In the land of shmoopy love song lyrics, and saccharine sweet poetry, we're proud to announce five delicious way to give your wedding programs a zip.  It's like adding chipotle to your chili or wasabi to your soy sauce.  Check out these ideas, and be sure to add your own in the comments!

Wedding Surveys - Add a survey to the back of your wedding program!  Ask questions like
"How was the processional?  (multiple choice)
a. Lame 
b. Okeedokee
c. Awesome
d. Fricking Awesome"
or
"How would you rate their kiss?  (worst) 1  2  3  4  5 (best)"

Wedding BINGO - On the back of your program, include a BINGO board!  Throughout the ceremony, you can have someone surrepticiously call out numbers, or if you're the more dignified sort, you can have events or objects in your ceremony count as BINGO blots.  Be sure to use "The Kiss" as the center of the board!

Games - You might want to include some sort of game on the back of your program.  We vote for a dirty mad libs, but you might prefer a word search, dot to dot, finding things in a complicated picture, crosswords or riddles!  Be sure to punch a hole in your programs and attach a writing utensil with a bit of baker's twine. Games are also a handy way to make sure your guests don't riot if you're running late!

Tear off origami - Ah, the beautiful and adorably frustrating art of origami.  Add folding lines to the top or bottom square and include the instructions below or above.  Your guests will be entertained by the graceful crane that magically appears, albeit potentially mutilated, while they wait for the ceremony to start! 

Family Tree - Print half of your wedding programs with the one partner's side of the family and the other half with the other partner's side.  That way people who don't know your partner very well will have a great conversation starter.  It's the perfect way to get everyone mingling!

Drinking Game Rules - If you're the type of couple who enjoys a cocktail, you might enjoy a good drinking game!  Make sure your guests are prepared by giving them all the rules in advance!  While they're waiting for the mystical reveal of the wedding party, they can be boning up on rules like:

1. Take a shot every time you hear a song you made out to.
2. Every time you say congratulations, take a drink. 
3. Anytime the couple kisses: everyone drinks!

Scavenger Map - Everyone loves a Scavenger Map!  Hide goodies all over the wedding site to keep people on their toes.  Print the first half of your order with one map and print the second half with a different one in order to help people explore your site, meet each other and have a little fun!

Well, we hope you enjoyed these our little stationery inspirations!  Be sure to add your own below!

Labels: offbeat wedding, wedding programs

We dig the fact that so many people are opting for DIY weddings.  It might be an economical choice, but the fact of the matter is that hand made goodies and personal touches make a wedding more personal.  In that spirit, we've put together a list of DIY favor projects that you might be able incorporate into your nuptials. 

1. Do it Yourself Wedding's Recycled Seed Packet - This baby is made out or recycled toilet and paper towel rolls.  We know, we were doubtful too.  But take a look, these are genuinely fun.  Think if you were to stitch it with a sewing machine instead of staples.  Cute!
2. NotMarta.org's Mason Jar Cobblers - If you are a baker, or know someone who is, this might be the a good choice for you! Add a ribbon and a gift tag and you'll find there is a whole lot of "I'm sorry, what were you saying?  I can't hear you over this booty kicking cobbler." 
3. Buttons or Magnets - Here's an example of what one person did for her button/magnets on Craftster.org, but you could do your own with a quick trip the craft store and a printer!  That same couple also did cross stitched bookmarks!
4. Good's Handmade Beauty Products - All you need a pretty jar and you can make your guests custom perfume or shave oil to remind them of your special day.  And it's all natural!  Another possibility that might be fun is to give them the recipe so they can recreate it later.
5. Do it Yourself Wedding's Lollipop Flags - This is a cute, ingenious and inexpensive way to provide a favor OR they could also be used as seating cards!  The possibilities are endless with this since the flags could be used for so many small touches.

Labels: DIY Tutorial, favors

It's that time again!  This month's FREEBEE is an easy peasy bag tag to match our Rockabilly Tattoo Wedding Invitation Suite.  We've included a 3 inch and a 1 inch version of the tag for endless possibilities.  We hope you'll find it useful!

Let's get started!

What You'll Need

1. Our Rockabilly Tattoo Wedding Tags (3" and 1") PDF Pattern (click here to download it!) - we have it here in both card stock (thicker paper) and full sheet sticker paper.
2. Cutting Board or Mat
3. Adjustable Circle Cutter (we're using the Fiskars Circle Cutter that includes two blades.  The one we show here cuts circles from 1-8 inches), you could also use a paper punch.
4. Single Whole Puncher
5. Scissors

The Steps

Step 1:  Print the PDF on a color printer (in the print dialogue, be sure to set the scaling to "None")
Step 1:  Place your cutter on top of the printed sheet (we've included pale cut lines to help guide you).  Press down hard to get a good clean slice. The lines are set at 3" but to ensure you get the cleanest cuts, set your cutter to about .25 smaller. 

TIPS! Because the shuttle can shift slightly, it's best to push down on the rotating blade to ensure a clean cut.  It's best to have the rotating blade go around only once, otherwise you're more likely to get a bigger spiral cut, requiring more trimming.   Be sure to push the center foot down fairly hard to avoid additional shuttle shifting.  

Step 2:  Trim up any edges!  (Remember less is more!  Just trim off what you need and no one will be the wiser). 
Step 3: Punch a hole in the top of your tag. (We had fun shifting our hole punch at different angles!)

Step 4: Write on the back and add some ribbon, you have custom gift tags!  Or print these guys out on sticker paper, cut them out and you have custom stickers!
We hope you enjoyed our tutorial for our DIY Rockabilly Tattoo Gift Tags or Stickers! If you like this, you might also like our Rockabilly Tattoo Weddding Invitation Suite.  Let us know if you have any questions and be sure to leave comments or suggestions below!

Labels: alternative wedding, DIY Tutorial, rockabilly tattoo wedding invitation