Handmade Bridal Shower Invitations Under 18 Dollars!

It's been wedding central here in the Practical Prepster household.
One of my best friends is getting married in November and one of my close friends is getting married next weekend! So with all the lovely nuptials around the corner my wallet has been hit hard with wedding gifts and bachelorette party reservations.

For the wedding in November, I am a bridesmaid and  I've been so exited to get crafty and inventive as the other bridesmaids and I come up with fun ideas for the bachelorette party and bridal shower.

......Obviously I volunteered to decorate and do all the fun crafty things. So first things first were the invitations!!!!!!


We are having a cute little bridal tea shower in a tea room here in southern VA, so I decided to theme the event "Love is Brewing"



I wanted  to hand-make the invitations for a personal touch. and to make things low-cost!






I printed the logistical information on the back of some beautiful card-stock I picked up at Michaels.

I chose card-stock with a little sheen so it would stand out and look more expensive.

I traced an outline of a teapot on floral scrapbook paper,
which I also purchased at Michaels.

Next, I cut little bows out of lacey ribbon and hot glued them on the floral teapot cutouts.















Next came the fun part!  I used two different sized sharpies to put a curly "Love is Brewing" text on the front of the teapot. I used craft glue to glue the teapot to the cardstock and then added little hearts to the spout! .......( side note I spent about a day figuring out how I wanted to write this)

Finally it was time to lick some envelopes and address them in a fun way! I searched on Pinterest for creative ways to address envelopes.

Lastly, I used old stickers from my manny years of Lilly Pulitzer agendas to seal the envelopes!


And TADA, handmade invitations that cost me next to nothing! Just time and crafty cutting.



Stay tuned for more wedding updates!

Family Reunion. Two Parties & A Decor Budget of 80!

Hello my favorite readers! Hope all is well. I'm sorry I've been absent.. but post-grad life has been kinda crazy. I've gone from GMU to NY to VA to PA to IL to IN to VA ..back to PA and finally to VA again. Its been a whirlwind of a summer but I'm glad to finally be settled in for the next couple of months and be back to blogging!
So.... we had our annual Stover Family Reunion two weekends ago, and because my aunt hosted this year, she asked me to help out with the decor. 

I set a color scheme of blue, yellow, and white and then added some personal touches. I wanted a simple picnic feel and went with a lot of DIY decor options that were based on my color scheme and the letter S! Check out my decorations below!

Night 1 &2 @ Margret's House.


A pretty entry way, with a personalized banner and tissue ball flowers.















A little welcome banner at the front door!

I love this light up "S" I found at Michaels on sale for 2 dollars!

These tissue pom-poms were great for adding a pop of color, I used them in the entry way, on the buffet table, and on the picnic tables. The best part.... they were .50 cents. 

I  hand painted this banner and then used it at both locations. By changing the way it was hung I kept it fresh and new!

I cut out foam "S's" to put around the gates of the house and also at the mailbox to direct people to the correct house!
















More of the "S's".  I added little paper lanterns to the outdoor umbrellas to bring in the color scheme.

Day 2 @ Pavilion- It was HOT, HOT,HOT!


Here is the banner rehung at the pavilion.

The picnic tables- simple blue runner.  tissue balls, some decorative napkins, and a glass jar with a floating daisy.

 
















 Close up of the table decor.


















I added yellow and white paper lanterns to the corners of the pavilion to add a bright and colorful touch!

















Look at all the food.. and how cute are those cake pops?























When I was finally done, I sat back and enjoyed a cake pop...or two..

















I had such a fun time making the decorations. DIY is my favorite, and I love being able to add a personal touch to such a fun event.  Staying under 100 dollars for two separate locations was a fun challenge and I enjoyed bargain hunting ribbon at Michaels, exploring the dollar store,  and digging through my shed to find decorations I could alter and use!

How do you decorate and stay on a tight budget?