Book-themed Wedding {LDS reception on a Dime}

I have 3 boys... I'm never going to be able to plan a wedding.  So, when my cousin got engaged, I jumped at the chance to be able to decorate for her wedding reception.

 I was asked to decorate this wedding reception as cheap as possible.  The reception was held in an LDS chapel gym.  If you aren't familiar with the LDS faith, many people are married in the temple in the morning, then have a reception at the local church in the evening.   This couple actually had both the luncheon AND the reception in the gym.  So, in decorating, I had to plan on decorating for both.  I came up with the idea of a book-themed wedding.  Jessie loves to read and so does her husband Adam. I did a lot of shopping at yard sales and thrift stores and did a lot of borrowing as well.

Jessie and Adam chose the colors of royal blue, silver and peach.   The centerpieces were different for every table.  They all involved a royal blue frame, a grouping of books, flowers and usually some sort of glassware.  We used white table cloths which we were able to get from a linen company for free (family owned).  We were able to borrow silver overlays for the tables and silver chair ties from a friend of the family.

 The flowers were mostly purchased from the Dollar Tree (to be honest, I couldn't find peach flowers any where else in St. George).   I bought all of the frames at yard sales for $1 at the most.  The spray paint was the expensive part, but I only think I used 3 cans for everything I painted.  I bought most of my books for 50 cents or less from thrift stores and yard sales.

 I had a lot of glassware, milk glass, candle sticks, etc.   I used what I had and bought anything I liked at yard sales and thrift stores.  I also borrowed a few things.   I bought peach and royal ribbon at the Joann or Michaels.  We used silver and blue mints on several of the tables as well.

I found small peach flowers on clearance at Tai pan and was able to get foam balls at the dollar store to make peach balls for the glass dishes.  I lucked out and found 16 small frames at a yard sale for $2.  I painted them silver.

In the entry to the gym, we had the guest book table.  I actually got the table for $5 at a yard sale and found the silver paint on clearance at Home Depot for $2.50.... score!  On top of the table, I made a paper table runner.  I taped book pages together on the back side.  Then I used this lace Martha Stewart punch to punch a lace trim all along the edge of the book pages.  The items on the table, were picked by the bride and groom.  They wanted their favorite books and their Dr. Who cookie jar.  They also wanted advice cards to go in the cookie jar.  Their guest book was made by Jessie's cousin, Sally.  I made the flower pens.  

I made the advice cards and a sign to let people know they needed to write advice.  They are a free download here and here.

Behind the table I made a "dates" chalk frame.  The frame was something I had picked up at a yard sale and painted silver.  The chalk board was from Home Depot... already painted with the chalk paint.  All I had to do was have my hubby cut the wood to fit the frame.  Then, I had to write on it in chalk.

 Along the wall when guests walked in, I had a photo display.  I hung white paper doilies with a photo in front of them.  They were hung on silver twine with silver glitter clothes pins.  I had the twine, bought a few doilies and found the glitter clothes pins on clearance at Joann.  I also made a banner that said "Once Upon a Time" out of the same Harry Potter book I used for Brenner's Harry Potter Birthday party (Jessie and Adam both love Harry Potter).  I had lace for the banner, and the book.  I only had to buy the scrapbook paper to cut out the letters.. and even some of that I had already.

The dresser itself was one I have in my dining room.  I already had most of the silver frames at home, or I picked them up from yard sales.  My sweet hubby cut out the book letters for me.  I had a scrap of chalk board left from the "dates" sign and I happened to have a frame that it fit in, so I used that to make a sign with their last name.

 We made a very simple backdrop for the happy couple.  During the luncheon, the couple and their parents sat at these tables.  During the reception, we took the tables down and the couple stood in front of the back drop.  The backdrop is just music pages taped to the wall.  I made the peach swag out of scraps of satin, ribbon, tulle, etc.  They are just looped over the ribbon.  Then I  made the other banners by folding the doilies over the twine and sticking them together with a glue dot.   Some have a flower attached too.

 My hubby also cut out these book letters.  The vase behind the ampersand was to hold her bouquet.  There is also another paper table runner on this table.

The other side of the gym was the serving table.    I used books stacked up with trays and platters on them.  I also put any other decor I items I had left over that we didn't use on the table.  The banner above the food table said "Happily Ever After"... food brings happiness, right? And there was nothing I could really do about the ugly blue curtain on the stage.

The photo booth was very similar to the couples backdrop... without the peach swag.  We used dictionary pages taped to the wall.  And we hung a frame from the basketball hoop above with twine.

 Next to the booth was a little dresser with the photo booth props in a vase and a sign I made in photoshop.

We used a hashtag so that we could easily search pictures people posted on social media.

And here I am with all of my girl cousins on the Williams side of the family.

