Weddings Archives - The Weekend Country Girl

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10 of My Favorite Posts and a Big Thank You!

January 7, 2014February 7, 2014 Karen

If things go as they have been for the last week, by the time I wake up tomorrow I will have had 50,000 page views on my little teeny tiny minnow of a blog. I will also be celebrating two years of blogging. There are blogs out there that get 50,000 page views a day and it has taken me two years. I never said I was fast. first and foremost, I want to say thank you, friends, for reading, thank you for commenting, and thank you for causing me to improve what I produce. I still have no idea what I am doing most of the time. By that I mean my husband and I are making it up as we go on our projects, and sometimes failing miserably. I am about the most technology challenged blogger out there. There have been many times when I did something on the blog but had no idea what I did, how to fix it, or if it was good, how to repeat that good thing. Between the time I started this blog and now both our children have married, my husband and I changed jobs, we sold a home, went a while “between homes”, bought a home and moved to a new city, my son and daughter in law have moved in part-time, I started a new blog called My Burb Home, and I have taken up photography as a hobby. Not bad for two folks in their 50’s.

This next year we plan to travel to two places on our bucket list, work on both our weekend home and our suburban home, build a raised garden, put in a fire pit,and continue to work on found furniture. Life is good for this weekend loving couple.

I wanted to share with you some projects from the last two years. As I looked back, there were others that could have or should have made the cut but I plan on rewriting several of them now that I don’t stink like when I started. Not many of you were around when I first logged in, set up an account and started rambling so some of the projects below may be new to you. Just click on the hyperlink and it will take you to the original blog. I hope you enjoy.

10. French provincial furniture makeover. I love that we were able to take a couple of homely particle board pieces of furniture and make them beautiful. I am seriously considering selling this set because I want to redo the room like now I recently saw on a home tour but I love the color combination and how much I learned on this project.

9. Western Dresser. We found a homely little Goodwill dresser and made it something fun for the lake house guest room we call the bunk room.

8. Table and Banquette seating out of reclaimed wood. Wow! This is one of my oldest posts and my dinky little camera did not do this beauty any justice. I will be re-photographing this set. This was a collaboration between Hubby and me to come up with a solution to a tiny space using reclaimed siding from our house. It is one of the most functional spaces in our home now.

7. Farmhouse Table. I love the look of a rustic table but man, they are expensive. Our $90.00 solution to this problem turned out to be one of my favorite pieces of furniture. It moved with us and was where we gathered for our first Thanksgiving meal in the new home.

6. Wedding Chalkboard. I did tell you my kids got married, right? I was fortunate enough that both my daughter and daughter in law wanted me to make personal items for their wedding. I loved that they wanted things that I worked on as a part of their special day. The link above is one of those items, an ornate frame my daughter in law, Sweet Amanda, found at a resale shop that I redid for the wedding and added a chalkboard. I chose this one because it was the first wedding project. I love all four of my precious kids.

5. Map Chair. Another piece of furniture that needs to be re-photographed. This little chair would be easy to recreate for a friend moving to a new city or a college student who needs to remember where home is. I seem to have a thing for chairs.

4. Painted Suitcases. I have made a total of seven of these painted suitcases now The link is to four of them I did at one time. I love finding cheap old hard sided suitcases, priming, painting, distressing, glazing then adding a chalkboard to one side. It makes a great entry into a home when guests are coming over or to announce an event. If I ever started a business, I would sell these because I enjoy mine so much.

3. Junk Fairy End Table. The last three are easy. They are my favorite, favorite projects. They speak to my love of color, family and friends. The junk fairy ( AKA The Social Planner) dropped off this homely table while we were gone one day. I did not need it, so posted a photo of it on Facebook and offered to redo it for a friend. Robin snagged it. I am happy that she chose green as the color for the table. I really like how the stained top turned out. I enjoyed it so much that I painted a table in my own home close to the same colors.

