Bridesmaid Brunch Craft Party Ideas

Let's get real here: wedding planning isn't exactly as glamorous as you imaged it to be. There are a lot of moving parts, tons of decisions to be made, and a whole lot of DIYs you want to try. Planning a wedding kind of becomes a part time job, except you're spending money instead of making it. So, rather than spending your weeknights filled with tears crafting 100+ favors, why not invite your friends or bridesmaids over for a fun crafternoon?! You can pop a bottle of rose, have some finger foods, and take bets on who's going to cry during the ceremony (like your Aunt Bertha, who cries over everything). 

Since you're already spending a ton on wedding related things, I know what you're thinking. You don’t need one extra thing to spend a ton of cash on. Well, fear not my friends! Oriental Trading is your party headquarters, and everything is SO affordable! With their new Marry Me section, you'll find all their wedding-worthy supplies in one place, for a great low price. They've got everything you need for the bridal shower, the ceremony, reception, and more! The options are seriously limitless, and there are tons of ideas under many of their products, showing you how to use them.

*Note: This post is a collaboration with Oriental Trading, but all opinions are my own. My love affair with them started way back when I first got their catalogs as a kid!

Think about how much time you’ll save by having your friends join you in crafting, and how much fun it’ll be! During a time of intense stress and worry, you need a break to hang with your girls and laugh. Plus, it'll be a nice way to say "thank you" if you've been a little bit of a grumpy bridezilla lately. 

Table Setup

To set up the table, I stuck with a simple white (disposable) tablecloth. Since crafting can get messy, I added a table runner using easel paper to catch any spills. I gave each person a place setting for snacking, which was cute and colorful! I started with a square gold dot plastic dessert plate as sort of a charger, topped with a hot pink plate for a pop of color. Each person gets a set of gorgeous gold utensils and a hot pink napkin to keep things tidy, as well as a paint palette for their watercolors.

Everything is more fun with a glass of wine, so each gal gets a really cute purple wine glass for her rose with a gold striped straw. Clear cupcake stands put the jordan almonds on a pedestal, making it easier for everyone to reach them. 

I kept the rest of the decorations simple by propping up my Pop Fizz Clink sign from my Disney-Themed Backyard Engagement Party. Finger foods and small desserts finish up the fun. P.S.- the white easel paper would be the perfect backdrop for using colorful sharpies to label what's what!

 The Crafts

A few weeks ago, I showed you 3 fun projects you can make using Oriental Trading products to add a pop of color to your wedding. These projects are perfect to make with your besties or bridesmaids!

Jordan Almonds

Place all your almonds in decorative bowls with a spoon for easy scooping. Keep your tulle, ribbon, and charms nearby so that it's easy for everyone to assemble. I also recommend pre-cutting the ribbon to ensure that it's all uniform and to prevent waste. The full DIY is here.

 

Table Numbers

Have your friends help out by painting the table numbers. I did about 3 coats on each one, so it's definitely time consuming! I recommend enlisting an especially crafty friend for the glitter and/or gold foil. It can get complicated and messy, so you definitely want someone precise to handle it! The full DIY is here.

 

Watercolor Escort Cards

When you get all your friends together, you've got to do this super fun project! It's seriously easy and best of all, really fun!

You will need:

Watercolor Paints (here)
Paintbrushes (similar here)
Paint Palette (here)
White Place Cards (here)
Gold Sharpie (here)

Each gal will get a set of watercolor paintbrushes, as well as a paint palette. Grab your watercolor paints and your white place cards and give each card a unique look. I added layers of complimentary colors for variation, but it still looks cohesive.

Once they're all dry, use a gold sharpie to add a name and a table number to guide people to their seats in style. Write the names in script, or make it fancy with some faux calligraphy!

I did the script freehand, but I think if you either got someone to do calligraphy, picked a friend with fancy handwriting, or printed the names on the cards, it would look even better! Be sure to make some extras, as you're bound to mess up a few of them while writing.

