invites and table runner

As I mentioned yesterday, I used the invites to set the theme for Marissa’s Literary Bridal Shower.

I found them HERE on Etsy. The creator of the invites, Kendra, was an absolute joy to work with.

When I told Kendra that I wanted book-page lined envelopes, she said, ‘No problem.”

After she sent me the proof of the layout, I asked if she could you a date-stamp instead of the typewriter for the two dates on the invite. She did not hesitate.

Once they arrived and I began addressing and stuffing them, I discovered that she accidentally sent five less than I ordered. I let her know and she cranked them out and I had them in my hands a couple of days later.

Did I mention that each invite was handmade, one at a time, on a 1970s typewriter? So cool! I love Etsy!

Another of my favorite things was the book-page table runner that Sloane and I made. It was the easiest and quickest of all the crafts, but I think it was the real statement piece of the decor.

To make it, first I measured Barb’s dining table and then cut butcher paper long enough to touch the floor on both ends.

Sloane and I went to Goodwill and bought a bunch of old hardback books. We tore out the pages, gathered up a boxful of glue sticks, and went to work.

We just glued the pages, overlapping and going in one direction from the middle to one end and in the opposite direction from the middle to the other end. No measuring or lining up, but rather haphazardly overlapping. Take care to not only cover every visible inch of the butcher paper but also hang slightly off on all sides too.

When it was finished, we carried the 14-foot runner up the stairs in my house and draped it over Marissa’s bed.

That was in the middle of March. The only problem was, that Marissa was coming home to stand up at a friend’s wedding at the end of March. I carefully put the runner in my car and took it to Kim’s house for the weekend.

Kim was supposed to return it to me after a cooking class she was working at, but instead, we decided it would be best if she just left it at Barb’s house until the party.

There it stayed, draped on Barb’s guest room bed and that is where I went and added black and white photos of the engaged couple to it.

I think it moved to another bedroom in Barb’s house one more time before it found it’s rightful place on the dining table for the buffet.

It currently resides in the upstairs craft room in my house, I can’t bear to get rid of it. It may only be butcher paper, glue, and book pages, but I love it! I’m just going to have another party and use it again.