I tried to make these files available on Etsy, but I'm not savvy enough to know how to make a .svg file. If anyone can help me out, please let me know!
Showing posts with label paper. Show all posts
Showing posts with label paper. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 14, 2017
A Very Hungry Caterpillar banner with FREE Silhouette cut files
I recently made a Very Hungry Caterpillar banner for a baby shower I threw. I developed and cut all the shapes using my Silhouette, and found it took a while! Instead of reinventing the wheel, feel free to email me and I will happily send you my cut files and instructions for making your own banner.
I tried to make these files available on Etsy, but I'm not savvy enough to know how to make a .svg file. If anyone can help me out, please let me know!
I tried to make these files available on Etsy, but I'm not savvy enough to know how to make a .svg file. If anyone can help me out, please let me know!
Friday, May 26, 2017
A Very Hungry Caterpillar Baby Shower
This past weekend I hosted a baby shower for my sister-in-law. It was themed after Eric Carle's book The Very Hungry Caterpillar. I was very thankful to have my other sister-in-law and friends of the Mom-to-be helping me with this. We divided up duties, and I got to do all the decor! Thanks to Pinterest, I found several cute ideas I was able to copy.
We invited guests with these cute on-theme invitations.
I made this Hungry Caterpillar welcome banner using cardstock and my Silhouette Cameo to hang behind the chair where she would open gifts. I even found a font similar to the one used in the book! The red circles are 8" and the green circles are 6".
The paper lantern caterpillars are made using 10" red lanterns for the heads and 8" mismatched green lanterns for the bodies. I found the most affordable lanterns at the Paper Lantern Store. These sizes are fine for a smaller space, but I wish I had used larger ones for these large rooms. I used command hooks (3 lb. strength) to attach the caterpillars the ceilings so I wouldn't have to poke holes with tacks. The lanterns are strung onto fishing line. I used cardstock and my Silhouette Cameo for the face pieces and feet!
I made the giant fruits by painting large swoops of paint onto posterboard (a glass of wine helped me be extra swoopy with my brush strokes, lol). I used the paintbrush I normally use for painting trim and baseboards, and several colors of acrylic paint I had on hand. After making all the swoops, I flipped the posterboard over and drew out the fruits, then cut them out. I traced a roll of blue painters tape for the holes. These were a great way to make large decor for a big room.
The diaper cake is made from about 60 Size 2 Earth's Best diapers (because they're plain white, the larger size helps make the cake larger, and I just really love this brand). I used Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny for the book layer, and clipped them together with paperclips. I managed to find Hungry Caterpillar ribbon to wrap them up, and topped them off with a few Eric Carle toys! I tried accessorizing the cake with mini versions of baby toiletries, but it looked too busy.
We asked the guests to sign a copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, as well as address an envelope for the Mom-to-be to use for her thank you notes. With 45 guests worth of thank you notes to write, she needs all the help she can get!
We also asked guests to bring a book to build the baby's library! I think he's going to be quite literate! The quilt is made from an Eric Carle 10 Little Rubber Ducks panel.
A family member made this amazing caterpillar cupcake display!
My other sister-in-law developed a delicious menu: yogurt bar, croissant bar (she MADE them at the house which made the house smell so yummy) with egg salad and chicken salad, pinwheel sandwiches, mini muffins, Duck Donuts, and a popcorn bar. She complemented the spread with a cocktail we named Peach Sparklers, which were made from peach puree, orange juice, and champagne.
Friends of the Mom-to-be created a draw-your-own bingo board where guests first filled out items they thought might get opened, then marked off squares as the gifts were unwrapped. They also broke up the gift portion of the shower with two games, one with nursery rhymes and one with children's books.
I really couldn't be happier with how the shower came together! It was cute, had great food, and fun activities. But most of all, it brought together this amazing community of women who are super excited to welcome this sweet baby into the world.
