Photo A Day (June)

One of my favorite things I've come across on Pinterest in the past year that I've been excited about trying are the "photo a day" challenges.  I'm a girl that LOVES lists.  And as you know, I love anything that gives me the motivation and opportunity to be creative.  So, in June, I finally decided it was time.  It was tough to keep up once I was working full time (and with a broken cell phone camera), but I was able to complete all 30 days for June.  The list that I found most people followed was from fatmumslim.  I loved it so much, I wanted to share it with my blog friends.  Here's the list she put up for June:

  

And here are my photos:

You can follow my photo a day and/or see the full pictures on my Pinterest Photo.A.Day board.  After taking my pics, I edited them and added the text on PicMonkey, which I love because you don't have to go through signing in and individual user steps.  Just upload, edit, and save!

So, now that June is over it's time to start on July!  I've had a lot of fun with this, it's been a little challenging at times, and my hope is that it will help me grow into a better photographer.  If anything, I'm better about documenting my life through photos.  Why don't you join me??

June Date - Dollar Store Delight

I'm late this month, but I'm down to the second to last envelope in the Dates for a Year Basket!  Since last month was kind of a big date and I had already purchased something special for the last date (July), this month had to be a smaller date.  Sticking with summertime fun, I thought this date should be something that gets them out of the house and excited about spending some quality time together more unique than their regular nights at home.  As I was looking for date ideas, I came across a pretty common date idea, but thought it would be fun to include for June.  This month, Kim & Larry get to create their own date with products from the Dollar Store!

Here's what was included in the June envelope:

• Date Card
• Two $5.00 bills (one for each of them)

Here is the date card that was included in the envelope:

Since Kim is in the wedding planning business, I knew it would be tough to plan a date that had to take place on a weekend.  She's usually busy with rehearsals, setting up, etc.  So this date is one that can be done pretty much any time:  morning, noon, night, weekday or weekend.  That way, they could just grab their envelope and head out when they had a free night together.  There wasn't a lot of planning for this date besides just giving them the cash and the idea.  Really, there's not much planning on their part, either...it's kind of a do-as-you-go date.  For the date, they will head to the dollar store (I suggest going to the kind where everything is a dollar so they can have a larger number of items to use).  The idea is for them to split up and come up with a random 5 items (or whatever they can purchase for $5.00) and then meet again afterwards.  They use whatever they buy to make their date!

I envisioned them buying a CD to listen to, food to munch on, maybe a game to play, scarf to wear, etc.  The possibilities are really endless.  What I love about this one is that if they split up, they will have no idea what the other one is choosing.  This will add the element of surprise and be sure to be the beginnings of a date they will never forget!

This date cost me $10.  You could certainly make this cheaper by only giving them a couple of dollars each, or better yet...give them the challenge to head to the store and collect a variety of items and have their date in the store.  Scratch that.  I'm all about a bargain, but you can't get much cheaper than $10 for a date!  You could make it more expensive by giving them more cash or gift cards.  If they have more money to spend, you could send them to a mega store like Target or Wal-Mart, even the local mall where there would be a lot more to choose from.  

You could make this a basket by doing the shopping for them.  You could put together random items and wrap them, numbering them and instructing them to open one every 15 minutes or so.  That would be kind of a fun basket to do, and fun for the couple to see how the date unravels.  It would be fun to put together for the giver, but I think it might take part of the fun away from the date, too.  

That's pretty much it, folks!  Simple, easy, cheap, and something that would be unlike any other date you've been on.  This is date 12 of 13...only one more to go, and I'll be posting it in only a few short weeks!    

Bridal Tea Party Favors

One of my favorite things to do when I am hosting any party is to provide favors for the guests who attend.  Personally, I think it's a simple and easy way to show your guests how much you appreciate their presence at an event you worked so hard to create.  It's also another excuse to be creative and add detail to make a party feel even more special.  

