Okay, I am still one-hundred-percent all about the birthday party favors. But a wedding is a completely different affair. As in, we would be having 150-200 adult guests instead of  5-10 children. I wasn’t too keen on spending a lot of money on a favor that, from what I’ve heard, more often than not goes untouched and unappreciated. Yet as our day grew closer, I found myself genuinely wanting to offer our guests a token of love and our gratitude.

It wasn’t until I was searching the ‘Bee for inspiration and came across Mrs. Sloth’s own favor post that I was convinced. (Thanks, Mrs. Sloth!)

And thus, with minimal money and minimal work, these were born:

photo by Bryan and Mae Photography

Wildflower seed packets! Too cute! Eco-friendly, easy, cheap, and requiring no assembly. I didn’t leave much time for tedious favor assembly, so that was key. After first stumbling upon the idea, I shared it with Mr. Bunting, Daddy Bunting, and Mother Bunting. They all thought it was great, especially since all our guests will have to do to enjoy is sprinkle the seeds on the ground. No digging, no planting, no hassles. We’re all lazy, it’s true.

Now wait a minute, Mrs. Bunting, that photo you posted clearly has more than just a seed packet. What’s the dealio? Well, Grandmother Bunting was a bit sad to hear we wouldn’t be having any of the traditional Jordan’s almonds, so I decided why not do both? Haha, so much for no assembly required! Mother Bunting and MOH Bunting helped me package all the favors in a single evening. We stuffed four almonds in a cello bag, sealed it with a sticker, used a glue dot to attach the almond bag to the seed packet, finished it with twine, and voila! (Tradition calls for five almonds, but our little baggies looked much more comfortable with only four.)

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The stickers were made by printing on 8.5×11 sticker stock. You know how you can buy mailing labels of varying size? You can also buy sheets of stock that are essentially a giant 8.5×11 sticker. I made mine by printing on those, then used my nifty 1-inch scalloped craft punch to punch those babies out. Easy-peasy, and no cutting machine required!

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I haven’t heard too much through the grapevine yet about how well-received the favors were, but I can tell you that the majority were gone at the end of the night. There were a handful or so that had the almonds missing with the seed packets left behind, but you really can’t please everyone so I wasn’t too hurt by these rejected pieces. Especially since I saved those leftovers and can now plant them wherever I please. More flowers for me, I say!

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For those who are interested in the idea, here was our cost breakdown-

200 seed packets: $70.00

Baker’s twine: left-over from invites

Stickers: Printed on 8.5×11 glossy sticker stock I already had, punched out with my Martha Stewart 1-inch Scalloped Circle Punch

200 (2.3 x 3.5″) cello bags: $11.14

Glue dots runner (from Hobby Lobby): $3.00 after 40% off coupon

Jordan’s almonds (from Gordan Food Service): $11.99 for 390 almonds (we bought two containers)

Total: $108.12 – 200 favors at $0.54 each. Not too bad!

Did you find a cost-effective way to have favors for your guests? What were they?

I would tell you that the concern for our guests’ comfort on a potentially hot summer day was the leading deciding factor to use paddle fans, but honestly, the cuteness factor had just as much influence. I just cannot resist things that are both adorable and functional.

We didn’t finalize the order of our ceremony up until the one-week mark so I had to find a quick and easy DIY method to create these puppies in a crunch. Regardless of whether you can finalize your ceremony before the final week or not, I would highly recommend having the design and layout for your program finished in advance. I had our design sitting around for months, just waiting for my  rough draft or filler text to be replaced with the final verbage. This way when I actually did figure everything out, I could go straight to the printer instead of having to spend precious time designing.

For this DIY project, you will need:

• Printed program fronts and backs (ours are 7″ x 6″ on 100lb matte coated coverstock paper)
• Corner rounder (optional)
• Wood paddles from Hobby Lobby or similar craft store
• Double-sided adhesive
• Packing tape

The first thing I did after having my programs printed and cut to size was round the corners on all of the front pages and all of the back pages. The corner rounder I had access to worked best punching a handful of flat sheets at a time, but depending on paper thickness you may be able to save this step until after the program has been fully assembled.

I used clear packing tape to secure the wooden paddle to the back of one side. Using strong tape instead of double-sided adhesive will keep the stick in place and ultimately help prevent the two pages from pulling and separating completely because, honey, that paddle ain’t goin’ nowhere. I’ve found that double-sided adhesives are good for securing a flat surface to another flat surface, but then leave something to be desired when you introduce any three-dimensional objects. Packing tape is the cure-all for Wandering Stick Syndrome. (WSS is serious, folks.) Use it, and use it well. Do let your perfectionist side relax a bit for this step, though. You’ll notice all the tape crinkles in my photo… those won’t show at all in the finished program so don’t worry about getting the tape flat and smooth.

