Quarantine Creativity

• 

• 

• 

• 

How are you handling your lockdown? Sorry…quarantine. I imagine this is what house arrest feels like. Forced purging, cleaning, cooking, drinking related pursuits.

If you’re like me, you have emptied lots of cans, jars and unearthed some unique household treasures. With Mother’s Day literally right around the corner, let me share some super easy craft ideas you can create for yourself or give as gifts.

A while back, I produced this video for Rodales Organic Life. All you’ll need are empty cans, fabric (for the cans), plant gravel, soil, and succulents. Remember, most plant nurseries have made it convenient by offering curbside pickup so getting your hands on a bag of soil, plant gravel and succulents shouldn’t be a challenge.

Stay safe, healthy and happy quarantine crafting!

Advertisement

Recycled Wine & Beer Bottle Candles

Welcome to my new line of all natural soy candles! I’m proud of the work that has gone in to carefully cutting the bottles, selecting the fragrances and especially the candle names. You see, the names are inspired from my childhood home, Pine Grove, Pennsylvania. It’s a quiet little village, founded by German settlers, located in the southwest corner of Schuylkill County, just north of the Blue Mountain.

I have a lot of fond memories of Pine Grove so I decided to honor those memories and label the fragrances after the names, lanes and lakes of that sweet little village. There’s actually only one lake but it rhymed, so….

To order one (or several), email me your fragrance selection when you place the order. It’s easy, simply follow the links below.

I hope you enjoy the candles as much as I enjoyed making them!

Recycled Wine Bottle Candles

Fragrances: Marie-Sweet Jasmine Vine; Pine Hill-Fresh Pine; Farm Lane-Lavender; Lorena-Lemon Drop

$35.00

Recycled Grolsch Beer Bottle Candles

Fragrances: Sweet Arrow-Sandalwood; Lover's Lane-Bergamot; Shoreline-Cool Cucumber; Waterfall-Sage & Citrus

$35.00

Madison & John’s Easy, Breezy Summer Wedding

What’s more romantic than a summertime wedding? Exchanging vows under rays of sunshine poking through a canopy of lush trees and gentle breezes sounds absolutely perfect …. Well, that was Madison and John’s plan but mother nature had other ideas. Exactly at ceremony time, a brief but intense afternoon drenching rain arrived in all its glory.

The season may be troublesome but the Mark Kintzel Design team is always ready to put on our plan B hats. That plan meant moving the ceremony indoors which also meant, moving the large and heavy altar hoop. We grunted, we laughed and we got it done. I have the best team. Truly, I do. Oh, and I forgot to mention the day started with another kind of drenching. On the way to the venue, team member Jules cracked a joke and I sprayed a full glug of coffee all over the windshield and myself. Needless to say I showed up that morning wearing my morning java. A real class act…not.

Please enjoy this beautiful summer wedding photographed by Sarah Brookhart at the stunning Hotel du Village in New Hope, Pennsylvania.

Check out the video at the end of the gallery which features me in my coffee-free shirt feeling clean, fresh and sassy riding off to the next wedding.

Brittany & Xylon’s Hollywood Garden Wedding

Brittany and Xylon’s vision for a Hollywood garden wedding filled with vibrant flowers, love, laughter, family and friends came to life this past summer. They found their perfect venue at Philadelphia’s historic Morris Arboretum. Everything about the day was perfect. From the bridesmaids’ sparkly dresses to the Art Deco Hollywood touches. And can we talk about the bride and groom! The day and all the dreamy details was photographed by the talented Lora Reehling.

Join me for a garden walk through their special day.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

A Passion for Flowers

The first day of spring is March 19th and I can’t wait. Every year at this time I long for the warm days, cool evenings and the earthy fragrance after a spring rain. And how about the amazing abundance of fresh greenery and flowers!

As I start a new wedding season I reflect back on some of my favorite 2019 creations. I hope you enjoy these arrangements as much as I enjoyed creating them.

Today, here in the northeast, the temperature is a balmy 67 degrees. Maybe spring is closer than we think?

Please, take a seat.

Katherine & Shaine’s Sun Filled Wedding

Although the day started with an epic downpour, the rest of Katherine and Shaine’s wedding day was dappled with glorious pops of autumn sunshine.