When Mom and I started deciding on favors, we were overwhelmed with so many options!  I had just joined Pinterest a few weeks before we began planning, so that is one of the places I checked when we were trying to decide on the perfect souvenir to send home with our tea party ladies.  Here are some options we thought about:

Teacups & Flowers

Teacup Candles      

Teacup Rings

Mints in Dahlia Tissue

Tea Bags

Cookies

These are all great ideas and if we had more time, more money, or a smaller crowd expectancy, we may have chosen one of these options.  Although we were gathering a collection of teacups for the tea bar, we weren't sure if we would have enough to send home with everyone.  We thought Kim may want to keep some of them as sentimental reminders (she ended up choosing a set and so did I), and also...we wanted teacups to be available for their intended use and didn't want to sacrifice that by filling them with wax or dirt.  So, we disqualified any favor that involved actual teacups.  We thought about tea bags, cookies, candies, etc. but we were already serving a lot of the things we thought about sending home and if someone wasn't a tea drinker, they wouldn't be excited about getting tea.  And although the rings were super cute, we didn't feel that everyone coming would enjoy them enough to wear them.


So, we came up with an idea which incorporated some of the inspiration we got from searching and finding the above options.  One of my parents' tenants actually worked at a chocolate shop where she learned (and grew a passion for) making chocolate treats.  So, with some creative thinking and her help, we came up with these:

Aren't they adorable?  We thought these were the perfect favor because they still had a "tea party" vibe without being too theme-y.  These "Vanilla Creme" spoons are perfect for adding a bit of creaminess and subtle flavor to your cup of tea, coffee, hot chocolate, warm milk, or even eaten by itself.  And let me tell you...they were DELICIOUS!  Mom and I tried one when we first got them, and we were lucky to have a few leftover.  We tried to spread out the remaining few to savor them, they were so yummy!  You can check out more pictures, a better description, and other things DeAnna makes at her etsy store or facebook page.  

Mom and I got the idea while we were looking around, then asked DeAnna if she could come up with a flavor for us.  We purchased the plastic spoons (that look like real silver) at GFS, but I've also seen them at other party stores, Costco, and even in smaller quantities at Wal-Mart.  We dropped the spoons off to DeAnna and picked them up once they were dipped, decorated, and finished.  She sent them back to us in individual cellophane wrappers (shown) and a simple "Thank You" tag.  

I didn't get a picture of them before I added some extra touches, unfortunately.  They were ready to be handed out as they were when we picked them up.  However, Mom and I had just been shopping at an adorable little Scrapbooking store in Destin while we were vacationing and I picked these up:

I knew we'd be doing favors, but didn't know what that would look like when I got these.  But, I had purchased a few sheets of these simple, pretty "thank you" stickers and had to use them.  Keeping with our tea-party theme, I dug through both my mom's and my own ribbon collections to tie the tags on.  Of course, I had to stick the stickers to something, so I used a 1.5" circle punch to cut out small circles just slightly bigger than the stickers to give them a pop of color and a simple border.  I used card stock to do this...half in green and half in purple.  Once they were all cut, I placed a sticker in the center of each circle (pattern side up), then used my tiny hold punch to make holes for the ribbon.  If you don't have a tiny hole punch, you can use a regular size hole punch.  

When I threaded the ribbon through the holes (using a blunt yarn needle to help them along), they looked like this:

  

I didn't worry about matching the ribbon or using a certain number of each kind, etc. (Which drove my OCD tendencies a little wild).  I think the mixed patterns, textures, and colors made the bunch of them really pretty and eclectic.  

Mom and I also loved the idea of the ring, but thought it might be better to add a charm that could be added to a charm bracelet, necklace chain, or looped onto a key ring.  We purchased an assorted set from Oriental Trading Co. and I attached these to the ribbon with a smaller piece of yarn or edging.  The set came with a slice of pie variety, but we opted to leave those out and only used the teacups and teapots.  

I think these added the perfect finishing touch to our delicious favors!

Once they were all finished, I arranged them in a round wicker basket my mom had at her house:

Then the basket was placed at the table by the front door so that guests could grab a favor on the way in or on their way out.

Kim also chose to use DeAnna for her wedding favors.  Kim's wedding had a "Breakfast at Tiffany's" touch, so she wanted each guest to have a blue Tiffany's box at their seat when they arrived at the reception.  Of course, real diamonds would be a little pricey, so DeAnna made milk and dark chocolate diamonds dusted with shimmer.  These were then packaged into Tiffany blue boxes and of course tied up with a white ribbon:

Teapot Cake Tutorial

Last time, I posted a nice preview of the teapot cake I made for my sister's Bridal Tea Shower, but today I'm going to try my best to do a written tutorial.  The cool thing about this cake is that it looks way more complicated than it actually is.  If you're a little hesitant, give it a try.  I think you'll surprise yourself.


