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Burlap will never go out of style; it is the perfect accent in any home or event and we found our favourite way to incorporate it into your wedding decor, or simply onto your kitchen table.

Here’s our very own DIY Stencilled Burlap Placemat Tutorial:

Cut your desired amount of burlap placements to a size that suits your décor. Two yards of burlap will make approximately nine placements. We bought our burlap from a fabulous company called Burlap Bag and Company, a wholesaler based in Burnaby. Bring cash as they don’t take credit cards!

We cut each burlap placemat to 14 inches x 19 inches, allowing room for fraying. Then, using a linen setting, iron out the wrinkles in your placemats.

Gently pull one thread at a time from each corner towards you to create a frayed fringe all the way around the placemat. Do this until the fringe is as long as you would like it to be.  We frayed about ½ an inch long for ours.

When you have finished fraying, some of the edges will be uneven, so snip them the even it out.

To stop the placemats from fraying further, use a sewing machine to quickly sew around the entire edge placemat, at the bottom of the fringe you created. This will make them last much longer. We chose black thread because that was the colour paint we used for stencilling.

Cover your work surface in newspaper or some parchment paper.  Then, choose your first stencil. Use some painter’s tape to tape your stencil in place once you decide where you want your stencilled design to be. This will keep your stencil in place while you are stencilling.

There are many brushes that you can use for this project but we found the best ones are rounded flat sponge brushes called “spouncers”.

Since this is a small project, we recommend that the less paint that you use, the better. Apply just one or two light coats by dabbing up and down gently. This will make sure no paint leaks under the stencil, maintaining clean lines. You might need to press your brush harder into the corners to ensure that you have perfect corners. Remember to hold down your stencil, as you don’t want any paint to bleed into the edges of your design.

As soon as you are finished, remove the tape and gently lift the stencil off of your placemat and set it aside. Make sure you wash your used stencils right away with a gentle soap and water and allow it to dry flat before you move onto the next step.

Right after you take off the stencil, lay a piece of parchment paper on top of your design. With the iron on linen setting, gently place your iron on top of your design and parchment paper and leave for approximately two to three  minutes. Be sure not to leave it any longer or the parchment paper may burn through your burlap placemat. Ironing will set the paint onto your burlap placemat, thus making it permanent.

And voila! You have the perfect rustic design burlap placemats for your home.

You could also consider making a bride and groom stencil and use them to mark your places at your wedding reception. If you wanted to be extra crafty, and you aren’t having a very large wedding, you could stencil the first names or initals of your guests and use them as place markers and favours all in one!

Speaking of designs, here are a few places where you can purchase your very own stencil designs :

1. Michael’s Craft Store
2. iStencils
3. Stencil Planet

If you are handy with a stencil cutter, which can be purchased at Opus Framing or Michael’s Craft Store, you can also click HERE to download the stencil designs that we used in our GotCraft Spring Show workshop.

Have fun! Alicia-Rae, Jeanie and Tammy xo

The post Hands on With Heirloom | Burlap Placemat Tutorial appeared first on Heirloom Magazine | Vancouver Wedding Magazine.

On the big day, the key is to be organised. Have your menu planned out and all the ingredients for each recipe ready to go, and know how much time you need to cook each item. If you’re catering for a large group, don’t hesitate to ask your friends for some help, as getting ready can be the most fun part of the day! Next week we’ll talk recipes for breakfast, brunch and evening teas.

Image Courtesy of The Vintage Tea Party Book

How you dress sends out signals of who you are and who you want to be! To get a cute and simple 1940′s look, tie a headscarf into your hair for style and hygenic purposes. It looks extra cute if you put some curls in the front. In fact, all vintage hairstyles start with some sort of curl. Try a victory roll or classic pin curls!

Make sure you find a cute vintage apron! Visit Anthropologie for some sweet ideas, or make your own! If you get your own copy of The Vintage Tea Party Book, Angel Adoree has step-by-step guides for hair, make-up, aprons and more!

Another fun idea at the beginning or before your party is to have a station where your guests can make their own hair decorations. Since the late 17th century, women have been decorating their heads with adornments, like Marie Antoinette who was known for wearing just about anything on her head.  Gather some glue guns, vintage buttons, pieces of fabric, straw fascinator bases, veiling, crocodile clips, feathers, and beads and let the creativity begin!

And that perfect vintage dress? It’s the one who has already lived, been to fabulous parties, and enjoyed enticing cocktails. When you get your hands on of of these, you must wear it to its full potential. Set off to your local thrift and vintage stores. Look for something with colour and texture – lace, sequins, black and reds. Look for something you will keep forever. Have fun with it and pick up some great accessories along the way too. We recommend searching on a rainy day when you don’t mind being cooped up inside little vintage shops. If you’re in Vancouver, Main Street is just FULL of shops!