Woo! I'm not sure about you guys, but a bridesmaid crafternoon brunch party seems like exactly what I need to get over these pre-wedding blues! A few laughs does everyone a world of good. Be sure to check out Oriental Trading's new Marry Me section for everything you'll need for this party, the bridal shower, the wedding, and beyond! 

What's been the hardest part of wedding planning for you? For me, it's been the fact that my mom, sister, and friends live kinda far away, so I've been doing it (cue Eric Carmen) all by myyyseeelllfff. I wish I had them to help/laugh/decide on things. How about you? Let me know in the comments below!

DIY Mean Girls Conversation Hearts Banner (and how to use Cricut Iron On Vinyl!)

There are some movies that you watch once and enjoy, but never really have the desire to see again. Then, there are those movies that you watch over and over again until you've memorized practically every word. Mean Girls is one of those movies. If you can't recite at least one of those memorable quotes, then you can't sit with us! It's got Lindsay Lohan at the peak of her career, Tina Fey's comedy, Rachel McAdams & Amanda Seyfriend before they were super famous, and Lacey Chabert from everyone's favorite show, Party of Five (people liked that show, right? I never watched it...). Combine that with the awesome 2004 fashion sense, the catchy lines, the harsh reality of frenemies, and the fact that you always wanted to be popular, and you've pretty much got the makings of a FANTASTIC movie. It was basically made by girls, for girls, so there's no way it wouldn't succeed. PS, can we talk about how everyone in Mean Girls wore lip gloss?! I'm not sure about you guys, but I don't wear lip gloss anymore. Is that just a high school thing? Idk...

With Valentine's Day coming up, I wanted to make something fun with some felt hearts I picked up at Target. They look to me like Conversation Hearts candy, which are usually boringly sweet. "U R CUTE"? "CALL ME"? C'mon.... But, what if they were sorta sassy instead? PERFECT OPPORTUNITY for a Mean Girls DIY. Just sayin'.

Go grab some popcorn, your Mean Girls DVD, and your glue gun. This is going to be Grool!

You will need:

Cricut Explore Air Machine (here)
Pastel felt hearts (from Target)
Iron (here)
Red iron-on transfer (here)
Cricut tool kit or Tweezers (here)
Ribbon
Glue gun

I know what you're thinking..."How do I use Cricut iron on vinyl?" I knew you'd ask, so I have just the tutorial for you. How did I know? I have a fifth sense... It's like I have ESPN or something. The iron on vinyl is actually pretty simple to use, as long as you know which way the vinyl goes and how to make sure your letters aren't backwards.

How to Use Cricut Iron-On Vinyl

1. Open the Mean Girls Conversation Hearts Candy document in Cricut Design Space. 

2. Take your red iron-on vinyl and place it on your cutting sheet, liner side down. You'll be cutting the vinyl (matte side), so that means the shiny side goes down.

3. Set up the file to cut on your Cricut machine by following the steps below. 

a. Set your Cricut machine mode to vinyl +

b. Press Go

c. Set to mirror image! This is very important, since your text needs to be backwards so that it'll be the right way when you finish.

c. Load your Cricut cutting mat and start cutting.

d. Wait for the Cricut machine to cut your file. Mine wouldn't cut the full document in one shot (annoying!) so after it stopped each time, I would remove the ones it cut from the document/cutting mat, reload the mat, and start cutting again.

Look at all those fabulous quotes just waiting to get out there into the world!

4. Once your document has finished cutting on the Cricut machine, carefully cut around each quote. It's best to cut as close as you can to the letters, and try to make the border around each side even. This will make it easier to center them on the conversation hearts.

5. Peel off the remaining vinyl, aka the extra red background. You'll be left with the clear liner and your letters. To do this, I take my Cricut hook tool and scrape a corner to make a hole.