2. Beverage Station. I am now working on number three of these babies. What a great re-purpose project for an old stainless sink and a sewing machine cabinet. I love the look and they make entertaining in a back yard or porch more inviting. My favorite blue color, Behr sailboat blue, got used here. My long-suffering husband gets major credit for the stainless sink idea here.

1. Mudroom Bench. When we moved this year I literally looked for homes that my mudroom bench would fit in. It is by far my most favorite project to date. I look forward to the day that someone sends me a photo of their version of the project.&nbsphttp://theweekendcountrygirl.com/2013/01/28/toilet-paper-roll-art/; A found dresser, waiting for heavy trash pickup, and a resale shop mirror turned into this beauty.

I hope you enjoyed my little walk down memory lane. Thank you for taking the time to look back on my last two years. Thank you for allowing me to share what we do.

Charlotte NC, family, wedding, wedding preparation, Weddings

Two Nephews and a Wedding

June 3, 2013June 4, 2013 Karen

The Southern Belle is now Mrs. Big Cat! A beautiful wedding in Charlotte, North Carolina with Chamber of Commerce weather was held on June 1. The hydrangea were in full bloom, the birds were singing, we got to spend time outdoors with both sides of the family. It was awesome.

Because Mr. and Mrs. BC have 2 sweet nephews and zero nieces they wanted to include them in the big event. What to do with two boys and one wedding? Give them both a job. The Southern Belle turned to Pinterest for inspiration and discovered this:

(Source unknown)
A quick trip to the Etsy Shop told her that she was not the only bride who would have a “herald” in the wedding along with a ring bearer.

The only problem with the signs on Etsy was the price. Customized signs were a little more than TSB wanted to spend. A friend has a machine that cuts vinyl letters and she agreed to make a vinyl sticker to go on a board. It comes as a big ole sticker. Hubby cut the board to fit, I painted it white and applied the sticker then peeled off the covering carefully.

This was the scary part! I only had one sticker and it could have gone bad. I am so glad it worked.

Sweet Maeby had to help her Gramps.

Hubby put handles on the back so that his nephew could hold it.

I do not have any photos of the nephew coming down the isle. I was too busy trying not to blubber.

Here is a picture of the sign with the family. One day next week I will tell you about the ring bearer box.

Charlotte NC, family, the Southern Belle, wedding, wedding preparation, Weddings

An Urban Southern Wedding

June 3, 2013 Karen

My sweet daughter, The Southern Belle, and her fiancée, Big Cat, planned the perfect urban wedding. Her style is clean, modern with a nod to the past. In all things she is elegant. A true southern belle who wears pearls and loves sweet tea. The couple met in Savannah, Georgia and there were shades of the low country in the wedding. The groom and his party wore striped bow ties, and we ate shrimp and grits at the rehearsal. The colors chosen by the couple for the wedding were navy and silver with lots of white hydrangea.

We live a long way from the southern kids so all the planning fell on their shoulders. They planned, coordinated, organized, and contracted all the elements of the wedding and the results were spectacular, if I do say so in my biased state of mind.

When we arrived Wednesday evening we were greeted by our sweet grand dog Maeby and the kids.

Everyone else arrived on Thursday or Friday so we got some quality time with the kids.

Thursday morning while TSB was out for a run the flowers started arriving along with wedding gifts. At one point we had UPS waiting for Fed Ex to finish. The fact that flowers started showing up was a problem because they were supposedly canceled. A few phone calls revealed that an error had been made and the flowers would not be charged to her so they were going to be added to the reception flowers. This is what the man cave room looked like when we were through sorting the flowers and putting them in vases.

The kids attend Hawthorne Lane United Methodist Church. A beautiful old Methodist church in Charlotte. A quick trip to the church confirmed that they were all ready for the invasion. The wedding coordinator, Karen, had it all under control.

Their bridesmaids and groomsmen were a mix of family, high school friends, college friends, and current friendships. The ladies were beautiful. The guys were elusive.