The post Teatime With Heirloom | How to Plan the Perfect Tea Party | Part Two: Hairstyles, Outfits and Organisation appeared first on Heirloom Magazine | Vancouver Wedding Magazine.

1. Order of Splendor 2. My Luscious Life 3. Historic Royal Palaces 4. Victoria and Albert Museum 5. Vintage & Cake 6. Vintage Vignettes

Ah, the elegance of a Victorian wedding…

The tradition of wearing a white wedding dress was made popular by Queen Victoria herself in 1840. She wore a beautiful ivory satin and lace dress, since inspiring brides for many years to follow. She also wore sweet ivory ballet flats with ballet like lacing – most definitely a woman ahead of her time. Before Queen Victoria married Prince Albert, a match based on true love, women generally wore their best gown to be married in. Of course, for those who came from noble and aristocratic backgrounds this gown would be especially made for the occasion but it was almost never white. Wedding dresses of the Victorian era had a fitted bodice and waist, pulled in by a corset.

A Victorian wedding is all about elegance, grace and class. Oh, and of course royalty! Want to add a touch to your own day? Every royal bouquet since has had a sprig from Queen Victoria’s myrtle bush added in, so include some in yours. Also keep in mind, the standard Victorian flower is the rose.

To keep the theme going throughout your day, have a four-tier Victoria sponge with summer fruits, which Queen Victoria loved to have a slice of with her afternoon tea.  A typical Victoria sponge consists of raspberry jam and whipped double cream or vanilla cream, yum! Serve some tasty tea in vintage teacups and saucers alongside your cake. This would be a great idea for a wedding shower as well.

Victorian weddings were usually held in a church. But, venue choices also includes a backyard garden, botanical garden or a provincial park. A historic Victorian mansion would also be perfect.

All in all, a Victorian themed wedding calls for romantic gestures of a dainty nature like, fine floral china, lots of intricate lace, and fragrant little rosebuds!

Alicia-Rae & Tammy xo

The post Inspired by Queen Victoria | A Victorian Wedding appeared first on Heirloom Magazine | Vancouver Wedding Magazine.

They say that they are motivated by, “Seeing people touch my cards and watching their faces light up when they feel the tactile quality of a letterpress print.

Image Courtesy of Sunlit Letterpress

There’s nothing that quite compares to the gorgeous texture and look created by an antique letterpress, and if you’re having a vintage wedding and can fit it into your budget, it’s a beautiful memento of your day. Each invitation is a work of art

Check out Sunlit Letterpress for yo
ur wedding stationary, because in addition to invitations they also  design and print letterpress save-the-dates, ceremony programs, menus, place cards, seating cards, table cards, day-of stationery, thank you cards, stationery favours for guests, and more.

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The epitome of vintage is a gorgeous, antique style, lace wedding dress and until you get married (or unless you’re a fashion designer) you don’t realize just how many kinds of lace are out there. The most popular wedding lace is, of course, French lace, and there are hundreds of varieties of this. Each little town has it’s own variation and own name like delicate floral Chantilly lace or gorgeous corded Alencon lace. Then there are the Italian laces, like geometric Venetian or Guipure lace.

If you don’t want to have lace in your dress, but still want to have it in your wedding, a delicate touch of lace can make just about anything feminine and beautiful. Lace works on every level, from wedding dresses, to stationery, decorations and wedding bouquets.

It all starts with the invitations, so incorporate it into your theme right away. Even simply tying a bit of lace onto each vintage/handmade invite once they are complete, adds a lovely touch.

Lace works well  in so many combinations for weddings like burlap and lace, pearls and lace… so it’s easy to find places to include it! Try adding lace to the edges of your burlap table runners, for a rustic but elegant look. If you want your bridal bouquet to last a lifetime, have a lace bouquet created just for you, with pearl accents. You could even include a tiny bit of your favourite lace in your groom’s boutonnière. Lace mixes well with most fabrics! Tie some lace around little jars to create super sweet candle holders, or sew some lace doilies together to create your own truly vintage table runners.

How will you be incorporating lace into your wedding day?

Alicia-Rae & Tammy xo

The post Thursday Theme | A Lace Wedding appeared first on Heirloom Magazine | Vancouver Wedding Magazine.

Want to learn how to plan a vintage tea party for an upcoming wedding or shower? Or do you simply just feel like entertaining your best friends the old-fashioned way? Well, look no further, as today we’ve got some tips to get you started with planning your perfect vintage tea party!

