DIY Program Fans {with free template}

Aaaahhh, wedded bliss! Now that we are finally husband and wife, I can start posting my wedding DIY projects! Even better, I have some professional pictures to show them off! Thanks Katy Weaver Photography! The not-so-awesomely-perfect photos are courtesy of myself and some friends in these upcoming posts.

This DIY I'd like to delve into is our program fans, which were a big hit at our wedding! Especially when the temperature was almost pushing 90 degrees during our ceremony.

Katy Weaver Photography

Pretty, no?

I created this design, and printed it via VistaPrint, just like my DIY invites. You can find the template below, if you would like to create your own program fans!

Notice, that the two sides share a middle line. When I cut out the program, I folded it in half along this line first, and cutted both sides at once. This created almost a book. I simply glued a large popsicle stick between the two, so the two sides are permanently folded over the stick. Then decorate as you wish! 

Seriously, that easy. 

Here are a couple more of my crappy shots of the programs. Link to the template is below.

For anyone interested in the template I created and used, here it is in powerpoint: Program Fan Template
To upload to Vistaprint: The slide has been created to be the exact size of the "flyer" option on VistaPrint. Once you finish your design, save the slide as a PDF. This keeps the slide from re-formatting when you upload it. Once it is a PDF, you use that to upload onto the "flyer". The flyers aren't super heavy duty, and there was quite a bit of flex in the fan when completed, but they still did their job beautifully.

To learn how to save your pennies on VistaPrint items (I saved over 70%!), check out the blog of a friend of mine: weddingtips101

Happy Planning!

DIY Wedding Invites (for less than $.35 each!)

Oh my goodness, I haven't posted here in a while! I really want to, but all of my DIYs lately are of wedding things. And to be honest, I want them to be a surprise to my guests! So you will suddenly see MANY more posts after July, I can guarantee it!

BUT I have officially sent out our invites to our guests, so I felt it is safe to show them on here now! You have no idea how EXCITED I am for these. They are definitely my favorite wedding related DIY yet. I designed them myself using Microsoft Powerpoint (yes, Powerpoint!) because I am too poor and cheap to get Publisher or Photoshop.

I then printed them using VistaPrint. They are an online resource that has many of their own designs, but you can also upload your own.... onto tee shirts, invites, mugs, flyers, you name it. The best part, is they are always having awesome deals. Actually, my invites were recently posted on a friend's blog, who helps brides and other people with finding the best deals via VistaPrint. Check her out here!

I created our invites like a fan. If you look carefully, you can see a small button brad in the top left corner, that holds everything together.

And without further ado, here are my invites! Certain information has been covered for our safety.

Katy Weaver Photography

Front Cover

Close-up of front cover

Entire invite, fanned out

invitation page

RSVP page. It is perforated where indicated, and guests can simply tear it out of the packet,
fill it out, and  drop it in the mail! 

This is a close up of the RSVP card itself. It is a postcard, so we didn't have to
deal with the hassle of including an extra envelope. 

This is the back of the RSVP card. See, Postcard! :)

This was the last page, stating our website, and that you could find most any information there.
We also gave guests the ability to RSVP online as well. 

I LOVE LOVE LOVE our invites! What do you think? And for them to be so incredibly affordable, who wouldn't want to design their own and print them on the wonderful VistaPrint? I can't wait to hear what my guests thought about them!

Be My Maid?

Happy Sunday!

I have my first wedding inspired post! This makes me giddy, because I am finally getting into the wedding DIY mode!

Relating to my last post, Pinterest has become my new online addiction. While ogling over the hundreds of 'wedding porn' pictures, I found my first DIY project to tackle. And if you are confused by the term wedding porn, read this article to understand the non-sexual meaning.

Here is my inspiration: found here

What a wonderful idea, no? I was immediately captivated.

This one is absolutely darling, but I wanted to make mine unique and special to the person I was sending it to, my Maid of Honor, Jen. We have known each other since middle school, and were attached at the hip until we graduated high school. Through college, we haven't seen each other nearly as much as we would like, but she is still near and dear in my heart. I had no question in my mind when Jeremy asked me to marry him, who my MoH would be!

Lets delve into what I sent to her, shall we?

I started with a little wooden box from Joann Fabrics. What actually made my idea so different than the one above is I couldn't find the cigar box shape they mention. This is where I deviated from the plan to create something unique!

I first painted the box blue with acrylics that I already have an abundance of. I then added these fantastic letter stickers I found at Creative Crafts, the local craft store, and used spray adhesive to attach the cut doily.

I wanted the outside of the box to be understated, but the inside to be a wonderful surprise of color! So I added the amazing pop of orange to go with the blue. I continued the doily and the letters on the inside of the box, but changed them up. The doily I painted blue to really make it show against the light wood, and painted the letters black to stand out against it all. I added epoxy letter stickers for the "be my" and "of honor".

For the contents of the box, I got a ring pop to highlight my "proposal" to Jen. I added a Starbucks gift card for how I would have asked if I could have seen her in person, and also to hint at any coffee-heavy DIY late nights we may have. :) Lets hope I stay on top of the planning, and not have too many frantic late nights! I also included a little poem {yes that is a Trena original, rhymes and all!}, to tie everything together.

How do you like it? How do you plan to propose to your MoH or all of your maids? I think it is a very honored privilege, and they should be asked in a special way. Whether its a personal meeting, a phone call, a beautiful card, or a box of goodies like this, I want to hear it. And feel free to be inspired by this to make your own MoH box! Jennifer loved hers!