Invitation Suite: The Envelopes

Brandon and I finally mailed out the invitations yesterday so check your mail boxes frequently.

We were able to get the postman to hand cancel the stamps in order to keep the envelopes as close to its original condition as possible when they arrive.

He was really understanding about it, but then he just threw them in a box and it made my heart sink.

I hope that our guests handle them with a lot of TLC.

This is what you will find in your mail. We bought these nice red envelopes at Paper Source ($3.00 for 10 envelopes). The envelopes from the invite kit felt cheap.

Instead of having someone hand address the envelopes, I made a template of envelope wraps on Word and printed them on full-size label sheets. I cut them and trimmed the edge with my doily edge punch. This site has a lot of pretty templates that you can download.

Here is the inside of the envelopes. While they are pretty on their own, I wanted to line them with colored paper. I followed templates similar to this one by Martha.

Materials: envelopes, scissors, ruler, pencil, adhesive, heavy paper to make your template on, paper you want to line with. We chose a solid chocolate colored roll wrap from Paper Source ($10 for two rolls)

Step 1: Make a template by first tracing the envelope with its flap open on the heavy paper. Subtract 1/4 inch from each side and cut.

Step 2 (shown above): Trace your template on the liner paper and cut. Slip this into the envelope. Make a fold where the flap folds.

Step 3: Spread adhesive to just the flap. It is not necessary to add any adhesive anywhere else. Debbie figured out that it is best to use old magazine pages under the flap so that you can glue all the way to the edge and protect the envelope.

Step 4: Rub the flap down and make sure it sticks.

Please be careful when you open the envelope as you may accidently peel the liner away from the envelope itself.

And a big shout out to all of my readers out there. It turns out that this blog is more popular than I had thought.

Another Completely Unnecessary Detail

Edit: View final results here

(I craft when I'm stressed.)

When I was researching wedding cupcakes I came across numerous adorable flag toppers. They were too cute and cheap to resist making on my own.

Step 1: Format your flags on the computer and print. I found that PowerPoint was the easiest program to use. Include cutting guidelines in a light gray color.

Step 2: Cut and fold

Step 3: Glue halves together. Use the toothpick to spread the glue around so that it's nice and smooth. This also makes sure that the flag sticks onto the toothpick.

Step 4: If desired, make snips on the ends.
And voila! You have little flags to decorate your cupcakes...as if cupcakes on their own aren't already cute enough.

I'm going to have the caterers stick them in the cupcakes when they're served to the guests.

You've Got Mail

Well, almost. I've been done with the actual invitations since July, but I had to wait to compile all the addresses and to label the envelopes. It's still a tad early to send these babies out. A tad equals one week in this case.

I have slaved over these 55 invitations over the span of the past six months. So when you see these Stardream Red beauties in the mailbox I expect you to jump and scream in delight. Seriously.

(Invitations for both Bush and Obama as we aren't allowed to show political bias in the Army, hooah?)

And here I am teasing you with this low-quality picture. Trust me, they look better in person. And if you don't think so, then lie to me. Flat out lie.

Is it possible to be in love with paper?

A Pocket Guide

WeddingBee is one of the wedding blogs that I follow daily. One bride blogger, Mrs. Apple Cider, is insanely crafty, and her wedding themes and colors are remarkably similiar to mine. I had already decided on love birds, dark red and brown colors, and fonts before she started blogging so imagine my surprise when I found out that she was using the same combination of ideas.

Instead of having a Bridezilla "She-Stole-My-Ideas" moment, I happily followed her posts because she has given me some great ideas. I shamelessly copied her pocket guide for her bridal party. Here are my results:


This is the cover of the "guide," which is tied up with Martha Stewart ribbon I got for a buck at Big Lots. The guide includes important phone numbers, the wedding day schedule, and the address and map to the Nixon Library.

I will hand these out to the bridal party and family members during the rehearsal the day before the wedding.

Done Before 10am

A $12 glass apothecary jar from Marshall's + some brown ribbon + a little tag + pink crepe paper roses Add a sign with directions inside a 50 cent frame from Big Lots

Plus a basket filled with red wish cards and pens

Equals a wish jar station for our guests

Here is our bird cage from Target which will be used to hold cards from guests. I had better pictures of it, but I decided that it was time for Bella to make another appearance.

Next projects: wedding bubble tags, cupcake flags, cupcake tree/stands

Sweet Stickers

As I mentioned before, our candy bar is going to be provided by our caterer, meaning I will have very little control of it. I am, however, able to decide what kind of container our guests can take their sweets in. They will have clear cellophane bags available, but Brandon requested Chinese carry out boxes. They have more character, is a salute to my Chinese culture, and I can get them for super cheap ($0.08 per box) from Paper Mart.

Since I can never leave well enough alone, I spent the afternoon designing sticker labels to attach to the boxes. I ended up with nine different labels, and I can't decide which ones to choose, so help me pick!


Please leave a comment with the number of your favorite(s). The sixth option will include part of a peony stamp, as pictured below. Thanks!

Microsoft PowerPoint has become my new favorite document design program.

P.S. This is my 50th blog post. Thanks for sticking it through!

Wedding Programs

I can't decide what kind of program I want to make for our guests. I don't even know what I want to include. This is an example of inspiration overload.

Here is one of my favorites. It is an accordian fold program with a gorgeous cover. I know that I am capable of making it, but I don't won't to mess with the formatting.

If our wedding wasn't outdoors in the cold winter afternoon, this fan program would be my top choice. It even has little birdies, games on the back side, and a mini pencil attached by a coordinating ribbon.

This cute little booklet would be the easiest to put together. It is the choice that will allow me to put the most material into the program, which will keep guests entertained in case the ceremony is running late.

It wouldn't be a true blog post from Minzilla without inspiration from Ms. Stewart.

To the right is a simple program with an adorable detail: a pocket with tissues. This would be perfect to wipe away tears of joy frome the faces of our more emotional guests. The only catch is that it doesn't leave much room for all that I want to include.

What about this sweet bow program with a slim belly band holding it together in an unique shape?

I wish I could finish these things over the weekend, but parts of our ceremony are still undecided. More on that later.

My DIYs are piling up, and I love it.

Life's Scraps

I began to make a scrapbook for Brandon and I to reflect back upon years ago. I include pictures, summaries, receipts, business cards, pamphlets, etc. on each page.

Here are a few pages I finished this past week. I had hoped to scan these into the computer for you all to see, but our scanner is not capable of scanning 12 x 12 pages. You will just have to settle for poor quality photos.

Summer '08

Santa Barbara

Our Engagement

Spring Leave '09

Graduation Week

Bar Pinning/Picnic

Vermont Factory Tours

I Dream of Peonies

Despite their funny name (Brandon likes to call them "Pee-On-Me"s), peonies are the rock stars of the floral family when it comes to weddings. They're so full and luscious and I find myself holding my breath when I see bouquets made out of them.

Here's the catch: They are also incredibly expensive. Isn't it just like me to fall for expensive flowers? Luckily, my florist has promised me that she wants brides to have their dream bouquet and therefore she will not charge me extra for adding peonies.

Now, it is my pleasure to present to you some floral porn:

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To save some money, the bridesmaid bouquets will be working double time and will also be used to decorate our sweetheart table. Since I want the girls to be able to identify their own bouquets and take them home, I purchased monogram charms to attach to each handle.

My own bouquet will be accessorized by the silver locket that Brandon gave me back when we were first dating. Inside will be pictures of our grandpas who have passed away.