Image Courtesy of Something Vintage

1. What time is your party?

First things first, when planning a vintage tea party, you must decide what time of day you’re going to have a tea party – brunch, afternoon, or evening. From there, you can choose what recipes and drinks to include in your menus.

There’s something about a breakfast tea party that is fabulous. We’re not used to having a great time first thing in the morning so that makes it extra special. Plus, the food at breakfast can be so varied with fruit, eggs, meats, cheeses, spreads and smoothies! High breakfast is a fun way to go.

In the mid 19-century, Anna Maria, the seventh Duchess of Bedford, introduced ‘Afternoon Tea’ to the world. She couldn’t stand the time between lunch and dinner, and always insisted she was hungry and asked to be brought cakes and tea between 2 – 5 p.m. The Brits are very proud of their tea tradition and since 1868 when Queen Victoria held her first Royal Tea Party at Buckingham Palace, they haven’t stopped. Now, the tradition of afternoon tea has become popular all over the world (according to The Vintage Tea Party, by Angel Adoree).

Evening tea parties can be the most indulgent and glamorous of all, plus nobody will feel naughty drinking tea cocktails. Although not traditional, they can be the most fun since you can be as inventive as you please! Dance, laugh and enjoy!

2. Where will you have your party?

Finding the right location is also essential, whether it’s tea for two, or for one hundred and two.  Home is where people feel the most relaxed and comfortable – the most memorable parties are always the ones held in our friend’s homes because they are so intimate and personal. If you’re worried about not having enough space, consider including your outdoor space as well. Most tea parties aren’t seated so you don’t need chairs for everyone, unless you’re planning a seated formal tea. Also, consider renting furniture or marquees or lighting from local businesses to enhance your space at home. We’re thinking vintage rentals from places like Trove Vintage Rentals and Meuse Boutique. Old couches add a great touch to any tea party!

If home isn’t an option, consider your local park, or renting out a heritage home or garden. Just make sure you get in touch with the parks and recreation board about any rules and regulations on food and drinks in the park. If all else fails, go exploring! Bars, restaurants, churches, clubs, town halls – any venue with a little character should definitely be added to your consideration list.

3. How will you invite your guests?

For hosting a vintage tea party, a handwritten invitation is pretty much essential, in our humble opinion. It’s an old-fashioned and personal touch that makes the recipient feel extra special and like you really took the time to invite them to your party. Visit The Vintage Patisserie for some ready-made invitations. Once you’ve set a date, venue and (most importantly) who to invite, the fun can then begin.

 Image Courtesy of The Vintage Patisserie

4. How to decorate for your tea party?

The organisational part of the party-planning can be just as fun as the big event! The next big step, our most favourite step, is sourcing out vintage props for your party.

There are plenty of places where you can find amazing vintage items; think garage sales, flea markets, antique markets, Salvation Army thrift stores, local thrift stores, Value Village, antique shops (Main Street is full of these!) and affordable local shops like Spruce Collective, The Passionate Home, The Antique Warehouse.

The best places to find deals are the ones that aren’t labeled as “vintage.” Etsy can also be an amazing place to find vintage pieces, just be careful with finding items in your area, otherwise shipping costs can get pretty pricey.

When buying vintage, make sure you consider the quality. If it’s going to cost more to restore it than it’s worth, there’s no point. Look for things like an old birdcage, teapots, cups and saucers, leather suitcases, intricate frames, vintage evening and cocktail dresses, Union Jack paraphernalia, chairs, couches, silver cutlery (especially tea spoons).

A really cute idea would be to have personalised vintage spoons from The Loving Spoon, or try it yourself with this DIY tutorial!

Here’s a list of essentials to buy, rent or create for your party from Angel Adoree, the vintage tea party expert -

• Teapots
• Teacups and saucers
• Dessert plates
• Cake plates
• Cake stands
• Milk jugs
• Sugar bowls
• Glassware and jugs
• Dessert forks, knives, teaspoons and serving spoons

On the non-essential but wonderful list -

• Vintage card games
• Dominoes
• Taxidermy
• Union Jack and/or World War II memorabilia
• Flags
• Tins and candle holders
• Gramophones
• Vintage cameras
• Vintage frames
• Vintage luggage and anything that catches your eye!

To be continued next Tuesday with part two of how to plan the perfect vintage tea party!

The post Tuesday Tea Time | How to Plan A Vintage Tea Party | Part One: Location, Invitations & Decor appeared first on Heirloom Magazine | Vancouver Wedding Magazine.

