This is foureyes's Blue Wedding!

I am trying to find a way to make a background that prints onto my white cardstock. I want it to be pale so it just gives a hint of texture. How do I do this? I am looking for like a flower motif or a paisley design. Similar to the wedding well wishes cards that are downloadable through weddingchicks.com....Please computer literate people help me figure out how to do this without it costing me anything. I tried a search for texture background downloads through google but didn't come up with much.

I know some of you ladies know how to do this...share the knowledge!! :)

Thanks in advance!!

For my Kentucky Derby style Bridal Shower I bought these gorgeous Steve Madden pumps!! They are SOOOO adorable and I really hate to let them go but I am extremely broke and need the cash so they must go.

Size 7 1/2

Product Details:

* Satin T-strap upper
* Hidden platform
* Intricate satin flower ornaments
* Reptile embossed trim
* Adjustable ankle strap
* Round peep toe
* Lightly padded insole
* 1" platform, 4½" covered heel
* Synthetic sole
* Imported
* Ratings were a 4.4 out of 5!!!


Worn for a total of 2 hours at the very most.
Have been kept in original box.

You can find these at DSW for $59.95

Make me an offer. Willing to mail if buyer pays shipping.

Prefer payment through paypal.

More pictures available here
http://www.dsw.com/dsw_shoes/catalog/product.jsp?productRef=SEARCH&category=&prodId=203086

Serious offers only.

Please help a fellow bride out who is in SERIOUS need of money. I really hate to see these go but I just have to.

After yesterday being so productive today has just been a complete debacle.
I should note that this is a little bit of me venting but also needing to know other bride's opinions. I will try to keep this as short and sweet as possible so you don't have to read all the hoopla..

Today, I sent an email to my extended family (3 aunts, 1 of which her daughter is in my wedding...I might note also that her daughter is 28)
in the email I was letting them know that we were having a rehearsal dinner on Friday before our wedding on Sunday and that I was informed that some of them would like to come. I also put in there that FH's mom is the one that is paying for the dinner so people that aren't typically included in a rehearsal dinner are not part of what she is paying for BUT are welcome to come. I told them the price for each person and explained that if I had all the money in the world or was able to pay for them to join I totally would but since it is out of town for all of us I wanted to extend a hand to them letting them know that they are welcome to come.
2 of my aunts responded saying they would be there and that wasn't a problem.
My long time friend who isnt in the wedding also replied saying that she was happy to pay for her own and would be glad to attend.
My aunt who's daughter is in the wedding responded by sending me an email that said she was under the impression she was already included and that she cannot believe I would even ask for this. She also said she is spending a lot to get down there and she also doesn't have much money. I responded back to her stating that she isn't the only one spending a lot to get there and explaining who is usually included in a rehearsal dinner. I then said I am sad to hear you will not be able to join us for the dinner.
Then the next email said that she is no longer coming AT ALL. She said that when her daughter got married she tried to make it acommodating for everyone and all we had to pay was to get down there and for my dress. This coming from someone who we have gone and visited for the past 29 years and who has NEVER NOT ONE TIME come to visit us. So, she cancelled coming at all with 18 days to go and blamed me for the amount of money she would be out. I might add also that she has yet to get her flight or hotel and that is why it is costing her so much money! She is also paying for my cousin's who for whatever reason can't pay for herself. So...I may be down a bridesmaid again!!
I won't go much more into detail but please tell me....was I in the wrong? I mean she cancelled her whole trip over $40!!! Really?
I don't know how to respond to this....please help me.

I thought I should get ahead of the game and try to get some of the feedback out there for the vendors that I have used. With that said...here we go!!

