I love these tissue paper dahlias! Inside the pretty packaging is a dahlia bulb. Get the template at MarthaStewart.com.

Aren’t these DIY name cards/wedding favors fantastic? Nerissa over at The New Domestic created them for a housewarming party. She folded origami paper in half. Then she folded and glued the bottom and stiched the sides to create mini envelopes. She put random goodies inside the envelopes so her guests got a nice surprise when they opened their place cards.

I’ve already been moved to write poetry about the humble mason jar. Just when I thought I’d run out of DIY ideas with the ever-useful jar, I stumbled on this DIY mason jar soap dispenser tutorial. This would perfect for your bathroom decor if you are having a shabby chic outdoor wedding.

I’m blown away by the fantastic DIY wedding projects that you can make with felt.  I scoured the internet for a few of my favourite DIY felt crafts. Here they are:

I love this colorful garland made from felt. Get the instructions on how to make this felt garland here.

Adorable felt hearts. Find the tutorial here.

These  felt flowers serve as name cards, boutonnieres and favors! On the bottom of the flower is a clip. Women can clip them in their hair, to spruce up their hair and men can pin them on their lapel as a boutonniere. (Photo: Michigan Wedding Blog)

Felt fortune cookies make a cute wedding favor!

Felt flower bouquets.

Peony pockets.

Felt flower name cards.

Ribbon Heart Favors from Heartfelt Project.

By Jennifer Cox

Looking for ideas for DIY favors? I created a green apple theme for my fall wedding last year, and I really wanted to do something homemade as well as give something useful for our wedding favors. I toyed with the idea of attempting apple jelly, but the idea of boiling and cleaning and spooning hot apples into 60+ jars was a tad overwhelming. So instead, I decided to give our guests the dry ingredients for baked apple spice.

I’m known for my layered jars at Christmastime – they make for beautiful (and relatively inexpensive) homemade gifts. So I applied the same technique to my wedding favors and, to add another touch, I used clear cone-shaped bags. I bought all the ingredients at Costco (to cut down on costs) as well as printed and cut my own favor cards. It worked out beautifully – I used pedestal bowls of green apples as centrepieces and was prepared to donate all the leftover fruit to a shelter – in the end, guests decided to take the apples instead to go with their spice mix (and they congratulated me for my foresight – if only they knew)!

Here’s how to make baked apple spice favors:

Supplies (this makes ONE DIY favor- multiply these measurements by the number of favors you’ll need)

- ¾ c. white sugar

- ¾ c. brown sugar

- ½ c. flour

- 1 tsp. cinnamon

- 6-inch strip of thin ribbon in the colour of your choice

- 2-cup clear cone-shaped bag

1. To make filling the bags a breeze, put the bag inside a glass and stretch the opening of the bag across the opening of the glass – it will keep the bag from toppling over.

2. Fill the bags in this order: cinnamon, flour, brown sugar, white sugar, making sure to even out and gently pack each ingredient firmly in place (but not so much that the bags’ seams split) – if you leave any air pockets the ingredients will shift and blend into one another.

3. Tie the top of the bag firmly closed.

4. Attach a small notecard with a design on one side (a logo, picture, the date, etc.) and the following instructions on the other:

Baked Apple Spice

Cut 8-10 apples and place in buttered dish. In a pan on the stovetop, mix spices with 2 tsp. butter and 1 c. water. Boil, simmer till thick and pour over apples. Bake at 350° for 35 mins.

First Photo: davina + daniel

Me and my mother-in-law filling the bags

Cutting the ribbon

My dad cutting all the favor labels

Jennifer Cox is a Montreal based freelance journalist who loves everything from weddings to foodie news, photography & candy!

Looking for a unique wedding send-off? Try ribbon wands! You can make them yourself for under $1 each and they are a nice little take home gift for your guests (your flower girls will LOVE  ‘em!!)

Ribbon wands are waved by wedding guests as the bride and groom exit the ceremony and/or the reception. They look gorgeous waving in the breeze – and the ones I’m going to show you how to make sound lovely too. (I attached little bells to the top of the wands.)

I made these ribbon wands in a snap – and you can to. How? Read on for the full instructions!

Ribbon Wands

Materials:

12 inch wooden dowels

small bells

five feet of ribbon per dowel (I used two types of ribbon for each wand, but you can use one of you want to)

eye screw

split ring

scissors

fray check

scotch tape

Insert eye screw into top of dowel.

Place split ring on the eye screw.

Add bell to split ring.

Place ribbon through the split ring and tie it in a knot. Repeat if adding more ribbon.

Apply Fray Check (or something similar) to the ends of the ribbon. When I did this to the satin ribbon it left a faint watermark. It was barely noticeable, but if you are bothered by it you could consult with your local fabric store and see if there are other options. I cut the ends of the smaller plaid ribbon in a ‘v’ shape to prevent fraying. This did not work on the large satin ribbon, so I used Fray Check. In the photo below the Fray Check has not dried so it is very visible. Once it dries it is very faint.

Wrap the ribbon around the wands and secure with a small piece of Scotch tape. Place in a mason jar or bucket for your guests to take.

Have your guests wave your DIY wands as you exit the ceremony!

Fresh flower bouquets make perfect DIY bridal shower favors. You can use grocery store flowers, and jazz them up with paper, ribbon and a vintage brooch. Get the full tutorial from Heather Bullard. This would also be a lovely way to wrap your wedding day centerpieces after the reception. (You can offer them to your guests like this bride did.)

Are you serving watermelon at any of your pre-wedding parties? This how-to-cut-a-watermelon video from allrecipes.com was life changing for me. No more watermelon mutilation! Check it out!

Photo: National Geographic Kids

I missed out on strawberry picking this year and hence didn’t get to make strawberry jam. That’s one of the highlights of early summer – so I’m determined not to miss out on raspberry jam.

A while back, we made some cute printable jam labels for you to download here.

If you are making something other than raspberry or strawberry jam, check out the free printable jam labels from Eat Drink Chic. Perfect for the wild blueberry homemade jam that I am dreaming about!

There is a closet in my house that is filled from top to bottom with essential oils. Grapefruit, lemongrass, patchouli, lavender, mint, tangerine are just a few of the intoxicating scents that fill the shelves.

I used to be a soapmaker – and although I don’t have time to indulge in this hobby anymore, I still love homemade bath and body products.

When I stumbled on Nonpareil and found a bunch of delicious downloads and recipes for homemade beauty products, I knew I would have to share! These would be lovely for a wedding shower!

As for me? I think it’s high time for me to crack open those oils and have some fun in the ‘lab’!

Enjoy!