Hopefully some of these ideas come in handy if you're planning a Very Hungry Caterpillar Baby Shower or Very Hungry Caterpillar Birthday!
This post may contain affiliate links.
We invited guests with these cute on-theme invitations.
I made this Hungry Caterpillar welcome banner using cardstock and my Silhouette Cameo to hang behind the chair where she would open gifts. I even found a font similar to the one used in the book! The red circles are 8" and the green circles are 6".
The paper lantern caterpillars are made using 10" red lanterns for the heads and 8" mismatched green lanterns for the bodies. I found the most affordable lanterns at the Paper Lantern Store. These sizes are fine for a smaller space, but I wish I had used larger ones for these large rooms. I used command hooks (3 lb. strength) to attach the caterpillars the ceilings so I wouldn't have to poke holes with tacks. The lanterns are strung onto fishing line. I used cardstock and my Silhouette Cameo for the face pieces and feet!
I made the giant fruits by painting large swoops of paint onto posterboard (a glass of wine helped me be extra swoopy with my brush strokes, lol). I used the paintbrush I normally use for painting trim and baseboards, and several colors of acrylic paint I had on hand. After making all the swoops, I flipped the posterboard over and drew out the fruits, then cut them out. I traced a roll of blue painters tape for the holes. These were a great way to make large decor for a big room.
The diaper cake is made from about 60 Size 2 Earth's Best diapers (because they're plain white, the larger size helps make the cake larger, and I just really love this brand). I used Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny for the book layer, and clipped them together with paperclips. I managed to find Hungry Caterpillar ribbon to wrap them up, and topped them off with a few Eric Carle toys! I tried accessorizing the cake with mini versions of baby toiletries, but it looked too busy.
We asked the guests to sign a copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, as well as address an envelope for the Mom-to-be to use for her thank you notes. With 45 guests worth of thank you notes to write, she needs all the help she can get!
We also asked guests to bring a book to build the baby's library! I think he's going to be quite literate! The quilt is made from an Eric Carle 10 Little Rubber Ducks panel.
My other sister-in-law developed a delicious menu: yogurt bar, croissant bar (she MADE them at the house which made the house smell so yummy) with egg salad and chicken salad, pinwheel sandwiches, mini muffins, Duck Donuts, and a popcorn bar. She complemented the spread with a cocktail we named Peach Sparklers, which were made from peach puree, orange juice, and champagne.
Friends of the Mom-to-be created a draw-your-own bingo board where guests first filled out items they thought might get opened, then marked off squares as the gifts were unwrapped. They also broke up the gift portion of the shower with two games, one with nursery rhymes and one with children's books.
I really couldn't be happier with how the shower came together! It was cute, had great food, and fun activities. But most of all, it brought together this amazing community of women who are super excited to welcome this sweet baby into the world.
Hopefully some of these ideas come in handy if you're planning a Very Hungry Caterpillar Baby Shower or Very Hungry Caterpillar Birthday!
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Wedding in Review: All the Projects
To wrap up the Wedding Wednesdays, I wanted to provide a wrap-up post of all the projects! I hope they've inspired you to DIY a few elements of your own wedding, whether it be to personalize, save money, or just to have something to do with friends!
PS: Friends, I still have most of this stuff, so if you'd like to borrow it for your own wedding, just ask!
The DRESS - designed by us and handmade by my Mom
My dress was a hand-beaded, Chantilly lace fit-and-flare gown with a strapless sweetheart neckline and rows and rows of flounces. It also featured a button-off removable train and beaded belt.
PS: Friends, I still have most of this stuff, so if you'd like to borrow it for your own wedding, just ask!
