This was just under $25 WITH S&H, so we quickly decided between the two of us that this was the flower girl dress. Hopefully the low price doesn't reflect the quality.
Other than that, flower girl dress = check.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Flower Girl Dress
Bought this little number on X-mas while the fiancee and I were over at his parents' place for the holidays. After showing his sister (her daughter will be the flower girl) the dresses that I thought were nice looking that I found on-line we came across this on e-Bay:
This was just under $25 WITH S&H, so we quickly decided between the two of us that this was the flower girl dress. Hopefully the low price doesn't reflect the quality.
Other than that, flower girl dress = check.
This was just under $25 WITH S&H, so we quickly decided between the two of us that this was the flower girl dress. Hopefully the low price doesn't reflect the quality.
Other than that, flower girl dress = check.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Folding the Pockets
YAY! Now that finals week is over for me I can start making progress on the invites. I plan on making them in stages so I'm sorry to anyone who would just like a basic run-down of how to make these. My inspiration and instructions comes from Heather Drive's site, http://roadtotheaisle.blogspot.com/ , where I originally fell in love with pocketfolds. Moving right to the point here's what I used and what I learned from this process.
Supplies:
- Paper cut to 7" wide by 16-1/8" pieces; I used Astrobrights Glisten, Lunar Blue
- a butter knife or boning folder
- measuring device - I used the Fiskars Deluxe portable trimmer and just yoinked out the blade to use the gutter for scoring
**Side note: this trimmer in itself is HORRIBLE and will either shred your paper (especially if you only need to TRIM) or leave the edge somewhat unclean. Make sure to try out your cutter before you start on the actual paper so you don't ruin your paper and you know its capabilities. I highly recommend getting a rotary trimmer, they seem to create the cleanest cuts even though they're harder to cut a line with a precise starting and stopping point.
Here we go:
First off, test score the paper you have because some paper wimps out and looks disfigured if you score it too hard.
Using the butter knife/boning folder measure 3" from the top and score
*if using a butter knife make sure you're not using the serrated side or you'll end up sawing and ruining your paper
rotate 180 degrees
Measure 3" from the top and score
Measure 5" from the 3" score (8" total from the bottom) and score
**If one of your 3" scores doesn't look all that great then use that as the bottom because this will be hidden once folded over.
Fold the paper towards the score
This is what it looks like when you score and fold it towards the score:
This is what it looks like if you score and fold it away from the score:
It's really hard to tell from these pics but when you fold towards the score the outside looks good but the inside tends to have a double line look. When you fold away from the score the inside looks great but the outside looks like you've damaged the paper and it seems like the paper is going to break. I would recommend folding towards the score.
So back on topic, fold the top towards the score and crease
Fold the bottom towards the score and crease
Fold at the mark 5" up from the bottom score towards the score and crease that too
Tada!
Place finished products under books to weigh it down if you'd like.
Next up: Step Two, Cutting These Suckers
Supplies:
- Paper cut to 7" wide by 16-1/8" pieces; I used Astrobrights Glisten, Lunar Blue
- a butter knife or boning folder
- measuring device - I used the Fiskars Deluxe portable trimmer and just yoinked out the blade to use the gutter for scoring
**Side note: this trimmer in itself is HORRIBLE and will either shred your paper (especially if you only need to TRIM) or leave the edge somewhat unclean. Make sure to try out your cutter before you start on the actual paper so you don't ruin your paper and you know its capabilities. I highly recommend getting a rotary trimmer, they seem to create the cleanest cuts even though they're harder to cut a line with a precise starting and stopping point.
Here we go:
First off, test score the paper you have because some paper wimps out and looks disfigured if you score it too hard.
Using the butter knife/boning folder measure 3" from the top and score
*if using a butter knife make sure you're not using the serrated side or you'll end up sawing and ruining your paper
rotate 180 degrees
Measure 3" from the top and score
Measure 5" from the 3" score (8" total from the bottom) and score
**If one of your 3" scores doesn't look all that great then use that as the bottom because this will be hidden once folded over.
Fold the paper towards the score
This is what it looks like when you score and fold it towards the score:
This is what it looks like if you score and fold it away from the score:
It's really hard to tell from these pics but when you fold towards the score the outside looks good but the inside tends to have a double line look. When you fold away from the score the inside looks great but the outside looks like you've damaged the paper and it seems like the paper is going to break. I would recommend folding towards the score.
