Repurposed Birchboxes: DIY Will You Be My Bridesmaid Boxes

I’ve fallen off the blogging bandwagon for quite some time, but I am really excited to get back to blogging and even more excited to announce that I am getting married! I figure a wedding is the perfect reason to get back into blogging. A wedding is a once in a lifetime event and I want to document every minute of the planning, preparation and all of the fun leading up to and including the big day!

I’m going to kick off the first of many wedding-related posts with something I thought was extremely important: asking some of my favorite girls to be in my wedding!

Let me just start off by saying that I am a huge fan of Birchbox. I love getting my box in the mail every month, I love reviewing the products and I love the Birchbox points system. In fact, I’d say for the past year and a half that I’ve purchased a vast majority of my makeup and skincare products from the Birchbox shop. I’ve always saved my Birchboxes, but was never really sure what I was going to do with them…until I got engaged. Like many brides-to-be, I’ve become extremely addicted to any and all things wedding on Pinterest. I quickly fell in love with the idea of creating a “Will You Be My Bridesmaid?” box.  And that’s when I knew that I was going to get good use out of all the empty Birchboxes I had been collecting.

This post simply shows items I choose to include in my boxes…you can definitely personalize anything in these boxes and make them 100 percent your own! I opted to use my wedding colors for this box. My primary color is going to be navy with accents of white and blush. 

What You’ll Need (in this case, what I picked to put in my boxes!):

• Solid wrapping paper.
• Shredded paper.
• Ribbon.
• Sticker letters.
• Iron-on rhinestones in bridesmaid/maid of honor.
• Paint swatches.
• Candy.
• Lip gloss.
• Jewelry.
• Small decorative cloth pins/paper clips.
• Card Stock.

Making Your Boxes:

1. My first focus (of course after buying all of my supplies) was creating the outside of the boxes. I simply wrapped the tops and bottoms of the all the Birchboxes I was planning on using separately. I used a thick, solid white wrapping paper that I had purchased from a dollar store.

2. Next, I used letter stickers purchased from a local craft store and applied the words: “Will You Be My” to the outside of the box. I opted to stick the letters to the right side of the box as I was planning on placing ribbon on the boxes once they were complete.

 

3. Next I placed shredded paper inside of the Birchboxes. I used a navy shredded paper that I had found in dollar store. (Helpful hint: I bought three bags of paper, but only ended up using one to make 6 boxes). This paper not only makes everything look great, but it’s also a great way to secure the items in the box.

4. It was time to fill up the box. In each box, I placed two Lindor truffles (wrapped in blue paper), a mini Bite lip gloss (I had purchased a bunch of these at Sephora on Black Friday. They came in a set. Three mini lip glosses for $10) and navy bubble necklaces that I had purchased from Simple Addiction Boutique. I also secured the iron-on rhinestone bridesmaid or maid of honor emblem at the top of the box. This way when the box was opened it completed the sentence…Will You By My Bridesmaid/Maid of Honor?

5. I also added paint swatches (that I picked up at my local Lowe’s) to indicate that wedding colors. I found Navy and then the actually paint names of my blush and white are blushing bride and wedding bells. How awesome is that? I secured them together with tiny craft clothespins. I picked mine up on Etsy before I realized that I could have purchased these at my local craft store!

 

 

6. I also used card stock to print out a some small details about the day, the dresses and the bridesmaids’ role. I’m going to type out what I used just in case anyone wants to reuse this…it will be much easier to see!

Our Day!

______ and I are getting married!

When:

Ceremony:

Reception:

City:

The Dresses!

Each one of you are uniquely beautiful! Our main requirement for attire is that you are comfortable and gorgeous. Who better to pick out your dress than you? Our color is going to be navy with accents of white and blush. We ask that you wear navy. More details and shopping to follow!

Your Role!

We want you to…

Enjoy this day with close family and friends.

Look and feel beautiful.

Whip away happy tears.

Understand how much your presence is appreciated.

Will you be in our wedding?

These were also pinned together using the mini clothespins.

 

7. Finally, I applied navy blue ribbon the the outside of the box and tied it in a bow. The boxes were ready to give! (Helpful hint: These boxes are easy to ship as well. I’d recommend adding a few layers of tissue inside the box for added protection. Shipping is about $3-4 depending on were you are trying to ship).

 

Overall, these boxes were a huge hit with my maid of honor and bridesmaids. Once I had purchased all of the contents for the boxes, it only took a couple of hours to assemble everything. I made 6 boxes for around $75 (I also love to bargain hunt and use coupons!)

If you decide to make anything similar leave a picture down below and tag me on Instagram @runningonsmiles

 

September 2014 Birchbox Review

I’ve been subscribed to Birchbox for over a year now. I know a lot of people complain about the sizes of Birchbox samples, but I really enjoy my monthly subscription to Birchbox. For $10 a month, I get to try out a lot of different products. Some products I’ve loved, some have been great for travel and other products (which I would have thought I’d love) have turned out to be a total bust! I really like the fact that Birchbox does a lot of skincare samples. Skincare products can be very expensive, so it’s great to be able to try it before you shell out the cash. If you’d like to give Birchbox a try, click here! Birchbox also has a really great points system. With their points system, I’ve been able to get so many products free. And who doesn’t like free?

Birchbox has also started something that is fairly new. They give you the option of selecting (usually from a choice of 3-4 items) one of the beauty products that is going to end up in your Birchbox. You can also select a special box. This box has the same cost and is usually a box curated by another company that teamed up with Birchbox. When selecting this box, you can see all the items in it…so there are no surprises.

This month, I opted for the Fashionista (fashionista.com) Birchbox. After seeing the items in it, I could do without the surprise because I knew I’d be very happy to receive this box!