The DRESS - designed by us and handmade by my Mom
My dress was a hand-beaded, Chantilly lace fit-and-flare gown with a strapless sweetheart neckline and rows and rows of flounces. It also featured a button-off removable train and beaded belt.
 |
| Mismatched Bridesmaid Dresses |
 |
| Personalized Bridesmaid Robes |
 |
| Personalized Jewelry for Bridesmaids and Flower Girls |
 |
Flower Girl Dresses |
 |
| Flower Girl Baskets |
 |
| Ring Bearer Pillow (made from leftover dress fabric) |
 |
| Invitation Suite |
 |
| Thank You Notes |
 |
| RSVP Map |
 |
| Will You Be My Bridesmaid Paper Doll Cards |
 |
| Wreaths for the Chapel |
 |
| Hydrangea Bouquets |
 |
| Peony Bouquet and Ranunculus Boutonnieres |
 |
| Ribbon Wands |
 |
| Pennants |
 |
| Pennant Cake Topper |
 |
| Chair Ribbons |
 |
| Ribbon Table Runners |
 |
| Coastal Centerpieces Made From Lantern, Chrome Shells, and Coral |
 |
| Chrome Coral Table Number Holders |
 |
| Name Buttons |
 |
| Photo Guest Book |
 |
| Cloth Napkins for Favors |
 |
| Save-A-Guest Kit |
 |
| Dancing Shoes |
Monday, April 22, 2013
What's Up Granola Bar?
Weird title? Not to me! When Tommy and I first started dating, I was the "crunchiest" person he knew - mainly because I recycled regularly and liked to pick my own blueberries from local farms.
"Crunchy granola" led to "granola bar", and he adopted the nickname for me. Every time he'd call me, he'd open with, "What's up, granola bar?"
I loved it! In fact, I was so smitten that three years later I married him.
Fast forward to present day, and I've been wanting to hang a piece of art in the kitchen. Photographs seem weird in our kitchen, and none of our current art seems to fit the space, so I started considering typography. Typography is essentially words written pretty and used as art (not the real definition, but how I'm using it here).
Granola bars are food, and food comes from the kitchen, so the idea of framing "what's up granola bar?" seemed like a fun idea.
I typed some stuff up, added lots of fun color, and threw it in an IKEA frame.
Tommy hated it.
He had in mind a more loopy font - one that at first glance wouldn't look like words. He was also in favor of a single color. He has pretty good taste, so I trusted him on this one.
I went back to the drawing board (i.e., powerpoint). I downloaded about a dozen loopy fonts, and tried them all our with the text. The winner was a font called Roskrift Clean.
Regular ol' computer paper looked junky once framed, so I used some higher-quality paper left over from when we made our wedding booklets.
I loved it on the first print-out, so I put it in the IKEA frame and hung it up. Perfect!
Some of our visitors don't get it, but that's OK with me. 99% of days, we're the only ones who see it, and it makes us happy to remember those early days of our courtship.
If you count my time searching for fonts, this project took about two hours. If you already have cute fonts, it would take about 15 minutes. The paper and ink were essentially free, and the frame was $10. So for $10 and two hours, I have new art in the kitchen that makes me smile. Sounds like a good project to me :)
PS: Does anyone know why IKEA makes a white frame with an off-white mat inside? It bugs me a little to have different whites next to each other, so I'm considering taking some water colors to the mat. Think it would help?
"Crunchy granola" led to "granola bar", and he adopted the nickname for me. Every time he'd call me, he'd open with, "What's up, granola bar?"
I loved it! In fact, I was so smitten that three years later I married him.
Fast forward to present day, and I've been wanting to hang a piece of art in the kitchen. Photographs seem weird in our kitchen, and none of our current art seems to fit the space, so I started considering typography. Typography is essentially words written pretty and used as art (not the real definition, but how I'm using it here).
Granola bars are food, and food comes from the kitchen, so the idea of framing "what's up granola bar?" seemed like a fun idea.
I typed some stuff up, added lots of fun color, and threw it in an IKEA frame.
Tommy hated it.
He had in mind a more loopy font - one that at first glance wouldn't look like words. He was also in favor of a single color. He has pretty good taste, so I trusted him on this one.
I went back to the drawing board (i.e., powerpoint). I downloaded about a dozen loopy fonts, and tried them all our with the text. The winner was a font called Roskrift Clean.