Double-sided adhesive wins the round for gluing paper to paper in this project! I decided to try a permanent bond glue runner by Ad tech, as shown above. It worked very well, though I did need at least six re-fill cartridges to assemble 100 programs.

You don’t need to use a lot of pressure to lay down the glue strips with this runner, so application should be very swift. It was hard to see where the glue was in the photograph, so I added red as a guideline for what areas to glue.

Tip: The closer you can get the strip to the edge of paper, the less noticeable any splitting between the two glued pages will be. Don’t forget to add a strip to the taped wooden stick, either!

Laying down the other side is probably the trickiest part because you need to get the two pages aligned. Start by aligning the top edge and corners while trying not to let the adhesive touch the paper yet. Once you’re confident the top is aligned just right, begin pressing the page down to the glued paper while working your way (slowly) from top to bottom. After it’s flat and glued, press firmly over the glue strip areas to make sure the bond is holding.

Tip: Working from top to bottom is a little more forgiving than laying down the entire page in one motion. You’ll want to avoid bending the paper so much that it creases, but this way you can make any necessary shifts and adjustments as you go.

Voila! Now you can admire your newly assembled program paddle fan.

Go ahead…. wave it around and try it out. You know you want to make silly poses like I did.

left: "tee-hee"; right: "uhhhmuhguuhd it's so hoooooot."

One last thing to note: I assembled these a few days before our wedding, and by the day-of some of the glue strips had started to separate at the bottom around the wooden stick. (This is where the packing tape is really important because the stick won’t loosen and fall out.) Just keep this in mind if you’re assembling yours in advance. The tops and sides held well, but you may have to pinch the bottom ones back together unless your glue is stronger than my little runner strips.

A mild case of separation disease, which can lead to WSS without packing tape.

How are you assembling your programs? Did you find it was a quick and easy project or did it consume more time than expected?

*all photos within this post are personal

To refresh your memory, this is the photo that was the full inspiration behind my garland:

image via The Sweetest Occasion / design by SHEPAPERIE + Design Boutique / photo by Jeanna Hayes

My version of the garland is coming together very, very nicely. I bought fabric in a variety of coordinating colors and patterns, and if you stick to the stuff that’s on sale or in the bargain area then this makes for a very cheap and very chic DIY project. Just be careful you don’t accidentally pick out any $20/yd fabrics like I did…

With the help of a rotary blade, self-healing mat, and my Grandpa & mom, we had the fabric cut into 36″ strips of fabric (they’ll be doubled over when tied) that were either 1″ or 1.5″ wide in no time.

image via About.com

I wanted to leave the edges unhemmed for a softer look and I wasn’t as concerned with having the widths be one-hundred percent perfect, so between the three of us we created an assembly line and finished the cutting job within 30 minutes.

That was the hardest part, and even that wasn’t very hard (except for a few mathematical calculations so we utilized close to the full amount of fabric).  I found some natural-looking alternatives to your typical thick, twisted rope at our local fabric store, so I bought 11 feet to hang over our 6 foot cookie table.

I thought the assembly part would take some time, but after setting up in front of the tv I was surprised to find the garland finished within one day. It honestly only took 2-3 episodes of Xena: Warrior Princess. (I love you, Lucy!)

The best thing about this project is that the strips are simply tied on, so it’s very easy to move, remove, and add strips.

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My kitty, Zoey, wanted to help me with the garland. Like most felines, her idea of “helping” is to lay on whatever you’re actively working on.

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I’m still debating whether I want to keep the pink strips in. I’ll have to set it up with the plates and platters we have to see if the pink becomes an eyesore. And because I don’t have access to those plates right now, I Photoshop’d the garland in to our mock-up photo to get an idea. Kinda neat, huh?

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I even have enough fabric left over to make a second one to hang above our punch table. Now I just have to make a nice sign to hang in the center of the garlands. I haven’t decided what I want it to say yet, but I was thinking somewhere along the lines of “Love, Sweet, Love”. Any ideas?

Did any of your DIY projects turn out to be easier than expected?

