It seems as if everyone is obsessed with GOLD these days, especially gold painted toy animals… and of course we are as well! Who wouldn’t be, I mean aren’t these guys just to die for!?! Simple plastic toys are easily transformed into fabulous gold escort card holders, which in person resemble costly brass statues! These will impress your guests and seat them in style… along with a smile – I’m sure everyone will go crazy for them!

SUPPLIES:

Krylon Metallic Gold Spray Paint
lots of little toy animals (info in credits below)
a small hand saw or the like – you could even use a serrated kitchen knife
a nail file/buffer
simple seating cards

To start, you will need to make a small slice on the backside of each toy animal which is were the escort card will be positioned. Here I am using a little jewelry hand saw that has a teeny tiny blade. Since this blade was so very small, I needed to make my slice resemble a little ‘V’ shape so that my cardstock would actually fit inside.

The size of your saw or knife blade will determine how large of a slice will be made. ***try not to feel bad when you are making these little cuts on the cute animals… I kind of did!

CRAFTERS TIP // The smaller the blade the larger the ‘V’ will need to be. *If you use a large blade you might only need to cut a straight slice. Either way, it’s best to have a sample piece of your escort card to make sure that it will fit inside the slice and stand up properly!

When some plastics are cut they leave a rubbery mess behind, simply clean up the plastic with a nail file or buffer – just like you would a piece of cut wood!

When all your animals have been sliced – they are ready for painting!!!

For full coverage it will take about three coats; one on the top, one on the sides and one on their bellies. This Krylon spay paint is amazing and dries in like 5 minutes so this process goes really quickly.

Aren’t they just adorable!?!

Easily design and print simple seating cards using any word processing program, or you could even hand write each card. The star of this project will be the darling gold animals, so the seating cards themselves can be kept simple. These little tags I made are 1.75″ x 1.75″.

I’m obsessed… and I hope you are too!

As with all our DIY tutorials, if you create one of our projects please send us a picture or a trackback – We Love Seeing Your Creativity! If you use Instagram or Twitter please share using the hashtag #SomethingTurquoiseDIY. Happy Crafting!

Photography: Studio 11 Weddings // DIY tutorial by: Jen | Something Turquoise // Kryon Gold Metallic Spray Paint and Safari Ltd. ‘Wild Toob’ of 12 toy animals: Michaels **although I purchased my darling toy animals at Michaels, there are tons of differnt animals along with bulk choices on Safari Ltd’s website – check it out! // little jewelry hand saw: MSC Direct // I designed the little cards using Word and an ink jet printer // nail polish: Essie – Trophy Wife

Outdoor Fall Wedding from JoPhoto

Today’s post features high school sweethearts, Michele and Rob, in a lovely pink and navy fall wedding at Maple Grove Inn in Knoxville, Tennessee. Local photographer, JoPhoto , captured intimate photos of the couple both during and after their wedding day. While pink is often associated with spring weddings, the color scheme works perfectly here with the navy night sky and just-turning-orange leaves. Keep scrolling to the end to see some photos from the couple’s day-after shoot!

P.S. Here is a cute tidbit about the couple from the photographer:

“The morning of their wedding, Rob posted on his facebook, ‘2001 Science Class at Farragut High School I met a cute bubbly girl named Michele… 11 years later I couldn’t be happier to call her my fiancé and in 8 hours my wife… I love you.’ Eight hours later, Rob and Michele said ‘I do’ and Michele said, ‘I waited over a decade for that day….it was the most wonderful, memorable night of my life!'”

Here, the groom stands patiently before seeing his bride for the first time on their wedding day.

Lovely matching bridesmaids in navy dresses with bright pink bouquets!

Is it just me or does the navy autumn sky fit perfectly with this wedding’s color scheme?

These next few photos are from the bride and groom’s day-after photo shoot, which is a great way to get a few more relaxed photos after the chaos of the wedding day is over.

Vendors:

You might also enjoy:

Yellow and Gray Garden Wedding in California
Pink Spring Wedding at Dara’s Garden
Navy and Gold Wedding Inspiration

By Molly Spining

“Jordan & Justin’s wedding was such a memorable day for us! They are a sweet couple who have been together since they were 17. The month they were married they celebrated not only their marriage, but also Jordan becoming a Doctor. Jordan & Justin took the time to add so many personal details to their wedding day that it was truly a photographers dream capturing it all!” – MattnNat Photographers

I am obsessed with Jordan’s gorgeous dress!!! It fit’s her beautifully and she had the lace straps created and sewn just for her!!! This is such a pretty picture of her and her stunning accessories…

“My favorite wedding memory was definitely the first look. After our wedding photographers suggested the idea we thought about how great it would be to just spend a few minutes together before the ceremony. Afterwards most couples spend time talking with family and friends and of course dancing so to have those few moments together in the quiet of the woods was so special to us. I also enjoyed being able to see Justin’s reaction when he saw me for the first time up close. That moment and the pictures that capture the moment are truly priceless…