1. Sweet Element 2. Garden of Delights 3. Etsy 4. When Geeks Wed 5. My Wedding Concierge 6. Style Me Pretty

Winter brides, it’s time to start getting into the details of your wedding! First things first, if you want to set the tone right for your Game of Thrones themed wedding, start with your save-the-dates and/or invites. We suggest creating some  that look like medieval wizard scrolls.

Then, find the perfect fantasy location. We imagine it being in a cool castle or old mansion to create the perfect setting. Or, locate a cool spot in a forest that you could have your ceremony, use long logs as seating for your guests.

If you really want to go all out, tell your guests to come in costume and serve your drinks in horn mugs, made by the same company that supplied the mugs for the show, The Jelling Dragon. Or, if you can’t afford the 40-something dollars per mug, order some Game of Thrones themed beer labels from Carbophobic. Serve food featured in the show such as roasted rabbit, spice roasted duck, and venison.

Let wilderness inspired your centerpieces, incorporate wood, tree trunks, wood coasters and cake stands to give your decor an earthy feel. It would also work well to incorporate lots of lush greenery or  moss into your tablescapes. Go all out, bring some trees into your reception area if it’s not possible to have it outside. Add lots of pillar candles to make it extra romantic. Medieval touches like pewter plates and black velvet ribbon will help to tie the whole look together.

Lastly… wear a tiara! When else will you get the chance?

For those of you who don’t know… Game of Thrones is an American medieval fantasy series about seven noble families fighting for control of the mythical land of Westeros. Based on author George R. R. Martin‘s best-selling A Song of Ice and Fire series of fantasy novels, the first of which is called A Game of Thrones, the television series debuted in the U.S. on April 17, 2011 on HBO.

Alicia-Rae & Tammy

The post Thursday Theme | Game of Thrones Themed Wedding appeared first on Heirloom Magazine | Vancouver Wedding Magazine.

The Wedding Chicks posted a super sweet and very affordable DIY favor box tutorial by Tulle Box Designs with the adorable gold bird made with candy wrappers (available in the baking aisle of craft stores) and a craft punch to resemble a delicate charm on a bracelet, so we had to share it with you! When favours are packaged beautifully, they can be a stunning part of your table decor! The tables and floral displays were created by the always lovely Celsia Florist.

Where to get your supplies?

1. Truffle favor boxes

2. bird craft punch (you can use any type of craft punch heart, butterfly)

3. double sided craft tape

4. gold candy wrappers

5. gold elastic ribbon

The post Tuesday Tutorial | DIY Favor Box appeared first on Heirloom Magazine | Vancouver Wedding Magazine.

In the bride’s own words:

“Drew and I first met in Copenhagen, where he was studying abroad and staying in an apartment with my sister, Liza. I had a magical two weeks with him filled with games of hearts, local pubs, dancing in the rain and our joint discovery of “baby bites,”a glorified pig in a blanket that’s served in all corner stores in Copenhagen. The moment Drew decided I was the girl for him was when I woke up one morning and immediate dove into the leftover baby bites from the night before!

Six years later, we planned a trip to Borneo to celebrate my completion of medical school. Drew and I love adventures and so we planned a hike to the top of Mount Kinabalu, the tallest peak in South East Asia. Drew just wanted to get me to the top of the mountain without the crowds in the way. At the top, in the middle of gasping for breaths of air, he proposed and I happily accepted.

We had so much to celebrate because Liza and Tommy had just gotten engaged two days before. Tim and Drew planned this together, requesting our hands in marriage together and of course, we planned our wedding together. It was fitting since Liza and I have been doing everything together since we were young, from potty-training to college to marriage!

Our ceremony was unique in that we opted to have our families participate in it. We were married under the Quaker principle of self-union. Both of our fathers spoke, with our siblings contributing readings and prayers. Drew and I are both independent people, so the idea of marrying ourselves resonated, and felt like a natural way to start our union together.”

VENDOR LIST :

Photographer | Sweetwater Portraits
Event Planner | Bride and Groom with help from Lize and Timmy
Ceremony Venue | Swarthmore College Amphitheatre
Reception Venue | The Old Mill, Rose Valley
Hair | Claudia Seyler
Makeup | Cheekadee Makeup Artists
Gown | Amsale (via Sabrina Ann Boutique in Ardmore)
Bridesmaid Dresses | Amsale
Jewellery | Bracelet from Anthropologie Bridal Boutique, Hairpiece from Twigs and Honey
Shoes | Tom’s
Flowers | Petah Bashano Event and Floral Design
Invitations | Designed by Bride and Groom
Music | Peter Smyser for Ceremony, Contagious
Caterer | Conner Catering

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