Frugal wedding tip- cheap wedding veils

For the longest time I was u see the impression that I could only get my veil at a dress shop or make my own. Either I when to sacrifice money (~ $100) at the dress shop or time (find material and sew the lining of the veil).  But I have found the perfect solution today ! I went into Michaels for a browse and I stumbled upon this item in the wedding aisle.  It was just what I needed. Something simple and didn't cost me an arm and a leg. The total cost was under $30 !  I tried it on and was a bit crinkled from being Ina box but it's nothing I can't fix. It has two layers and comes down to my finger tips.  It also comes with the comb. 

Best solution to my wedding veil dilemma ! What do you think ? 

Guest Post : Transforming Vinyl Banners into Bags, Wallets, and More!

\

Annie Harrington is a small business owner, writer, and amateur photographer. In her free time she enjoys writing about ways other business owners can positively impact their brand image with unique window decals and poster printing.

There’s been a very interesting trend developing over the past couple of years. Quite literally, one person’s trash has become another person’s treasure. In this case, many people are benefitting from this overabundance of “trash,” while reducing waste and the environmental detriment vinyl can cause. Creative individuals are taking vinyl banners used for advertising and transforming them into genuinely useful, everyday items, such as handbags, messenger bags, wallets, and shower curtains, among a great many other things. Sellers have popped up all over the web, ready to sell you their latest vinyl creations, but honestly, why spend the extra money when you can make them yourself?

Of course, the projects you choose to pursue will come with varying degrees of difficulty. You can create your bags and wallets however simple or elaborate you desire. You are the master of your creative domain.

Before Starting a Project

Get some vinyl! 

This can actually be the most challenging part of your project. Have a convention or exposition center nearby? Check there. Be prepared to do a little dumpster diving. Often after a convention, there will be a surplus of vinyl banners. They might be for a concert, a garden show, or a job fair, but they’re usually there. Get there quickly and you’ll have the run of the place. Just don’t forget to ask permission first before going headfirst into a dumpster.

If that doesn’t work out, check with local advertising agencies. Chances are, they might have banners left over from old clients and campaigns and no longer have use for them. They might try to charge you for them, but haggle! Those old banners take up space and are of no use to them, so use that against them.

If you don’t have much luck at either a convention center or an ad agency, you can always check online. Look on auction websites. The great thing about the online environment is you’ll have a fairly large selection of designs and color schemes to choose from. The bad thing about buying online is you won’t be able to inspect the quality of the material until it arrives at your doorstep.

Starting a Project

What You’ll Need:

• scissors or craft knife

• ruler

• vinyl Banner(s)

These supplies can vary from project to project, and you can change things up however you like, but I consider these the basic supplies. At this point, know what you want to make. A wallet? A purse? A messenger bag? This is your chance to be creative and how much vinyl you have will dictate the scope of the project.

Note: before officially beginning your project, wash your vinyl with warm, soapy water. You don’t know where that stuff might’ve been!

Using the ruler, guide the craft knife to create the outer edges of you bag or wallet. Cut out a variety of piece, whatever you think you might need. Once you have your basic pieces, you can go back with the razor or scissors and make sure everything is nice and straight.

Putting it Together

What You’ll Need:

• scissors or craft blade

• vinyl pieces

• nylon edging or duct tape

• Velcro (or other hook-and-loop fastener)

• bag straps

This list can vary on the type of project your pursuing, but basic construction remains the same. You can go extra frugal and put everything together with duct tape. I think it works awesome with the overall aesthetic of vinyl. These days, duct tape comes in a wide variety of colors and you’ll be able to find something that works with whatever pattern and colors happen to be on the vinyl you’re using.

Alternatively, you can use a nylon edging material for a cleaner look. You can find this at most craft stores. It comes in adhesive and non-adhesive varieties, so if you choose the non-adhesive edging, you may have to bust out the thread and do a little needle work (or a sewing machine works, too).

If you’re making a back, you’re probably going to want straps. You might have to purchase adjustable straps online or at a craft store. Or you can simple create straps out of more vinyl! Either way, you can’t go wrong!

Like What You See? Treat us to COFFEE!

West Coast Road Trip - part 3

 To sum up our trip, we drove from:

• Vancouver to
• Roseburg (OR) to
• San Fran to
• Las Vegas to
• Sacramento to
• Portland to
• HOME !

Our drive down to Las Vegas was long.  We had to connect to lots of different hwys to get back on to the main one to go to Vegas.  When we got there, it was such a treat because we were staying at Caesars ! We got this on a very good deal because it was Christmas and is usually "slow" season there.   We also tried one of the hotels down at the old downtown just to see the quality (because it was REALLY cheap). We've been to Vegas before, and going this time during Christmas, it had a very different vibe.  It was very family orientated - no drunks on the streets, and definitely more quiet because lots of things were closed.

We decided not to get the 24 hour buffet pass this time because it was more expensive during that time due to Christmas holiday price.  We actually found it was better without the buffet because we were not tied down to use the pass to its fullest and were able to try more specialty restaurants - and no 2 hour line ups.

Lets talk about our stay in old downtown.  We stayed at the Golden Nugget.  It was a bit smokey and old from the outside, but the rooms were not bad - since we've stayed in really ghetto places along the drive.  We were pretty confortable with our room and everything was available.  Since we drove, we can park our car in their parkade which was included with our room - otherwise you would have to pay.  We will definitely think of staying in old downtown next time we go down since it was really reasonably priced and was pretty confortable.

To our surprise, finding parking on the stip was a breeze.  All the hotels had free parking and their parkades were huge.

    Like What You See? Treat us to COFFEE!

Ahhh Looking good

Finally ! Days are getting longer and rain is holding back!

Easy peasy slow cooker ribs

I think I'm pretty lazy at cooking stuff and especially when I am low on time. Why wait for food to cook when you can leave it in the slow cooker without supervision??

Here's my recipe .. If you can call it that .. For slow cooker BBQ ribs.

Marinate you ribs for at least 15 mins with salt, sugar and spice.

Put the pieces of ribs into your slow cookera

Choose your favorite BBQ sauce and cover the ribs up, top and bottom.
ac
Set the slow cooker to high and leave it for 5 hr.

The end result will be delicious !