simplest DIY project ever...OOT totes!

Please forgive me for all the DIY posts lately. Honestly it's all I've been doing the past few weeks! Here's a project that anyone can do...it's super simple! So easy in fact, I'm not sure it requires pictures. But I took some for you anyway!

I'm not sure where I first found them, but for a long time now I've wanted to use canvas bags to fill with goodies for our out-of-town guests. I always seem to be an OOT guest at weddings, and it is so nice to have some snacks already in the hotel room when you are tired and hungry after a long drive. Our guests will find these cuties filled with treats in their rooms!

And now for the super simple tutorial:

You will need:

• Tote bags (canvas, paper, most things will work) I ordered my bags from cheaptotes.com
• Stamp
• Stamp pad
• Something to place inside the bag to prevent bleeding to the back (I used a blank stencil but cardboard would work too!)

Instructions:

1. Lay your bag on a hard, flat surface.

2. Place cardboard or whatever you are using to prevent bleeding inside the bag in the area you want your design.

3. Load stamp with ink.

4. Position stamp where you want your design.

5. Firmly press down to transfer ink.

6. Carefully lift stamp off of bag.

7. Let dry and admire your pretty new tote bag!

Here are all of our bags, just waiting to be filled to make our guests smile!

This is one of those projects that took almost no thought and only an hour or two to finish! So simple and yet so satisfying to check it off the list!

Did you opt to give out OOT bags? Did your guests appreciate them?

finishing the favors.

Early on in the planning process, we decided on our wedding favors. With a serious disdain for knick-knacks and a guest list of 325, we knew we wanted our favors to serve a purpose and come with an affordable price tag. Being a professional wedding guest myself (I should really count how many weddings I've been to in recent history) I thought back to the types of favors that I appreciate the most. The edible variety have always been my favorite. They are enjoyable and useful and don't collect dust on my shelves. They make my tummy happy after a few hours of drinking and dancing. Really, what's not to love? Edible favors were the clear winners in our book.

Since my family has always been quite proficient in the baking department, the type of edible favor was a no-brainer. We would have to bake some sort of cake. But what kind do we give as a favor if we are serving wedding cake at the reception? Oh yes, the most delicious kind of cake ever...my mother's cardamom cakes. Delicious and dense, resembling more of a coffee cake than wedding cake, they can be made in cute little bundt cake pans, glazed, and sprinkled with powdered sugar. They also freeze well, which was important since there was no way we'd be waiting until the last few days before the wedding to knock out 325 of these babies. We made a few test cakes, froze them, and ate them after one month and two months. They both tasted fine after thawing, and we sold on the mini cardamom cake favors.

Mama Mascara and Future Mama-in-Law Mascara graciously volunteered to make the cakes (bless their hearts!) and I bought them each the cake pans they'd need to make them. When mid-July came around, I sent out an email reminding them it was time to start baking! They both went to work, and in the past two weeks they baked up a storm. I kept track of how many each of them made, and I got the call yesterday saying the last cake was baked! They've got about 350 cakes stored in their respective freezers, just waiting to be packaged up in these little boxes and set at each place setting!

I am so thankful for our mothers for taking on this task, and hopefully our guests will appreciate the delicious home-baked goodies (and the pretty packaging).

Did you opt for homemade favors? Did you make them or did someone else do you a favor?

flip FLOP.

For a long time now (as in several months... that's a long time in the wedding planning world) I've wanted to have a basket of flip flops at our wedding for all the ladies (and men I suppose) with tired toes.  I am not one that is known to dance all night, but I know that when I do get on the dance floor at weddings in my taller-than-necessary heels... my feet usually hurt and I want nothing more than to take off my shoes and dance around barefoot.  I try to refrain from removing them though, for fear of dirt and men with shoes on, waiting to step on my toes. I'm sure plenty of other ladies have been in this same boat.  Enter the very thoughtful and strategically placed basket of flip flops near the dance floor, there to come to every girl's rescue.

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The basket o' flip flops is one of those things that I really want at our wedding, but do not want to spend a lot of money on.  I've been telling myself from the beginning that I will not spend more than $1 per pair.  I've seen them at this price at Michael's, but the quality is lacking a little, even if they do only cost a dollar.  After doing a little investigating on the subject, I learned that one day each summer, Old Navy has a sale where all of their solid color flip flops are $1!  I did some internet searching to find that last summer the sale was in June, so I signed up for Old Navy spam and waited for the ad to arrive in my inbox.

Yesterday, it arrived.

For a minute I was excited, and then I realized that it's my bridal shower this weekend (yay!) and I will be in the Upper Peninsula... aka the land of no Old Navy stores.  Or any stores for that matter.  The closest Old Navy is an hour and a half from where I'll be... so I won't be driving to pick up my $1 flip flops.  Hopefully some of you who've been looking for some cheap flip flops will be within a reasonable distance of an Old Navy this Saturday so you can capitalize on this great sale!  Good luck and happy shopping!

for the little ones.

My fiance and I LOVE kids.   And there are a ton of them in our families.   While I understand why some people decide not to have kids at their weddings, we couldn't imagine our wedding without them! There will be about 30 or so kids attending our event, so we have been thinking of something we can do to make them feel special. 

At our reception venue, there is a small room connected to the room where our reception will be held.  We've been told we are free to use it, and until recently I hadn't figured out what we would use it for, if anything.  I met with one of our decorators this past weekend on my trip to Michigan, where she suggested that we use the room as a type of playroom for the kids.  Genius idea, don't you think?  I do!

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Surely, most of the kids will spend plenty of time out on the dance floor, but if they are getting tired or don't want to dance anymore, they'll be able to go into the playroom and watch a movie, color, or take a nap!  We'll be setting up small tables with chalkboard tops,  and lining the floor with pillows so they can get a little shut-eye or watch some Pixar films on the TV we'll be bringing in ( I'm thinking Shrek, since they get married in the end!).

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I'll probably put together some kid-friendly swag bags, with crayons and coloring books, juice and some snacks, and maybe a small toy of some kind.  Hopefully, our little guests will feel like VIPs, because to us, they are!

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Is anyone else doing something special for the younger crowd?

do me a favor.

Will someone please make 325 mini cardamom cakes for my wedding favors? Even mini bundt cakes like this one on Style Me Pretty would do.

I think people might think I'm crazy for taking on this project. Good thing my mom and future-mom have graciously volunteered to put their ovens to use and help me with my baking extravaganza!

Let's do some calculations shall we? 325 cakes divided by six cakes per pan = ~55 pans. Since we can fit two pans per oven at a time, that is ~27 batches. With three ovens, we each have to make 9 batches of cakes. That actually doesn't seem too bad if you ask me. Hopefully the moms will agree!

As far as packaging goes, I would love to buy some clear boxes so the lovely little cakes can be on display at each place setting. I'm not sure exactly what size box I'll need just yet, probably around 3x3x3. Clear boxes at Uline are $93 for 200, so I would need 2 boxes, which would cost $186. Seems a bit pricey to me.

A more affordable option would be these pinstripe kraft boxes, which are $14 per 100. Buying 400 of these would only cost me $56. That sounds much more reasonable, don't you think? I can add a pretty ribbon and a little thank you tag and everyone would have a little surprise waiting for them at their seat! Add a name to each card and I've got my seating cards.

This has been a very productive little brainstorming session, now hasn't it?

the girl effect.

Totally unrelated to weddings, but everyone should visit the website for The Girl Effect and watch the video. What a great cause for girls like us to support! Actually, to make this post wedding related, you could donate to the cause in honor of each guest as your favors.

Photo from the wedding line.