Bridesmaid's Gifts

I think it is a lovely idea to save something special to give your Bridesmaids on the day of the Wedding.

This is what I have decided to give mine...

And yes I have bought them over a year in advance. Don't judge me... I got excited, ok.

Monogrammed Rings

Above picture is what I received. A tiffany blue gift bag, jewellery pouch, cardboard box with foam insert, and the monogrammed ring in a plastic ziplock bag. This all came with each ring I ordered which is fantastic because it already looks so pretty for me to give my Bridesmaids.

Another look at all the rings with their boxes.

Here is a close up of all of the rings.

In order of left to right:

RCD - JHA - RHS - MHJ

My 4 Bridesmaids.

The initial in the center of the ring is the person's last name, then on the far left is the initial of their first name, and on the far right is the initial of their middle name. 

This can be tricky if you have more than one middle name. I got one for myself, and I was lucky to have my first and last name with the same letter so I chose to have my two middle names on either side. 

I decided to get my Bridesmaid's and mine with our maiden name. See this however you will as all my reasons range from "feminist power!", "so we remember who and where we came from", "because mine is my maiden name and first name so I needed to make ours all the same", "because there are two lots of sisters and it just looks nice".... and I'm sure there could be more reasons.

How I chose the colour and size of the ring:

It was late one night and I Facebook messaged all of my Bridesmaids asking what colour jewellery they prefer. I already had a good idea of what their answers were but wanted to double check before spending the money. Luckily they all replied instantly. Then I asked them what their middle names were because Facebook profiles didn't give me my answers (don't you just hate those failed stalking moments?). I didn't mind by this stage if I was clueing them in, because it is not until over a years time that they will get these. So I'm banking on them forgetting. I also then asked if they knew what size in rings they were... I know. really giving it away now... And again they answered. You can see they make good Bridesmaids already not daring to make the Bride wait haha! (jokes)

And Voila!

Ask and you shall receive... answers! I placed my order, waited patiently and was so happy when I received them.

I am SO in love with this style of Monogrammed rings. Both the silver and gold look amazing. 

Such a nice personalised touch that my ladies will love and wear forever.

What are you getting your Bridesmaids? - My sister gave me and her other Bridesmaids perfume with individualised scents. I still have the bottle!

How To: My Desk Makeover!

What you will need:

- Old desk
- Sanding blocks (2 medium & 1 fine)
- Wood Glue (Gorilla)
- Screws
- Screw driver
- Nails
- Hammer
- 1 liter Paint (White Pascol Water Based Enamel Gloss)
- Small paint brush
- Roller
- Paint tray

*Please note that for this particular desk I only took apart some sections of the drawers that were loose, the lid part, all handles, all legs, and replaced the base. Your desk may need more or less.

Step 1. First I took apart section by section (whole desk part, drawers parts, handles).

Step 2. I then sanded every side of every piece of the section I was working with first with the medium to roughen it up for the paint to stick, and finished with the fine so it was nice and smooth. (don't forget to sand the handles and legs if you are planning on reusing them)

Step 3. Then with the section I was working with I put a line of glue along one side, stuck the joining piece on and quickly hammered and/or screwed into place to keep secured. I wanted to use screws because it is the sturdiest option, and the glue just to really make sure. 

Step 4. Pour some paint into the tray, get some paint on the roller and away you go! I used the small paint brush first to get into the nooks and crannys, especially with the drawers. Let it dry, quick sand with the fine block, and give second coat.

Step 5. Put back together any remaining parts of the desk. For me my drawers were put together before I painted and my whole desk was still one. The handles, legs, and lid of the desk were painted before screwing back into place. This worked well for me with making the painting part quicker and easier.


Voila!


This took me 1 full day of taking apart, sanding, and first coat paint. Then a second night of second paint coat. And I also did a third paint coat another night. Then one night was quick putting it back together. So for me a total of 1 full day, and 3 short nights.



Good luck with YOUR project! Comment below what you are working on.

How To STOP Telemarketers From Calling

Telemarketer is the profession involving a person or computerised message calling in order to promote or sell you something. The reason why a lot of people do not like Telemarketers, and hence they have a bad name, is because they can be quite pushy, pesky, and almost always seem to call at the wrong time (sometimes innappropriate hours of the early morning or late night). 

If you are a Telemarketer please try not to take offence to this post. I am not trying to further bad mouth you and your profession (we all need to make money somehow), however I am giving some tips in how you can respect a person's wish to not be contacted anymore.



In other words.... Here are the SECRETS a Telemarketer will not tell you.




Step 1: Answer the phone.
Step 2: Speak with the Telemarketer, then say calmly and clearly, "Please put me on your do not call list" and stay on the phone until they've said, "Yes". 

This makes it clear and obvious to them that you are definitely not interested.

All of them CAN do this. There is an internal list, where it is as simple as them clicking a button. 

If you hang up they will call again. If you say you're busy and cant talk right now, they will call again. This happens because they are holding on to any chance that you may be interested. This is just how their job is. So you need to make it very clear and obvious that you are not interested at all, and do not want to be contacted again. Ever. 



(But also don't forget sometimes they are calling you to support a charity, or offering you a free service to see if you can get cheaper electricity with someone else, so don't always reject them straight away. Sometimes. Just sometimes, it may actually be something worth listening to.)



The main thing is do not get angry. Remember, they are a person too just like you and me. And they have a job, just like you and me. If you are nice to them then they will be a nice human being back. And if they are not then go up one further step and ask to speak with their manager.




 


Australia has a website, formed by the Australian Government, that you can register your numbers to help reduce telemarketers. Click here.

FYI Telstra acknowledges this process on their website, "Telstra supports the Do Not Call Register and respects our customers' right to privacy."



America has a website, formed by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, that you can register your numbers to help reduce telemarketers. Click here. 







 

What's it like where you live? Comment below if you have this problem and how to solve it, or if you're lucky and live somewhere with laws against it.