So back on topic, fold the top towards the score and crease
Fold the bottom towards the score and crease
Fold at the mark 5" up from the bottom score towards the score and crease that too
Tada!
Place finished products under books to weigh it down if you'd like.
Next up: Step Two, Cutting These Suckers
Sunday, December 13, 2009
The Paper is HERE
The paper I ordered from Anchor Paper:
The Envelopes from Envelope Mall:
All of the items with the paper scraps:
Alright, now I can get some work done. This all arrived on Friday but it's been sitting on my table all weekend because this upcoming week is finals week and the job that I had been waiting forever to open has just started accepting applications. I've been editing and re-editing my resume and cover letter all weekend but I haven't forgotten about all the paper. I definitely will be getting to this on Thursday but I'm anxious to start as soon as I can.
The Envelopes from Envelope Mall:
All of the items with the paper scraps:
Alright, now I can get some work done. This all arrived on Friday but it's been sitting on my table all weekend because this upcoming week is finals week and the job that I had been waiting forever to open has just started accepting applications. I've been editing and re-editing my resume and cover letter all weekend but I haven't forgotten about all the paper. I definitely will be getting to this on Thursday but I'm anxious to start as soon as I can.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Ordering the Paper
I ordered all the paper I would need for my invitation project and some for the other random paper projects I have and now I'm just waiting anxiously for it to all arrive so I can begin. Here's a breakdown on what I got:
Envelopes
ordered from envelopemall.com
$13.75 - A-7 Mohawk Super Fine 100 pack, white
$11.95 - A-1/4 Bar Stardream Metallic 100 pack, bronze
$12.12 - S&H, cheapest option
Total = $37.82
Paper
ordered from anchorpaper.com
Tom Peterson is awesome!
$27.64 - Astrobright Glisten Lunar Blue, 7" x 16-1/8", 86# cover, appx 70+ sheets
$20.25 - Nekoosa Linen Carrara White, 8.5" x 11", 80# cover, 250 sheets
$25.50 - Stardreams Bronze, 12" x 12", 105# cover, 50 sheets
$16.14 - S&H
Total = $86.18
So that's just the paper and doesn't include glue, ink, embossing powder, stamps, ribbon and such which I'll get around to analyzing later. I'm not sure what type of sticky item I'll be using to "fuse" these puppies together. I've heard great things about terrifically tacky tape, but since I've never used it I might just go and use tacky glue and a paint brush instead. Other than that, all there's left to do is proof and reproof the wording and layout until the paper gets here... then the real fun and chaos begins
Envelopes
ordered from envelopemall.com
$13.75 - A-7 Mohawk Super Fine 100 pack, white
$11.95 - A-1/4 Bar Stardream Metallic 100 pack, bronze
$12.12 - S&H, cheapest option
Total = $37.82
Paper
ordered from anchorpaper.com
Tom Peterson is awesome!
$27.64 - Astrobright Glisten Lunar Blue, 7" x 16-1/8", 86# cover, appx 70+ sheets
$20.25 - Nekoosa Linen Carrara White, 8.5" x 11", 80# cover, 250 sheets
$25.50 - Stardreams Bronze, 12" x 12", 105# cover, 50 sheets
$16.14 - S&H
Total = $86.18
So that's just the paper and doesn't include glue, ink, embossing powder, stamps, ribbon and such which I'll get around to analyzing later. I'm not sure what type of sticky item I'll be using to "fuse" these puppies together. I've heard great things about terrifically tacky tape, but since I've never used it I might just go and use tacky glue and a paint brush instead. Other than that, all there's left to do is proof and reproof the wording and layout until the paper gets here... then the real fun and chaos begins
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Viva Las Vegas!
A while back the fiancee and I had decided that we wanted the ceremony and reception held in Vegas. I had never been to Vegas, but the fiancee had wooed me with tales of the beauty, excitement and what have you of the place and I agreed that we should at least check it out. Our main reasoning for determining that this was the place to hold our wedding was because the majority of our family members (mainly mine) were scattered all over the place, so having the wedding in a place that has the cheapest airfare to travel to from almost anywhere was high on our list. We also wanted to include videostreaming for those who wanted to join but couldn't afford to travel and found that the majority of the venues there offered streaming. So with that being said, we began the research waaaaay back in... May? August? sometime around there.
