second set of shower invites

when my 2 bridesmaids who are friends from college offered to throw my 

traditional shower, i was thrilled not only with their desire to host something but also because they are both very creative & crafty gals.  they will be hosting with my sis in law, who is also an extremely crafty lady, i can't wait to see what they have planned, what i do know it will be a fabulous shower!  Being that my college friends are recent grads, budgets are tight, with that in mind i offered my gocco services to them to help keep the costs down on the shower invites.  they have been so cute in wanting to make sure that i will love everything they have planned, even though i've told them i trust their judgement 100%!  

above is the inspiration for the shower's theme, stolen of course from good old Martha!

you can find the butterfly template here

two weekends ago 3 of us met at one of their houses in LA to crank out the invites.. here's how they turned out:

above is a batch of invites, the girls came up with the idea to use a hole punch in the butterflies to run ribbon through. in this picture you can also actually see the shine that the gocco inks produce when printed, so pretty!

the above invite gives you an idea of how detailed the gocco can print, however i blurred  areas with top secret info for privacy reasons!

a little note to fellow gocco'ers

also, we did have a snafu with the gocco printing the text... i hate to admit my little gocco was not a friend at the beginning of this project! it was my foe until i realized i wasn't considering the margins of the screen when i burned my master! if you've gocco'd you know it's great when you can use 1 screen to do a print job... well i wasn't keeping the invite within the 3.5 x 5 inch margin, it was too wide.  so i wasted a few screens trying to trouble shoot this, and each time the RSVP and the rsvp email address we not printing the ink and i got really frustrated!

just when i was about to throw in the towel, i found a post in my yahoo gocco group that the screen can only handle 3.5 inches wide... after that it was smooth sailing!

hope this helps some of you future gocco'ers, because i know it's no fun to waste supplies

tangent over, back to my invites

we turned to martha again for her handy dandy wrap around address labels. 

found here

below is what the return address looks like, and yes USPS is fine with the return address being on the back of the envelope!

to create the labels i actually took Martha's idea and created my own in the Mac program "Pages".  i did this myself only because we were working with a smaller scale envelope.

step by step here's how i made the labels myself:

- opened the Pages program on my computer

- insert the rectangle shape 

- open the "inspector" and click the "graphic" section and change the stroke option to whichever dotted line you like best

- next i opened a text box and picked the font "Snell Roundhand" 

in all lowercase type the return address portion

- then i typed the addressee's name in "Snell Roundhand bold" 

closer to the right end of the label

- for the address i used "imperator caps" and make sure the zip code is on it's own line with a space between each number.  

like this:  9 2 8 4 0 as opposed to 92840... 

see how it gives the zip a different look, besides Martha advises it! =)

- once you've made all your labels, print those out on the preferred color paper

- cut those out and then send them through your Xyron machine

- while still attached to the wax backing use a bone folder or straight edge to make the crease where it will wrap around the envelope

- lastly pull the label off the backing and stick it on each envelope!

and you're ready to send them to their new homes

Bridesmaids Gift Ideas

like many of you engaged women out there, i've been throwing some ideas around in my noggin about what gifts to give my BMs as gifts, not only for their friendship, but also the many duties they helped with leading up to the wedding. i obviously wanna do a gift bag they can use long after the wedding day. but i would like to fill that bag with some useful goodies for that day, and for many days to follow!

**** BMs do not read any further, unless you wanna spoil the surprise****

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DIY bridesmaid gift idea

the sandals- 

since our wedding will take place near the beach, i thought it would be nice to have a comfy, yet stylish pair of flip flops for the BMs to change into for the reception.   here's an example of what i plan on doing (note: i have experience be-dazzling cell phones, so make sure to test out before starting this DIY)!

what you need:

swarovski flatback crystal in size ss16 or ss20

pair of sandals - Old Navy $5 or 2 for $5 flip flops

crazy glue adhesive - i like future glue from any craft store

tweezers

how to sandals: 

• you will need to pick up the various sizes of sandals for your girls (find Havaians, Old Navy, Jcrew sandals)
• purchase flat back Swarovski crystals (can find many selections on eBay, or a jewelry wholesaler)
• crazy glue (do not use a glue gun, the glue is not strong enough to bond the rubber and crystal together)
• depending on size of the thongs, you will need to line up crystals, typically in rows of 3, start working from toe area of the thong and work your way out ( <--|-->) back towards heal of sandal.
• when applying glue, put it on the back of each crystal, then use tweezers to apply and position crystal on thong.

BMs totes: 

i found the following bags during my most recent adventure at Old Navy believe it or not for $7 buckos! great deal... they come in the following colors, get the while they last on clearance

It's Raining Bridesmaid Dresses

so i was inspired by the most recent hot colors pick by the Knot and looked for great BM dresses (that are fully functional, don't look like typical bm dresses, nor are  they ridiculously overpriced).

straight from NY fashion week :

regal purple, aubergine, and lilac - the hot new colors coming our way in the fashion world it reflected in the wedding world).

- all four of these dresses 

   can be found at Nordstrom

hot color combo 

for summer 08: 

lilac & celery

lime & blue are also a knot.com color combo for summer 08!

stay tuned for more practical, and oh so pretty non traditional BM dress options!

