A Beautiful Mess

Gold Glitter Jewelry Dish Project

This crafty stuff I have been working on lately has been mostly pretty practical. With that said, sometimes you just gotta play with glitter. I have a love/hate relationship with glitter. I love the way it looks, but I hate getting it all over my space. Projects that shed glitter forever... no bueno. This little tray is awesome, because once you finish up (and windex all your stray glitter away) it will never ever shed a single sparkle. It's the perfect shiny dish to keep jewelry on your bedside table or collect nail polishes on a vanity. Here's how it's done- 

1. You'll need: glue, gold glitter, a plain dish, a paint brush and triple thick glaze. 2. Cover the entire dish with elmer's glue. Brush it on, evenly, and be sure to get the edges of the dish too! 3. Cover the dish with glitter. Shake it off. Allow it do dry completely. Then, repeat the process covering any spots you missed the first time. 4. After the glue has dried, cover the dish with triple thick glaze. This will create a sturdy glossy finish. Allow it to dry between each coat. The more coats you add, the more your tray will look like resin!Are you a fan of gold glitter, like I am? If not, I can see this project looking amazing with sequins, copies of old photos or maybe layers of paint under the glaze? Hope this puts you in a crafty mood. xo. Elsie 

A Beautiful Giveaway: February Edition (CLOSED)

We’re so excited to bring you this very special giveaway from some of our favorite sponsors this month! 

1. Chicks n Hens is giving away a $50 gift card to her cute little shop! 2. Ruche is also offering the winner a $50 gift card to their online store. 3. This lucky reader will be getting another $50 gift card to Boutique Onze. 4. Libby Story is giving away this one-of-a-kind necklace made by Libby herself (how awesome is that?!). 5. School House is offering the winner a $50 gift card to their fun online shop. 6. The online handmade jewelry shop Truche is giving away this awesome Yes Sir necklace! 7. Rustic Gem is giving this beautiful pair of teardrop earrings and this floral cameo ring. 8. And StickyGram will be giving away 4 sets of their wonderful Instagram magnets.

One lucky winner will win all of that! To enter, just visit all the shops and sites above and post your favorite items in the comments below. Giveaway is open until March 7, and the winner will be contacted shortly after. Good luck! xoxo. Elsie + Emma

Congrats, Candice! To claim your prize, please e-mail trey AT redvelvetart DOT com.

A Beautiful Mess Giveaway Rules

Wedding Planning: Part 1

After finding out you are engaged, most people respond first by congratulating you, followed by a hug or high five or shoulder pat. That kind of thing. Then immediately after the warm wishes they say, "So, have you set a date yet?"

Holy cow, we actually have to PLAN A WEDDING NOW!

The moment that really set in, I think I panicked a little. I am over the moon excited to marry Trey. But it's hard not to feel just a teeny tiny bit anxious, when I think of all the planning that needs to happen—not to mention all the decisions that have to be made. It's exciting and sort of terrifying all at once.(Some paint my sister bought me. A few of our wedding colors. I love metallics!)

1. Set our date and booked the venues.

My first priority was to book the date. I felt like I could really start planning and making decisions once my date was confirmed. Our ceremony will be at a family owned spot, so the date for that was pretty wide open. But we wanted to have the reception closer to downtown (easy taxi access), so we checked out a number of reception venues in Springfield. Some didn't call us back. Some didn't have dates that worked for us. And one, that was absolutely beautiful, had too many restrictions that just couldn't work with our priorities. We had been hoping for an August wedding. But our favorite venue ended up only having one opening left, in early June. We took it! This cut my wedding preparation period down by almost two months, but it also means that I get to marry my best friend two months earlier than expected. So, net-net, I'm good with that.(These are actually the second save the dates we made. Our first idea didn't end up panning out, but I LOVE how our second ones turned out. They feel very us.)