Or…. how to make your own cake stand if your cake is too dang big for a glass or ceramic one.

image via My Sweet and Saucy

Among the many things I love, I would like to officially add pedestal cake stands. Especially those of the milk glass variety, yes siree. And though they can be a bit pricey, they elevate your cake with such visual oompf that they are so worth it. Regardless of whether you’re dishing out a lot or a little dough*, adding a pedestal cake stand always seems to make it cry, “look at how beautiful I am!” I bet you didn’t know that cakes could talk, but that is exactly what any cake would say if it had such a throne.

(*haha, silly cake pun)

image via Pot Luck Studios

When we booked our cake vendor, I mentioned that I really wanted to incorporate a pedestal for our cake. I was told that I would need a stand that is at least 16″ in diameter, preferably 18″, so that our cake base would have enough stand to sit upon. So off I went on my merry way to find the perfect stand.  I searched thrift stores. I searched antique stores. I searched online. I searched ALL OVER and could not, for the life of me, find any sort of ceramic or glass stand that was large enough, let alone made of milk glass. I’m convinced they don’t exist. (I later learned from our cake lady that glass or ceramic may be too fragile for 20-30lb cakes at this size, so keep this in mind if you’re having a full cake) And while Etsy has some beautiful handmade ceramic stands, they were all way out of my budget. This is where you call me a hypocrite, because I just finished telling you they were worth the price. Okay, I take that part back.

But they ARE worth finding a way to DIY, and Mama Bunting had just the solution. She found a large wooden pedestal at a thrift store and thought, “Hey, this is pretty neat!” And neat it was, but the top was nowhere near large enough for anything more than a cupcake. So then she thought, “Hey, why don’t we attach a lazy susan to it?” BRILLIANT. Lazy susans are pretty easy to find, so we picked up a cheap one and then set Daddy Bunting to work on the project.

Unfortunately I forgot to ask Daddy Bunting to take progress photos, but with the help of online photos and my “after” photos you’ll be able to get the idea.

What you’ll need:

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• lazy susan
• wooden pedestal base
• ruler and pencil
• countersunk screw and drill
• All Purpose Adhesive Caulk (make sure that it is also paintable)
• primer spray paint
• spray paint in color of choice

Step 1:

image via Quality Butcher Blocks

image via The Bridal Shop

Acquire a wooden pedestal and lazy susan. Try searching for the pedestal at your local thrift stores and home & decor departments. Make sure the pedestal is sturdy enough to support a cake, which may weigh a lot. (If you’re still unsure, better to be safe and ask your cake caterer than be sorry and have a tipsy tragedy.) Lazy susans can be found at most department stores, or places like Target and Bed Bath & Beyond.

Step 2:

image via Kitchen Fantasy

Remove the spinning underpart of the lazy susan so you have the large, flat circle. This should only take a screwdriver, though it will depend on the type of lazy susan you get. Prep your pedestal if you need to as well. We had to saw off a small candleholder/knob on the top of ours to get a flat top.

Step 3:

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Using two rulers positioned in a cross, find the center of the lazy susan and mark it with a pencil on the TOP of the surface (note: if you have a different technique for finding the center, by all means go for it!). This is where you’ll drill a screw into the top circle to secure it to the pedestal. Don’t forget to double-check that your center-point is indeed at the center by confirming that all distances are the same from center to edge no matter how you rotate the ruler. Don’t worry if it’s off just a tad, as long as it looks centered no one is going to be taking a rule to it. Or will they….? No, no, just kidding, there’s going to be a cake on top, remember?

Now flip over the lazy susan and place the pedestal facedown on top of the susan, so you have a cake stand that is upside-down. Take some time re-position the pedestal until it is centered. This is key to making a cake stand that is well-balanced and sturdy, so take your time. Once you’ve got it shifted right, trace around the diameter with a pencil so you have an outlined guide drawn on the bottom of lazy susan.

Step 4:

It’s caulking time! With your adhesive caulk, draw a line around the perimeter of the pedestal base that will be attached to the lazy susan. Now flip it over caulk-side down, position it to fit within your drawn outline (on the underside of the lazy susan), and press down! Use enough pressure to get the pedestal flush with the susan.

Step 5:

Carefully flip over the cake stand so it’s right-side up. It’s starting to look like something now, isn’t it? But the caulk won’t be enough to hold the two together, so we’ll attach them using a countersunk screw.  Countersinking will allow you to drill from the top of the lazy susan while still maintaining a flat surface for your cake. Using the center-point you marked with a pencil, drill your pilot hole through both the lazy susan and pedestal base, then follow by drilling the countersunk screw until it is flush with the surface.

