Annabel Lily

Very excited to welcome to the world the newest elleDesigns' Bride...in 20-30 years that is. Jill and her hubby's new beautiful baby girl, Annabel Lily! Annabel is also my husband and my new God Daughter!!

We had some fun taking newborn pictures of her back in October and had to share this beauty!! 

Beautiful model made by Jill Jenkins. Photos by Elle Ellinghaus.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Baby Shower

Sneak Peak from a very special "It's a Girl" Baby Shower two weeks ago that elleDesigns was honored to plan..with my Mom...for my own Sister! Her and her hubby are expecting a little girl in October!!

 

Tickled Pink Baby Shower

Design & Planning & Props: elleDesigns

Venue: Rockfield Manor

Photography: IsoVISION Studios

Classical Guitarist: Elizabeth Aucott

DIY Teal Mason Jars

Those beautiful blue/teal mason jars are so gorgeous. You can glam them up, dress them down, do whatever you want with them...if you can find them. When you do find them, they usually a little more expensive than you think. So I decided to make my own. I experimented and found a way I loved. Enjoy!

First, start with regular mason jars. I had a bunch of them from weddings, but I know you can get them on Amazon, at Walmart for little mula.

I bought some pretty teal glass paint at my craft store and mixed alot of paint, with a little bit of acrylic paint glaze. I wanted it to be a shiny and a thinner teal so I could see-through them, not matte and bold. For ratios, I would say 1/2 cup of paint and 1 teaspoon glaze. Mix it good!

I applied 2 coats to each with a foam brunch, in an up and down streak-like way. I let it dry a little for 10 minutes or so, then added another coat. Be careful around the rims, the excess paint will bubble.

I let dry over night to be 100% safe. If it is wet at all, then it will "melt" and run down the jars when baking. I laid them upside down on a pan (covered in aluminum foil just in case) at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Be careful, they are hot!

Boy, do they look GORGEOUS! The only thing you will notice is what I said before, the excess paint bubbles around the rim, however, it seemed to go away, mostly, in a few hours and wasn't a big deal!

a doily d.i.y. story...

One of my brides who got married this past Saturday, wanted different! Designing this one was fab because Dommie likes rustic and vintage with a colorful edge...sound like anyone you know?  {wink} She is a crafty lil lady for a living, so for her wedding she wanted a break and didn't want to do a thing. I wanted her wedding to be as unique & artsy as she is. They were frustratingly looking at venues when I came on board, and in passing mentioned a barn on her great grandmother's property...and a smile grew on my face! Done! Unique was off to a good start.

Dommie's criteria: A purse her great grandmother made for her.  It was teal and peach, ribbon sewn on like fabric, with a crocheted lace over top. It screamed to be a mascot for a wedding! So when it came to her place settings...this was too easy. Different, vintage, crafty, barn, crochet......

....doilies anyone?

each place setting had a doily cup. some filled with different local flowers & some with acorns.

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How I did it:

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-supplies: doily, sugar, measuring cup, pot, water, cupcake pan

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-equal parts water and sugar. (since you probably won't be doing 100 of them like me) 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar will be plenty and bring to a boil.

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-dip doily with a fork (be careful, hot and steamy!!) until covered.

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-lay in cupcake tray until dry (about 10 hours depending on thickness of doily)

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-paint or dye to your fav color.

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-feel too cute.

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Not just for a wedding...think outside the box; Thanksgiving table, Baby & Bridal Showers, Candy jar, you name it!

It doesn't get much cuter than this...

I would like to give a little spotlight to an etsy shop that is one of my favorites, LILLYBONBON. In fact, I ordered my own wedding cake toppers from her store a couple years ago. When they came in, they were even more adorable then I could have imagined, so I ordered 2 more for my dessert bar! LILLYBONBON is a talented artist making woodland-inspired paper mache art. Cupcake toppers, paper cut-outs...check out her work because she is an elleDesigns' highly recommended artist! If her etsy store isn't cute enough for you, check out her beautiful blog here.

 these last 2 birdies are my wedding cake toppers from LILLYBONBON

Ruffle Pom Pom how-to

I love love love Ruffles! I think I have these at every event hanging from the ceiling, tossed on the floor, mini ones on napkins, filling in bouquets or vases...why? because they are too darn cute! You can use them at bridal showers, birthday parties & especially weddings! Imagine a hundred of them flowing with hanging ribbon from the ceiling of the tent. Mmmm....anyway! At first they are are a little tricky, but once you get the hang of it, you can make 10 in an hour.