Their wedding was held at the historic 1740 Duportail House in Chesterbrook, Pennsylvania. And photos are by the brilliant Lauren Driscoll. I hope you enjoy the images of their autumn wedding as much my team and I had pulling it all together.

Wondering what my team and I do to pass the time while waiting to break down an event? Check out the video at the end of the gallery. This is how we ‘break it down’. Oy vey.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Creative & Budget Friendly Wedding Ideas

Planning a wedding on a budget can present challenges but with some creativity, time spent checking out YouTube ‘how-to’ videos, you can save a tremendous amount of money and achieve the perfect affair. Or you can hire me and I’ll do it all. 😎

However, to cut costs of your wedding without sacrificing style, here are some of my creative ideas worth trying.

• 

  Vintage flea market frame with chalkboard seating chart.

• 

  Search YouTube for easy DIY lettering projects!

• 

  Birch bark table numbers and signage.

• 

• 

  Vintage painted furniture as wedding altars.

• 

• 

  Fabric pennant garlands.

• 

  Make your own cake topper with craft store finds! PS-I made the little paper mache birdies. How to video coming soon.

• 

  Give a tree, plant a tree favors. Greenworld Project.

• 

  Create a custom rubber stamp on Zazzle!

• 

  Grab a leaf, glue two rocks together and voila!

• 

  Using your home printer, create your own programs and signage.

• 

  Place your drink list inside an open book.

• 

  Globe card drop.

• 

  Painted globe guest book.

• 

  For outdoor parties, cut some wine bottles and use them as lanterns.

• 

  Vintage bottles filled with flowers and greenery.

• 

• 

  Centerpieces of plant nursery potted plants wrapped in burlap and twine.

• 

  Table numbers using glass frames with pressed botanicals.

• 

  Craft store wood rounds painted and hand lettered make the perfect seating chart.

• 

  Vintage flannel glued to paper leaf cutouts as guest favors.

I’m Back!

Hey crafters! I’m back and super excited to announce the reboot of my craft blog! The last time I dipped into my WordPress blog was 2014. Yikes! Am I clear on what future content will look like? Heck no! Am I excited to create new content. Heck yeah!

I was poking around on my Pinterest analytics page and discovered that my work has generated close to 24k impressions. Who knew! Clearly I didn’t but heres to generating more creations, meeting new friends and amazing crafters. My WordPress site is no exception where I also discovered a slew of followers and visitors patiently waiting for new content. So sorry for slacking off but I promise to fire up the glue gun and get cracking.

As I boldly dip my feet back into the crafting world, let’s start with this old but faithful traffic generating project, ‘It’s All About Air.’ Oh, and don’t forget to check out the ‘how to’ video below. Happy Crafting!

Jackie & Jeff’s Spring Wedding

This gallery contains 14 photos.

One of the reasons I love planning and styling weddings is the opportunity to think out of the box and to create unique venues for clients. Fortunately, my clients have allowed a little design craziness. And as expected, some cockamamy ideas … Continue reading →

Moss Place Card Holders With Felted Wool

Natural moss is often my inspiration when creating floral arrangements and crafts. It is so incredibly soft and magical in its natural setting. Honestly, a feeling of guilt comes over me when I harvest this green gold. Yes, you can buy it in bags from various sources but it’s never quite the same as a freshly picked batch.

In an effort to recreate nature’s wonder and to tread lightly on Mother Nature, I whipped up these felted wool moss-inspired place card holders.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Felted wool – I used Dimensions Brand Felt Works found at Michaels craft store
• River rocks
• Dish-washing detergent or soap
• Craft glue
• Razor blade
• Card stock paper

With the exception of the dish-washing detergent, you can find all of the craft ingredients at any craft store.

Here’s how you do it:

1. Select the approximate size of the moss cap you want to create by pulling the felt apart.
2. Form it into a ball or oval and add one drop of dish washing liquid onto the felt. Then, while running it under warm water, roll the felt into the shape desired. The dish washing liquid helps form the shape when it dries. Be careful not to add too much soap.
3. Form the wet felt over a rock and let dry overnight.
4. When the felt is dry, remove it from the rock, place glue under the felt and glue it to the rock. Let dry completely.
5. Using a razor blade, create an incision on the top of the felt moss and insert a place card.
6. You’re done!

Here’s to adding magic to your next event or wedding…happy crafting!