Despedida de Soltera :: bridal shower invitations

Last weekend was our Despedida de Soltera

{farewell to the single woman}

for our soon to be Daughter~in~Law. 

The wedding colors are blue and burnt orange and the theme is Talavera, which is a beautiful Mexican pottery/eathenware covered in colorful designs, so with that in mind I designed the invitations. 

The invite consisted of the invitation and 3 layers of alternating colors of card stock glued together and tied with a piece of ribbon. However, before the back was glued down, I cut a small slit for a matching "recipe request" tag which I slipped in the little pocket.

These invitations were so much fun to make and have inspired lots of ideas for the Bridal Shower which I will be sharing soon. 

Happy Monday!

Backyard BBQ!

If you are already planning and preparing for one party why not make it TWO?!

It might sound nuts but that is exactly what we did. 

Mr. Wonderful wanted to have BBQ after the Backyard Bridal Shower and invite the spouses to join the fun. In the beginning I was not sure we could pull it off so I was hesitant however the hubs convinced me that he would do most of the cooking and preparation and that it would be "a piece of cake". Since he had put in so much time and effort helping with the shower it really was not a hard decision and since the bridal party happens to be almost all family and the head count would be within the social gathering guidelines we decided to do it. Once the Bridal Shower Invitations were finished and mailed I made another invitation to send out for the BBQ. 

As planned, the Backyard BBQ was much more casual than the Bridal Shower. 

 

We set up one our DIY Corn Hole yard games which the hubs made for our parents 60th Wedding Anniversary: We Still Do ~  BBQ last summer. 

To keep things simple we pre~wrapped the eating utensils with napkins and tied them together with a ribbon. One of our cute DIY hand sanitizers was placed nearby. 

Our menu consisted of smoked brisket which cooked all night, barbecued chicken, barbecued ribs and our favorite smoked baked beans, all of which the hubs cooked. Before the bridal shower guests arrived that morning the BBQ and Smoker were moved to the front of the house due to all the smoke they create. We rounded out the menu with homemade coleslaw, mixed fruit salad and rolls as well as Miss E's famous chocolate layer cake. 

Before everyone got back we moved all the tables that were used earlier at the shower. Instead of keeping them end to end which formed our long table we separated them and placed them side by side.  Then we added red and white checked tablecloth toppers to give the party a more casual look.  

To keep things simple I made little Ball Jar Lanterns for the tables. 

Once the sun went down I turned on the small flicker candle votives. 

It was so easy and a very fun way to end such a special day!

Happy Wednesday!

Backyard Bridal Shower ~ Invitations

August has been an extra busy month and I am a bit behind in sharing all of the fun projects going on around here so my hope is to try and get caught up over the next week. And, what better way to start than with a DIY invitation.  

Miss E and I were planning a bridal shower and I offered to make the invitations. Once we came up with our theme I started designing rough drafts to send to her and she sent back suggestions and new ideas. It was definitely a team effort.

When the invitation was finally how we wanted it I worked on printing, punching and collating while Miss E shopped for recipe cards which she found. They were perfect. So cute and just the right size.

Once the recipe cards arrived I slipped one under each band and the invitations were ready to mail. Then it was on to the other projects on the list.

Happy Wednesday!

We Still Do BBQ Invitations ~ Denim & Diamonds

Oh my,  how time flies! It has been a busy year so far and there is still more to come. June 2019 happens to be extra special as it is our parents

60th Wedding Anniversary

this month and we are planning a celebration!

Since this is the "DIAMOND" anniversary we decided on a Denim & Diamonds party theme and to keep it casual it will be a family backyard BBQ.  Once the theme was decided I got to work on the invitations.

 My original idea was to print stitching around the edges which would have been so easy. However, the card stock was not printed to look like denim but actually covered with fabric so I changed my mind and decided to sew the edges instead. 

I used the paperclips to hold the pocket in place while I sewed the square onto the rectangle.

There ended up being a lot of parts to assemble but they went together fairly quick.

Once the invitation was sewn together it was time to added some bling! 

Also, the cute little pocket really needed something tucked inside to make it stand out a bit more so I decided to make a save the date tag just for fun. 

To finish the back I stamped each invitation with a pretty heart. 

In the beginning I was not sure which color to use so I made invites using both the light and dark. After consulting with Miss E about which denim to send the guests we decided that the lighter colored version looked more casual and coordinated with the overall theme.