We then set up at the reception venue. They chose Palmer Fire House. A decommissioned fire training station built by the WPA. It is now run by the Charlotte Firemen Union as a fund-raiser for them. If you live near Charlotte I recommend the facility for anyone. The cost is low, the staff of volunteers who run the center are amazing and the service cannot be beat. We loved it from the moment we saw the facility. The outdoor space had a fireplace, a garden, and space for their one desire… a food truck at the wedding.

Yep. They wanted a food truck to drive up and serve food right out of the truck. I told you in the title this was an urban wedding. Here they are ordering from the truck.

The kids wanted a trolley to run between the church and the reception.

It was so cool. Everyone checked it out. Dad, brother and grandparents.

Finally, TSB’s dream was to have a vintage car take her away from the reception all at the end of the night. A check of local car clubs landed her the perfect car, a 1951 Chrysler. The grand parents loved it!

The wedding was stunning… it went off without a hitch. We love her new in laws! TSB now has two sweet nephews to spoil.

The reception was fun. I think everyone had a ball.

The Bride and Groom were beaming, and joking all day. I love the photo bomb.

These two guys have spoiled TSB. They definitely love her more than air.

The evening ended with sparklers lighting the path for them as they made their way to the car.

Enjoy the random shots. We had an amazing photographer. Lauren did a great job along with her assistant, Juliette. They will be sharing photos on the website as they become available.

Charlotte NC, family, wedding, wedding preparation, Weddings

M-O-B Dress Shopping

March 15, 2013August 21, 2013 Karen

The Southern Belle convinced me to go dress shopping with her. I am thrilled to report that I found both the rehearsal dinner dress and the dress I will wear to the wedding! So excited, I just need to make sure I look good in them so I am now on a serious workout plan and back on my weight watchers. This week I got the chance to attend a shower at her office, meet some of the kids’ friends, do a few projects around TSB’s home and spend time with my sweet husband.

updated post

Here I am dancing like a goofball in my MOB dress with Baby Boy.

And with the beautiful, stunning, gorgeous bride!

Chalkboard DIY, ornate chalkboard frames, repurposed frame, Reused frame, reusing an old frame, the Southern Belle, Thrifting, vintage style, wedding, wedding preparation, Weddings

Finding Frames for the Charlotte Wedding

October 30, 2012January 9, 2013 Karen

The Southern Belle asked me to look for small ornate frames for her June wedding. She wants to turn them into chalkboards to write menu items and information to guests. Because the chalk boards are black, I am painting the frames white until I get instructions from the Southern Belle.

Here is how the beauties started:

Bought for $1.00 each

Bought for 25 cents each

The top two are Home Interiors specials from the 70’s. The bottom two are plastic faux wicker. They will all make great chalkboards.

I am determined to become a better spray painter, and I believe I am on the right track finally. I have discovered the spray paint handle.

This is the best thing since sliced bread. I love it.

It is amazing how they turned out. I did not take a picture of the larger one when bought. It was southwest style teal and salmon. I bought it for a dollar. Hubby already cut the chalkboard for the large one.
I am going to spray the mirrors for the narrow ones with chalkboard Sprint. I can see them as direction signs at the reception. On my way to collecting some frames for the girl. It is nice to be able to help with her wedding- even from a distance.

Charlotte NC, the Southern Belle, Weddings

Wedding Dress Shopping

October 10, 2012December 13, 2012 Karen

Before I start this post I wanted to show off The Southern Belle’s engagement photos. Her photographer is great and did an amazing job in spite of an injury that The Southern Belle suffered during a race the morning of the photos and a rain storm. I love that the photographer said she is as beautiful as an Ann Taylor model on her worst day. I totally agree with the photographer. Click Here to see the photos.

One of the main reasons I decided to go visit the Carolina Kids was to shop for wedding dresses with my eldest. I was so thrilled that the Southern Belle invited me that it brought me to tears. It is tough on a mom for her daughter to be planning a wedding miles and miles away.

Friday morning we set out to find the perfect dress.

First Appointment:

Rock Hill South Carolina

A very nice lady had a LOT of dresses for the Southern Belle to try on.

It was a good place to start. She was able to figure out what she did and did not like.

