Wedding Planning Wednesday - Favors, check!

I told you guys a looooong time ago that I was planning on doing vintage skeleton keys as wedding favors and since then I've been on the prowl! It has not easy finding 100+ vintage keys all around the same size! I've been to different vintage flea markets probably 5 or 6 times in the past fews months trying to find the perfect keys. I knew I could slowly collect some here and there until it added up to the amount I needed, but I also knew that it would be a lot cheaper if I was able to buy them in a large lot. Some of these people wanted $8 per key! I finally found this rad guy at the Pasadena Rose Bowl Flea Market who promised he could get over 100 keys for me and he actually came through! So, this last weekend Mando and I drove out there and I got to hand pick 100 of his best keys for just over $2 a piece! I was beyond stoked, people! These keys are just beautiful, in great condition, and exactly what I was looking for. I will be sad to give them away! He also gave us this awesome vintage Corona cigar box to put them in which was like FATE because Corona is my future last name! I'm so happy I got to check 'favors' off of our to-do list! Also, I had WAY too much photographing these keys! So pretty!

We also purchased all of the alcohol for the wedding over the weekend! I literally bought every single bottle of Barefoot wine and champagne at Bevmo... even their extra stock in the back. I currently have over 50 bottles of my favorite wine chilling in the house. Do you know how hard it will be to not touch it for the next 3 months?! OMG. This weekend we are off to the LA flower market to price out some flowers... another thing to check off the list! It's gotten to the point that we are buying stuff or meeting someone every single day. The list never ends! I just can't wait to see everything come together and to marry my best friend! So close! XOXO

Wedding Planning Wednesday - Skeleton Keys

I adore skeleton keys. I think I first started paying attention to them when my sister started collecting them and even got one tattooed on her. It was one of those things where I'd always look for them to give to her as gifts and eventually I fell in love with them myself.  Last summer, before Mando and I were even engaged, we went to the Long Beach flea market and saw buckets and buckets of antique keys for sale and I mentioned how cool it would be to give those as wedding favors. The idea has stuck with us ever since. When we finally got engaged I explored other options such as jars of raw honey or coffee grounds (can you tell we have eclectic taste?) but we both still loved skeleton keys the best. I love the rustic look and how each key has a past and a story. Isn't that the most amazing thing about antiques after all? I also want to try to incorporate the keys into our theme somehow. Alana had the idea of using them in the boutineers which I love and it gave me the idea to also hang them from the bridesmaids bouquets!

Now that it has been decided, I'm super excited to start antique shopping and collecting keys. Hopefully the flea market still has them for sale! XOXO

*All image sources can be found on my Pinterest wedding board here.

What's new at Mama Matryoshka

Even though I did start making the decor for Cayden's party, I still feel like I'm running behind. It hit me all of a sudden that I have little over a month to finish everything. Ahhhhh! Luckily, I only have one custom order to work on right now so I have plenty of time to really get stuff done. I even had a little bit of down time last week when I ran out of black cardstock and whipped up a new item for Mama Matryoshka!

I'm obsessed with the idea of a fairy princess party for a little girl. Cliche, I know, but I still think that watching little girls play dress-up and letting their imagination run wild is the sweetest thing ever. I really wanted to start making a few things specifically for girl parties because I have a boy and it's easy to get caught up in all the cute boy themes out there. I decided to make some cute ribbon wants that could either be used as photo props or party favors! I used 4 different ribbons with various colors and textures and securely attached them to 12 inch Wilton lollipop sticks. They are perfect for waving around and adding that magical touch to your next party!

My best friend was kind enough to lend her 15 month old daughter to me to use as my model. I have a much bigger respect for children's photographer's because it is not easy! This little girl was running around all over the place with her new magic wand (as little girls should!) and getting a photo that wasn't blurry was not easy!

To see the full listing in my Etsy shop click here. Custom colors are also available! XOXO