BRONZE BUDGET BRIDE

Jul 25th

DIY: Mini Fudge Wedding Cakes

I love fudge and I've made it a few times but I've never thought of doing more with it than cutting it into squares. These Mini Fudge Wedding Cakes are so adorable and would make such cute wedding favors. They could be added to a candy or dessert buffet but just packaging them for your guests is also a fab idea. If you are interested in making them...I've posted the recipe below for you!

Ingredients:

Nonstick cooking spray
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon fine salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup heavy cream
3 1/2 cups mini marhsmallows, 8 ounces
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 cups coarsely chopped dark or white chocolate, 20 ounces
2 tablespoons sanding sugar

Directions:

Cut three 3-by-18-inch strips waxed paper; line 9-by-12-inch rimmed baking sheet, 1 strip along length and 2 along width. Allow strips to hang over sides. Coat with cooking spray; set aside. In medium saucepan, combine granulated sugar, salt, butter, cream, and marshmallows. Cook, stirring occasionally, over medium-low heat until most of the butter and the marshmallows are melted, 4 to 5 minutes. Bring to boil; boil, stirring, 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Add vanilla and chocolate; stir until completely smooth. Pour immediately into prepared baking sheet; let cool, 3 to 4 hours.
When fudge is firm enough to work with, use paper to lift fudge onto a cutting board. Using 1-, 1 1/4 -, and 1 1/2-inch round cutters, cut out 14 rounds of each size. Pour sanding sugar into a small, shallow bowl; dip top of each round in sugar. Stack rounds to form 3-layer cakes; let stand until fudge is completely solid, about 1 hour.

Makes 14 cakes!

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May 6th

How To Make Cake Pops Video, Cake Pop Cakes and Cake Pop Displays

By Carlise (Carla) Shepperd

Cake pops are simply bite size cakes on a stick. They are easy to make as you have seen in the video and all you need to make them are cake, frosting, candy melts and lollipop sticks! They are a hit at any event so you can make cake pops for your engagement party, bridal shower and for your wedding reception!

Here are some cake pop displays that I hope will inspire you to make these delicious balls for your event!

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Mar 6th

Oh-So-Cute Truffle or Mini Cupcake Boxes for 21 Cents!

By Carlise (Carla) Shepperd

These truffle boxes are so cute. I found them online at Nashville Wraps where you can buy 50 of these beauties just $10.60! This is the perfect box for the Oreo Chocolate Truffles that I posted the recipe for earlier. You can also use them to add a few candies, cookies or even a mini cupcake for your guests. They come in such pretty colors too, so they would certainly stand out...in a good way.

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Oct 8th

Favor Idea: Vanilla Shortbread Hearts

By Carlise (Carla) Shepperd

If you are making your own wedding favors or a cookie buffet at your wedding, these are easy to make and so very cute, so I've added the recipe below for you!!

Ingredients

2 cup(s) all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon(s)salt
1 cup(s) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup(s) confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract
confectioners' sugar, for decoration
1/2 cup(s) seedless raspberry jam

Directions

In a small bowl, combine flour and salt. In a large bowl, with electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in vanilla. On low speed, beat in flour mixture just until blended. Shape dough into 2 disks; wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment paper. Between 2 sheets of floured wax paper, roll 1 disk 1⁄8-inch thick. With floured 3-inch heart-shape cookie cutter, cut out cookies. Cut out centers of half cookies with floured 1 1⁄2-inch heart-shape cookie cutter. Slide cookies on wax paper to another large cookie sheet and refrigerate about 15 minutes, or until firm. Remove heart-shape centers from cookies; place cookies on prepared sheets, 1 inch apart. Bake 13 to 15 minutes, or until edges are lightly golden. Cool on parchment paper on wire racks. Repeat with remaining dough, rerolling scraps.
Sift confectioners' sugar over cookies with cut-out centers. Spread 1 teaspoon jam on each plain cookie; top with remaining cookies to form sandwiches.

courtesy of delish.com

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May 25th

Wedding Favors with a Mexican Flair

By Kristi Ponthieux

I am planning my wedding for next May. I have seen a lot of different wedding favors offered on the internet and also in stores, but couldn't find one kind that really said "This is how people will remember sharing our day with us."