Toon Designs from etsy.com
This is the place I purchased my clutches from for the girls to carry down the aisle. They are handmade and are shipped directly from Thailand.
Toon was very very pleasant to work with. I ordered these about 3 weeks ago and she actually didn't have any more of the fabric I wanted but with a quick phone call she quickly ordered it. Once she received it she made them in 2 days and shipped them out. She knew that my wedding was coming soon and made sure they would be here in time. I received them today and they are perfect. Although the size is alittle bit smaller than I expected...my mistake not hers. The packaging was nice and the stitching was wonderful. Overall rating...A++

Blooms and Branches.com
I bought our manzanite trees from here. The turn around time for these were 7-10 days but I actually received them sooner. They provided me with confirmation and the package that I received them in was wonderful. They made sure to put a fragile and handle with care sticker on it which I felt meant they truly cared about the condition I received it in. The only thing I would say about these is the base of them was not as long as it appeared in the picture.
Overall rating... B

thetiebar.com
We purchased our ties for the wedding here. It was the only place that I could find navy and pink ties for a price that didnt break the bank. The product itself is very nice quality even though we only paid $15 for each. The shipping was a $1!! Couldn't ask for much more. They were shipped in a nice box wrapped up very nicely and with a receipt and business card. The selection at their website is very versatile. I would recommend them to any male looking for a tie...or female!! Whatever tickles your fancy. On top of that we received them in 2 days!! Overall rating...A+++++++++++++

Jackglass from etsy.com
Previously, I posted about the things we bought from this designer but that was before I actually received the products.. We received these very quickly and could not have been more happy with the package, product or purchasing process. They came wrapped in tissue paper and bubble wrap then in a padded box with paper inside to give it cushion. They also placed a cute note inside to say thank you. The quality of the champagne flutes we ordered were amazing. They are very sturdy and could not be more happy about them.
Overall rating... A+++++++

2cute2trendy.com
The 2 MOH's dresses were purchased here. For months we struggled with this and when I found this website I was soo excited. The dresses are goog quality and true to the size listed. They also shipped very quickly and had tracking numbers. The website was very easy to work with. Overall rating... A

pacificplex.com
The 2 other bridesmaid dresses were purchased here. I found their website to very easy to work with and their prices were fantastic. The one time that I did run into a glitch with their website I called them and talked to a very friendly girl. She helped me with the sizing and the ordering. Their delivery time is amazing. I will definitely order from them again. Overall rating... A+++

David's Bridal
My dress was bought here as well as my 1st veil. Typically, Im not a fan of their stuff because Im quite the fashionista and I find their stuff to be pretty main stream but when I saw the dress I wanted with small changes and a lot smaller price tag I could not resist. Overall, I was pleased with the way my dress came back but I was not very fond of their alterations people simply because I couldn't understand them from the language barrier and because one of them was alittle on the rude side. I mentioned to them that the beading on a few spots was not completely in place and they did not offer to fix it which kinda pissed me off but at that point I just wanted to take my dress home. I also was not pleased to hear that they do not accept any sort of refund or exchange. The first veil I bought has never been worn and is still in the bag but they will not take it back even if I still spend money with them. That is pretty annoying. Overall, I would say my expectations from them were what I expected but I still rate them a C.

Patricia Field:
My bachelorette party dress was bought here and although I received it with a small pink spot on it which looked like may have been from the pink tissue paper it was wrapped in when shipping I was still very pleased. I had spoke with them several times and had problems ordering the dress online but when I called them they were very nice and even fixed the issue while I was on the phone. They also told me they were taking the dress off the rack as we speak so that noone could claim it while I was ordering. I had to ask them about sizing and when I received the dress and it was big I was not surprised because they told me ahead of time. I was very pleased with what I received an how quickly it came in. Overall rating...A

K&G Superstore:
The fellas bought all of their suits here. The price was great. The products were great. The customer service was horrible. We had to walk around literally looking for someone and they wouldn't allow us to try on shirts with the suits even after we told them that 10 people were going to buy them. In the end we ended up going somewhere else to buy shirts but couldn't resist the price of Kenneth Cole suits being less than $100. Overall rating...D

That is all the vendors I can think of for now...Im sure there are more such as the dollar store and all that jazz but that's just too much work! Once the wedding is over I will update again on all the other products or services!!