Let’s take a look at what is inside:

Laura Mercier’s Full Blown Volume Supreme Mascara. I’m a huge fan of Laura Mercier’s concealers, but I have never given any of their other products a try. Overall, I really like this mascara, it’s water-resistant and gives my lashes a lot of volume. It’s $24 for a full-sized tube. That’s a little more than I typically spend on mascara, but I do really enjoy the product.

Cynthia Rowley Beauty’s Silver Eyeliner. This product is creamy and goes on very smoothly. I feel like it is going to be great to give my eyes a little extra sparkle during the upcoming holiday season. It’s smudge-proof and long-lasting. A full-size retails for $16.

Dr. Brandt Pores No More Vacuum Cleaner. I love the name of this product! However, I do not love the $45 price tag! This may be one of those products that I save up my Birchbox points for and splurge on. I’ve been having a huge issue with clogged pores lately especially on my nose. This product seems to be helping out…I’ve used it multiple times and I only receive this box a week ago! It’s a great mask!

Naobay Body Radiance Lotion. A full-size of this product retails for $24. This was the product that I was least excited about when receiving this box. It’s a nice, moisturizing lotion though and it’s perfect for travel. It’s not something I would buy though.

Macadamia Professional’s Flawless Cleansing Conditioner. The full-size of this item is $33. The sample size was huge! It was a very, very generous sample. I really like the concept of a cleansing conditioner. Prior to trying this one, I’ve only ever tried the Pantene Cleansing Conditioner, which I did not like. In fact, I currently have been using it to shave my legs. This stuff did nothing for the hair on my head, but it does leave my legs feeling nice and soft. I am loving the Macadamia Cleansing Conditioner! It doesn’t weigh my hair down and leaves it feeling super clean!

Battle of the Subscription Boxes: Ipsy vs. Birchbox September 2013

I love trying new make-up and I love trying new make-up without having to shell out a small fortune to do so.  That’s why subscription boxes are so great!

This month I tested two different boxes out: Ipsy (formerly known as glam bag) and Birchbox (which I have subscribed too for the past three months). Month subscription services are $10 per month including shipping and handling.

Let’s start with Ipsy:

Starlooks Eyeliner in Obsidian

Pop Beauty Pouty Pop Crayon in Rose Romance

It’s So Big Mascara in Black by Elizabeth Mott

Chella Highlighting Pencil in Ivory Lace

NYX eye shadow in Fantasy

Plus the black and blue make-up bag.

Overall, I am very pleased with my first month subscription to Ipsy. I love the colors of everything and feel like I could through this bag in my purse and take my day look to a night look with minimal effort. Minus face products, there is enough make-up in this bag to provide you with a complete look. The colors are exactly the type of colors I go for. I’ve never tried any of these brands but so far I am loving them especially the Chella highlighting pencil…I’ve been wanting to buy a highlighting pencil but haven’t gotten around to it. For $10, this is an excellent value of products I will most definitely use and likely purchase them later on down the road. Everything appears to be full-sized except for the mascara.

If Ipsy interests you, click here to get on the waiting list (I was only on the list for about 3 week, not bad at all)

Next up, Birchbox. Similarly to Ipsy, Birchbox is a monthly subscription service that provides you with sample, deluxe sized samples and full sized products from high-end cosmetic brands.

Amika Blow Out Spray

Dr Jart BB Cream

Dr. Lipp Original Nipple Balm for Lips

Eyeko Black Magic Mascara

Ruffian Nail Laquer in Hedge Fund

Overall, this was my best Birchbox to date. The products are all very useful. However, I feel like they could be a little bit bigger sample sized. It’s kinda hard to tell if you like a product if you only have enough product to last a few uses. However, I am very excited not to get any samples in foil packets! That is something I really don’t like.

If you’d like to check Birchbox out for yourself, click here (wait time is about 4 weeks).

 

Overall, I have to give it to Ipsy. These are products, I will 100 percent use. I can’t wait for next month!

 

What subscription services have you tried?

Are you an Ipsy or Birchbox fan?

August Birchbox Review!

Birchbox arrival day is kinda like Christmas, sometimes you never know what you are going to get! All and all I have really been enjoying Birchbox and will be continuing my subscription! If you love trying new products (or you are like me and don’t like to use the same products for long), I highly recommend giving Birchbox a try! To get on the waiting list for a subscription, click here!

Here’s what is in my August 2013 Birchbox:

1. Whish Coconut Milk Correcting Gel. This gel is meant to correct dryness, unevenness and sun damage. It has a light coconut scent. I used this product once and really like it. I’ve previously tried Whish through Hautelook and instantly became a fan! I found this product to be rather smoothing on my skin are a day in the sun.

2. Whish Hair Inhibiting Deodorant Wipes. Another Whish product, yes! I haven’t tried it yet, but I’m a new Whish fan so this could be great. This product is a deodorant wipe that is supposed to inhibit hair growth. I feel like this would be a great addition to a gym bag or beach bag. Can’t wait to bring it to Ocean City with me!

3. Violet Oasis 100% Organic Argan Oil. I’ve never used argan oil before. I feel like my hair gets really oily quick so I’m not sure about this in my hair, maybe the tips, but it could be great for dry skin!

4. ModelCo Party Proof Lipstick.  I received this in the color Kitty and it’s a nice soft pink and designed to stay put. I’ve recently gotten more into lipsticks so I’m excited to see if this product holds up! I’m more of a lip gloss girl!

5. Miss Jessie’s hair products. These products are designed to help repair damaged hair. I cannot tell you how excited I am for these. My hair is so dry and so damaged!