2. Confirm wedding party and guest list.

Next I wanted to invite some of my closest friends and family to be a part of our wedding day. Trey and I talked over how many people we wanted to include in the wedding party. We found we had an odd number (he has one more groomsmen than I have bridesmaids). Is this a problem? Will it seem odd or unbalanced? Should I freak out yet? For us, we wanted everyone who was important to us to be in our wedding party. And if our numbers didn't match up, well, whatever. Then I put together small gift bags with chocolate bars and nail polishes in our wedding colors to give to each of the ladies I was inviting. That was a really fun moment.

Next we started the process of putting together our guest list. We knew how many guests our reception venue could accommodate, so with that in mind we added up all the friends and family that we wanted to invite and obligate to buy us a gift (just kidding!!!). We tracked down addresses, and my future mother-in-law helped me address all our save the dates (in addition to creating a very organized excel spread sheet of all the guests that will be very helpful when it comes time to mail off invites and thank you cards). The internet said we should mail off our save the dates at least six months in advance. We mailed ours off with a little less than five months to go, and the world didn't end. Thank goodness.(Currently working on our gift registry. I've found a few tools online that help me keep it organized for guests.)

3. Registering for gifts, insure my ring and take engagement pictures.

I've had a couple of goals for this week. First was to start the process of registering for gifts. Between the two of us Trey and I really have a lot of stuff. We already have two of many things, so registering has been a little tricky. I am making it a priority to make sure we are registered for items that are spread across many different price points, keeping all our guests in mind. And I want to make sure we are only registering for things that we really want or need. It's harder than I thought! Thank goodness for my shopping savy sister (and maid of honor). :)

Last week I went into my insurance office to get my engagement ring insured. (Emma, did you just mention insurance because I think I just fell asleep.) I decided to add it on with my home insurance, so the process was as simple as bringing in my appraisal papers and saying, "Sign me up." Done and done.

This week we also found time to take engagement pictures. We were lucky enough be able to book Sarah of Arrow and Apple to be our wedding photographer. Yay! Love me some Sarah. She and her husband Josh are in town this week, so we fit in a few engagement photo sessions. I'm stoked to share some of those with you soon.We are slowly checking things off and I'm getting more and more excited, as we are only around 100 days away from getting married! Next up I'm excited to share about catering plans, finding the balance between DIY and not trying to do everything, choosing bridesmaid dresses, planning my look for the big day, etc. Thanks for letting me share! xo. Emma

Everything Bagels

Elsie has been requesting bagels for a few weeks now. It's been quite some time since I last made bagels. Here's why: they are very addictive! My all time favorite is blueberry bagels, but a very close second is everything bagels. :)What's sort of strange about making bagels is you have to boil the dough before baking. This process creates a chewy interior crumb while the outside is browned and almost crisp.Everything Bagels, makes 8

1 1/4 cup warm water
1 1/2 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons (one package) active dry yeast
3 1/2 cups bread flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons sesame seeds (I used both black and white)
2 teaspoons poppy seeds
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 teaspoon coarse grain sea salt
1 egg

In a bowl, combine the water and sugar and stir to dissolve. Pour in the yeast and allow this to sit for 6-8 minutes. In a larger bowl, whisk together the flour and 1 1/2 teaspoon salt. Once the yeast mixture has had time to activate, pour it in to the flour mixture and stir until a crumbly dough forms. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for 6-7 minutes until the dough begins to become elastic-like. You can also do this in a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and allow to rise in a warm place for 1 hour.Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into eight equal pieces. Shape into a ball and press your finger through to form the center hole. Once you have shaped all the bagels, allow them to rest for 10 minutes or so. Now place them into a pot of boiling water. They should float. Let them cook for 45 seconds to 1 minute on each side, then remove to your prepared baking sheet.Whisk the egg plus 1 teaspoon water in a small bowl and brush this over each bagel. Sprinkle on the seeds! The egg wash will help them stick as well as add a pretty brown sheen to your bagels.Eureka! After you add the seeds bake at 425°F for 20 minutes. If you don't eat them all in one day, store in an airtight container for 4-5 days.Serve these with cream cheese at breakfast or make a bagel sandwich for lunch. :) Enjoy! xo. Emma