This past weekend we had my bachelorette party and bridal shower...both ended up being a complete success!!
1st the naughty stuff....
My mom bought the naughtiest gift of all...go figure!!
Can you say candy necklace booby tassels, lube and a "positions" bag to top it off. I was amused!!
We played "put a kiss on the man's dinger...I won!!
My dress and shoes were a huge hit at the gay club we went to. I was told I must have been dressed by a gay man...Took this as a compliment!
The drag show was um...interesting! I was not aware that a drag show is very similar to a strip club. The difference being clothing of course. Found myself being very jealous of a man in a woman's outfit...some of those men were GORGEOUS!!
I was pulled on stage several times...I liked this!! I made one of the drag queen's fall on the floor laughing when I pretended to grab my "man parts" after a statement of him saying I may be drag myself.
None of my girls got wasty face. Very pleased at this considering I am a recovering alcoholic...1 year and 5 months!! Toot toot!!
All in all the night was a blast.

Next morning was the bridal shower. Our theme was Kentucky Derby tea party. We had a last minute change in location thanks to the 1st place trying to change the price last minute and telling us that the $20 a person didn't even include tea...um, that makes no sense!!
That outfit was a hit as well...My mom so generously offered to host it at her house last minute and pulled it off wonderfully. We got our china that we ordered from Crate and Barrel...loved it!! Also received a full set of gorgeous dishes and some cash for the honeymoon!! Whoo hoo...we needed that!!

After the shower all the girls tried on their dresses with shoes and all and I did my last fitting. It was a success as well. Couldn't believe after all the trials we had with the dang attire that it all worked out perfectly. We then took on the rest of our projects. Made all the guys boots, fixed my new veil and printed out the fun Love is... thing we are putting together. We also got all the stuff finished for the favors. Didn't end up going to bed until 3am because we were so into doing all the fun things. Oh and we made 2 hair things for the girls also.

All in all the entire weekend was a success and now we have 19 days!! Holy Cow!!!

P.S.
We got our marriage license today!! Was not aware we had to be "sworn in"...that was alittle odd!! Things are coming together. Let's do this thing!!

It probably will come as a surprise to some of you brides who I talk to daily but for the past week this has been my feeling. With 23 days to go and I am counting every single one, I've began to feel like I'm going to get cold feet when the day actually comes.

The mister and I have lived together for the past 3 years and we have a 2 year old together so it was pretty much just bidding time on when this whole shi-bang was going to happen. Actually, right before he proposed I basically gave him an ultimatum saying either we take the next step or Im out because Im ready to move forward with my life and start making plans for the future. I just felt we were sitting still and that our relationship had become too comfortable. But since he has proposed things have gotten better. We have discussed the future and the things we want. We are on the same page although sometimes it seems we aren't.
Today, however I realized when I looked at our financial status I became pretty flustered. I called my dad to ask how I could rectify a situation and his response was..."Are you sure you want to live this way for the rest of your life?" "He seems comfortable living this way and I know you aren't."
"You may want to reconsider getting married!"

I thought about this and of course began to tear up. I don't really want to get into too much detail especially since this is on the internet for the whole world to see but I just wanted to blog about it because it really hit me. This weekend is our bachelor/bachelorette and bridal shower stuff so he will be out of town. I know I am going to miss him and I know that I want to spend my life with him. I honestly cannot imagine him not coming home everyday to my daughter and I. He is seriously one of the best people I have had the pleasure of ever meeting. So....the question lies....is this cold feet?

The purpose in my writing this is to explain that NO, its not!!! I had a pretty in depth conversation with my mom about it today and she said you need to realize that cold feet is normal and so is being nervous!! Those are 2 seperate things. I realized what she was saying is that Cold Feet is when you aren't sure you even want to be with this person and nerves just means you are scared to do it.