If you've been following my blog or know me at all, you know that I love decorating cakes.  I have become "the cake lady" and am the one everyone turns to when a cake is needed for a birthday or event.  I absolutely LOVE it.  So, for Kim's tea party I decided I wanted to try doing a shaped cake as opposed to my regular round and square decorated cakes.  It was so fun, and I can't wait to try it again!  Actually, I was having so much fun, I forgot to take pictures while I assembled the teapot cake I came to be so proud of!

I started by purchasing a Wilton Sports Ball 3D Cake pan from JoAnn's for about $12.  There are directions included, but it's pretty much the same as baking in a regular pan besides having to balance each half of the ball on the discs included (which is really not a challenge at all).  I used my favorite strawberry cake recipe and filled the two halves 3/4 full with batter.  I saved the rest for the hydrangea cupcakes I also made that day.  Once they were done, I let them cool for about five minutes, then let them finish cooling on a wire rack.

Unfortunately, here is where my camera was forgotten.  However, I am a visual learner and as a teacher, like to provide as many channels of learning as possible.  So, please forgive my TuxPaint elementary diagrams.  I wanted to make sure you could understand what I explain.


Once both pieces were cool, I needed to cut one of the halves so that it would stand flat and sturdy on the cake stand.  So, I cut about two inches off the rounded edge of one dome.  This was perfect because it later ended up being used as the "lid" of the teapot.  Here's an image to help you get an idea of where I cut:

Okay, if you can understand this next part of assembly...awesome!  This is the trickiest part, so bear with me.  I'm going to number these next steps to try to keep it easy to understand.

1. I took the dome that I just sliced and turned it over, so the wider part was facing up and the side that I just cut from is on the cake plate.  You may also want to add a dot of icing to your plate before placing your piece to keep it from sliding around while decorating.
2. Add your filling to the wide part of the bottom piece that is facing up.  So now you should have only one piece on your plate and filling on top of it.  
3. Next, put the other half (not cut...even though the picture looks like it is cut) on top, wider side facing the filling.  When you place this piece on top, it should look like you have a ball sitting on your cake plate with a flat bottom.
4. Like I mentioned, I created this image without taking too long to figure out how to do the top.  So, try to understand this part.  On TOP of your full dome half, put a small dot of icing.  Take the cut piece leftover from the bottom half that you cut to make the bottom flat.  Place that small part of cut cake on top of the dot of icing on top of the dome.  There will be a small gap between your top dome (half) and the small piece you placed on top.  So you should have a huge cake ball with a "hat," if you will.

Hopefully you could follow that.  I feel awful for not taking pictures this time around!  Here's a diagram to help you out:

Okay!  So, after you have assembled your cake pieces, you get to do the fun part...decorate!  Don't forget to start by covering your entire giant cake ball with a "crumb coat" or a first, light layer of icing.  This first layer will also help pin down the edges of the lid piece so you can't see the gap.  Let this dry first before doing a second layer.  The first layer also catches all of the crumbs that come off of the cake and put those speckles in your icing.  By allowing it to dry, your second layer should be near flawless.


For my spout, handle, and lid button, I used plain white, store-bought fondant.  You can find this at Wal-Mart, craft stores, or anywhere they sell cake-decorating supplies.  It is completely edible, and you can add flavor and/or color by kneading it in.  This was my first time working with fondant, and the white matched my cake, so I did nothing but take it out of the package to use it.  Once you take it out, you can pull off a chunk, roll it, and mold it into whatever shape you'd like.  It's kind of fun and reminded me of Play-Doh days!  If you are not a fan of fondant or can't find any, you could definitely use other things.  Royal icing is great for making solid shapes to decorate with, which is what I used to top the sugar cubes we used at the tea bar.  You could also bake cookies and stick them in as your extra pieces.  They're much lighter, easy to decorate, and, in my opinion, taste better than fondant.


