centerpieces! This is just a quart size mason jar with a wide strip of burlap around it and hot glued in the back. I then wrapped it with a piece of wide ivory lace ribbon and hot glued that as well. Super easy once you have all the strips cut out! The good news is that the strips don't have to be perfectly straight or even because the frayed edges just add to the rustic charm!

Ivory painted centerpieces: I wanted one centerpiece that was different than the others so I chose to do these ivory painted cans to mix it up. This is beyond simple and super inexpensive to make! I just started collecting large cans after we used them at home and then peeled the labels off. You may have to scrub them afterwards to get any glue redisdue off as well. Then, once they were completely dry, I spray painted them in this ivory color. They aren't super fancy, but that's okay... the more rustic looking the better!

Twine wrapped mason jars: Last but not least are these pint sized mason jars! I bought some thick twine at a craft store and wrapped them around the middle adding a dab of hot glue here and there to hold it together. Again, easy and inexpensive to make!

I really love how all of these turned out. They are exactly the look I was going for and I think they'll look amazing on the tables! You can't beat pretty centerpieces on a budget! Now I just have to finish the rest of them, haha!

Next week I'll (hopefully) talk about our invitations and even share a sneek peak! Almost time to mail them out, can you believe it?! Ahh! XOXO

Wedding Planning Wednesday - New DIY project!

With only a little over 3 months left until the big day, I've been up to my elbows in DIY wedding projects! Right now I'm working on the tables and the centerpieces and I thought I'd share the yarn wrapped table numbers I just made! This was such an easy way to make cute table numbers on a budget and although they are time consuming and a little imperfect, I love the rustic, handmade feel they have. I won't bore you all with a tutorial, because 1) I think it's pretty self explanatory and 2) there's probably about 100 of them already out there if you need them, but I will tell you that I bought the numbers, letters, and yarn at JoAnns and one jumbo roll of ivory yarn got me through all 13 table numbers!

Inspired by this photo on Pinterest, I also wanted to make yarn wrapped signs for our table, the dessert table, guestbook table, and the bar. I really wanted one letter to pop so I used a shimmery, champagne colored yarn to contrast with the ivory letters and I love how it turned out. I also used the champagne to make the '1' for our table stand out!

Next time I'll show you guys how I'm sprucing up those mason jars to use as vases for our flowers! Everything is slowly but surely coming together! Yay! Happy Wednesday everyone! XOXO

Handmade gift idea: Peppermint hot cocoa

I love handmade gifts, both making and receiving them. For as far back as I can remember I've been making my own Christmas gifts, whether they be silly crafts for my mom when I was a little girl or more sophisticated gifts as I grew older. I think there's something really special about a gift that someone took the time to make versus just buying at a store. It can also be a great way to save money if you're on a tight budget! Now with my family, Mando's family, and our friends we have a lot of people to shop for so for the past 3 years I've been doing mostly handemade gift for our loved ones. This year I decided to do something that I knew everyone would love... peppermint hot cocoa! It's super simple to put together and who doesn't love to cozy up on a cold day with some hot cocoa? Here's what you'll need to put this gift together yourself!

• 12 pint sized mason jars
• 1 bag mini marshmallows
• 2-3 lbs hot cocoa (this will vary depending on the type of hot cocoa used)
• approximately 40 candy canes, crushed
• ribbon and gift tags to decorate (optional)

First, wash and dry your mason jars. Then, fill the first layer with your desired amount of hot cocoa. We used Starbucks hot cocoa found at Costco and I wanted 4 servings per jar so I did 8 tablespoons (2 tbl per serving). Next, fill the second layer with mini marshmallows. Lastly, fill the last layer with crushed candy canes. You can use a food processor or just put them in a ziplock and crush with a rolling pin. When your jars are filled, seal them and then put some ribbon and a gift tag for the perfect finishing touch!

I hope you've all been inspired to have a handmade holiday this year! Even if you lack the time/skills to make something yourself, try buying at least one handmade gift from a site like Etsy and support the handmade business! I don't know about you, but I'd rather give my money to a local business owner or work at home mom over a big corporation anyday! Happy Holidays everyone! XOXO

Friday Favorites: Thanksgiving Love

I love Thanksgiving. I don't know when the whole 'let's skip Thanksgiving and go straight to Christmas' thing started, but I am just not okay with it! What other holiday is it perfectly acceptable to stuff your face with turkey and pie and then lay on the couch watching football for the rest of the day? None I tell you! We need to preserve this sacred holiday. This week, Friday Favorites is dedicated the best holiday of the year in my opinion. So unbutton your pants, grab a fork and let's get started! 

