DIY Nosegay Bouquet

You could definitely call me a DIY bride. A huge portion of our wedding decor and necessities I've made myself. We are making our StD's, invitations, the wedding decor, an alter backdrop, more wedding decorations, my garter, the bouquets (mine, toss, and bridesmaids), boutonnieres, ring bearer pillow, and did I mention wedding decorations? Needless to say, we've had time to do all of this. Ethan and I were engaged December 15th of last year (our four year dating anniversary... oooo) and we'll be married December 15th of this year (five years!). There's been so much prep, but let me tell you, this is one exciting and stressful time of life. If you ever plan to get married, I recommend experiencing wedding prep, just for the fun of it. ;)

So! Last night I was working on bridesmaid bouquets. Our "theme" per se, is burlap and lace. We have a lot of rustic decor such as old skeleton keys, mason jars and burlap out the you-know-what. My bouquet is from a tutorial I found on Pinterest. The bridesmaid bouquets I made as I went. I had an idea of what I wanted and went with it. I took a lot of pictures to share so check it out!

DIY Nosegay Bridesmaid Bouquet

Supplies

- Two hydrangea stems (I got mine at Michaels)

- Floral tape

- Scotch tape

- Muslin

- Burlap

- Twine

- Buttons

- Hot glue gun

- Wire cutters

- Pliers

-Ruler

I started by stripping the hydrangeas of the leaves and extra protruding stems. These can get in the way. Next, secure the hydrangea stems together. I used Ashland floral stems because they were a better quality. These were the same ones I used for my bouquet as well.

The kind that I chose have a slight bend in the stem. This was an easy fix. 

Simply use your pliers and bend the stem strait. There's wire inside that allows you to do this. If you don't fix the bend, your stems won't fit easily together.

After I fixed the big bend in the stem, I created a smaller one close to the head of the flower. This helps create the round look of the bouquet. When you put both of your stems together, they should form a round dome. If there are open spots, move the blooms around to fill them in.

Next, I wanted to secure my stems together. A little scotch tape did the trick. This made it easier to wrap the stems in floral tape because it helped them stay together.

Wrap your stems in floral tape. Next, you should figure out how long you want your bouquet. Ideally, you should be able to comfortably place both hands on the bouquet. My stems were about 8 inches long from the head of the flower.

My next step was to add more stems to the bouquet. This helped give it a bigger, more solid feel. Using the part of the stems that I cut from my flowers, I cut them to 8 inches and secured them with more floral tape. 

After you're happy with the feel of your nosegay bouquet, it's time to decorate it. I used some extra muslin I had to wrap the stem. I secured the muslin with hot glue.

After that, I wrapped the stem in burlap. Burlap is somewhat see-through, so the muslin helped. Secure with hot glue. (I love hot glue.)

At this point, the possibilities are pretty much endless. You can wrap with twine (like I did), and secure with buttons. Add ribbon, charms, whatever suits your fancy. :)

Finished! I have two down, three to go. Whew!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Canon Kind-a Girl

My favorite time of the day to photograph in the summer is about 8 o'clock. The sun is just meeting the horizon and I can get some really good sun flare (when I want it). I've been in photography for about a year and a half now, a growing portion of my 19 years of life on this earth. Every time I pick up my SLR I find that I learn something new. It's a constant process of trial and error to pinpoint my individual style and the desired outcome of my photos.
I'm a Canon kind-a girl. I will admit that I've never truly ventured into Nikon or any other DSLR brand. I've fuddled over my cousin's Nikon in attempts to assist her in figuring out the device, but other than that, I've  quite literally never touched the brand. Do I have a desire to? Maybe -- just for curiosity's sake.
I recently purchased a Canon 65mm fixed. Playing around with it, I've noticed the benefits of having such a lens. You really can stand across the room and catch a conversation between a bride and groom without attracting their notice. I can photograph the bride donning her dress with her maids surrounding her and not interrupt that special moment. Needless to say, it's an awesome lens for the price tag.
Am I a high end photographer with thousands upon thousands in equipment? Absolutely not. But I love what I do and I am confident that shows through my photos. That is the important thing. To view my passion, check out my page. See you around!

Favorite Banana Bread

I love getting new recipes from other people. This one is from my future MIL and I've made it twice -- It is so good! Ethan and I love bananas and so we have them around a lot. We'll buy a ton, indulge on them for a couple of days and be so sick of them afterward. What to do with rotting bananas? Banana bread of course! I wasn't able to get a photo of the full loaf because we cut into it so fast. Yum!