So I kept searching. I found some really adorable mini donkey pinatas...They are too cute! I found them at www.orientaltrading.com. My fiancee is Mexican-American, so I thought that this was a cute way to be able to incorporate his heritage (which everyone teases him about...). He is a sheriff's deputy and has been called out to translate in Spanish for all of the local agencies in our area.

But, back to the donkeys...They are called Fiesta Donkeys. I ordered a sample, to see if they were really what we were looking for. They are so much more adorable in person than they are on the internet. They are about 3" tall and about as long in the body. They are brightly colored, and since we are planning a spring wedding, the colors work perfectly. They are $7.99 for a dozen donkeys.

They are unique and I really think everyone that is invited will think that they are fun and will remember sharing in our day with us every time they look at the Fiesta Donkeys.

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May 24th

My First DIY Wedding Project: Shell Candles Favors

By Carlise (Carla) Shepperd

I've been talking about making these for a while since I bought the supplies months ago. This past week-end I finally made about 60 shell candles that I intend to give as favors.

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I got the kids involved and they helped pull the wicks from the candles after I removed them from the metal thins. We then placed the wicks carefully into the shells while waiting for the wax to melt.

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To melt the wax, I filled a medium sized pot about half way to the top, put the wax inside an old ceramic mug, then place the mug inside the medium pot and put it on the stove to boil on medium-high heat.

After about five minutes past, the wax was all melted and it was then that I used an old ice cream scope to dip and pour the wax inside the shells.

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I added a small amount of cinnamon to some of the wax and vanilla to other so that they'll have a comforting smell when lit.

I'll be making at least 120 more once I find more shells and this time I will use blue and green tea light candles so they'll have a more interesting look.

What do you think?

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Mar 22nd

A Beautiful Favor for your Fall Wedding!

By Carlise (Carla) Shepperd

"Capture the dramatic colors of fall and the lingering glow of love in an extraordinary place card presentation. The Fall-Leaf Tea-Light and Place Card Holder brings wonder and warmth to every table, serving as a decorative enhancement, a seasonal place card holder and a favor that your guests will enjoy long after the splendor of your autumn event dims. The exquisitely crafted, metal maple leaf tea-light displays every hue in Mother Nature's autumn palette and measures 3" when removed from the leaf-themed, triangular gift box."

Order them here for less that $1.00 each.

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Mar 9th

A Cute Way To Use Tulips As Favors...

By Carlise (Carla) Shepperd

I was so thrilled to come across this DIY project at Project Wedding that uses Tulips as wedding favors. They are so cute, guests would just love them. It is a very cost effective way to be green and give a beautiful gift as well.

On a recent trip to a Home Depot I noticed that they had potted Tulips on sale for just $2.00. There were at least five in each pot, so that would be less that 50¢ each.

You can find the article here with information on giving Tulips as favors using the paper bags you see in the photo above. What I love about this project is that you can also use the favors as centerpieces by grouping a few of them together in white Solo cups. I think they would make an adorable table display. You can even personalize the cups with permanent marker and add ribbon from a Walmart or Michaels near you. A nice touch would be to add personalized ribbon instead from a website like Efavormart and that way you'll be saving yourself half the work but get just as charming a result.

So take this idea and run with it... make it yours, find a way to make it suit you and your personality. I'm sure what you come up with will be brilliant.

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Jan 19th

Miniature Champagne Favors for $0.25

By Carlise (Carla) Shepperd

These champagne bubbles are cute, fun and certainly a cheap way for you to have champagne at your wedding. A box of 24 sells on save-on-crafts.com for $6.99 but if you order 96 bottles, you will be charged only $5.99 for each of the 4 boxes. What that means for you as a small budget bride is that your give-away champagne will cost just 25¢ per bottle.

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See now you can afford to buy champagne for your guests. :)

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Sep 2nd

120 Personalized Designer Labels $8.00

By Carlise (Carla) Shepperd

http://www.beau-coup.com/Pictures/personalized-designer-labels/exclusive_labels5_500.jpg

"The best favors are the ones that represent the giver's taste and style. Often, the way to demonstrate your personal flair is through the packaging of your favors and gifts. Whether the goal is to coordinate your wedding favors with the overall theme of your event or to infuse your gifts with personality and pizzazz, our exclusive line of custom designer labels will ensure that your favors not only wow your guests, but make a lasting impression.

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