Step 6:

gap-free! / personal photo

You’ll probably notice that there’s a gap between the pedestal base and the lazy susan piece, but that’s easy to fix. Flipping the stand so it’s upside-down again, take your caulk and draw a very thin line around the perimeter of where the two pieces are attached. Now smear this into any gaps, and wipe away the excess for a clean finish. We used our fingers, but you can use something else if you don’t want to get that dirty.

Take this time to dab a little bit of caulk or wood putty in the divet where the screwhead is on the top. Again, wipe away any excess. Once it’s had time to dry, you can even sand away any excess residue if needed.

Step 7:

After letting the caulk sit for the appropriate time, prime the entire piece by following the instructions on the can. We did a few coats of primer to make sure it was evenly covered.

You’ll have to wait for each coat to dry before moving on, but once it’s all primed it’s time to paint! We used a semi-satin finish white spray paint to give a nice, finished look. It may be no hobnail Fenton, but it will certainly get the job done!

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Did anyone else find a way to incorporate a cake pedestal without reducing the size of the cake drastically?

I’ve wanted to incorporate chalkboards for awhile, and had settled on using one for our seating chart. However, my handwriting is not the best, and I couldn’t get the image of a smudged seating chart out of my head. Seriously, how do these people transport their chalkboards without smearing them? Oh, right, you can use a spray fixative (found at art/craft supply stores) to add a protective coating. Well, I still didn’t want to write out 150+ names, even if I could condense the couples into one line. So I thought to myself, why not print something to create a faux chalkboard? I work at a printing company, after all, so it’s perfect.

image via Idoityourself

photo by Lorraine Daley Photography

The first step was to acquire a high-quality photograph of a chalkboard texture to use as a convincing background. I couldn’t find a good one from my free stock photography sources, so I did what any good DIYer does in such a situation: I made one myself. I didn’t have an actual chalkboard to photograph, much less a camera that could take a hi-def photo, so I took the lazy route and made one using a combination of photos and some Photoshop brushes. I then placed the image into InDesign, worked my magic, and ta-da, rough draft of a seating board!

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Please excuse all the x’s (to protect privacy) and repeating table numbers (we haven’t actually figured out the assignments yet).

Here’s what you’ll need to create your own:

• Download chalk fonts for free: AllSkratchedUp and Eraser Dust
• Download my chalkboard texture (note: it’s a large file so I zipped it. You can use WinZip or 7-zip to unzip it)
• Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, or Photoshop

Step 1:

Choose your design program. I used InDesign, but Photoshop or a similar program will work as long as you can add type.

Once you’ve unzipped the chalkboard background file, open or place it in your program.

Step 2:

Adjust the size by re-sizing or cropping so that the image fits your board. I started with an 18×24 size document, so if that’s the size you want then you can skip this step.

Step 3:

Select your chalkboard font, font color, and start typing with the type tool! I used “AllSkratchedUp” for the header and “Eraser Dust” for the names.

Here is an image showing edges of my type boxes so you have a better visual of the layout structure.

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It may take some time to play with the text so you get a size and layout that works for you. I recommend InDesign if you have it because you can use helpful features like overflowing text and object alignment. These things make it easier to position columns and all your objects neatly, but if you’re unfamiliar with that program or are using different software then you can just eyeball it or use guidelines.

The chalk hearts are additional images that I created to add some spark.

Tip: I do not recommend finalizing the positioning of all the names and numbers until you have a final guest count. It will save you time if you can at least plug in the names and fake table numbers so you don’t have to later, but don’t spend hours perfecting the positioning if you don’t have your seating assignments figured out yet. This is because if you add/remove one name or change a table number, it will change the positioning of the text (especially if you’re using multiple columns), and you’ll have to make adjustments all over again.

Tip: Leave extra room around the edges to accommodate the frame and give some visual cushioning space.

Tip: Using the aforementioned chalk fonts, the uppercase letter/initial is 28pt and the names are all 20pt. if you have less people, you can make these larger, but I wouldn’t go much smaller or it will be hard to read.

Tip: Print a portion of the board at 100% before sending the final to the printer, just to make sure that the type really will be legible at the size you chose. It doesn’t have to be a quality print, just something that gives you an idea of how big the type really is.

And, for those who don’t want to bother but would still like to have a printed faux chalkboard, you can purchase one at idoityourself.etsy.com

Step 4:

Once you have everything finalized, submit your high-quality file to a printer, let them print it, and then insert into your  frame of choice!