Ruffled® » decor

DIY Zip Tie Chandelier

Ashley — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:32:26 +0000

The Event Stylists HEYLOOK are back with another DIY Project perfect for any occasion, really: a chandelier made from zip ties! These are ridiculously low-cost with a huge design payoff, and can be easily customized to fit the theme of your event. I’d love to see these as a giant art installation for a ceremony!

From HEYLOOK: To give a little industrial edge to this sweet valentine’s table setting, we made a zip tie chandelier inspired by Anthropologie displays.

For this project, you’ll need:
- Spraypaint in the colors of your choice
- Zip-ties (we used 200 small ties for this chandelier)
- Clippers and metal wire

Start by making a circle of metal wire. Depending on the thickness of your wire, you’ll need to make it a double or triple round. It needs to be relatively stable so it won’t bend too much when the weight of the zip-ties is added.

Then add some lines of wire to the inside of the circle to give your chandelier some layers. Depending on how full you want your chandelier to look, you will need to add more wire lines. Now, if you’re not going for the industrial edgy look, you can replace the wire circle frame with anything more sleek and pretty. You could use any ready-made wooden, plastic or metal hoops. Spraypaint them if you like. Use a large hoop for the outside and smaller ones for the inside. Then either tie them together with thin metal wiring or make the entire chandelier separately (you’ll end up with different sized, single line chandeliers that you can use either apart or hang them layered into one another).

Now make the zip-tie chains. Tie one loop (just until you hear the first click, so you get a very open loop), then tie the next one into it. Continue in this way. Now again, if you’re going for a symmetrical look, you can make all the outside chains one length and all the inside ones another one (the inside ones should be longer). We variated the chain lengths throughout the entire chandelier.

Tie the chains to the frame, then grab a bunch from one side, lay them out flat on a covered surface and spraypaint them in one color. You can spraypaint the chains entirely or go for a white to color gradient look as we did. Hang them up to dry (make sure the painted chains don’t touch the unpainted ones – just tape the unpainted ones together), then repeat with another color.

When you’re done, arrange the chains on the wire frame to get the look you want. Then add a dap of hot glue to each chain to fix it into position on the metal frame. We bent them wire frame a little bit at this point, because the perfect circle frame was well, too “perfect” for the look we wanted. Hang the chandelier with nylon string.

Now, imagine a whole venue full of these. Awesome! You can make rainbow colored chandeliers or keep them all in one color or different shades of one tone.

Best of 2011: Ceremonies

Ashley — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 17:44:58 +0000

We’re continuing our look back on our favorites of 2011, with a focus today on our most adored ceremony sites and decor! It was no easy feat to narrow down our choices, but we picked some we know you’ll remember and love:

1.Philadelphia wedding, captured by Love Me Do Photography

2. Rochester barn wedding, captured by Eric Lundgren Photography

3. Illinois wedding, captured by Deidre Lynn Photography

4. Wedding at Serenbe, captured by W Scott Chester

5. New Orleans wedding, captured by Kelly is Nice

6. Tennessee Wedding, captured by Dixie Pixel

7. Atlanta warehouse wedding, captured by Kyle Hale

8. Texas wedding, captured by Ryan Price; 9. Dublin wedding, captured by Magda Lukas with Brosnan Photographic

10. Mojave Desert wedding, captured by Made U Look Photography

11. Canadian Wedding, captured by Sweet Heirloom Photography

12. Australian wedding captured by CKMetro Photography, 13. Big Sur California Elopement, captured by Evynn LeValley Photography

14. A Steampunk Wedding, captured by Feather Love Photography

15. Florida garden wedding, captured by Ben Sasso

We have many, many more to show here in the photo gallery!

Right Now in Recycle Your Wedding…

Bethany — Thu, 26 May 2011 12:50:12 +0000

We were so delighted to stumble upon bride Jennifer’s listing in Recycle Your Wedding, we decided to make a full feature of it! For those of you not yet in-the-know, our Recycle Your Wedding section allows individuals to sell wedding items from across the board — from votives to china to dresses — so that other brides may scoop them up. Not only does this keep things eco-friendly by reusing items, but it adds that extra special touch of thrifty charm to your wedding day. No need to create an account… and did I mention this service is free? Adorable bride Jennifer is listing nearly all of the items from her wedding in RYW, and we hope you’ll take advantage of these great deals! All photos by Peacock Photography.

We especially love these handmade signs — how cute is hand drawn banner below?

Burlap table runners, wooden table numbers, wooden flower box crates — the possibilities are never-ending with these rustic chic decorations!

The bride will ship the items, or you can pick them up if you’re in the Austin, TX area!

See the bride’s listing here and gawk over oodles of cute vintage ideas from her wedding in the gallery.

Recycle Your Wedding

Bethany — Wed, 18 May 2011 21:36:38 +0000

In celebration of our beloved Australian weddings, for this week’s Recycle Your Wedding we thought we would feature some items straight from Down Under. The dress, an adorable short vintage frock, and the ring bearer’s bird’s nest were both featured in this precious Adelaide wedding we featured earlier this year.