If you're not familiar with Rifle Paper Co, get familar! I love this artist and her illustrations always make me happy. These Thanksgiving cards are so sweet and can double as placecard settings as well!

If your looking for a handmade hostess gift, look no further! How fun are these turkey pops and jar full of turkey toes? Simple, inexpensive, and a great way to tell your hostess you appreciate her slaving over a hot stove all day! And if you're the hostess this year you can always give these to your guests as favors!

I have such fun memories of making pilgrim hats and turkey handprint crafts at school. And I distinctly remember getting to play Queen Victoria in our Christopher Columbus play making all the other girls in the class very jealous! This feather headpiece would be super fun for a young child to make and wear Thanksgiving day and I love the idea of writing what you're thankful for on the 'feathers' of this yarn wrapped turkey. Both are fun projects and can help educate your little one on how Thanksgiving started!

I'm also running a Thanksgiving special over at Mama Matryoshka! I have a ton of Thanksgiving/Fall garlands, banners, and cupcake toppers available and you can get 15% off using code 'DOMESTICATEDDELIGHT1' at checkout! Also, if you order today I can guarantee arrival by Thanksgiving anywhere in the US!

I hope everyone has a safe and fun holiday week filled with lots of food and pie! I personally can't wait to get some shopping done on black Friday! Have a great weekend everyone! XOXO

The Threadery

This past Saturday I had a booth at my first handmade market, The Threadery! It was so much fun meeting other handmade mamas and being inspired by the beautiful things they make! I had a lot of fun setting up and interacting with everyone there. Hands down best part was getting to see all of the kids (+ adults!) playing with my photo props and seeing all of my items through their eyes!

Let me just say, I was on a very strict budget for my booth... this was my first handmade market and I wasn't sure how it would go or how my things would sell so I didn't want to invest a ton in a fancy booth. With the money and resources I had, I think it turned out pretty cute! Of course nothing compared to the other talented ladies, but still good!

Here's a peek at some of the other booths at The Threadery. These ladies were oh so talented and did an amazing job decorating!

And of course I had to shop! There was way too many pretty things there not to! I picked up the cutest zippered pouch and hair clip from Olive Blue and this amazing flower necklace from Rellas Bellas. Love!

In the end, my booth didn't do as well as I'd hoped... I think a lot of the traffic was people browsing versus buying and I ended up spending more than I made! I'm still glad I tried it though and am chalking it up as a learning experience. I think my life is way too busy to do any more handmade markets right now, but who knows what the future will bring! I'm just glad I have a successful Etsy shop and get to spend my days making things I love!

Thank you to all of my friends and family who came by and shopped and supported me! It meant the world to me to see you there. And thank you to Nicole and Kristen for hosting this event! You girls did a great job! XOXO

Friday Favorites: New Items For The Threadery!

I cannot believe tomorrow I will be selling from my own booth at The Threadery! Eeeek! I am so nervous and excited. This is the first handmade market I've participated in and I'm really curious to see how everything will turn out. I hope Mama Matryoshka does well! I will take a million pictures and make sure to tell you all about how it went sometime next week!

For Friday Favorites I wanted to do one last sneak peak of the new items I've been working on for The Threadery. I can't even begin to tell you how hard I've been working these last few weeks so I hope you all enjoy what I've come up with!

Last time I showed you some cute Halloween items, but I also wanted to do something fall/autumn themed that could be used all through Thanksgiving! This way you get more out of your decor! I love this trio of pumpkin cupcake toppers. They can be used for both Halloween and Thanksgiving treats! This Give Thanks banner is also really pretty... I currently have it hanging underneath my mantle! I love the 3D effect that the autumn leaves have.


Of course I had to bust out the matryoshka cupcake toppers! I am a tiny bit obsessed with these and of course I had to represent my shop name! I love the idea of a matryoshka themed birthday party or baby shower and I think these would be a sweet touch! I also made a matching banner for my booth. Love!