Now... let's talk about organizing!  I am a school teacher.  Jessie got engaged at the beginning of the summer and her wedding was at the end, so it gave me the summer to work on the wedding.  However, she got married the Saturday before school started.  So, not only did I have to decorate for a wedding reception, but I had to set up a brand new classroom... super stressful week.  I knew this would be stressful and that I would probably have to rely on other people to do the actual set up.  I had to be super organized.  So, I (and my cousin Libby, the bride's sister) put all of the centerpiece groupings together ahead of time.   We took pictures of each center piece, labeled the pix and packed them in a labeled box.  

I also drew pictures of the gym with the layout of how I wanted to tables set up.  Everything was in a binder with the supplies they needed to set up.  While I was working all day Friday before the wedding, several people went to the church and had almost everything set up before I got off work.

Another great organizing tip, we actually not my idea.  Jessie lives in Salt Lake and I live in St. George and the wedding was to be in St. George.  So she set up a facebook group to plan the wedding.  Every idea that I had, I could post on the facebook group so she could see pictures of it and tell me her opinion.  That worked out really nice.

All in all, I think it turned out nice.  Yes, there are things I would have done differently, but it was a nice wedding on a shoestring budget.  I didn't completely add everything up, but I would say all of the decor came in under $150.... not that's amazing!

Also, I claim to have done everything, but my cousin Libby helped a lot and also my friend MinDee.  Thanks you two!!!

Oh, and I want to thank my friend Brandy for the pix!  She was the photographer for the wedding.  The pix that look good in this blog post are from her... the crappy ones are from my cell phone... lol.  I was too busy to get out my nice camera to take pix.

Pinewood Derby

I realized that I never posted the Pinewood Derby last year, so I thought I would post a little of both years.

We basically used a checkerboard theme for our derby.  We were able to find a few things at the dollar store and the rest of the stuff I made.

We hung a few flags on the doors coming into the gym.  These larger flags were found at the dollar store.

Around the track, we set up a barricade.  We didn't want the kids getting near the track.  We got small cones.  We actually taped them to the ground. Then, we taped the flags all along the track.  To make them, I just found a checkerboard clipart and made b/w copies on cardstock.

 For centerpieces, I made a few fans/pinwheels.  I had made the blue and gold ones for a blue/gold banquet a few years ago... they come in really handy for all cub scout functions.  For the pinewood derby, I added a checkerboard one.

We used a few of them on the food table along with the larger banner from the dollar store.

 I made these trophies last year.  I spray-painted a car gold, silver and bronze.  I painted a 2x4 block blue.  The plaque in the front I just made in photoshop.  I got it laminated and nailed it on there with small nails to make it look more like a real trophy plaque.

 I put our pack # and the year on the trophy.

 I had a good time making signs and awards.  These are all items I made last year.  I made a wide variety of awards so that every boy could get one.  (I am so sorry, but I can not find my list of awards... there were some really creative ones.)

 I did not get pictures of these, but we had a weigh-in table.  This table had a scale, graphite, tools to fix cars, etc.  The boys checked in their cars...

...Then the placed them on the checked-in table.  On this table, I had black paper plates to put their cars on.

I also had a name card for the boys to write the name of their car.

 We had all the boys and family members vote for "best of show" at this table.

Then, the races began....

I hope you find some of this stuff helpful.  Everything I made was in Photoshop Elements, please feel free to email me if you would like any of the files.  anisascholes at gmail dot com

Neon Laser Tag {Birthday Party}

My crazy little wild child turned 8!  He is my most spirited child... always wants to play... always wants to be outside.  He loves color and he really wanted a laser tag party.  So I decided to do a Neon Target theme for his party.

The invitations were designed in Photoshop Elements.  I found a target png online and used that for everything.

We began the party by handing out glow bracelets and necklaces to all of the kids.  Then, we loaded them in the car and had my hubby take them to Laser Mania (Our local laser tag place).

While they were gone, I had time to get the house all cleaned up, decorated and ready for the rest of the party.

They came home to a house that looked like this...

I bought a black light at Home Depot and made all of the decorations out of neon paper.  I also bought balloons at Walmart that had LED lights in them.

This is what it looked like with the lights on.  The center of the banner was designed in Photoshop Elements and then printed at Costco photo.  I then cut two layers of neon circles for the outside and strung it up with neon ribbon.  I had jars of glow sticks on the dresser along with the cake and the party favors.

I also made this cute target centerpiece.  The pinwheels are easy to make.   You just accordion fold the paper and hook it to itself.  Then you glue a circle in the center to hold it all together.  My hubby had just given me a Silhouette Cameo for Christmas, so I got to use that to cut out the targets in the middle.

I made a pizza shaped like a target for dinner.

And after dinner, they had cake...

and the birthday boy got to blow out his candles...

Here's a cheesy picture with the cake...

After cake and ice cream, he opened presents... and I sent the kids home with party favors...

Inside the favor boxes were neon gummy worms, a neon slinky and...

neon target charms that I made from Fizzy Pops.  The kit includes the bottle cap charms and the clear bubble stickers that you put over the top.  I designed the targets and got them printed on photo paper at Costco.

