Saturday Night Invites

There are many different components to our wedding weekend, and at some point we realized that we would have to let people know about it! Friday night we decided to just have our close family members and rely on our parents word of mouth and email to disseminate the information. Saturday night, however, is a little more far reaching than that, and we decided to send invites. The Saturday night dinner is going to be thrown by the FIL Hermit Crabs, so the invites came from them.

We decided to use Vistaprint this time, and I can say that I am very happy with the way they turned out. For what we needed and wanted, it was perfect. The cards and envelopes were all of a good quality, and the printing looked really nice. Not too mention that it was super easy and quick to do, and the price was right. Without further ado, our invites! (All pictures are personal photos - sorry for the white out!)

The whole set

The envelopes - we used clear printer labels for the addresses

Our invite - simple, pretty, and to the point!

Info on the back, to not clutter the front, and included with the cost

And yes, I finally got to use my beloved king and queens!

I have to tell you actually, Mr. Hermit Crab and I totally had a moment when we were assemblying. He knows about my "moment" that I had in the post office, and has made fun of me. Well, he picked up these guys, and goes, "hm, these are really cool. I guess I understand what you were talking about." Score!

Easy peasy and now we'll actually have guests on Saturday night!

How did you relay information about additional wedding events?

Table Numbers: DIY

I thought I would share with you how I made the table numbers, as I had one last one to finish that I haven't yet shared with you. I know there are many incredibly talented scrapbookers out there, as evidenced by the annual Valentine Swap, so this may be a little redundant for you, but just in case you're interested, here's how I put these together.

Here what my table looks like before I start working, with my supplies all laid out

A close up of my scrapbooking supply boxes (I told you, I LOVE to organize!)

So I started with two pieces of paper - a 8 1/2" x 11" piece of solid color for my background, and a more colorful piece, usually 12" x 12"

The first thing I had to do was cut the solid piece down to 8" x 10" so that it would fit in a standard frame

Then I measured the larger piece on top and cut that down to size.

I used double-sided table for most of my adhesive

Here is my blank canvas

Next, I had to cut the pictures down to the sizes that I wanted them. I used either re-prints or color copies for the pictures, and either way, they looked fine.

Then I had to figure out layout using other papers

In this particular one, I decided to back each photo with different colored paper. (Isn't Mr. HC just too adorable?)

Once the layout was complete, I played with the sticker letters

And then I mixed and matched the flowers (I had one of each color to play with, but then I put them together as I went)

I chose the flower and then used a decorative center to keep it together

Finished flower

And the finished product!

Although this was a relatively uncomplicated process, it was incredibly time consuming. I probably should have started this project months ago, just so I didn't feel rushed. However, I'm very happy with the way they came out. I have some other ways that I'll be using the table numbers, but I think I will keep them a surprise for now...stay tuned!

Do you scrapbook? Share your secrets!

Out of Town Bags: The Bags

We are having quite a few Out of Town guests, and there are a few things that we wanted to make sure to do to make their weekend more comfortable. In addition to reserving blocks at New York City hotels with better rates, we will be putting together Out of Town bags (OOT bags from here on - I always look at that acronym and think "oo-t") that will be waiting for them in their rooms. I have been brainstorming a list of things to put in the bags, however, I knew what I wanted the bags themselves to be.

It was important to both Mr. Hermit Crab and myself that these bags be environmentally friendly, and we decided early on to do canvas bags. I have a favorite image from our wedding that I wanted to put on the bags. Just in case we had several left over, I ordered the bags in three different colors, red, blue and black. I picked up the bags the other day and I can't wait to share them with you. (All pictures are personal photos).

Fingers itching to jump in and see them!

Do you recognize this design? I told you the map would be making another appearance! (Sorry that the red bag kind of blends in with our red table...)

I love how the bags came out - they are just the right size, and rather durable so hopefully people will use them for a long time. I also love how it was another opportunity to use the map and give people a keepsake from the wedding weekend. We'll be filling those bags soon each, so stay tuned to see them in action.