Pom Pom how-to by elleDESIGNS

 1. & 2. Start with tissue paper, layer the patterns how you like and trim so they are the exact same width and height. I use 16 sheets if I want them very big and puffy. 8 sheets will do for smaller ones.
3.  Fold the sheets together like a fan and tie a string around the middle, long enough to be able to stick out after pom pom is made,for hanging.
4. Round the edges with scissors. 16 sheets will be hard, make sure you have sharpened scissors and break into parts if you need to. Round, to a point, experiment!
5. & 6. Start, carefully, pulling the tissue apart. Be careful, tissue paper is easily wripped!Make sure your hands are dry!

How pretty! As you can see, blend different patterns and shades of th color for pretty effect!

blushing bride & bubbly bride drink bar.

Whats cuter than showing up to a wedding or shower with specialty drinks, especially if they have adorable names. A recent event i decorated using "Blushing Bride" for pink lemonade and "Bubbly Bride" for Mimosas.

Complete with drink stirrers i made for the glasses. Mason Jars for the "blushing bride" and champagne glasses for the "bubbly bride."

 

Every little detail counts. Every little one.

Tie-the-Knot Tip

You see all those beautiful magazine weddings, where do they find that stuff? It has to be too expensive to buy, do they rent it? Well, as you know I love love love vintage and that is my event style. If you walk in my house, every piece of furniture has a story from stopping in the middle of a busy street because it was on the side of the road or even just walking through my local vintage shops.  



vintage how-to by elleDESIGNS

 

Loving interior design, I like to incorporate these things in my weddings. Sure, I could go rent or buy expensive vintage furniture for the wedding or shower, but instead...how about lets do it under $30? One of the reasons I say if you are a bride on a budget and want to "WOW" your guests, even MORE of a reason to hire a wedding planner!

Any questions? That little contact button at the top right is for you!

Lions, Giraffes, Elephants...Oh my!

Baby Shower Cake

Name: Emily

Nursery Theme: Animals

Nursery Colors: Green, Yellow, Purple

Cake Pop flavors: Vegan Apple Spice & Vanilla

Cake: Strawberry Buttercream

Boy did I have a ball making this one!

  

 

pinkies up....

Tea themes are becoming so popular for baby showers, bridal showers, birthdays, you name it. Two things are a must for a tea time: a steamy tea table...and dainty-licious centerpieces. Pinkies Up Please...




the banner reads 'love is steamy' {click for bigger image}

 

decor by elleDESIGNS. Photo by  Regina Marie Photography

 





decor by elleDESIGNS. Photo by  Regina Marie Photography



decor by elleDESIGNS. Photo by  Regina Marie Photography



cards pretty enough to frame

I love making cards, but what I love even more is walking into a new nursery and seeing the card I made framed on the dresser. Why not get a little creative and instead of buying one off the rack, personalize it and make it too pretty or personal to throw away. Use your scrapbooking things, paintshup on your computer, or as my artsy Aunt Laurie always does, she draws a beautiful picture. Here is one of my favorites for our friend's baby shower.

You lovebirds!

Cake Toppers have gone from the {said in very serious voice} elegant man and wife-in top hat and gown-holding each other-crystal figurines, ....to {back to my girly, energetic voice} adorable, quirky, and different! Thank Goodness!! What better way to keep the "love" theme with lovebirds! Here are a few I found that are simply adorable! The first picture to the left is the cake toppers from my own wedding from lillybonbon on etsy. When they arrived they were so cute I reordered them for my candy buffet too.

Not just for Weddings anymore either! Put them on top of your cupcakes or cakes at parties & showers! What a great keepsake from the event.

Emilie friday

TheCupcakeGirls