how ironic that thanksgiving is ruled by sagittarius? the sign of generosity, almost to a fault, rules this holiday of culinary excess (at least to the luckier among us). inspired by martha’s article below, i thought her idea would be a perfect holiday garnish. it’s simple, just prepare a bowl of cut, folded, and slit leaves. upon arrival, ask guests to jot their holiday thanks on the inside of a leaf or two. at dinner, garnish each cocktail with one of the inscribed leaves. Treat them like fortune cookies and have guests read their leaves aloud. or, fill the leaves out yourself before the guests arrive with creative words of gratitude, and serve them on welcome drinks. cheers!

see last year’s labels here.

bummer i couldn’t find the instructions to make this chair, but try a beer can ashtray, or beer can airplane.

the bride and groom’s sign have don’t have much to do with their marriage sign, all though their marriage sign can impact their “couple personality.” for example, my sister is a reserved, shrewd, sensitive cancer. she got married under the sign of leo and now she’s throwing parties. normally this would have been out of character for her, but not only is there a new husband in her new life, but a new celestial influence… she just gave her hubby a set of MARRIAGE SIGN SHOT GLASSES for their tenth anniversary!

for more on marriage sign astrology check out my nuptual readings, or buy STAR GUIDE TO WEDDINGS by april elliott kent, or, visit IT’S ABOUT TIMING to calculate the most auspicious time for you and your partner to get hitched. whatever you do, think twice about saying i do on saturday. the day of saturday is ruled by saturn, the harsh planet of constriction.

arielle was really into the fact that intoxicated zodiac donates a portion of their proceeds to animal-related charity–AND–that we are also environmentally friendly. soy wax candle, recycled paper, the whole nine…. let’s raise our glasses to arielle and russell… cheers!

TAURUS MARRIAGE SIGN READING PRINTED ON GLASS:
“A Taurus Marriage: Arielle & Russell
When a wedding is held Apr 20-May 20, that marriage belongs to Taurus.
Thus, this union is permanently imbued with these Taurean traits:
SENSUALITY GRATIFICATION LUXURY RELIABILITY STRENGTH
BULLISH DETERMINATION… A toast to the stellar couple… Cheers!”

below we have the leo marriage sign shot glass i designed for shelly & brendan. we actually printed leo’s celestial cocktail recipe, rose geranium gimlet, on the back instead of a reading.

we decorated the cake with constellations… one of which was leo. notice the boat cake topper…

MRS. SHELLY DIY, used compasses instead of traditional place cards. she glued the name and table of each guest inside the compass and instructed guests to take them home.

the seas were explored by starlight and compass…

a nautical globe to set the mood in cocktail hour…

instead of a lame old guest book, we found a colossal manuscript from taschen with ancient maps of the heavens and seas printed inside. every page of this incredible book was either beautiful, informative or outright awesome. guests signed their names to which ever page they saw fit. (the feather pen was from michaels.)

on the deck, we set up a telescope. this was a HUGE hit with the kids, and i highly recommend it for any wedding just to keep ‘em busy. (forgot to snap a pic, so photo credit here)

MRS. SHELLY DIY created the three-sided menu stands. on one side she printed the constellation. on the other side she listed the history of the discovery of the constellation. and on the third side (sorry i forgot to snap a pic again), she listed the menu. all the while pasting glittery, sparkly stars across the whole thing. how leo! did i mention shelly’s a leo?

a toast to this stellar couple’s future indeed! cheers shelly & brendan…

TREE COASTER:

martha uses white birch disks to best absorb the stain. but any found wood will do, as long as it’s sawed into smooth disk shapes. now you know what to do with your christmas tree trunk next year!

Materials:
• Sanding block
• sandpaper in fine or medium grade
• foam brush
• colored wood stain
• clear matte polyurethane

1. lightly sand the top surfaces of each disk.
2. with the foam brush, apply wood stain. wipe off any excess with a paper towel. let dry. repeat until desired color is achieved.
3. with a paintbrush, apply 1 coat of polyurethane. let dry.

this is the CYCLONE COCKTAIL SHAKER. how cool! it’s acrylic and stainless steel and runs off two triple a batteries. no more shaking vigorously for at least ten seconds… all though these days that’s the only exercise i get… BAD GIRL gwen! just dump the ingredients and press on. dont’ leave on for too long because it will actually heat the beverage from the sheer energy. (bed bath & beyond) thanks bryan : )

next up are some HANDMADE COASTERS… made out of a rescued tile en route to the dumpster. one tile was cut up into nine coasters, ground down around the edges, and then sis’ pasted velour on the bottom. this IS recycling at it’s best!

then we have a beautiful HAND QUILTED APRON from mom… perfect for bar cheffing.

and lastly but not leastly, my niece katrina looks like a future bartender, no?

(photo: ALEX MAGAZINE)