We had a July garden wedding in a zoo. Nearly all of our decor and paper products were DIY, and I thought I'd share the finished products here. Our primary colors/motifs were turquoise and green, peacock feathers, and zebra print.

Ceremony Program - trifold, printed on standard computer paper, rhinestone on cover


Boutonierre - peacock feather + three sprigs of fresh lavendar, wrapped in pool-colored ribbon


Flower girl bouquet - sunflowers + green filler


Bridesmaid bouquets - assembled the day before from Farmer's Market flower finds, $7 total for each bouquet


Napkin rings - made from paper, 4x1.5 inch printed with zebra pattern, secured with double sided tape


Ribbon board with seating cards


Seating cards - each guest received a button designed for them based on their interests or inside jokes


Vellum-wrapped candles - printed zebra pattern onto adhesive vellum and wrapped candles throughout reception


Vow display


Wishing-well guestbook


Centerpieces - also made from Farmer's Market flowers the day before. Each bouquet in the center cost between $7-$10, and each center bouquet was flocked by two smaller vases with flowers and peacock feathers, $3 ea.


Table names - tables were named after animals at the zoo, represented by full color photos


All photos by Rathbone Images.

For our evening wedding in July, we will be playing up some rich peacock colors in a garden setting. Our DIY invites hopefully give a good first impression of the motifs guests can expect...



The outer envelope is Astrobright A7 in "Terra Green." I handcut a liner using a patterned wrapping paper from Paper Zone.

The invitation suite is packaged together with a ribbon band and a personalized cardstock tag.



Suite includes: Invitation panel, RSVP card and stamped envelope, and "Details" card with wedding website info.


The reply envelope is Astrobright 4Bar "Celestial Blue."

All pieces were printed on a color copier at Kinkos onto Stardream Quartz card stock.

I designed the invite on Microsoft Publisher. The panel is just short of 5x7, so I could print two per page.

The flower design is a graphic I purchased from istockphoto.com and reworked to remove unnecessary elements. I also changed the colors to reflect our peacock motif in a subtle way.

Fonts are Lainie Day (script) and Copperplate Gothic Light (block).

TIP: You can hide imperfect cuts pretty easily by rounding out the corners using a simple paper punch.

Total cost not including postage is approx. $1.88 per invitation.

I use a combination of inexpensive, factory-made display products and good ole' homemade displays for my shows. The rotating earring display is a god-send for saving space and it only cost $9 from nilecorp.com. My earring cards have a brand label that says "Handmade by Bee Buttons" across the top.



And, you'll notice, above all, I brand the hell out of my table so that no one can walk away without noticing what my business name is. I walk away from nice vendors at craft shows all the time without ever having noticed what their name or their business name was, and I can never look them up again after that point. Sure biz cards help, but not every one takes them. Plus, by having my biz name everywhere, people say it aloud, they ask me about it, they smile when they hear that its based on a childhood nickname, and they are much more likely to remember it then.


The purple and teal t-bar for necklaces is made out of a wrapping paper tube. It's been glued to a cheap Ikea candle holder as its base. Notice the mirror -- a super important table accessory!

I'm still working on my display, but this has been successful so far in drawing in people, making prices clear, and making all the pieces accessible and fully visible.

Just wanted to share a very lovely, very cheap display idea I stumbled upon while at Ikea.

I have been looking for something vertical to display various items including magnets and necklace. While at Ikea, I came across some metal bookmarks (called PYNT) that are perfect for display. Each book end cost me only $1.99, and because they are sold separately, you can buy as many or as few as you need.

Magnets stick to it no problem, and necklaces hang nicely because of the grooves cut into the top. Plus, there are flower-shaped cut-outs that add a nice decorative touch, and a piece of colored paper can be placed on the backside and show through the flower holes. The bookend measures W:4 ¼" x H:7".

Considering how expensive necklace busts can be, this $1.99 alternative is quite nice.

So I took tvtrayart's advice and broke out of my mold a little bit. I'm slowly adding a new line of button-related goodness-- buttons with matching trinket tins to hold them.

What do you think?

I'm using these postcards of mine for friends on Valentine's. The message is "I heart you" rather than "I love you," which makes a big difference I think. Plus it is weird and funky. You can definitely make something with a similar theme for your beau. The link to my shop with the postcards is in my sig if you are interested.

Here is my effort. Started with a mini blue vase (came with a 1-800-Flowers bouquet from my bday). Used a paw print punch on painter's tape to create pattern. Etched in the paw prints. Topped it off with a $3 dog collar from Target. Am currently using it with a candle, to highlight the etched parts, but may change it to holding a bouquet of doggie pictures. This is a Xmas gift for my dog loving sister.

I've been making desktop calendars for everyone, old and young.

1. Get some mini year-long calendars (the kind where you tear off each month) from a craft store or paper supplier. I got mine (a pack of 10 for $3) at Impress: http://www.impressrubberstamps.com/miva/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=Mini_Calendars&Category_Code=E2&Product_Count=40

2. Find a postcard, artcard, or photo that suits each individual. If you are printing images off the net, I'd put them on a cardstock backing. I've used everything from Johnny Depp postcards, to neighbordhood postcards,  to lung anatomy postcards.

3. Paste the calendar onto the postcard, ideally in a well-fitted spot.

4. To stand the calendar up on a desk, I have been using wire photo holders ($1.50 each). I imagine those can be easily and cheaply recreated with a paper clip and a sturdy base. You can also attach a cardboard stand similar to those found on the back of frames, so that you can lean it on the desk.

5. Embellish or otherwise personalize as you'd like. The postcards I found are too cool to fool with, so I've left mine as is. If you make the effort to find cards and photos that fit a person, you probably don't need to further embellish.

6. I think these will be suitable in all settings-- from your mom's office to your little sister's writing desk to your grandma's shelf.

Examples:

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c375/bee223/100_0731.jpg

The tiny calendars came ten in a pack for $3 at a local Impress rubber stamps store. I'm guessing a decent craft store might also have them, possibly for cheaper. Impress also sells them online, if you want to see them closer: http://www.impressrubberstamps.com/miva/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=Mini_Calendars&Category_Code=E2

I've been using the miny calendars to make desktop calendars for family members as well. Just look for postcards that have a logical or possibly funny spot where the calendar can fit. Here are my examples:


http://community.webshots.com/photo/512054905JjvCGl

and


http://community.webshots.com/photo/512054320rSbQJd