One tip I would have for a cake this size is to make these pieces as thin and small as you can.  One problem I had is that my spout was a little heavy, so it took a lot to get them to stay where I wanted them!  Once your pieces are molded, allow them to air-dry a bit to harden.  That way, when you place them on the cake and are moving them around, you won't change their shapes too much.


So, once your cake is completely iced and your extra pieces are ready, add them to the cake.  This should be done when the base icing is complete, but you haven't decorated yet.  I did this by using toothpicks and sticking part in the fondant and part in the cake.  You will have to play around with angles and the number of picks you need to keep it sturdy.  I've learned this time to use smaller pieces next time.  I had to use lots of toothpicks.


Finally, you get to be creative!  I would recommend adding some kind of border around the edge of the lid to set it apart from the rest of the teapot.  I would also recommend adding a border around the spout and the handle to cover and imperfections or bumps from pushing them into the cake.  I always add a border to the base, too.  At this point, you can decide how to decorate your teapot.  I did small rosebuds around the middle with a polka-dot background.  You could make it fancier by doing flowers all over.  More whimsical by changing the colors and doing swirls, polka dots, and other fun shapes.  Have fun!

I had so much fun with this cake.  I am excited to find an excuse to make another teapot cake (and next time, I'll take pictures and edit this post).  Since the cake was so pretty and kind of realistic, I didn't want to write on it but did want there to be some recognition for Kim.  So, I added the words "Congrats Kim!" Straight to the cake plate.  

I got a lot of compliments on this cake.  Not only was it cute, but definitely delicious!  When I was trying to find a tutorial to help me out with figuring out how to do this, it was tough to find a step-by-step article or blog post anywhere.  I hope that my directions were easy enough to follow so you can make one, too!

Bridal Tea Food

When we started planning this Bridal Tea Shower one of the most important (and most fun) things to plan was the menu!  When you're planning any kind of tea party, you want to provide the right variety of food that will feed your guests' appetites without being too heavy.  A tea party menu should be light, fresh, and delicious!

Since this shower was at 2:00 in the afternoon, we wanted our guests to have enough to snack on in case they didn't eat lunch before arriving, but not fill them up in case they had dinner plans shortly after.  Here's what we decided on for our buffet table:

• Veggies and Ranch Dressing
• Rainbow Fruit Kabobs as inspired from here.
• Variety of Mini Quiches (purchased from the frozen section of Costco)
• Chicken Salad Rolls (sliced Hawaiian rolls and pre-made chicken salad from our grocer's deli)
• Seafood Pastries (purchased from the frozen section of GFS)
• Petit Fours (purchased from the frozen section of GFS)
• Earl Grey Meringue Cookies (see below)
• Butter Mints
• Strawberry Cake and Cupcakes (see below)

As you can tell...mom and I were trying to make this as simple as possible.  There was more heating up and assembling than there was actual cooking involved.  We knew there would be a lot of set up with decorations and preparing for the activities, so we wanted the food to be as easy as possible.  Which is what a tea is supposed to be, I think...little work so you have more time to focus on your guests and less time in the kitchen!

I didn't get a close picture of the Earl Grey Meringue Cookies, but I do want to tell you about them.  I have been a lifetime subscriber of Food Network Magazine, and absolutely fell in love with a recipe that was included in one of their issues a while back.  The recipe is for Tea Cakes with Earl Grey Icing.  The first time I made the recipe, I made it as-is.  It was good, the cakes were alright, but the icing....the icing was freakin' incredible.  So the next time I made them, I made them with a plain chocolate cupcake from a box.  To.Die.For.  I have since been asked to make them several times.  They are so unique and different, I can't recommend them enough.  So, for Kim's shower, I wanted them incorporated somehow.  But, I had already decided on strawberry for the cake and cupcakes...there was no need to make MORE cake of any kind.  The icing is a meringue icing, made with mostly egg whites.  Our family loves the airy, light meringue cookies you can buy in the bakery at the grocery store.  So, why can't we use the icing recipe and just bake them as cookies?  That's exactly what we did!  They were delicious.  But I still prefer the cupcakes and icing over the cookies.  

Kim loves strawberries, and I liked the idea of having a teapot-shaped cake, so I came up with this strawberry cake.  I will do a separate, detailed post with how I created this beauty:

I had a ton of leftover batter, so also made a batch of cupcakes.  I incorporated one of the colors from our theme (purple) and the hydrangeas that I brought for the table, AND the inspiration I got from here to create these:

And of COURSE, you can't have a tea party without tea!  Mom and I had so much fun making a tea bar for this shower.

