Brian and Jordan are a happy couple in Ottawa looking to have a wedding… for free. They have engaged not only to each other, but in a social experiment. They summarize the project on their blog:

The goal: to get Brian and Jordan married in the next year, as free-of-charge as possible. The method: the happy couple will borrow, trade, and accept donations of elements (stuff, services, etc) for the wedding. Everyone who contributes to the occasion gets a shout-out, and any businesses or artisans who contribute get big shout-outs. Contribute, or follow along just for fun to see how things are going.

Can a community chip in and create a priceless wedding for an awesome couple? Let’s find out…

You can see more about their project here, or look out for their interview in Wedding Essentials Magazine coming out this June! They also have a couple of side-projects, one of which is the In Spirit project. What is the In Spirit Project? They write,

On the table, we’re hoping we can enlist the help of people from coast to coast: we are inviting well-wishers from anywhere in the world to send us a small item from the land… Basically, send us a little something that says, “Hi!” from wherever you are in the world. If you can, please include your name, your location, and something about the item (ie. type of tree the twig came from). We will then display all these treasures on the ‘In Spirit’ table [which will be set up at the Wedding].

So, we decided to send them something from Victoria, British Columbia, where our head office is. It is a DIY in pictures! Behold:

Our “In Spirit” Gift.

Isn’t it thoughtful? I carved their initials into it to make it really personalized and special. Feel free to send them a little something, too!

But the real DIY starts here! I tried to follow this DIY cereal box to gift box to make a box for the drift wood to be sent in. If you want to give it a go, their instructions are much better than mine. Though not good enough to prevent me from screwing it up.

Step 1: Gather your materials – a cereal box, scissors, and glue.

Step 2: Cut the box down the middle.

Step 3-5: Fold the box in half length-wise and cut the pieces off of the bottom corners. Also fold the top half in half so that it resembles this.

Step 6: Cut the corners and fold in places so that it looks like this. I used the top tab as a guide, but it was still confusing.

Step 7: Flip it over and start folding the flaps in so that it resembles a box.

Step 8: Marvel at the box you just made and briefly share your disappointment in its asymmetry and size with your cat.

Step 9: Use this other box you kept in case you needed to return your iron instead.