Favorite Banana Bread

1 8 oz. cream cheese

1 c. sugar

¼ c. margarine

1 c. mashed banana

2 eggs

2 ¼ c. flour

1 ½ tsp baking power

½ tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp cloves

Mix first 3 ingredients. Blend in next 2. Add remaining ingredients. Pour into loaf pan, greased and floured. Bake at 350 for 1 hr 10 min. 

Taco Soup!

I love this recipe. I found it online in my search for easy peasy dinner recipes. I made a couple variations to make it easier and Ethan loves it. It's so quick and simple. Sounds like a thumbs up to me! I like to pair it with some Jiffy corn bread or saltine crackers. It's pretty much the best rainy day, souper filling meal out there. (Souper.. ahaha... I crack myself up.) On to the recipe!

Donnaven's Easy Peasy Taco Soup

1 lb ground beef (we use venison -- your preference)

1/4 diced onion

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can mild rotel

1 can chili beans

1 can black beans

1 can whole kernel corn

2 cups water

Approx. 1 1/2 tbs taco seasoning (We make our own -- view the recipe here!)

Put ground meat and a little bit of water in a relatively large pot -- big enough for a batch of soup. Turn on the heat and brown that sucker.

Once the meat is browned, add diced onion. Saute the onion until it's nice and cooked. Add the can of tomatoes. Don't drain them!

By now it should look something like this.

I usually add rotel at this point, but we didn't have any in stock. No worries, it'll still be tasty.

Sooo.. moving on to the next step!

Now you're going to add the undrained beans and corn. I love beans.

Stir it up really good! 

Now add the water and taco seasoning and turn your heat to medium low. It should simmer for about 15 minutes. Be patient.

Tada!! 

We put ours over brown rice and top it with cheese and it is DELICIOUS! Enjoy!

Here's the c&p version for your convenience. :)

Donnaven's Easy Peasy Taco Soup

1 lb ground beef (we use venison -- your preference)

1/4 diced onion

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can mild rotel

1 can chili beans

1 can black beans

1 can whole kernel corn

2 cups water

Approx. 1 1/2 tbs taco seasoning (We make our own -- view the recipe here!)

Brown meat in a large pot. Add onions and saute. Next, add tomatoes and rotel. Add undrained black beans, chili beans, and corn. Stir. Add taco seasoning and water. Let simmer for 15 minutes and serve warm with corn bread.

Homemade Taco Seasoning

Out of taco seasoning? No worries. Homemade taco seasoning is super easy to make and stores really well. Here's the recipe we use!

Homemade Taco Seasoning

2 T chili powder
4 t garlic powder
4 t onion powder
1/2 t pepper flakes
2 t oregano
4 t paprika
6 t cumin (I love cumin...)
1 t cornstarch

Put it all together in a glass jar with a lid (we use mason jars) and set it aside for later use. 1 tbsp is good per 1 lb of ground meat, but I like to use more. You can also adjust the spiciness of this seasoning by adding more chili powder. This starter is not spicy at all, in my opinion. You can also make bulk taco seasoning by just double or tripling the recipe. Like I said, no worries!

What's in a Name?

All of my life I have been named Donnaven. There is no nickname to shorten it to, no way to make it more feminine, and I sure as heck would get a lot of grief if I tried to change it. (And yes, I refuse to change it to Donna. I know a few of those.) So, I'm stuck. Embrace it -- that's what I'm told. Have you ever met a woman named Donnaven? Spelled exactly the same way? Doubt it.
Curious about the origins of my name, I went on a quest. I will never find the name Donnaven spelled exactly the same way as mine, so I settled on the closest spelling. What did I find? Donnaven means dark haired chieftain or warrior. A boys name. Gaelic or Irish origin. But behind the name, there is so much more. That's why I'm here. My quest of "defining Donnaven" continues.
Here we go.
Hello! My name's Donnaven, pleasure to meet you. I'm a full-time student, part-time waitress, "eccentric," hardworking, stubborn and all around an unique individual (excuse the double standard) who loves to create, try new things, and cook. I'm due to be married December 15th of this year and I plan to overwhelm you with DIY wedding ideas, new recipes, my very recent sewing excursions, and my love of photography. Glad to have you!