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Card Keepsake

11/27/2020

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I GOT MARRIEDDDDDD!!!!! I'm a little excited, can you tell?!

​Wedding planning in general can be stressful but add COVID to the mix and it's just down right exhausting! We went back and forth for so long about what the heck we were even doing and basically started outlining two different wedding possibilities for our day. We ended up still having it at our venue and just had to limit our list down.

Despite all the stress over every little detail, dresses, decor, the weather, and covid, it turned out to be the most perfect and beautiful day! I still can't believe just how perfect everything was and felt. To have those closest to us there to celebrate with us and enjoy a happy evening during all the craziness in the world was so incredibly heartwarming! 
With any big life event, we received plenty of cards! Not just any cards, wedding cards of course. They were just so beautiful, sparkly, meaningful, etc. and I just could not throw them away. I saw the idea people have been making where they punch shapes out of them and put them in a frame but I thought, what if I get tired of having it on my wall, or want to move it around? Then I'm stuck with a big frame to put somewhere else! And I mean that in the best way possible obviously!
So instead, I thought, how could I make these into a book or album of some sort and tried looking up ideas on that. Some people take this very seriously and sew sections together just like you would a real handcrafted book but that was a little too much for me! When I began my "dictionary art" I had one singular dictionary and my goal was to use up every bit of that dictionary. After using all the pages and feeling so accomplished I then decided to hoard the cover and backing of the dictionary like a crazy person. Well, well well! Did those come in handy or what?! This became my front and back of our new wedding card book! I did not take step-by-step photos but I'll attempt to explain my process!
*Optional: I first decorated both the cover and the backs to spruce up the book. I used scrapbook paper, copies of our wedding invite, and stickers. 

1. I found my smallest card and lined them up centered with the cover of the book so that I could mark off roughly where 2 holes would go into the cover, card, and back of the book. 

2. I used an electric drill to drill through both the cover and back. 

3. Next, I marked every card with matching holes to the cover and hole punched all of them. 

4. Optional. I also cut every card in half with an E-xacto knife so that they would flip more easily. 

5. I used 2 large binder rings (3in to fit the amount of cards we had), and fed the rings through each card!
  
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Note: This was the amount of cards from about 60 people, so if you have a larger event you might want to/need to make multiple books! 
And that was it! Now we have a gorgeous keepsake!
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Let's Have a Party!

5/28/2019

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​It feels like it has been ages since I have last posted! But it has not quite been 2 months yet so I think I'm still in the clear. The reason for my absence was mostly due to the fact that I was in charge of throwing my parents a surprise 40th anniversary party! And it's no simple feat - especially when you want to do it up like me (Momma taught me best!).

Planning a party of any type has so many components! It starts with when to have it, where to have it, and rolls into the confusing guest list of who and who not to invite - hoy, so many decisions!

Luckily, a wonderful aunt offered to host the party for us, which means... no cost! (I tried to give her money guys, I swear). Once you decide on a guest list, you can make/order invites. So much fun!
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​We put a twist on the party since it was for my parents anniversary and made it a 1970's party to honor 1979. I love having a theme. It makes it more fun in my opinion! But, I also think just doing a general color scheme is fun too!

So, once you get those invites out you can start thinking about the details: food, decorations, etc. Luckily, my parents have amazing friends, everyone offered to bring something. My aunt and I provided the main dishes and everyone else brought sides and desserts. Someone else even offered to get the cake for us - thank you, thank you!

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I was left to decorate, which I love more than anything. Since we went with the 1970s, I tried to stick with the beautiful hues of that era - yellow, olive green, peach, brown, etc. and it was beautifully vintage when it all came together.
​I found an AWESOME flat sheet at the thrift store for $1.50 that for sure must have been from 1979 and cut it into wide strips to make runners for all the tables. They were definitely not all exact... but no one could tell since they weren't lined up right next to one another! 
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I also purchased various sheets/tablecloths in the other colors and cut them into 1.5-2" wide strips of varying lengths to make whimsical fabric garland to hang throughout the party area. These were a steal! - thrift stores and garage sales are where it's at! We also used one of these for a simple photo backdrop area.
To see how to make the fabric garland, read my post here: 
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https://www.the-art-escape.com/blog/scrap-fabric-garland

I put together a small photo collage (didn't want it to be too overwhelming) to show the progression of our family over the last 40 years and also put their 1970 style photos in frames to use as decorations on the tables - and conversation starters of course!
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I used mason jars for center pieces, filled them with stones so they wouldn't blow over, and put a simple mixture of fake flowers with pin wheels or "40" stakes in them. I purchased the pin wheels for dirt cheep at a craft store and made the "40" stakes myself by cutting out "40" on glitter paper with the CriCut, gluing them to a white background, and taping them to the stakes. I trimmed everything down to fit into the glasses at varying heights. My aunt also had tree slices left from previous parties that we used under the mason jars! This provides some extra pazaz to the table for sure!

To be completely honest, I didn't really know how many tables we would have. I also didn't know where I would be hanging all the stuff I was making but I just kept making away! Everything was able to be used and it all came together perfectly!

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I made real cute party favors for the guests as well - I used leftover fabric from the sheets and made "hobo bags". I filled them with a piece of Hubba-Bubba gum, Twix, and a Ring Pop - all of which were created in/around 1979. I made quick tags just by printing them out onto cardstock and cutting them out, then hole-punching them and tying them to the bags (with more scrap fabric)! I put them in an old suitcase which everyone thought was great!
My uncle put together a playlist of groovy 70's tunes for people to dance to. We had my parents cut the cake just like they did 40 years ago, they danced to a song my uncle chose for them, and we had them play the new-age shoe game. Dad was not happy with all this attention! But he was a trooper through it all.


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​Although it was supposed to be a surprise party... my parents totally knew! They said no one talked to them all week and people were being too weird - woops! That's ok - it was a perfect 70's bash none-the-less.
Now, for one thing that was not so perfect.... there always seems to be something that happens at events: strange family drama, weird occurrences, something doesn't work, something breaks, you forget the cake, etc.... this particular event resulted in my aunt (yes the same aunt who hosted) acquiring a broken leg!!!!

​It was awful, there's just no other way to put it. I felt/feel absolutely terrible that it happened because, in my mind, if I wouldn't have had it there, she wouldn't have broken her leg! Now she will be laid up in a cast for weeks and weeks, right in the middle of summer (she's a camper, this is a big deal people!) and right before her grandbaby is due! Terrible, terrible, terrible!

It happened while we were setting up for the party, we tried to make her sit the rest of the day/night but the woman wants to move, move, move! Thankfully, she had a boot from when she broke her other leg another time and wore it all night... but, the next day, x-rays revealed it was most certainly broken. 
​Picture below to prove how amazing my aunt is for sticking around the whole night! 
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So, in conclusion, there are so many different pieces and parts for planning a party. You can go in so many different directions and do just about anything, making it personal for whoever the guest-of-honor is! 

Need ideas for planning your next party?? Just ask me, I'd love to help! 
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    Rebecca Myers 

    Hey there, I'm Becca, or Rebecca, but not Becky, never Becky, unless you're my family from down south! I'm a simply modern librarian by day and an artist by night. My pursuit is for a simple, happy, healthy, and more fulfilling life! I hope I inspire you to get crafty!

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