I love her pasted on smile. No way she liked this…

Second Appointment:

More dresses to try on.

This one was a real contender, but not the winner.

Third Appointment

By this time the Southern Belle had a good idea what she really wanted.

Her ZTA little sister came in to check out the dresses.

And the winner is:

You didn’t think I would post the dress did you?

But a dress was bought and it is stunning. The Southern Belle is going to be a beautiful bride.

Chalkboard DIY, chalkboard paint on furniture, DIY, DIY Projects, Huntsville State Park wedding, ornate chalkboard frames, repurposed frame, resale finds, Reused frame, reusing an old frame, Weddings

DIY Framed Chalkboard

July 17, 2012September 26, 2013 Karen

Project number two from the weekend was to turn a frame that Sweet Amanda and her mom found at a thrift store into a chalkboard. That girl is quite the thrifter! She found an amazing gilded frame in the trash that will make an appearance at the wedding and I think she paid $3.00 for this one:

The frame was in overall good shape. I believe it once held a large mirror and is made out of particle board. It is HEAVY! There was some damage to the front of the frame that allowed the particle board to show through in a couple of places.

Sweet Amanda plans on having her wedding program written out on the chalkboard as everyone enters the wedding chapel so she wanted it to be fancy yet rustic/vintage… just her style. I could not figure out how to fix the damage to the front of the frame without totally redoing the finish…so I repainted and refinished it. I sure wish I were more talented and could have just touched it up but it would have not looked right with my lack of skill.

Between showers I laid the frame outside and got out spray paint. I am not the best spray painter in the world. I tend to spray too much in one spot. I really focused on thin even coats of gold spray paint this time. I also had some shiny silver paint in the cabinet so I very lightly sprayed a coat of the silver over the gold.

The frame looked a little scary at this point. I had visions of having to call Sweet Amanda to tell her I ruined the frame.

After the frame dried and before the rain came, I brought it in to the Garagemahal. The frame is really divided into four concentric rectangles so I decided to work on applying the antiquing glaze one whole rectangle at a time.

Working with such deep detail on a large frame meant really working fast. Even as humid as it was the glaze dried quickly. I use cut up t shirts to wipe off the excess because the cotton really seems to pick up any puddles and it allows me to get into the small spaces. I have two t shirt towels going at one time. One is for the first wipe over and it is really gross, the other is for the second wipe over and is more clean. When the second rag starts to get dirty I demote it to the first wipe over rag and get a new second rag.

After I finished the entire frame, I went back over everything at one time with a fresh rag… really rubbing hard. Some gold and some silver shows through the glaze.

I loved the results. The frame really does look like an old plaster frame for $7.00 in gold paint and left over silver paint I would have to say the frame was a success.

The next step was to make the chalkboard part. Hubby cut a piece of hardboard to fit the frame on his table saw. We buy tons of hardboard. It comes in 4 X 8 by 1/8 sheets and costs about $8.00 a sheet. I use it to put backs on furniture we recycle, I paint on in like canvas and about a million other uses. I primed the hardboard with Kiltz primer before I started painting on the chalkboard paint. I bought Rustoelum chalkboard paint in a can to use and got out the foam roller and small paint tray. My advice is that if the chalkboard you are making is small, go with the spray paint version. The paint on version of the paint was a pain in the neck. I wanted the finish to be smooth so I rolled on thin layers of the paint. It took 4 coats to get the finish I could tolerate and it is still not perfectly smooth.

The picture above is after coat number one.

After the chalkboard paint dried over night I put the board into the frame. We were really lucky here, the frame had some easy to use tabs that made putting the board in a snap. I was pleased with the results. According to the directions, I have to wait three days for the paint to cure then condition the chalkboard by rubbing the entire board with chalk then wiping it off. After that it will be ready for use. I will make sure to post a picture from the wedding.

On the Internet there are several crafters who have posted making their own chalkboard paint by adding un-sanded powered grout to regular latex paint. I may try that down the line.

TADAH! At the wedding. Not bad for a resale find.