Spicy and Sweet Bachelorette Games/Menu

A bridal shower/bachelorette party just isn't complete without some good games to play and ways to make the bride feel special and the center of attention.  I'm not one for typical, "cliche" games like toilet paper dresses or the forbidden words (though I've played them before and think they're fun).  I like to try to find games that are new to the guests and unique.  Here's what I came up with for Beth's:

MEMORIES AND ADVICE CARDS  

As I mentioned in my invite tutorial post, I had each girl fill out a card with a spicy or sweet memory they made with Beth (our bride) during their time as friends.  These were enclosed with the invites, but I also had a few extra on hand for the girls who forgot them at their hotel room or lost it along the way.  I also had separate cards using the same format for the guests to give beth some spicy or sweet marriage advice or wishes.  I had collected the finised cards and posted them like this:

I used simple white ribbon (which I actually got for a dollar at Dollar Tree) and hot glued clothespins that were decorated with the same glitter and flocking I used on the invitations.  It was a simple project that I actually threw together last minute when I realized I didn't have a place to display our cards yet!

The girls had lots of fun filling them out, reading all the memories and advice, and it gave us each an opportunity to reflect and reminisce with Beth on our fun times during our friendship.

PERSONALITY PANTIES  Also included with the invitation was a separate card asking the girls to pick up an extra item when they shopped for beth.  I asked that they each pick out a pair of panties for the bride that best describes or portrays THEIR personality.  I hope that makes sense.  Basically, Beth got a bunch of pairs of panties and each one matches each of her guests personalities.  This was the first "game" we played.  Beth opened every pair and had three guesses to see if she could match the panties to the lady.  It was fun to see the variety.  We had Disney Princess panties, cotton briefs, lacy thongs, edible undies, and even "commando".  Beth now has a good variety of options that she might not even choose for herself.  

Here's Beth and I with my cute frilly pink panties with a bow.  Very cute and girly...just the way I like them!  :o)

MR. RIGHT  Ok, so this is one that's a little more common.  I printed out a story that I inserted Beth and Scott's names into titled "Mr. Right".  Throughout the story, the words "right" and "left" are used A LOT.  I had three gift bags with these little goodies:

I spread out the gifts around the circle and as I read the story, the girls had to pass the gifts around the circle every time they heard either the word "right" or "left" in the direction that I said.  Whoever ended up with the gifts at the ends of the story got to keep them.  It sounds easy, but sometimes I would say things like "She LEFT the RIGHT card RIGHT there on the table before they LEFT RIGHT to meet Mr. RIGHT."  It was fun!  

BANANA RACE  It wouldn't be a Bachelorette party if there wasn't a condom somewhere!  I've played this before using Twinkies...which actually I think is much more fun and interesting.  Basically, each girl got a banana and a condom, and had to race to see who could unwrap and put the the condom on the banana the fastest.  Winner got another little pamper me prize bag!

It's a mess...but worth it for the belly laughs!

KISS THE PRINCE  This is the bachelorette version of "Pin the Tail on the Donkey".  I printed out a bunch of pictures of HOT men, including newly married Prince William and Beth's fiance, Scott.  I decided to call mine "Kiss the Prince".  The cute frames I got at Michael's, they were wall decals for about a dollar.  I blindfolded the girls, they applied some lipstick, I spun them around 5 times, and let them go plant a kiss on one of the men.  Whoever got closest to kissing their man on the lips won a prize.

LINGERIE MENU  Finally, after Beth opened all her gifts, we named each of them.  It was fun to giggle and come up with sexy names for each piece of her new wardrobe.  After the party, I made a Lingerie Menu for Scott to be able to look at and choose what Beth should wear.  I also made a key for Beth so she knew what each name was matched to.  

RISQUE MENU  Just like I don't like to do typical cliche games, I also am not a big fan of male anatomy food at a party.  However, I just didn't want to serve chips and dip and be done with it.  So here's what I served:

Spicy Nuts 

Sticks in Creamy Dip (These were just clear plastic cocktail glasses with a little ranch in the bottom and celery and carrot sticks in them.  Kinda like these.)

Little Weenies (Lil' Smokies in BBQ/Cocktail Sauce/Grape Jelly)

Sweet Balls (Red Velvet Cake Balls...made by my wonderful friend Amber!)

and of course...I make her a Strawberry cake with buttercream icing

So there ya go!  Next time I'll fill you in on the decor and favors!

**UPDATE:  Check out even more bachelorette game ideas I did at my sister's shower here.

Spicy and Sweet Invitation Tutorial

So, I'm way behind on blogging, but I kind of love it because I'm too busy with creating and party planning to blog.  So, it's coming!  I promised to share more about my friend's bachelorette party/lingerie shower that I planned, so I'll do small bits to get there.  Today is all about the invitation! 