We started off by looking at a map and writing down names of the hotels/casinos. Then we went on the internet and started crossing off places that were too expensive, far away or just really crappy looking. After all that we still had a list of about 10 or so places that we had an interest in but weren't too sure about. With this list, I had the fiancee e-mail the places before we headed off to check it out during Thanksgiving week just in case they required us to set up a meeting time; almost everyone said to just call the day before.
The first day we took it easy after a 20+hr drive down from Washington and just walked around aimlessly to get a feel for the place. At first glance all that looks so close, but it's very deceiving; the Eiffel tower is about a 20 min walk away in this picture. Thank goodness for the escalators up to the overpasses or else we would have been extremely exhausted just walking from Excalibur to the Bellagio and back.
Eventually, we got down to business and started looking over the places once more and making more drastic cuts based on what we knew we could spend and what we wanted to get out of the places. This was the hardest part because I just wanted to check out all of them since I had never been to Vegas. Finally, after many hours of going back and forth with the fiancee, we called the Monte Carlo and set up an appointment to meet with their catering coordinator, Traci Shea, mostly because she was the only one who took the time to write us a personalized e-mail.
I was very nervous since this was our first place we checked out and didn't feel like I had all my ducks in a row. Luckily for us, the staff at the Monte Carlo Wedding Chapel have done this song and dance dozens upon dozens of times and had the whole thing down to a science. We walked around, checking out the ceremony site and the reception areas right around the corner asking many questions and posing many hypothetical situations along the way. Both the chapel personnel and Traci were very patient with us and seemed willing to entertain some of our "crazier" ideas as well as joke around with us.
Afterwords we decided to take some time to mull the whole thing over and decide on if this was the right place for us as well as the package and amenities we would want if we decided on this place. I was a little hesitant because this was the first and only place we had seen and felt like we were settling and hadn't explored our options thoroughly enough. My fiancee on the other hand had decided after seeing some of the reception rooms that this was the place and had passionately tried to convince me until I thought so as well. He wanted to go back as soon as he had won me over, but I wanted to take my time looking around and leave it until the next day so we could iron out all the details when the staff wasn't trying to leave for the day.
The next morning/afternoon we practically ran over there to sign all the paperwork and get everything started. Heather, the chapel coordinator, was extremely helpful and patient while we filled out every form and read every line of all the papers she put in front of us. Traci was also very helpful but unfortunately wasn't able to provide us with a cake testing session since the Monte Carlo exclusively provides all the larger food and drink items (smaller, individually wrapped items for gift boxes are alright) but told us that the buffet carries the same type of cake that would be available for our wedding cake and went down there later to try some with lunch.
With the last of our 't's crossed and 'i's dotted for the ceremony and reception site we felt as if a huge weight had been lifted. We took those good feelings and energy and decided to walk the rest of the interesting part of the strip until our feet were numb from walking. We called our parents soon after getting back to the hotel and had the best night's sleep since we had been down there.
Since we still had the rest of Thanksgiving break down in Vegas we decided to go to the Rio for the Thanksgiving buffet, go to downtown to get our marriage certificate and gamble a little. We found our preferred games in our hotel and after a while I had gambled away all I had planned to lose but since the fiancee was still working on making his pile of money disappear at a Pai Gow table I decided to go up to the room and work on the small bottle of rum that we purchased from a nearby liquor store. When he was done and came up to the room I was in a nicely buzzed state and wanted to go out and do something. Eventually we made our way to a bar nearby the Mandalay Bay casino area called Minus 5 that the both of heard about through a coworker and some other staff at the nearby hotels and casinos. Yes, it was cold in there but everything (except for the floor) was covered in thick ice. They even serve your drinks in glasses made of ice! The night was made even nicer by the bartendresses and camera gal who seemed happy to have us there being socially drunk. Overall the night was nice, the company was nice and the drinks were cold as ice; definitely a place to go back to.
With all that, we made it home safely on Saturday after surviving and leaving on black Friday and driving 19+hrs straight through to home to collapse on the sumo. Well, that's not entirely true, we did loose the muffler in Salt Lake and Hell's Canyon was a bit tricky with all the frost on the road and the snow on the side but thank goodness for studless snow tires. Next time this will be a bit easier because it will be summer time and we'll be able to take the drive at a more leisurely pace.