I loved it on the first print-out, so I put it in the IKEA frame and hung it up. Perfect!
Some of our visitors don't get it, but that's OK with me. 99% of days, we're the only ones who see it, and it makes us happy to remember those early days of our courtship.
If you count my time searching for fonts, this project took about two hours. If you already have cute fonts, it would take about 15 minutes. The paper and ink were essentially free, and the frame was $10. So for $10 and two hours, I have new art in the kitchen that makes me smile. Sounds like a good project to me :)
PS: Does anyone know why IKEA makes a white frame with an off-white mat inside? It bugs me a little to have different whites next to each other, so I'm considering taking some water colors to the mat. Think it would help?
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Wedding Wednesday: Invitation Suite
The pre-engaged Bonnie had no idea what a "wedding invitation suite" even was. For those of you not regularly inundated with wedding blogs and magazines, this is simply the collection of all the paper stuff associated with your wedding, typically the save-the-date, invitation, RSVP card, information card, ceremony program, escort/seating card, table number card, menu, and thank-you notes. There's probably more stuff, but that was all we messed with.
I also quickly discovered that this "invitation suite" can cost, and often does cost, upwards of $10 per guest. To which my response was, "are you kidding me?!?!"
**None of the businesses mentioned in this post paid me to say things about them, and all opinions are strictly my own.
We wanted premium refrigerator-front real estate with our save-the-date, so we did a magnet. I got them from Magnet Street, and I was super happy with them, especially the price. They even came with lined envelopes! Done!
The RSVP card, information booklet, programs, menus, and thank you cards were designed by me.
The information booklets echoed the invitations, and had information inside like accommodations, schedule for the week (cookout, beach day, etc.), important phone numbers, and an awesome map made by our friend Maizie!
Everything else (invitation, table numbers, buttons, and escort cards) came from DIY Wedding Templates. This site is really great because they have entire sets of matching products that you download, customize, and print on your own. Each template costs only $6! So that means I spent a grand total of $18 buying the templates for our suite! Bargain. The only negative thing about this site was the slow response from the company when I had questions.
The templates came with a cute font already, but we wanted one that was more loopy. It was really tough choosing a font, but after googling "free fonts" for hours and testing out dozens, we settled on Halo Handletter.
We started with the escort cards and table numbers. We thought it would be fun to name our tables after streets in historic Charleston, so we consulted a map and picked our top 30 (not that we had 30 tables, but extras seemed like a good idea). Tommy got the templates looking great, and printed them all out one night.
On another night, he printed ten escort cards for each table (again, more than necessary, but better safe than sorry). Most people can't print escort cards months ahead because they don't know yet who's coming and where they should sit. We got around this because we made name buttons for our guests, and attached them to the escort cards a week before the wedding. I supposed you could also glue a name on. It was great not having to print stuff the week before our wedding. I hear this can be agony.
Next we printed the invitations. It took a lot of trial and error to come up with wording we liked, but we finally decided on something nice and basic. One of the biggest issues was figuring out how to deal with Jr.'s and III's!
To skip the need for an inner envelope or "belly band", we addressed each individual invitation specifically to the guests. I liked this partly because it saved paper and extra work, but mostly because I liked the level of intimacy it brought to the invitation. We attached the invitations to a navy blue cardstock backer to jazz them up a bit more.
The invitation, RSVP card, and info booklet all got stuffed into Bonnie Pink envelopes. I made a Word doc with all the addresses in it, so anytime we print envelopes, I can just throw envelopes through the printer!
We saved the menus and programs for last. The projects I signed us up for got to be a little overwhelming by the end, and we felt like these items could be skipped if necessary. We did end up finding the time, but not by much!
I drew up a rough menu, using language from our caterer. Tommy's business partner gave me some great comments about white space and letting words breathe, and even though it took a lot of trial and error, the end result was beautiful! The poem you see on the front lets guests know to take their dinner napkin home with them as a souvenir.
