Those Handy Little Freebies (Part II)

You may recall that a couple of weeks ago I blogged about the free downloadable template I used to create a bridal shower invitation for my stepsister.  Well, after figuring out how simple it was to do I was pretty hooked, and I started looking at other downloadable templates.  And that is how I discovered (courtesy of iDIY)  these STUNNING downloadable templates from Download and Print.

These templates have quickly become all-stars in my crafting projects because they are so easy to use- you download them in word, print them on cardstock, and then just use a paper cutter.  Because the background color comes from the paper itself, you have tons of flexibility in terms of color scheme, and I especially love that you can choose your own fonts.  Love!

I used the last ones (Dandelions!) to make an engagement party invitation for my Stepsister’s upcoming e-party, and look how cute it came out!  I ended up photoshopping the design a bit in order to make it into a file I could upload to VistaPrint (you knew they had to be involved somehow didn’t you) because I knew I was not going to have enough time to print these myself, but I’m still extremely thrilled with the product!

Are you sold yet?

Those Handy Little Freebies (Part I)

I’ve blogged before about my love for the Wedding Chicks.  In fact, they are the reason I found my photographer, Jessica Morrisy, and they are responsible for so much of my own wedding inspiration.  And they also featured my wedding, which in and of itself was pretty rock star.  *love them*

Well, one of the many things I love about the Chicks is their section of freebies.  They have so many customizeable, free loveliness, its hard not to drool.  So it’s no shock that I turned to them when I needed to design a shower invitation for my stepsister!

And while we’re on the topic, yes, my stepsister’s name really is Sarah.  And her future husband?  He has the same name as my husband.  Ah, the modern blended family!

My stepsister Sarah is planning a summery yellow and orange wedding, and so when planning the shower, we bridesmaids thought we’d stick with the same color family.  And once that had been decided, I immediately wanted to use the Wedding Chicks dahlia  invitation design I had seen a few months ago!

The Chicks' sample

While the Chicks’ design was intended for a wedding, it worked just as perfectly for a bridal shower.  And it was easy to do- I just downloaded the template and then added the text- it involved a bit of photoshopping the PDF, but in the end, the result turned out great!

And MY version!

I had the invitations printed on matte cardstock at (where else?) Vista Print, and they came back perfect.  I couldn’t be happier with how they turned out.  I used the same image to make coordinating insert cards and mailing labels.  And for the crowing touch:

Adopt a Shelter Pet Stamps! A cause near and dear to both Sarah's and my hearts!

Have you customized any good downloadable freebies lately?

Love Bites

As newlyweds, we do a fair amount of cooking, and for me, that old adage “the way to man’s heart is through his stomach” has always rung 100% true.  J. is a chocolate lover, it’s pretty easy to guess what he likes to eat.  So when I saw that my high school friend stated a new blog, From the Kitchen of: Mrs. Bettie Rocker, I was totally hooked!  With recipes like Whoopie Pies and Little White Devils, even an adorable and budget-friendly DIY cookbook tutorial, I have J’s birthday and sweetest day covered already!  I think that so many of these recipes would make for great shower fare too- and definitely worth learning!  Congratulations to Mrs. Bettie on her rockin’ new recipe blog!

Some Fairy Dust to Sprinkle in Your Bath

Recently, my mother-in-law and I came up with a shower favor that, in my very-biased opinion, is awesome.  You may recall the Once Upon a Time invitations I shared a few weeks ago… well, we decided that “fairy dust” bath salts would be an adorable favor to thank all the guests for coming.  So of course, I had to share them with you because I think these could be used for weddings or bridal showers just as easily!

Our bath salt favors in action (and yes, I took that photo!)

These were so simple to make!  First, we took a few drops of scented oil (we found Philosophy Amazing Grace fragrance oil at Save-On Crafts) and mixed them with equal parts epsom and sea salts.  Once we liked the level of fragrance, the salts were funneled into jars.  We got ours from the local craft store, but Save-On is a great resource for jars too!

Once the salts were in their jars, we added little hang tags.  The above tags were from madebyjackie on etsy, and were super affordable, but you could make stickers or tags at home too.  I love how easy it is to personalize these little dudes, and they look so cute on a table too!  If you are related to me, there’s a good chance you’ll be getting bath salts for your birthday, just FYI!!

Do you have any DIY favor tips?

Big Apple Welcome Bags

Who says wedding planning isn’t a transferable skill?  I recently became e-pals with Lauren, a fellow wedding lover, who took the OOT bag idea and made it her own!  Lauren recently relocated to one of the burbs near me (love when that happens) and just like any other NY newbie, had some friends come to visit and enjoy the city!  Lauren, ever the resourceful hostess, put together these adorable bags (made on Vista Print of course) full of city-goodies, featuring starbucks gift cards, bottled water and snacks, a lottery ticket, shout wipes, and circus peanuts.  Adorable, no?  Her friends loved them too!  Lauren saved money by using coupons for everything- and for more info on that, you absolutely need to read her blog, she’s quite the bargainista!   In fact, she did these bags for the ridiculously reasonable price of $15- but $6 was for the bag and $5 for the gift card, so you can see how easy it would be to keep this project affordable- maybe as a bridesmaids gift, if not for every OOT guest.

And I admit these may not technically have been for a wedding, but they would just be so perfect for big apple nuptials- and could easily be changed for other locations.  For example, in NJ maybe you add saltwater taffy.  Or maybe in Ohio you throw in some chocolate buckeyes.  Maybe add a local map, a coupon book, a subway card… so many directions you could take it.  I love them!   For more information on how she did them, definitely check out Lauren’s blog!!

Pillowcase Dresses!!!!!