..My wonderful parents and I DIY’d almost everything for the wedding. For the invitations we used cards and pockets paper with a pocket fold and envelope and we designed, printed and cut all the inserts. We did the same for every paper product including menus, programs, place cards and the seating chart. We bought a specialty pressed paper from a local store, which was incorporated into all of the paper products. We also made tags for our favors. Other DIY projects included the table decorations. For the candles, we bought inexpensive glassware and used a glue to make the glass appear frosted; other candles were decorated with bark ribbon. For the cocktail tables and the ceremony aisle decorations we wrapped galvanized buckets with bark ribbon and our florist filled them. All of the table numbers and the Mr and Mrs sign on the sweetheart table were made from wooden letters/numbers from the craft store and were spray-painted. We had wooden signs for the cake, guestbook, bar, specialty drink, a here comes the bride sign and a welcome sign all made by my father. He also made a series of frames with pictures of close family members who had passed. He stained the wood to look like barn wood and I painted the white lettering on all the signs. My father also made our ceremony table and our cake box the same way. He even made our ring box and I filled it with moss and tied the rings down with ribbon. Our family friend handmade the wooden vase that we used for our ceremony, which now sits in our living room with our original wedding rose. We also use our ceremony table as a side table in our hallway. These items are so special to us and we love that we were able to incorporate them into our home. Aside from these sentimental items that we display and use, I was able to sell the rest on Craigslist!

..My something old borrowed and blue was a family heirloom ring from my mother’s side. It is still in its original setting from the late 1800’s. This was my great-great grandmothers engagement ring and we still have the original box. After having the setting checked I wore the ring on my pinky finger during the wedding. My shoes were new, and sequined blue!

..My advice to all my friends planning their upcoming weddings is to pick a photographer that you are comfortable with and that you know will give you the type of pictures you want. Everyone will tell you how fast the whole day flies by and what you really have left besides the memories are the photographs or videos so it’s SO important to know what to expect and to be comfortable on the day of the wedding so you have the best pictures possible. Remember, as a bride or groom you are only seeing one perspective of your wedding. It was so fun to look through pictures and watch the video and see all of our friends having fun and actually watch our ceremony from the viewer’s perspective. I would also tell upcoming brides in the planning process not to let others influence you or your fiancés decisions too much. Once you agree on something, just have it your way. This is your wedding and you should have things how you want them. Justin’s piece of advice is not to stress about the small stuff. Things don’t always go perfectly on the day of the wedding but it’s better to just let go and not worry about the small things. You are getting married to your best friend and no matter what; it will be the happiest day of your life!” – Jordan, the bride

photography: MattnNat Photographers (Matt and Natalie Thomas) // venue: Riverdale Manor , Lancaster PA // paper supplies: Cards and Pockets // florals: Splints and Daisies // ceremony guitarist: Luke Abruzzo from GigMasters // DJ: DJ Freez (Ray Rowe) // videographer: Black Tie Video // cake: House of Clarendon // dress: Robin Jillian ( Lily’s Bridal , Arbutus MD) // bridesmaid dresses made by the brides seamstress Diane Blakley – she also made the straps that were added to the brides strapless dress! Columbia, MD // guy’s attire: Men’s Warehouse // hair: Lauren Ward, of Ooh la lal Salon // makeup: Jennifer Tanko

A wedding reception is potentially the most important part of your big day, as guests will spend the majority of the day there; therefore if you are looking to leave a big impression amongst guests then attention should to focus in this area. Here are a few tips on what areas you will need to consider.

Location

Your wedding theme will affect where you choose the location. Consider how you can make the most of your location, is there anything interesting about the place you’ll marry, an interesting history or is it somewhere that is famous for a particular food, drink or dance. This will heavily influence the color scheme.

Sometimes, receptions are held under stars and moons. An outer door night reception can bring unexpected effect.

Decorations

Decorations are usually influenced by theme, color, and budget or simply just to the bride and groom’s taste. Homemade flags, bunting, paper flowers and paper lanterns have become increasingly popular at wedding receptions, due to their homespun look and a cheaper alternative to other more pricey decorations.

Food & Drink

Food and drink can be critical at a wedding and it is the one thing that will make guests leave 100% satisfied. We’re guessing this is mostly with the men, but women are more likely to be impressed by presentation and visual impact. So it’s important to get it right, make sure you can trial and test some food before you book. Make sure both you and the groom go so that you have varying opinions and taste buds.

We hope this has helped you, should you require more information on how you can incorporate your invitations into your reception simply leave us a message right here or contact us at invitesweddings2012@gmail.com .

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DIY | gold painted toy animal escort cards