We started off by looking at a map and writing down names of the hotels/casinos. Then we went on the internet and started crossing off places that were too expensive, far away or just really crappy looking. After all that we still had a list of about 10 or so places that we had an interest in but weren't too sure about. With this list, I had the fiancee e-mail the places before we headed off to check it out during Thanksgiving week just in case they required us to set up a meeting time; almost everyone said to just call the day before.
The first day we took it easy after a 20+hr drive down from Washington and just walked around aimlessly to get a feel for the place. At first glance all that looks so close, but it's very deceiving; the Eiffel tower is about a 20 min walk away in this picture. Thank goodness for the escalators up to the overpasses or else we would have been extremely exhausted just walking from Excalibur to the Bellagio and back.
Eventually, we got down to business and started looking over the places once more and making more drastic cuts based on what we knew we could spend and what we wanted to get out of the places. This was the hardest part because I just wanted to check out all of them since I had never been to Vegas. Finally, after many hours of going back and forth with the fiancee, we called the Monte Carlo and set up an appointment to meet with their catering coordinator, Traci Shea, mostly because she was the only one who took the time to write us a personalized e-mail.
I was very nervous since this was our first place we checked out and didn't feel like I had all my ducks in a row. Luckily for us, the staff at the Monte Carlo Wedding Chapel have done this song and dance dozens upon dozens of times and had the whole thing down to a science. We walked around, checking out the ceremony site and the reception areas right around the corner asking many questions and posing many hypothetical situations along the way. Both the chapel personnel and Traci were very patient with us and seemed willing to entertain some of our "crazier" ideas as well as joke around with us.
Afterwords we decided to take some time to mull the whole thing over and decide on if this was the right place for us as well as the package and amenities we would want if we decided on this place. I was a little hesitant because this was the first and only place we had seen and felt like we were settling and hadn't explored our options thoroughly enough. My fiancee on the other hand had decided after seeing some of the reception rooms that this was the place and had passionately tried to convince me until I thought so as well. He wanted to go back as soon as he had won me over, but I wanted to take my time looking around and leave it until the next day so we could iron out all the details when the staff wasn't trying to leave for the day.
The next morning/afternoon we practically ran over there to sign all the paperwork and get everything started. Heather, the chapel coordinator, was extremely helpful and patient while we filled out every form and read every line of all the papers she put in front of us. Traci was also very helpful but unfortunately wasn't able to provide us with a cake testing session since the Monte Carlo exclusively provides all the larger food and drink items (smaller, individually wrapped items for gift boxes are alright) but told us that the buffet carries the same type of cake that would be available for our wedding cake and went down there later to try some with lunch.
With the last of our 't's crossed and 'i's dotted for the ceremony and reception site we felt as if a huge weight had been lifted. We took those good feelings and energy and decided to walk the rest of the interesting part of the strip until our feet were numb from walking. We called our parents soon after getting back to the hotel and had the best night's sleep since we had been down there.
Since we still had the rest of Thanksgiving break down in Vegas we decided to go to the Rio for the Thanksgiving buffet, go to downtown to get our marriage certificate and gamble a little. We found our preferred games in our hotel and after a while I had gambled away all I had planned to lose but since the fiancee was still working on making his pile of money disappear at a Pai Gow table I decided to go up to the room and work on the small bottle of rum that we purchased from a nearby liquor store. When he was done and came up to the room I was in a nicely buzzed state and wanted to go out and do something. Eventually we made our way to a bar nearby the Mandalay Bay casino area called Minus 5 that the both of heard about through a coworker and some other staff at the nearby hotels and casinos. Yes, it was cold in there but everything (except for the floor) was covered in thick ice. They even serve your drinks in glasses made of ice! The night was made even nicer by the bartendresses and camera gal who seemed happy to have us there being socially drunk. Overall the night was nice, the company was nice and the drinks were cold as ice; definitely a place to go back to.
With all that, we made it home safely on Saturday after surviving and leaving on black Friday and driving 19+hrs straight through to home to collapse on the sumo. Well, that's not entirely true, we did loose the muffler in Salt Lake and Hell's Canyon was a bit tricky with all the frost on the road and the snow on the side but thank goodness for studless snow tires. Next time this will be a bit easier because it will be summer time and we'll be able to take the drive at a more leisurely pace.
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