I know, five exclamation points is a bit much but it’s hard not to write with so many when I see pillowcase dresses.  These are a recent discovery of mine, one that has turned into a full-fledged obsession.  There is something so lightweight and airy and comfy and kid-appropriate about a pillowcase dress.  They are inexpensive to make, can be made with recycled or vintage materials, and can be totally customized to match a wedding.  I think they’re the ideal flower girl dress, and I also love that they’re re-wearable.  If only I was 28 years younger.  If you don’t like these, you have no soul.  I mean it, I am in love.  Or maybe I just need to get knocked up.  But that’s another blog post for another day…

Even if you’re not a seamstress yourself, you can score adorable pillowcase dresses on etsy.  Take a look at what my own quick research revealed (all images link to their source)!

KayKape's version ($19.99)

Crisp in blue from TheUptownBaby ($25)

From Main Street Bowtique ($40)

Hummingbirds from CreativeBee706 ($20.99)

Also from Main Street Bowtique ($54)

Girlie Bow's Damask adorableness ($20)

A Compendium of DIY Pinwheel Love

I was recently reading a post about pinwheels over at $2000 Wedding, and ever since I’m been stark raving mad about paper pinwheels.  There is something so utterly romantic and playful about them!  And I feel like they have so much hidden versatility, not to mention their absolute customize-ability and cost-effectiveness!  So far, I’ve come up with 10 potential ways to use them, many of which could save you considerable cash:  

  

- Have guests waive them in lieu of bubbles, rice or birdseed when sending you off! 

- Incorporate them into floral centerpieces. 

- Or, forget the flowers altogether and use a bunch of pinwheels AS the centerpiece! 

- Write guests’ names and tables on them, and use for escort cards. 

- Top cupcakes with mini-pinwheels for a playful cake table. 

- Leave them on the kids table for the young and young at heart. 

- Tuck them into the napkins at each place setting for a whimsical favor. 

- Give them to your flower girls to carry during the ceremony instead of a basket. 

- Put your pinwheels on extra-long sticks and plant them in the ground for a festive aisle runner. 

- If you really want to get creative, you could even make your invite with instructions for how to turn them into pinwheels. 

  

Anyways… I clearly have no life… if you want to learn how to make your very own adorable pinwheels, the blogosphere is filled with great tutorials!  I’ve compiled some of my favorites to share but if you know of more, I’d love to hear them!  What would you do with pinwheels at a wedding?   

via Paper Source

via BHG

via Intimate Weddings

via Style Me Pretty

via Once Wed

 

Customizing Your Party (and a GIVEAWAY!)

Sometimes having a blog is the best thing ever.  For example, when people let you try things out to review them, which is what today’s post is all about!  The folks over at Customized Girl totally made my day a few weeks ago when they contacted me and invited me to try out some of their goods (for free, thanks CG!)!  And the even better news is that Customized Girl will be offering a mind-blowingly generous giveaway here at The One! next week, so definitely keep checking back- lots of fabulous freebies on the way!!

Customized Girl, together with it’s sister site, Bridal Party Tees, has some incredible offerings if you’re considering making t shirts or keepsakes for your bridal party gifts, or if you are planning a bachelorette party.  I’ve tried making T shirts through VistaPrint (which were certainly workable), but found CG’s products to be of a significantly higher quality for almost the same pricing and with more options.  And just as importantly, the print quality was excellent!

I can’t share photos of my specific order just yet because it’s a surprise for someone special (but I promise I will down the road), but I’ll tell you this: I ordered a few different types of shirts- a men’s tee, ladies fitted tees, stretchy tanks and even a tote bag.  Each and every piece that I ordered arrived looking exactly as I had ordered it, and the shipping was super fast!  The fabrics are soft and comfy!  The ink was vivid and definitely not going anywhere!  And even though everything I ordered was a tad different, it all coordinated so well I couldn’t be happier!

One of the best things about these goodies is that they come in a variety of price points (unlike some of their competitors) and they always have some cute stuff in their sale section too, so you don’t need to bust out a bajillion dollars to have some fun.  And the customizing software is super-user friendly.  You can use their pre-made designs and change text, fonts, sizes, graphics, or you can start from scratch and make your own!

Aaaaand… it’s not just for girls.  They have options for men and kids too, so you can buy gifts for the whole bridal party (even baby onesies)!  All images in this post are, of course, from the websites, but you should definitely go check it out to see more!

Don’t forget to keep checking back in for the upcoming giveaway- it’s a great one!

Project Wedding’s DIY Challenge: Finalists!

Fabric Boutonnieres

Scrabble Magnet Favors

Paper Flower Bouquets

Monogrammed Luminaries

Porn for the Paper Lover

If you’re madly in love with paper, just like everyone else I know, then you’re going to totally love today’s images.  My dear friend R. made, yes MADE, these gorgeous invitations, totally from scratch for her upcoming nuptuals.  The wedding is being held at an old mill, complete with the original old wood, wrought iron, vintage windows, and it’s right next to a river.  Her details will all be antique-inspired and her materials will be very natural (think: burlap and craft paper).  Her colors are navy, ivory and blush pink.  And yes, I do have an exclusive to blog about it (hey, I’m a bridesmaid, so I get the perks!)

The invitation elements are as follows: (1) Navy outer envelope with wrap around craft paper address labels; (2) vellum inner envelope with invitee names, wrapped in baker’s twine with a Thoreau quote on a vintage tag; (3) the invitation, also on craft paper and with vintage hot air balloon details; (4) RSVP card (with bright pink envelope), information enclosure, and invitation to the welcome BBQ, also incorporating vintage hot air balloons.  DROOL.   Most of the elements were printed at home on the bride’s printer, though the tag was made with a stamp.

Ok ready to fall in love?  And by the way, I’ve had the good fortune of previewing other elements this bride is working on… I cannot wait to show them to you after the wedding!