Then, I carefully and slowly peel away the liner to reveal the letters beneath. I found that peeling the vinyl from left to right was easier, since most of the letters face that way. Otherwise, you're going against the grain. So, aka... not the way I'm doing it in the photos.

See how the E and the D in "Wednesday" are connected? That's because I'm peeling it the "wrong" way and it ripped the vinyl. It's not a big deal at all, because that's a scrap section anyway, but it makes it easier to peel if you go with the grain.

6. Once you've pulled away the excess Cricut vinyl, go back and remove the excess vinyl in the letter holes, or any that was left over. Flip it over and double check that everything is where it should be.

7. Center your quote on your conversation heart and press it down. To make sure it's evenly centered, I would look at a few things, like which word is in the center of the heart, how much distance is on either side, and how far it is from the top. If you're still not sure, take a quick picture with your phone to see if it's off center or crooked.

8. Use your iron to carefully iron your quote onto the heart. Use the wool/low setting and place a cloth over it so you don't scorch the felt. Then, flip your heart over and iron the underside. If you have a small craft iron, you may be able to do it without a cloth like I did.

9. Let it cool, then peel the liner off from the corner. Do this carefully to make sure all the letters fully adhered. If not, go back over it again, let it cool, and continue peeling.

Once all your quotes are ironed on, you can begin arranging your banner! See how I did that below.

Making your banner

1. Arrange your hearts in the order you'd like to see them, or by color.

2. Cut a small piece of ribbon. This will act as a "tape" to hold the hearts together.

3. Glue the ribbon onto the hearts at the widest part. Be sure to hold them as close together as you can to prevent a gap from forming between the hearts. I used pink ribbon, but a white one will probably camouflage the best. You can't really see it when you flip the banner over, so technically it doesn't matter.

I also recommend adding some extra ribbon or twine at the ends to hang it. I originally didn't want to do that, but taping felt on a wall is basically impossible.

Woohoo! Now, hang up your banner and revel in the joy of a Mean Girls Valentine's Day. You can also paste up some hearts as a party backdrop! This is my best Mean Girls face. Slightly friendly, slightly fierce, 100% Fetch. 

P.S. "And none for Gretchen Weiners. Bye!" is basically my favorite Mean Girls quote, and I use it in everyday life. It has so many practical uses.

So you agree? You think you're really pretty?

I really need to start wearing pink on Wednesdays. I mean, that's just like, the rules of feminism

So what's your favorite Mean Girls quote? Is it one I missed? Let me know in the comments below!

Easy Pineapple Garland DIY

A few weeks ago, I did a Michael's party supplies haul and I picked up some awesome tropical party supplies! Did you see those decorative straw balls and wonder what they can be used for? Well, wonder no more! I've created a super cute and super easy tutorial for a pineapple garland made from those kooky straw balls you see everywhere. The best part? This is a super easy and super affordable project that anyone can do! 

*Contains affiliate links

 For this project, you will need:

Spray paint (here)
Green felt (here)
Faux Suede cord (here)
Straw balls (similar here)
Tweezers
Scissors (here)
Glue gun 

Step 1: Spray paint the balls yellow. You can also use paint but it's harder to get the inside of the balls

Step 2: Cut pineapple toppers out of the green felt. To do this, I cut a long rectangle out of the felt, then cut 2 triangles out the middle. Finally, I angled the sides so that it was long and narrow. This helps you have enough surface area to glue it down. 

Step 3: Find the front of the ball by picking the part that looks most oval. Be sure there is a good spot to glue the topper on. 

Step 4: Put a thin line of glue on the ball and place the topper on. Hold a few seconds until it dries. 

Step 5: Thread the faux suede through the ball in the area near the topper. Use tweezers to carefully pull the end through the holes. 

Step 6: Hang up and enjoy!

This is a super cute and easy DIY project that's perfect for summer. I think this project would also be adorable if you made the pineapples in all kinds of colors too! 

Dying to make more garlands? Check out my Pinterest board!