Sandalwood Fans for $1

I'm holiday shopping (mostly on line because I don't do so well with crowds and the Midwestern cold weather).  I came across these wooden fans from Pier 1.  They're ONE DOLLAR.  They'd be great favors/decorations for a beach wedding or reception....again, just $1 a piece!  Just thought I'd share.   Happy Shopping!!!!

I'm working on body scrubs from scratch for most of the grown ups (I use that term loosely) on my list...the munchkins are getting t-shirts and onesies I'm designing for each one of them with the wonders of iron on transfer paper and MSWord.  I'll post pictures as I finish them in the next week along with a 'how to' for anyone who cares to know.  If all goes well, these projects will resurface around wedding time.

Favor Bags

I went to my first "Baby Sprinkle" (baby shower for baby number 2, for those of you wondering). The baby's name is going to be Sophia so I made "Sophia's Snacks--Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice". My sister and I made favor bags for the guests with Strawberry Shortcake stickers and two inch favor tags with curling ribbon tied to a bag trimmed to be 8 inches tall. We put spice drops, strawberry rice krispie treats, pink iced sugar cookies, Dove Chocolate (Carmel and dark)I was pretty happy with the results. It was a good chance to test the template I plan to use for the tin tags I'll be making for the reception. The favor bags would be a good application for a bridal shower or even a Mendhi party. Instead of sugar and spice (although Brides are made of the same stuff!!!) It would be nice to put some indulgences like chocolate turtles, truffles, iced wedding cookies or even iced sugar cookies or any Martha recipe cookies.

Progress Update...

We're making progress on favors/centerpieces/reception decorations. I plan on enlisting the help of my family to make garlands out of carnations and other hearty flowers to frame the entrance way to the pavilion. (it's a glass encased pavilion, but that's what they call it). Then we'll have large framed fabric boards with tags indicating each guest's table assignment. I saw something in a magazine that has served as my inspiration. I found some poppy and red specialty paper from India at Paper-Source which is also where I ordered all my paper for the invitations. I'm making those myself and spending under $250 for 175 invitations. I will put up a picture once I have a complete suite ready. I want to use tea tins from Harney & Sons and the tea as favors for my guests that I'll put into little tins with the help of my bridesmaids. A good friend of Groom's is also a beekeeper on the side, so we'll treat our guests to locally grown honey to sweeten their tea! If anyone has ideas on what flowers will work in an orange tea tin, please let me know!!!!

Sweets...

Indian food is not always about extremes, but to the untrained tounge, it can taste that way. While we won't be including Indian food as a way to express our style, we might include Indian Desserts (don't worry, we're still going to have cake, more on that later). Tahoora will box and ship them to you to share with your guests. The Motichur (Mo-ti-churr) Ladoos are my favorite. They're sugary sweet, made from a gram flour and will definitely match the colors we've chosen for our wedding. There are assorted sweet varieties available and would make a nice touch to a dessert table. I am hoping to find a baker who can incorporate these sweets into the design of my cake. Not IN the cake, just part of it...in place of those flowers that separate the tiers, most likely.