Are you having OOT bags? What did you put in them?

Table Numbers: Warning, the Awkward Years

Catch up with Part 1 (aka the cute ones).

Hive, I share these with you because I will be sharing them with our 300 guests, but please, be gentle! These are tough years for many kids and the Hermit Crabs were no exception (although I think Mr. Hermit Crab always looked adorable :D). All pictures are personal photos.

It was the mid 90's. You wore oversized t-shirts too! (I hope)

My Bat Mitzvah, the pinacle of awkward; Mr. Hermit Crab solidifying his love of drums

Starting to come into our own!

We have outgrown our ridiculously awkward stages and we're finally into more suave, if not sassy, territory. Enjoy the continuation of our little journey as we finish high school and enter college!

Ah sixteen, seriously, clear the road!

So, it's a little bit hard to see in this picture, but freshman year of college, I mostly kept my hair braided with different colored streaks in it. It was awesome!

I was 19 when we started dating! (Mr. Hermit Crab was 21)

Ah, the college years

My college graduation - go Violets!

On a trip to Toronto, Mr. HC got to see his beloved Stanley Cup

We love animals...

At my bridal shower...ok so I'll be a week shy of 25 at the wedding, forgive me!

Mr. HC and his stack of med school books he was only too happy to get rid of. And me, well, I'm still over a year away from 26, so this is what I came up with - what do you think?

Whew, that's all of them! This project was definitely a labor of love, but I will use these in many different ways, but you'll have to stick around to find out how. Coming up next will be a tutorial on how these babies came to be!

How was middle school for you? How about the mid-90's? Anyone escape un-awkward?

Surprise Mail

I LOVE getting back my RSVPs. Anyone with me on this one? It is so much fun to get mail every day, and even more fun when they write a little note on the RSVP card. However, when I opened my mailbox the other day, I also found a surprise package waiting for me.

I tore in the envelope and found this. Hm, curious.

But look at how cute our names look. Better check inside.

Hm, color?

Wow!

All pictures are personal photos.

Our wonderful map artist, Crystal Kluge, had made two watercolor renditions of our map and sent us both copies. I think they are both so uniquely beautiful, I can't decide which one I like more. These will make a wonderful keepsake from our wedding. I am thinking about framing them both together, kind of like a Warhol. What do you think? Do you have any thoughts about what to do with these beautiful pieces of art?

Have you received any surprise mail lately?

Table Numbers: Warning, Cuteness Overload

You have already seen my wooden table numbers, and now I wanted to share with you what else will be going on the tables. I am so excited to finally show you what I have been working on!

I had the idea for this as soon as we got engaged. Of course, I left it until the last two months to complete, but it's coming out amazingly either way. Our tables will be numbered traditionally - numerically, from 1 - 26. However, on each of the tables will be pictures of each of us at that age; for example, at Table Five, there will be pictures of us at age 5. Are you ready to see how I've put it together? I'm going to split these into several posts because otherwise you may actually go into cuteness shock! (All pictures are personal photos).

Us before age one - I'm not sure what to put on here for age, any suggestions?

Just FYI - Mr. Hermit Crab is always on the left (although, of course, I think that will be fairly obvious). Also, I cut off the blue border on the bottom in this picture, sorry!

You'll probably notice that I've used flowers in each of them - I thought it would be a great way to tie them all together (sorry about the flash spot!)

As it turns out, Mr. Hermit Crab really will be a doctor when he grows up! And of course, I have never stopped loving the phone :)

Age seven - this might be the last time Mr. Hermit Crab played soccer

So what if we had professional pictures taken, didn't everyone? ;)

Stay tuned for the second installment: The Awkward Years, the Teen Years and Present!

I cut the paper to 8 x 10 so I can put them in standard frames on each table. I also have another plan for these babies (eek!) which I will reveal soon.

Did you have a project you were particularly excited about? Did you have an idea for project really early on but still leave it for the end, like me?