 As you read about in the decorations post, the teapots we used were from our grandmothers on both sides.  We brewed black tea, green tea, and had another carafe with just hot water.  We also set out cream, sugar, honey, lemon, and a variety of tea bags.  I got the idea for these jars here and the tea tags here.  I used my mom's Cricut machine to cut the hearts out of cardstock, then just pulled off the original paper tags and stuck the hearts together on the string with a dot of glue.  The tags for the jars were also made using her Cricut machine, and taped onto mason jars with a band of the same paper we used for the invitations.

To add a touch of elegance and indulgence, I made these:

This was as easy as buying a box of sugar cubes and whipping up a batch of royal icing.  I piped the leaves first and allowed them to dry before switching icing tips and adding the flowers.  I probably made way too many, but they were cute.  

For non-tea drinkers, we also provided a pitcher of ice water and a drink dispenser of raspberry lime punch.  You can also see the teacups we provided for each guest.  Mom and I had a blast hunting down a good selection and number of teacups and saucers.  Goodwill has a new set available almost every week.  Of course, you get odd numbers, but you can buy a set of cups and saucers for about $4.  Can't beat that!  We also looked around at thrift and antique stores, but they were a little pricier.  If you were doing a smaller shower, you could look there, but it wasn't price conscious for us.  With our collection, there were different colors and patterns, so guests had fun choosing one to claim for the afternoon.  We also used some from mom's (grandmother's) china set to make sure we had enough.  It's little touches like this that add personality and sincerity to a party!

The menu for this kind of event was absolutely perfect.  It provided light snacking, some indulgence, and a lot of fun for our guests.  We got a lot of compliments on the food, and I saw several guests going back to the tea bar to mix a new variety of tea.  I hope this gives you some ideas and inspiration for your own tea party!  I kind of envy the British after this...afternoon teas seem like something we should do more often!

May Date - Be A Kid Again!

I finally get to tell you about my FAVORITE date I included in the Dates for a Year Basket!
Spring is my favorite time of the year, especially when it's getting to the end of the school year and heading into summer vacation.  When you think back on this time of the year in your lifetime, when were you the happiest and most carefree?  When you were a kid, right?  So I thought it was time to pull some of that childhood joy into being a grown up because, let's be honest...being a grown up is just not as fun sometimes.  This month, Kim & Larry get to be kids again!


I got so excited and over-enthusiastic for this date, I ended up needing two envelopes to include everything!  

Here's what was included in the May envelopes:

• Date Card
• Two coloring books... (I used ones I had)
• 1 box of 16 Crayola crayons... (nothing beats Crayola)
• 2 stunt gliders/foam make it yourself planes
• $15 gift card for McDonald's
• 2 bottles of bubbles
• 2 ready to eat bowls of Lucky Charms cereal

Here is the date card that was included in the envelope:

This is my favorite date because I'm definitely young at heart.  Kim & Larry are, too...so I'm thinking they'll have a lot of fun on this date.  They could really do this any day, but I suggested Saturday on the card so that they can get up in the morning and then color and watch Saturday morning cartoons while they eat their Lucky Charms.  Of course, Saturday morning cartoons where much better in the 80's & 90's than they are now, but...oh well.  Then, they can head to a local park to play on the playground, blow bubbles, and race their gliders.  I included the McDonald's gift card so that they could REALLY be like kids that day and not have to worry about how to pay for lunch.  I suggest on the card that they end the date making forts and shadow puppets and doing all those fun things we did at sleepovers when we were younger.  

This date cost me around $20-$25.  It was definitely one of the more expensive dates, but I already mentioned that I went a little overboard.  Actually, if I would have left out the McDonald's card, it would have been one of the cheaper dates.  It was really simple to pull together.  I used a few things I had on hand (Being a teacher, I had a stash of bubbles, crayons, and coloring books), but everything else was purchased at the drug store right up the road.  I've seen a lot of variations of this date (I'm sure you even have some new ideas swimming in your head now), and you could definitely do it differently, or add more.  