For the programs, I basically used the menu design, but with people instead of food!
I got the cardstock and envelopes for everything from Paper Source. While they weren't the cheapest, I preferred their colors, and trusted their brand to provide paper when I knew nothing about it. Everything shipped quickly and professionally, and I was very happy with my order.
The paper products summed to a grand total of $185, including shipping. That's $1.40 per invitation (and free menus, programs, table numbers, and escort cards). Take that, wedding industry!
We were really happy saving money by printing our own invitation suites. Yes, I could have bought them for a similar price, but the quality and style wouldn't have been the same. BUT, they took a LOT of time. Like dozens of hours. Dozens! So please don't think this is a one-night kind of project. We also found it helpful to use a printer that takes cartridges for individual colors. Most of our printing was pink, so we didn't have to use up a 3-color cartridge, just the magenta one!
I also quickly discovered that this "invitation suite" can cost, and often does cost, upwards of $10 per guest. To which my response was, "are you kidding me?!?!"
**None of the businesses mentioned in this post paid me to say things about them, and all opinions are strictly my own.
We wanted premium refrigerator-front real estate with our save-the-date, so we did a magnet. I got them from Magnet Street, and I was super happy with them, especially the price. They even came with lined envelopes! Done!
The RSVP card, information booklet, programs, menus, and thank you cards were designed by me.
 |
RSVP card, with map showing where everyone was coming from  |
 |
Thank you notes, designed and printed by me  |
The information booklets echoed the invitations, and had information inside like accommodations, schedule for the week (cookout, beach day, etc.), important phone numbers, and an awesome map made by our friend Maizie!
 |
 |
Everything else (invitation, table numbers, buttons, and escort cards) came from DIY Wedding Templates. This site is really great because they have entire sets of matching products that you download, customize, and print on your own. Each template costs only $6! So that means I spent a grand total of $18 buying the templates for our suite! Bargain. The only negative thing about this site was the slow response from the company when I had questions.
The templates came with a cute font already, but we wanted one that was more loopy. It was really tough choosing a font, but after googling "free fonts" for hours and testing out dozens, we settled on Halo Handletter.
 |
 |
On another night, he printed ten escort cards for each table (again, more than necessary, but better safe than sorry). Most people can't print escort cards months ahead because they don't know yet who's coming and where they should sit. We got around this because we made name buttons for our guests, and attached them to the escort cards a week before the wedding. I supposed you could also glue a name on. It was great not having to print stuff the week before our wedding. I hear this can be agony.
 |
Escort card name buttons  |
 |
some info removed for privacy!  |
 |
| printing directly on envelopes |
We saved the menus and programs for last. The projects I signed us up for got to be a little overwhelming by the end, and we felt like these items could be skipped if necessary. We did end up finding the time, but not by much!
I drew up a rough menu, using language from our caterer. Tommy's business partner gave me some great comments about white space and letting words breathe, and even though it took a lot of trial and error, the end result was beautiful! The poem you see on the front lets guests know to take their dinner napkin home with them as a souvenir.
For the programs, I basically used the menu design, but with people instead of food!
I got the cardstock and envelopes for everything from Paper Source. While they weren't the cheapest, I preferred their colors, and trusted their brand to provide paper when I knew nothing about it. Everything shipped quickly and professionally, and I was very happy with my order.
The paper products summed to a grand total of $185, including shipping. That's $1.40 per invitation (and free menus, programs, table numbers, and escort cards). Take that, wedding industry!
We were really happy saving money by printing our own invitation suites. Yes, I could have bought them for a similar price, but the quality and style wouldn't have been the same. BUT, they took a LOT of time. Like dozens of hours. Dozens! So please don't think this is a one-night kind of project. We also found it helpful to use a printer that takes cartridges for individual colors. Most of our printing was pink, so we didn't have to use up a 3-color cartridge, just the magenta one!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)