 

dress can be found at Bloomingdales

Spring 2008 Looks - Joie de Vie Jewelry

the Joie de Vie Jewelry site is under construction right now, 

until then, if anyone is interested in pricing or more pieces 

feel free to comment on this post with your email and 

i will get back to you with the info you are requesting.

Blair

L'eau shown here in coral, peach, & gold

La Mer shown in blue & silver

Rendez-vous shown in turquoise & gold

Noir shown in black & gold

Etoile Bracelet shown in topaz & gold

My 1st Wedding DIY Project

alrighty, so here we go...

i had a problem:  how to ask my 6 bridesmaids to stand by me on my wedding day? we all have busy schedules, live all over CA from fresno to los angeles to and orange county, and play lots of crazy games of phone tag.  plus, i didn't want to ask on the phone, that's just way too impersonal and not my style.  i was lucky enough to see one of my dear college friends, Jess, soon after the engagement, so i asked her while we were at dinner.  but what to do about the rest of my friends from high school? they all are in contact still and i wanted to ask them simultaneously, yet we didn't have any group events planned to do the asking.  one of those friends has referred to me as her "martha (stewart)" when it comes to creative and DIY projects, so i decided that's how i wanted to ask the other 5 girls.  

in true martha fashion i set out to create a puzzle to mail to the girls with one side being a picture of the fiance and i, the other side a personal note posing the question.  i could've made it simple by sticking the picture to the note, but i wanted it to look more 3-d.... hmmm... well, when i make shadow boxes i use foam board to make some elements POP , so that's exactly what i was going to, back both the picture and note on it, then create a pattern & cut it all out.

sounds simple right? it was one of those simpler said than done cases, so after prolonging the project ohhhh 2 months, i made it my goal one weekend to get them finished and mailed.

so here's what i did to make them, keep in mind i might do this a little differently 2nd go at it, but the girls loved it & a few of them said they were going to scrapbook it (i don't know how they will since it's double sided?)

take a look:

• printed a 4x6 picture or my fiance and i (could use a pic of you and the attendant you're asking)
• either type a note and cut to 4x6 or hand write, like i did, and crop to 4x6 ( i recommend using a large cutter, its more accurate than scissors)
• with a sharp (brand new), i mean ABSOLUTELY NOT DULL exact-o knife (i learned this the hard way) cut out your 4x6 foam piece.
• this is the time consuming part: i made a template for the puzzle pieces, traced the note out, then traced the picture & foam out all separately.  then i cut them all out individually.
•  if you stick the pieces together then cut them, you risk ripping the picture or note the wrong way when cutting the puzzle pieces!
• also try not to make more than 5 puzzle pieces, any more and you can't read the note or see the picture well.  also try not to make the puzzle lines cross major features of your faces (mainly stay away from eyes and mouth). in my example pic, this was my test run when i discovered all of these problems, oh course i didn't take any pics of the ones i sent the girls (except the Shayna note pic).
• so, after all pieces are cut, stick them all together, i used Scotch quick dry adhesive, i think i picked it up at target.
• if mailing them to your attendants, send in a bubble lined envelope to protect the foam from squishing.
• then you are all set!

Bridesmaids Dresses part 3

so i thought i might look into j crew since they have a very classic style, one that i happen to like, just usually don't like the price tag.  

i've been struggling with the thought of asking my friends to wear a dress for my wedding that they won't ever want to wear again!  so i set out on the mission to find dresses for my friends that i, myself would want to buy to wear.  that has been my motto, must find a dress i like and i absolutely would wear again....

in my 1st post about the girls dresses i posted a marine blue one with knots under the bust, that is by far one of my top favs, i love the light airy look of the silk chiffon, there's something very romantic about the way it seems to float in a breeze.  now back to j crew, i found another favorite dress!  presenting....(drum roll please) Juliet another silk chiffon ensemble which is strapless, like my wedding dress (which is ideally what i want the girls to have).  while at Le Soie, the bridal salon where i found my dress, Linda my wedding assistant pointed out that some of the other BM dresses i had picked out didn't look right with the style wedding dress i would be wearing.  she was right, i hadn't thought of that... so when i went back to the drawing board i found juliet.  i usually don't like most of the dresses from j crew, but to my surprise i fell in love... not only would i buy this dress for everyday wear, i was pretty sure the girls would go for it too.  so i have ordered the dress in blue for the girls to try on, here are some pics of the dress.

Bridesmaids Dresses

i have been in a 4 weddings, and have been a guest at many, and man the "don't look prettier than the bride" motto must really be on the brain when some brides pick out these dresses for their closest family and friends.  either that or some brides don't have the foresight to know that the colors/ styles they choose for their bridal party will determine how their treasured keepsakes (i.e. pictures) will immortalize the bride & groom's wedding style. 

when i started thinking about bridesmaids dresses, it was back in october while i was still deciding on my own gown.  my gripe with being a bridesmaid is you invest so much money in your friend's wedding that all you are left in the end is a $150-$350 (in extreme cases, yes one wedding i did pay that) dress that you won't wear again.  

when i started the adventure of dictating what my friends would wear, i had some ideas, here are some images of those ideas. keep in mind they are for style purposes, not color scheme.