Clockwise from top:
floral rose garlands, $40; ring bearer’s bird’s nest, $15; Vintage 1950s Wedding Gown, $550

Weekly Wrap-Up

Bethany — Fri, 13 May 2011 19:10:41 +0000

Happy Friday, all! We were absolutely delighted to see Shanna Murray has launched a new line of her delectable decals. We adore the idea of using her garland decals as frames around vintage photographs, or scattering some of her new decal mirror packages around your reception area. This is merely a small sampling of some of our new favorites from the artist:

Of course, we’ve selected some highly capable wedding vendors from our Blue Label vendor guide to help you with your planning:
Adair Beauty: A+ beauty treatment in Minneapolis, MN
Calligraphy by Cristine: A literal one-stop-shop for all things calligraphy and paper goods based in Illinois + online
Amanda Rose Weddings: Savannah, Georgia and beyond wedding planner
Cloud 9 Caterers: Delicious wedding caterers located in Vermont
Blade: Floral and event design in New York City
Gourmet Invitations: Custom wedding invitations located in Detroit, Michigan + online
Seven Hopes United: Online Fair Trade gift registry
VIP Transportation Group: Vintage wedding transportation in the Central Florida region

And finally, we hope you didn’t miss any of our incredible features this week, but just in case you did:
Michigan Winter Wedding
Handcrafted Wisconsin Wedding
DIY Project: Upcycled Lanterns and Vases
San Francisco City Hall Wedding
April Shower Inspiration Shoot
Vintage Adelaide Wedding

See you first thing Monday morning!

Right Now in Recycle Your Wedding…

Amanda — Wed, 11 May 2011 16:21:30 +0000

What better way to celebrate Wedding Wednesday than to find some carefully pre-loved wedding decorations for your own reception? We’ve seen listings come pouring in, and we’ve picked a few of our very favorites from the past week to share with you all. Personally, I’m loving the amber glass bottles… I am a huge fan of all things apothecary-like, and a wedding inspired by vintage apothecary is at the top of my list of favorites! Everyone is welcome to sell items they no longer need… brides, event stylists, florists… around the globe. Start selling.

Clockwise from top:
Vintage Decor & Cake Plates, $500 obo for lot of 800 pieces including 300 vintage doilies, 200 vases and 300 candle holders; glass cake stand, $35; amber glass bottles, $2 each, 120 available

Right now in Recycle Your Wedding…

Amanda — Wed, 04 May 2011 17:13:33 +0000

In the spirit of Spring, our picks from Recycle your Wedding this week are just waiting to be part of another gorgeous garden wedding. One listing that caught our eye is the Ikea Tolsby Frame, which we shared as part of a menu download last year. We revamped it and added an editable form, so you can type in your menu and table numbers directly. You can download them here while you’re at it.

Ikea menu frames, 20 for $15; handmade paper garlands tonnage, $100 for all; handmade fabric bird cake topper, $50

Download courtesy of Two Brunettes

Recycle Your Wedding

Bethany — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 21:00:22 +0000

True to our word, we’ve got more gems to share with you all from our classified listings! Ruffled’s classifieds are a wonderful way to keep the carbon footprint of your wedding down by reusing gently loved wedding decor. We update our classifieds daily with new listings, so keep checking back for even more goodies!

Clockwise from top left: Manzanitta branch centerpieces, $500 for 8 centerpieces; milk glass, $200 for a lot of 30 pieces; burlap bags, $25 for a bag of ~90; clothespin table number holders, $75 for 15 clothespins; mason jars with lids, $10 for one or $25 for all three

Recycle Your Wedding

Bethany — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 18:39:19 +0000

Given that Earth Day is coming up this Friday, we figured we’d try to help out our eco-conscious brides looking for a way to stay as green as possible while they plan their upcoming weddings. You can also arrange to pick up items with local brides to decrease fuel emissions and save on shipping. Eco and budget-friendly. What better way could there be to preserve resources than to recycle decor already loved by past brides? Our classifieds allow you to do just that (and for free!), so take a look around for some great deals and best of all, ready made DIY projects and hard to find vintage items.

Clockwise from the top: soda crate and vintage soda bottles, $40 for all; gold vases, $5 each or $50 for a case of 12 (bride is selling 5 cases); DIY cake stand, $48.

We’re thinking about turning this into a weekly feature. You can list your wedding items here and we will pick our favorite items that are still for sale for our next feature. How does that sound?

Luna Bazaar

Bethany — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 14:00:20 +0000

Luna Bazaar is stocked with all those “extra” elements that make your wedding or event one your guests will continue to talk about after the day concludes. Their pieces are curated into a worldly mix of shapes, styles and designs but each one would fit perfectly into a vintage-themed wedding.

One of the hardest parts of pulling together a cohesive wedding is finding enough of a single decor element to carry over throughout the whole day. At Luna Bazaar, they’re always well-stocked so you don’t need to search high and low for those perfect pieces and they’re so affordable, you can afford to stylize your whole day!

I’m personally drawn to all things mercury glass- just a few pieces make the night sparkle! On dinner tables, at the dessert bar, speckled into seating nooks and crannies… they look good everywhere! Luna Bazaar has mercury glass in every possible form, from candlesticks to garland.

Aren’t these paper lantern shapes shown below fun? I see a bunch hanging above a bridal shower dessert table or framing an altar during the ceremony. They’re the perfect final touch for your winter wedding. You can find more of their ecclectic lantern selection here!

If you’re looking to add color to your reception, you can search by color for everything in the Luna Bazaar shop. Talk about one-click shopping! Tie together all of your elements with a cohesive color scheme. Check out Luna Bazaar for a huge (and I mean HUGE) selection of everything ranging from hand fans and colorful parasols to candleholders and favor bags. Whether you’re planning a wedding, a bridal shower, a cocktail hour or anything in between, it’s so fun to get lost in their world of pretty things!