I am scared! Scared poopless in fact!! I have been the party girl for literally 15 years and now I am settling down. It's just strange to me to make this complete. I never saw this coming, the same as I never saw myself as a mother!!

So, another post with a lesson at the end....learn the difference in cold feet and nervousness because they are completely different and its ok to have either just sit down with yourself for a minute and discover why you are feeling the way you are feeling so that you can pick right back up and move on!!

Just a little insight to the lesson I learned today.

Has anyone else experienced this?

For all you go getter brides like muah (spell check me I know thats not correct) this one is for you.

Now, don't be cheating on us with this one because any way you slice it or dice it you will hit that stop sign if you answer truthfully.

This is me wishing I would have seen this before I started some projects...such as the 50 YARDS of fabric I bought to make an aisle runner that was going to chip and the $30 I spent on navy blue paint that will sit in my house for the next....oh 20 years! Yes, I said 50 yards not 50 feet. This is what happens when you get so wrapped up in a project that you try to make an aisle runner half the size of a football field. It's ok to laugh at me...I eventually got my $80 I spent by taking the fabric back, of course not before I had it out with the manager but that's neither here nor there.

So, what's the point aka moral....check this bad boy out courtesy of 100layercake.com Apply it to your wedding projects and smack yourself in the forehead one good time when you make a Bozo move like I did. Oh, the joy of learning!!

http://100layercake.com/blog/archives/5305

I was looking around on the internetz for a coloring book for the lil' bits at the wedding when suddenly it dawned on me!!!
Why in the world am I not including love is.... into our wedding? My dad gives my mom these and has been doing so for the past 28 years of marriage. FH's mom also collects them. My mom has tons and tons of them laying around. What in the world, Dana, why have you not used these in some sort of creative way? So, now with 24 days left I'm racking my brain trying to figure out some way, some how I can use these.

Any ideas?

I am contemplating a banner like circus type that all the ladies are using with different colored fabric. Maybe we could have this draped...um...somewhere!! Cake table? I'm really not sure. BUT I must incorporate this somewhere!! I know I am going to make the coloring books using these but that isn't enough for me. I'm over-doing it....the more I try to convince myself not to use these the more I want them.

HELP me fellow overdo it brides!!

This picture totally has nothing to do with what I am talking about....I just thought it was funny b/c it reminded me of the matrix when Keanu "DB" Reeves does the back bend thing in slow mo.

We obiviously have only 24 days to go and I've gone through at least 3 checklists and all of them are saying I am done. This can't be possible. I mean I obviously am not fully finished b/c the day hasn't come yet but surely there are more things I need to be working on. The only things I can come up with are:
1. finishing the programs
2. buying my "special" undies
3. printing the thank you tags for the favors.
4. getting the marriage license
5. write and print the welcome letter to be hand delivered to each person's hotel with brochures of fun things to do in town
6. figuring out what the H Im going to do with my hair
7. do our vows or whatever we want to say to eachother

Ok....see now that I got my creative hat on I am coming up with more and more crapola that I have to do. POOO!!

8. Timeline or order of events
9. Rehersal dinner invites
10. Speeches
11. Bouts for the fellas (which p.s. I have tried making from like 4 different tutorial's and hated all of them. I don't know what I am doing wrong.)
12. Put a clip on my hair accessory. (Could totally be doing this now.)

That's all I have...I am positive there are more things I need to be doing....Ladies who have approximately a month, what do you have left? I just know I will get down there and it will be 5 hours away from home and I will have forgotten something. AAAAHHH!!!

Just to start off let me just say that the dang WBC won't upload my pics even though they are in the correct format....GRRRR!!!
This post wont be as fun as I thought now...BOOO!!!

Anyhoo, we found out Sham-Pag-NA toasting flutes from a clever lil' fellow called Jackglass on etsy.com I am pretty excited about these because they really tie in with our fun little theme. I wish I could post the pictures but its ok just take the journey on over to etsy and look it up. I promise, you will not be disappointed!!!