As I mentioned, this date could be much cheaper by leaving out the gift card for lunch.  You could also just cut back on the items you include.  Suggest they use their own cereal,  replace the bubbles and gliders with ideas for games to play instead.  Add a stack of paper and have them create their own paper airplanes.  But, really...you can't get much cheaper unless you just give them the idea.  

I went a little crazy, and believe it or not, had so many more ideas to add to this date!  You could certainly make this an extravagant "kid" basket, and it would be so much fun putting together!  It would be cute to get little plastic bowls and spoons for the cereal to include.  You could also get them footie pajamas or fun socks.  For the park, you could include a whole set of playground equipment...jumpropes, sidewalk chalk, a kickball, frisbee, football...be imaginative!  I mentioned that they could make forts when they get home, so you could include a fort kit and flashlights, maybe even also add a gift card for pizza or ice cream for dinner.  Add a kids' movie or a DVD of classic cartoons.  You get the idea.    

This is date 11 of 13!    I can't believe I'm already saying that.  We've got two left, with a very special one to finish it out.  Have fun being a kid again this month!

Bridal Tea Games & Activities

Since this Bridal Tea Shower was a little bit more of a formal event, my mom and I didn't want to do too many cheesy games.  This was meant to be something sweet, sentimental, and rich with support and encouragement.  We still made sure to have things for the guests to do during the shower so that they still had a good time and made some fun memories.  So if you're looking for some ideas for personal touches or subtle ways for the guests to interact, you've come to the right place!

Last time, I showed you some unique ways that we decorated for this shower.  We tried to tie everything we did together with the "tea party" theme in mind.  There is a fine line to walk when you plan a tea party to make it classic and pretty without falling into the "grandma" category.  Not that the "grandma" category is a bad thing, but for a 23-year-old bride it's probably not at the top of her list when she wants to remember her bridal shower.  Lucky for us, one of the themes Michael's was selling was tea party!  We found pens, notepads, albums, blank cards, and more with teacups, teapots, and flowers on them!

We had one table set up in the main room where Kim would open gifts with all of our supplies for the games.  My mom found these adorable buckets filled with a set of tea towels and a teacup set for game prizes.  We made sure to gather all the materials we needed so we wouldn't be running around when it was time.

The Timer Game
We used an egg timer and turned it to a random spot when Kim began opening gifts.  The person whose gift she was opening when the timer went off got a prize!  So simple, but an easy way to involve guests.  I think it also helps them stay alert and paying attention when the bride is opening gifts.  You could alter this game if you have a larger number of guests by re-setting the timer when it goes off the first time.

Bridal Shower Poem Game
The second game we played I found here.  Since it was a Bridal Tea, I knew it would be a great opportunity to play a game involving what they were wearing.  Each guest was given a piece of paper and a pencil to keep score.  Then, I read this poem aloud and everyone added and subtracted until each person ended with a number.  Here is the poem:

This is a rather peculiar game


It really does not have a name


It’s simple to play, as a game should be


You just do as you’re told, you see


So now if you’ll please give me your attention


We’ll put an end to this suspension


In the end, whoever scores the most


Will receive a prize of which to boast


Now since you’re all fashionable girls


Give yourself 5 if you have any pearls


You may add 3 if your toes peek out


And earrings will give you 2 more to shout


Score yourself 5 if you show any red


Add 6 more for a curl on your head


Now before you think you are going to win


Take away 2 for each safety pin


Give yourself 6 if your pants are tight


Add 1 for a scarf which is just about right


Add 5 more if your shoes are black


And take away 3 for a zipper in back


Now count all your buttons, for each you get 2


And take away 1 for each button that’s blue


Give yourself 5 if your heels are high


And why not take 10 for the green in your eye


10 more points for a rose on your clothes


Take away 5 if you forgot to wear hose


If your husband you kissed today – add 9


If you didn’t subtract 12 – you’re subject to fine


This is the end…there isn’t anymore


Who is the lucky lady with the highest score?

Honeymoon Pig

This was a mix between an activity and a game.  I got this cute piggy bank at Target.  You could also search online to get one that matches the colors of the wedding, the theme of the party, I've even seen bridal pigs.  Then, I wrote a short little poem and framed it to go next to the pig.