My friend Beth is super cute, and very stylish and classy.  :o)  I know her party had to be totally "her" and I also know the importance of a first impression.  I think invitations almost set the mood for the party and can either be a piece of paper that is stuck on the fridge without a second thought or something that leaves a "WOW" impression.  If you pause when you open an invitation, I feel like you're more likely to attend the event.  That's why wedding invites are so fancy.  To leave an impression.  

So, long story short, I wanted to combine Beth's style and my desire to have a full house for her party into a fabulous invitation.  I think I accomplished that goal.  

I started with these supplies:  Some shiny, pearlescent type navy blue scrapbook paper, white cardstock, silver envelopes, Martha Stewart flocking powder in Cosmos, Martha Stewart tinsel glitter in Onyx, and my AMAZING 2-Way glue pen!

So, once I spent some time at Michael's getting inspiration and pulling together different materials, I came up with this:

I decided on a Spicy or Sweet theme for the party after stumbling across this one on 100 Layer Cake.  Beth is a sweet and innocent girl, but I know she has some spice to her personality, and will bring a lot of it to her new marriage.  I wanted guests to feel like they could provide her with gifts for either side so Beth (and Scott) had a variety of goodies to "play" with.  :o)  After I formatted, edited, and printed the wording, I had to add some more flavor.  

I started by tracing the words "Spicy" and "Sweet" with my 2-way glue pen to help them POP.  

I used the sexy black tinsel glitter for the word "Spicy" and for the first time ever, tried flocking powder. I was a little nervous because it was my first time using it, but it turned out great.  I just used my glue pen over the word "Sweet" and then sprinkled the flocking powder right over it, then tapped off the excess, just like you would with glitter.  If you're doing this, make sure the glitter COMPLETELY dries first, and tap it again...otherwise you get extra flecks of glitter on the wet glue with your flocking powder.

I love how the embellishment gives both the exotic feel for spicy and a soft, "comfy" feel for sweet.  I put one together and thought I was done.  But...after sleeping and looking at it again, I decided it needed something else...

So, I found these sweet little sequins flowers that I have had in my scrapbook supplies for YEARS.  I used my tiny hole punch, and attached the flower with a small white brad, which made a cute little center for the flower.  It added a great "aww, cute" to my sweet side.

So, then I wrapped my blue scrapbook paper (that I cut just an inch larger on each side than the invite) with some pretty pink glitter ribbon I found at JoAnn's.  All I used for this was Scotch tape.  Really.  

You don't need much.  I just taped the end in the center of the front, and then one on top and bottom of the other end wrapped around and on top.  This part will be covered, so it really doesn't matter what it looks like underneath.  :o)

Then I used my larger 2-Way glue pen (same company that makes the thin one) to attach the invite on top.  Again, it doesn't have to be pretty.  And I didn't want to put the glue to close to the ribbon, or there would be a very noticeable bump on the front of the invite once it was glued down.  

So, once it was attached, I thought, "Well, I guess the Spicy side needs something, too!" So, I used some pink ink and a kissing lips stamp I had to add a little more spice.  But then...I went back to JoAnn's (I know...it's a tough habit to break)....

I found this AMAZING stuff!!

I just traced over the stamp and let it dry, and it looked like some pretty sexy, glossy lips!

So, here's the finished product, all pulled together:

Of course, I had to include shopping information, so I created this cute little guide to help our guests find something PERFECT for Beth.  I searched FOREVER to find a silhouette of a respectable woman's body that was realistic.  Then, I added the sizes pointing to where on the body it would be used.  

Then, I made this card to go with the invitation to help guests come prepared.  I'll explain more about what we did with these things in another post:

And finally, I sent a card asking guests to think of a Spicy or Sweet memory they've had with Beth.  I figured they would have more time to come up with something special if they had more time to think of it before the party.  It made a wonderful surprise for Beth, and provided lots of giggles, reminiscing, and celebrating friendship with Beth once the party started.  

One final tip that I learned a bit too late, but know for the future.  Make sure your invitation FITS the envelope you plan to use before doing them.  I know...duh, right?  But I got so excited about making the invitations, I didn't think about the size for mailing.  I ended up buying bigger envelopes and it worked out, but I definitely learned my lesson!

So that's it!  I'm hoping to figure out how in the world to use Etsy soon so I can make these things available for customizing and printing for anyone who would want to use them.  I spent the time to make them, and would love for someone else to have the opportunity to use it.  I'll post back if and when I get that part accomplished.  

Stay tuned for more bridal shower/wedding updates.  My sister's wedding is only 42 days away, so we are in full wedding swing...planning showers, crafting for the big day, and organizing!  Lots of tips and ideas coming your way!