Travel themed bridal shower

It's been almost a month since my last post. In addition to things being crazy at work with TAKS testing and soon STAAR testing, I just haven't felt like paper crafting. Lately I feel tired and run down, and I can't seem to shake it. I have a stack of new materials on my craft table, but as much as I want to play with them, I haven't.

But this weekend, I have been feeling crafty, and I had a good excuse to get back in the mood to be creative. I hosted a bridal shower for my soon-to-be sister in law, Joyce. I found some lovely Karen Adams invitations at a stationary store in Alamo Heights, and I printed them off on our home printer. I found the image to be so simple and charming.

I HEART U by Karen Adams

I searched around for some bridal shower ideas, and wouldn't you know it? Martha had some lovely ideas for travel showers. I loved the idea for postcard invitations and map centerpieces. I wish I had seen her invitation ideas before I bought these, but ours still came out beautifully. I did some shopping on Friday (thank goodness we had a three day weekend! Thank you, Fiesta), and I found glass cylinders at Michael's and Garden Ridge Pottery. I wrapped each cylinder with maps of the west coast, especially California, because that is where they are planning to go on their road trip honeymoon. And I embellished the maps with a little satin and grosgrain ribbon from Michael's. I am now an expert at tying a bow tie!

Working on the centerpieces

The tall cylinder is a flower vase, and the shorter ones are candle holders. They took more time than I thought they might, but I'm pretty sure that's because I was sitting in front of the TV instead of at my work station. It's not very efficient to have to run back and forth to cut paper or grab scissors every time (what can I say? James Bond was on, and I love Daniel Craig!). 

Place cards in the early stages

After I finished all of the cylinders, I worked on the place cards. I used some Wausau Paper cardstock I had in my stash, and I hand wrote the text on the front with my trusty white Uniball gel pen. That pen is a miracle worker. It's cleaner and more exact than using a paint pen. I filled in all of the guests' names after I wrote out the top and bottom, and I used transparent photo corners to mount some fun Road Trip Table Topics cards on the inside. We didn't play a shower game, but people enjoyed talking about the table topics. Mine said something like "would you rather live in New York City, Chicago or San Francisco?"

Place cards in the early stages

 When we put everything together, I think the effect was quite nice. I know Joyce loved it, and I was excited to host her shower. All those years spent in my 20s and early 30s reading Martha Stewart Living finally paid off! 

The finished centerpieces with place card

Candles and place cards

Sometimes Understated Is Just Another Word for Boring

I should have known better. I have been staring at my last page thinking it needed something. I just couldn't put my finger on it. I think in my zeal to try something more understated and simple I went way too simple. Those days on the playgym were so much fun, and I needed a layout that captures the spirit of those magical days. Back then the downside was that Ben was content to play and laugh and talk to himself, even if I was away for a minute or two. The upside was I was with my little man, and I was able to capture this moment.

I decided to take everything apart and try again. I used some paper I had been avoiding because I was concerned the polka dots were too mesmerizing, the sparkles too sparkly. I decided to try it on a whim, and ta-da! I lifted all of the original embellishments and the photo off of the old piece. I had to change my approach to the lettering in the title, and I added some buttons for balance. I was thinking about adding a journal spot to the bottom right corner under the photo, but I think I'm going to stop fussing with it and let it be.