I really wanted to do more boy themed decorations because I don't have many options in my shop right now. As a mother of a baby boy (who always complains about the lack of cute boy things I might add) it was really important to me to represent the little men! A popular theme for boys right now is monsters so I decided to make these cute (not so scary) monsters in a color theme of blue, green, and purple.

I have some pinwheels in my shop already, but I wanted to soften up the colors with a pastel palette. I think these would be gorgeous at a bridal or baby shower. Pinwheels always add a pretty touch of whimsy, don't you think? I love these soft colors; they remind me of Easter!

Aside from handmade cards, I really wanted to have some low cost items for my booth. Since photo props are hands down my most popular item at Mama Matryoshka, I thought it would be fun to make a 3 piece prop set. First, I made this vintage/1920/circus inspired set with a bowler hat, polka dot bowtie, and a big droopy mustache. I love how it turned out; the bowtie is my favorite! And with the holidays coming up, of course I had to make Santa props. These are so funny and that big white beard? Epic. I love this set for a silly Christmas card!

If you're in Southern California, make sure to stop by The Threadery tomorrow from 9-4pm. I'll be at booth #10! And don't forget, if you can't make it you can still get any of these items from my Etsy shop! Have a great weekend everyone! XOXO

Trick or treat banner + Halloween cupcake toppers!

 I just wanted to pop in quickly and give you all a sneak peak of some new holiday items I made for Mama Matryoshka and The Threadery! I meant to post this yesterday, however an angry, teething toddler kept me busy most of the day. I hope you'll forgive me!

I really wanted to make some fun Halloween items this year so I focused on a color palette of orange, purple, and lime green. I think these colors just scream Halloween and I love how it turned out. First, I made this 'Trick-or-Treat' banner which is perfect to hang at a pumpkin carving party or Halloween celebration! It features Frankenstein, a witch's hat, and a jack-o-lantern! I braided 3 colored ribbons together to hang it which gives it a little pop and texture.

And of course I had to do some cupcake toppers! I did the same theme of Frankensteins, witch's hats, jack-o-lanterns, and ghosts! These look so cute on cupcakes; I am obsessed! I think Frankenstein is my favorite!

If you're in Orange County, make sure to come see me at The Threadery on October 22nd! If not, you can purchase these Halloween items in my Etsy shop here.

I have a lot more new items to share coming up! I've been crafting it up over here! XOXO

Exciting Announcement! Mama Matryoshka will be at The Threadery!

With all of the craziness of birthday parties, moving, and vacations, Mama Matryoshka has been on vacation mode for most of the summer. I didn't mean for it to happen, but it did and I've missed it! I just love being creative and making pretty little things, and I always get inspired when the holidays roll around. This fall I really want to focus on trying new projects. One of my goals was to try and sell at a handmade/craft market and I'm happy to announce that on October 22nd, I will be! I've been accepted to sell at a booth at The Threadery! It's a new handmade craft market created by two lovely ladies (you can learn more about it here) in Orange County. I'm really nervous because this is my first time doing anything like this and I know it's going to be A LOT of work! I need to build a booth and backdrop completely from scratch and make a ton of inventory of both old and new items to sell! But mostly I'm super excited to put my product out there and interact with my customers face to face. I'll also get to hang out with Alyson of Eisley Rae Clothing and Heather of Happy Bee Boutique so I know we'll have tons of fun! If you're in the Orange County area make sure to stop by and say hi! I'd love to see you!

When: October 22nd, 9:00AM- 4:00PM

Where: 505 W. Lambert Rd. Brea, Ca 92821 North Orange County

I'll be sure to blog more details soon and keep you updated on all of the new products I'm making specifically for this event. I also have a giveaway coming very soon to say thank you for supporting my little Etsy shop for the past 5 months! Stay tuned! XOXO

Cayden's Mickey Mouse birthday party.

Cayden is obsessed with Mickey Mouse so I really wanted his first birthday to be something that makes him happy. I'm not a huge fan of licensed character parties, so I stuck with a red, yellow, and black color theme and incorporated a ton of DIY details. Although the day was hot and hectic, I'm so glad that I was able to do this for him. We all had so much fun and it was worth all the months of planning, and sweat and tears that went into it!

