Do you DIY? Here's contest for you!

 photo from Vintage Glam Blog

Amanda over at Vintage Glam Weddings is have a DIY contest! Check out the details here.

Invitations!

Invitations and ideas for invitations have been running around in my head for the last week. Tomorrow officially marks eight  months to go. Everyone keeps telling me "YOU have soooo much time" but considering that we are already half way through November, those eight months are going to fly.

Anyway, I really love the look of letterpressed invitations, but it's totally out of range for our budget. But like Miss Fondue on WeddingBee, I'm loving the look of heat embossed invitations. They look have the textured look to them that I think is so pretty, not to mention a lot more affordable! I'm definitely considering this option because I do want to DIY my invitations because all the premades aren't quite speaking to me. I think they are totally beautiful, but I'm a custom on a budget type of gal.

I'm also thinking about poketfolds and the possibility of making them myself. I know that they are available on www.cardandpockets.com and at around $1 each, that would mean about $200 just on the pocketfolds! There are a ton of great tutorials online, including Road to the Aisle and Miss Ballet Flat and Miss Fondue and Mrs. Daffodil on WeddingBee.

Some things to think about!

Creative Must-Have... or at least I think so

My new love on the creative front has been the Xyron family of products. I own a Xyron 510 that I bought at 50% off at Joann's. It's become my new best friend. I love the adhesive feature and most recently the magnet/laminator feature. All this, without any electricity! It's green goodness.

Now I'm totally coveting the Xyron 900 (which now, come to think of it, I should have jumped on with that 50% off coupon, but oh well), and have been scouring Michaels, Joann's, and eBay for a good deal. I'm pretty thrifty so at 50% off or more deal would be sweet!

For those of you who have not yet been introduced, meet the Xyron 900 or 9" Creative Station (it's official name), featured on Martha Stewart as well:

Click here for instructions on how to make the Copper-Edged Magnet shown on the Martha Stewart show on March 22.

I'm definitely using this baby to create my magnet Save the Dates! (Coming Soon!) I wasn't digging the plain magnet paper and I didn't like the texture once printed on. I did however love the laminated feel of magnets run through the Xyron. It's a little pricey, but when you get 50% or more off on the cartridges, plus all the other uses that will come of this fabulous contraption, who could say no?

Check out these other projects made with the Xyron a la Weddingbee:

Mrs. Lovebug's Bridal Backstage Passes
Miss Pomegranate's Save the Date labels
Miss Hydrangea's Table Cards and Water Labels
Mrs. Jasmine's Address Labels
Mrs. Penguin's Invitations
Miss Coconut's Save the Date project

And this is only to name a few...

Weddings + Single Friends?

I saw the cutest idea for getting your single friends to mingle on Elizabeth Anne Designs (I love their blog!). Basically, you purchase (or build!) two birdhouses to display. Write table numbers and seating numbers on a skinny roll of paper, and insert inside each birdhouse. Use one birdhouse for the single guys and the other the single ladies. And voila, instant intermingling!
The full story can be found here. Thanks ladies!