In case you can't read from the picture, here's what it says:

Little piggy on the table

Will grant your wish if he is able.

Drop some coins in his tummy, 

He finds newlywed funds very yummy!

Don't wait, for now it's opportune

To help the new couple on their honeymoon!

A dime, a quarter, a dollar, or ten,

Your donation will be very well spent.

Couples' massage, dinner, a movie, or wine...

Let's help make their first days together shine!

At the end of the party, we'll see if you're wise.

The one with the closest guess wins a prize!

Throughout the shower, guests stopped by and added loose change from their purse, or a couple of bills.  When things started winding down, little piggy was whisked away, emptied, and the money was totaled.  Everyone wrote down a guess of how much was inside and the person that guessed the closest was the winner.

Besides these games, we had a couple of other activities for guests to participate in.

Thank You Envelopes
One of the duties of a bride is to send thank you notes for all the gifts that she receives at her showers.  To help Kim with the toughest part of sending these notes, we had the guests help by addressing their envelope for their cards to be sent.  All we did was purchase a few packs of cards (with the ones we found at Michaels, these were just $1 packs of blank cards).  We separated the cards from the envelopes, then put a small basket by the front door with the envelopes and a couple of pens.  I made another small frame with instructions for the guests.  By the door, guests can do this when they first come in, or be reminded when they walk out the door to leave.  Of course, this isn't fool-proof.  You may still have some guests who skipped over this task or didn't see it.  But the majority of guests will do this and it will save a couple of hours for your bride from gathering and writing out addresses.

A Year of Encouragement

As I mentioned, we wanted this shower to be a way for Kim to feel embraced with love and encouragement from the important women in her life.  One of my favorite things that we did for this shower was cards of encouragement.  Many have heard that the first year of marriage is a tough one.  There are sure to be a lot of adjustments, drifting from friends, figuring out what this new life is as husband and wife.  We wanted this feeling of love and encouragement to continue throughout Kim's first year of marriage.  So, mom and I found a cute set of blank note cards at Michael's and scattered them on a table with a frame and instructions.  

As guests had an opportunity, they took time to sit down and write a few encouraging words for Kim in a card that would be sent at some point during the following year.  At the end of the shower, my mom collected the completed cards and has been sending about one a month.  I think the coolest thing about this is that neither Kim or the author of the card know when a card is being sent.  My mom really doesn't either, she just chooses a card at random.  When my sister was over for Easter, she said she got my card and that I told her to call me to set up a date for sushi this week.  I had forgotten I even wrote that but now Kim and I are planning to have sushi when normally, we wouldn't have thought to make time for it.  I think this is a great way to remind the bride that she is loved and supported.

Dress-Up Photo Booth
One of the most popular things right now at weddings and other events is a dress-up photo booth.  We thought this was a perfect activity to add to Kim's Bridal Tea.  I mentioned in my previous post about this shower that it was planned and styled around a birthday party Kim had as a young girl, where we got to dress up in all kinds of fun stuff.  It was fun to gather things for this activity, and pretty cheap, too!  We asked friends if they had any old hats, scarves, etc. that could be used.  We scoured Goodwill, yard sales, and the attic.  We pulled random items that could be used from around our houses.  I think we ended up with a pretty nice collection.

For the backdrop, we hung a black sheet over the curtain rod in my parents' office.  We got a cheap clothing rack from Wal-Mart (which actually came in really useful later to hang our dresses the day of the wedding).  My mom had an old frame that she hung from the bar on the clothing rack, then draped another black sheet over and around the frame.  We set up all the hats, sunglasses, scarves, and boas on the long table against the wall and hanging on the side of the clothing rack.  Then, my dad set up the tripod facing the frame and zoomed to where the only thing guests needed to do was snap a picture or set the timer.

It was a little less fancy than some photo booths, but I liked the way ours turned out.  My favorite part was that it was so cheap!  Well, that, and that we had a ton of fun playing dress up and taking pics.

Overall, I think guests had a pretty good time.  There was a lot of catching up, giggling, and reminiscing on good memories years ago.  I hope that these ideas can stir up some of the same results at the Bridal Tea you're planning!

PS...If you're looking for more unique ideas and games that are aimed more for a bachelorette party, there are some great ones here and here.  Enjoy!