The invitations have been sent and my sisters and I { aka: Three Sisters Events Co. } are busy preparing for the backyard BBQ and praying for good weather!

Happy Saturday!

Ooh la la ~ It's Tea Party Time!

The invitations have been sent and we are busy preparing for our annual

Mother ~ Daughter Tea Party.

This years theme is a French Queen Bee Tea which will be served at our very own Patisserie! To get things started I needed to come up with an invitation that would fit the theme.

The stationery store sold out of the paper I was using, in one day I might add, so I had to choose another pattern.  Since I was short on time I used both patterns and ended up with two cute versions of the invitations. 

Fun Fact: This year will "bee" our 

10 Year Anniversary!

This was the invitation to our tea party in 2009 so I thought it would be fun to use the Queen Bee theme again. 

There you have it. The theme is set and the busy bees are getting ready for a fun mother ~ daughter tea party

Have a Beeautiful Day!

A Royal Tea Party { invitations }

"fit for a Queen"!

It is almost Mother's Day, which means, our annual

mother ~ daughter

Tea Party

is getting close.

This year I decided to go with a "royal" theme which seemed fitting since there has been a lot of British news lately. First the Royal Engagement. Then Miss E told me about The Crown series. If you have not heard of it it is a biographical story about the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. There are only two seasons so far which we began watching together after the holidays. That reminded me of the few episodes I have seen of the Downton Abbey series which is an older British historical drama. Unfortunately I discovered it after it had ended but it had quite a following I discovered. And, if all of that wasn't enough, it is also the Royal Wedding this month so I thought if I am ever going to use this theme this is the year to do it. 

Scrolls tied up and placed in fancy boxes were a fun way to announce the tea party. 

It is only days away now but the details are coming together. More tea party posts coming soon!

Happy Monday!

The Secret Garden Tea Party ~ invitations

May + Mother's Day = Tea Party! 

Our traditional celebration all began many, many years ago as an annual Mother ~ Daughter Tea Party at our church in the little town we grew up in. The church put on the event for approximately 20+ years and some mothers and daughters  came from miles away to attend. Our mother was always involved with the church tea party and we had a table every year.  However, the much loved tea party finally came to an end at the church and that is when we began having our own annual party on the same Saturday before Mother's Day. If we counted right,  this year was our 8th family tea party.

It took me awhile to settle on the final design for this years invites. Narrowing down all the ideas I had was hard however it finally came together and this is how they turned out. 

Inside hand made "seed packet" envelopes were "tea bag" invites with hand cut "keys" attached with ribbon which were then all wrapped up in a doily "gate" and closed with ribbon and hand punched and stamped "locks".  Lots of parts but fun make. Tomorrow I will share more about our special 

Secret Garden Tea Party!

Happy Monday!

  

Run for the Roses { tea party invitations }

Last Saturday was my Mother ~ Daughter Tea Party. I decided on a Kentucky Derby theme this year since the race happened to be on the same day and because I thought fancy hats and derby attire would be fun. 

The Kentucky Derby is also known as the Run for the Roses which I really liked and thought would be an easy theme for invites and decorating. Once I had my idea I sketched out an invitation and then cut a template. I typed up and printed the wording for the center and then cut and assembled all the parts.

As an extra embellishment I

thought I would make folded roses and attach one to each invite. After making a couple samples for sizing I then traced, cut, folded and glued 96 ovals to make 12 red roses.

However, it wasn't until I completely finished and slipped the first invite into the lined envelope I realized it was too bulky and might not fit through the post office mailing machine, so I ended up only making one with the rose attached, which I hand delivered.

After the strap on the invitation is removed the attached horseshoe opens like a card to reveal the tea party details underneath. 

Tomorrow I will post my Run for the Roses tea party decorations.

Have a beautiful day!

Dad's County Fair { birthday party }

Last Sunday our family gathered for a 
County Fair style Birthday Party 
for our Dad { AKA: County Fair Grand Marshal }

Snacks included mini corn dogs...

...homemade Caramel Corn and Kettle Corn...

 { We all agree we like Caramel Corn the best. }

...and lemonade served in mason jars.

I couldn't resist the cute plastic food trays and waxed paper liners. 

Single serving BBQ sauce to go with the oven fried chicken.

Fresh local Corn

Kosher style dill pickle spears.

I made 2 fruit pies { a blueberry and a strawberry } but unfortunately forgot to take pictures of either of them 

however 

I did get a photo of the fun hamburger cupcakes.

A fun summer birthday party for our
County Fair Grand Marshal!