Priesthood Preview

My calling in my church (the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) is in the Primary.  I work with the kids from age 3-12.  At the end of the year, we are asked to hold a special night for the boys who will be turning 12.  It is called the Priesthood Preview.  The boys listened to talks about the importance of the priesthood.  We had a musical number and then had refreshments.

I had seen ideas (and talked to people) about doing a "tie" theme.  So, I found an idea on Little Birdie Secrets for a shirt and tie invitation.  

Then I got to work on the decor.  I wanted to make a tie banner.  I was debating on making it out of paper ties.  But, when I got on Pinterest and did a little searching, I came across this tie wreath... and I had to make it!  I asked friends for ties and got WAY more than I needed.  

To make the wreath, I simply cut a circle out of a cardboard box... I'm cheap.  Then, I cut the tied and hot-glued them around the wreath (overlapping slightly).  I tied one tie in a boy and glued it on.  Then glued a string on the back to hang it. 

To make the banner, I used the left over tied and cut them in half.  I cut the cut off tie back into a point and hot-glued the layers together.  Then, I folded over the top half and sewed it so that I could easily slip the ties onto a ribbon.

We thought it would be a great idea to just serve donuts and hot chocolate for refreshments.  I wanted the Oath and Covenant of the priesthood displayed but couldn't find a poster.  So, I wrote it on the chalk board!

 I also had some left-over Halloween candy that I put in glass jars... with a small child's tie around one of the jars.

We have a great group of boys!!!

Power Ranger Birthday Party

My little boy has suddenly become obsessed with Power Rangers.  He found some of his older brother's toys and he found the videos on Netflix.  So, he was determined to have a Power Ranger party.  Power Rangers have changed over the years... anything from Jungle Fury, to Operation Overdrive... and now they are Samurai Rangers.  I mostly used the Samurai Rangers because they have really cool graphics on their masks... and because it was easier to find things online.

I dressed him up in some of his Power Ranger gear and took his picture.  Then I made a simple invite and printed it as a 4x6 photo.

On the front door, I had a sign with Power Up... getting them ready.

On the door to the back yard, I put a Power Ranger Training Zone.  When we went into the back yard, it was set up with six stations for Power Ranger Training.  I printed signs and stuck them in the grass on wooden stakes.

The first training was "Be Careful"  The kids did relay races with a jewel on a spoon.

The second station was "Be Strong"  We had a tug of war with a bunch of 4 year olds.... it took them a few minutes to actually figure out the concept, but they finally got it.

Station #3 was "Teamwork"  (I somehow forgot to take a picture of that station).  The kids had a partner and they had to hold a balloon between them and race to the wall and back.

Station #4 was "Defeat the Bad Guys"  I printed pix of bad guys and glued them to soup cans.  Then I made bean bags and had them knock down the tower of cans with the bean bags.  The kids really loved that one too.

Station #5 was "Save the Good Guys"  I had frozen a bunch of Power Ranger toys in a bowl.  My original plan was to have them push the ice block around until it melted.... even in this heat, that was going to take forever.  So, we improvised and got out squirt guns for the kids.  That worked really well and they all had a blast.... if I ever do a party like that again, that will be my plan from the start!

Station #6 was an "Obstacle Course"  My hubby was in charge of this one.... it involved walking on a 4x4, climbing over the hay and weaving in and out of the swings.  (I missed the kids doing this because I had to take someone to the bathroom)

When the kids finished their training, they all got a Power Ranger badge.  I just printed the graphics from One Charming Party and added the power ranger symbol to the middle.

His cake was the red power ranger mask... out of fondant.  Not one of my best cakes, but he still loved it!

I got a sheet off ebay for super cheap and used that as the table cloth.  I used his toys to decorate down the center of the table.

I just bought cheap blue plates, napkins and silverware from the dollar store... but I can't resist the striped straws.  We got mini cans of tiki punch and put a Power Ranger label on them.

After cake and ice cream we went outside to break the piñata.  I made the piñata like the gold power ranger mask.  To make the piñata I used a balloon and a mixture of 2 parts water to 1 part flour.  I did three coats with letting it dry overnight in between.  I spray painted the gold.  Then used black acrylic paint to paint on the mask shape.

We finally had to get the metal bat out to break this thing!

I can't have a party without a banner.  I used all of the Power Ranger colors to make the flags and cut the letters on my Cricut.  I made a few power ranger symbols to separate the words.

For party favors, I put pop rocks, ring pops and a small drink in a cellophane bag... I don't know... that kind of stuff seemed Power Rangery to me:)  And I found the Power Ranger mask rings on Amazon.com to put on the treat bags!

Lastly, the birthday boy had to have a shirt!  I just cut the Power Ranger blue mask symbol out of black fabric and appliquéd it to the shirt!  easy peasy...

This really was a pretty simple party and the birthday boy loved it!!!