Mando and I were up until 3am the night before the party baking 2 dozen cupcakes, brownies, lemon bars, and rice crispy treats. We were back up at 7am the next morning and immediately started packing everything up to get to my mom's where the party was taking place. We picked up the cake and the balloons on our way and then started cooking the food and decorating before the party started at 1. Like most hostesses, I was running around like crazy making sure everything was done and the guests were comfortable, and I didn't get nearly as many pictures as I wanted (including any of the food table, Cayden in the pool, his high chair banner, or the kids wearing the DIY Mickey ears) but I did the best I could with the time I had! There were a few hiccups like the wind, popping balloons, and flies trying to get to the food, but we made it work and in the end all 40 guests said they had a good time!

My favorite part of the day was Cayden eating his smash cake. He looked so serious, but ended up making a huge mess and eating almost the entire thing! It was so funny! The kids all had SO much fun playing in the pool with the big rafts, beach balls, and pool noodles. The food we served was yummy and everyone raved over the dessert table. Luckily, I had time to down some strawberry margaritas and was able to finally relax and enjoy my time with the birthday boy!

Now onto the pictures!

I sent these invitations out sooooo late, but at least I had the excuse that they were handmade! I designed and made all of them and thought they turned out cute! Special thanks to my sister for helping me create the party details on the back!

 "You've got ears, say cheers!" DIY Mickey and Minnie ears for the kids to wear. I made these using black headbands and hot gluing circles and bows that I cut with my Silhouette. Super cute, easy, and inexpensive! The kids loved them.

 Along with soda, water, and beer, we served homemade lemonade and sun tea. I found these beverage dispensers at Walmart for $10! I love how they act as a display piece with the lemons on the bottom.

One of my favorite things at the party was the strawberry margaritas we made using my mom's ice cream machine! They were cold and refreshing and they paired perfectly with the carne asada tacos. I bought the red and white striped paper straws at my favorite party planning site, Shop Sweet Lulu!

This banner frustrated me to no end! Every time I tried to tie it up the wind knocked it down. Finally I had to duct tape it to the wall, which wasn't the prettiest look, but it worked! This was the best picture we got (thanks, sister!), but as you can see the wind was pretty brutal. I also had really cute Mickey Mouse balloons on both sides, but half of them popped before the party even started! Sometimes you just have to laugh it off! :)

My amazing sister whipped up these fun tissue paper pom-poms hanging above the dessert table about 5 minutes before the party started and they ended up being one of my favorite decorations! We had planned to do them together, but just didn't have time so I'm so glad she took care of it for me. They turned out beautiful and everyone loved them!

The dessert table was A LOT of work, but I'm so happy with how it turned out! We baked everything in my kitchen (with the exception of the cake) and I made the 'sweets' banner, Mickey cupcake wrappers, pinwheel cupcake toppers, the cake and smash cake topper myself. (All available to buy in my Etsy shop!) The ice cream bar was a huge hit, and the kids loved picking their own toppings! The plates, napkins, and the ice cream cups were also from Shop Sweet Lulu and were adorable! I'm so bummed I didn't get a good picture of them!

I loved the smash cake and that picture of Cayden is my favorite of the entire day! The cake topper was custom made my me, and you can see he's wearing a pair of my DIY Mickey ears! :)

 My boy annihilated that cake! He was so messy afterwards I didn't even bother trying to wipe him down, I just turned the hose on him!

I can't believe my sweet boy is finally one. Since the party, it's like he exploded into toddlerhood and is now a walking, talking, tantruming little man! ;) I'm proud of myself for holding it together the entire day... I didn't cry until we got home and I was carrying my sleeping 1 year old from the car to bed. I spent a lot of time remembering where we were a year ago, and reflecting on those sweet few first days of his life spent in the hospital. It was so cozy and quiet and magical.  I can't believe a year has already gone by!

If you're planning a big party, my suggestion is to start early! Everyone thought I was crazy for planning 6 months in advance, but I'm so glad I did. It gave me plenty of time to really find out what I wanted to do, and allowed me to start buying and making everything over a long period of time instead of all at once. I'm so thankful to Mando, my mom, my sister, and my best friend for stepping in and helping me without me ever having to ask. I literally couldn't have done it without their help! In the end, everything might not turn out how you envisioned it, but you have to make the best of it and remember your there to celebrate and enjoy the time with your loved ones!

I think next year we'll have a smaller, family party... we (along with our bank account) are still trying to recover from this one... I think Mando might be traumatized!

XOXO