Friday, June 27, 2008

Water Bottle Snafu

In my prior post, I mentioned running into an issue with the water bottle labels. Yes, it's true. Stupid me for not testing ONE sheet, before Jen went and self-laminated 25 sheets and I cut them all. Duh. Lesson learned. Not that that would have saved any money, because I'd already bought the laminating sheets. confused

So anyway, what I'm trying to create is a water bottle label that is water proof. Not water resistant, water PROOF. For the wedding reception, we were picturing having some water bottles in big tubs of ice. I thought by laminating them I had found the solution.

First attempt: I printed five labels per page and Jen laminated the sheet. Then I cut the labels out, attached one to a water bottle using hot glue, and tossed it into a sink full of water and ice. It was looking good the first few minutes and then disaster! The ink started to run!! And the funny part is I was worried about the label staying on the bottle, not the ink running.


I guess the fact that it wasn't heat laminated plus me cutting it down, gave it just enough of an opening for water to seep in. Boo. rolleyes

Second attempt: I went to Kinko's this week because I thought maybe their professional heat lamination would work better. I had them do one test sheet for me and I brought it home to give it a shot. The problem is, the lamination is much thicker and stiffer, so putting the label on the bottle turned out to be a challenge. I used hot glue again, and before I even got the bottle in the water, the label was coming off. Geh. sad

Third (and final) attempt: I have ordered iGage Weatherproof Paper from Amazon.com. It's a synthetic paper used for weatherproofing maps. The details state you can print on it from an ink jet printer, glue it, and it can even be WRITTEN ON underwater. Now if this doesn't work, I'm throwing in the towel. For $20 per 50 sheets, it wasn't a huge expensive to give this one last try. Keep your fingers crossed!


(And yes, I do realize that using the labels I have is an option. We would just have to keep them cold some other way than submerging them in water.)

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Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Weekend Roundup

While the guys stayed home and did "guy stuff", my mom and I throughly made our rounds this past weekend to accomplish some random purchases off of my "to buy" list. I have lists for everything these days! First up was Michael's to buy a glue gun and all the adhesives needed for making invitations. Then after a quick bite for lunch, we were off to Garden Ridge. My mom spotted these cute fall-themed baskets to hold the programs and bubbles:


We also found and purchased the cake/appetizer plates from Garden Ridge and this random array of boxes:


For what, you may ask? I plan to cover them with brown fabric and a bow and cut slits in them to make a card box. This will be my first experience using spray glue, so I'll let you know how it goes. We also were looking for something to put around the bottom of the unity candle to decorate it a bit. We ran across this and thought it would do the job:


BUT, my mom has since found this, which I think I like even better! More of a beaded look:


We were also looking for 8" square dinner napkins everywhere we went, but didn't have much luck. I think I've found a couple of leads online, though. After Garden Ridge, we dropped by Hobby Lobby, but didn't purchase much there. All I got was the orange ribbon for the card box. Then there was Joann's where we acquired brown fabric for the card box, spray glue, and a brown 1" ribbon for the cake. And finally Costco to get our regular groceries, as well as 3 cases of water that I am going to personalize with our own label. Ran into a snafu with that, which I'll probably share with you tomorrow. Did I mention all that shopping I just covered was on Saturday? surprised

Sunday we spent a lot of time at the mall. I found a beautiful bracelet to wear with my dress. Hopefully this will coordinate with the earrings I have and the detail on my dress. I need to try it all on together. But, this is exactly what I had in mind...I wanted something wide.




In addition to the bracelet, we made some progress on earrings for the bridesmaids, as well as another part of their gift. We also got some ideas on what to give others participating in the ceremony or helping at the reception. However, I'd be happy to hear suggestions anyone has regarding "cool" gifts they've received from helping out at a wedding.

We also completed the gift for the flower girl. I don't want to give it all away, but we did purchase this:

It even comes with a little girl sized wedding ring. Too cute!

And, of course, the guys are clueless to the amount of work all this takes. My dad did get measured for his tux, though...the first guy besides Nate!

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Monday, June 23, 2008

We May Have A Winner...

For the last couple of months, we've been on the hunt for a signature drink, specifically a martini, for our wedding reception. Not only was the flavor important, but I was also looking for something with a nice orange color to go with the theme. We've tried two or three previously, but never found anything fantastic. Well, last night may have changed things! One of Nate's co-workers suggested trying a combination of Absolut Mandarin, blood orange juice, regular orange juice, and triple sec. Here's how it came out (next to our orange coaster, so you get an idea of the color):


Not bad on the color, eh? 1 for 2. And the taste? I think it's quite smooth and refreshing, if you like orange flavored things, which I certainly do. This could be it! 2 for 2. Nate suggested that we try it with regular vodka (as it would be cheaper en mass) to see if that makes a big taste difference. Always looking to save money! He also mentioned possibly trying to substitute Cointreau for the Triple Sec to see how that tastes. This coming Saturday is when the girls are helping me with invitations, so I think we may be tasting some martini recipe variations! No complaints here!! cool

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Sunday, June 22, 2008

Saturday Night Dinner

While my parents were here this weekend, Nate decided to play gourmet chef as he so often likes to do. He made a fabulous Campfire Trout recipe from the A Chef's Bounty cookbook his parents got him for Christmas. The dish consisted of a honey nut sauce on the bottom of the plate, topped with a slow cooked barley, stacked with a piece of corn meal encrusted trout and then topped with a zucchini, red pepper, tomato, onion, cilantro and poblano relish. Those layers were repeated twice more and the stack was topped with cooked spinach. It was the perfect combination of sweet and savory - perfection! Now if we're ever in Bend, OR, we're going to have to go and try the professional chef version and see how he did. Check out these pictures...just like the photo in the cookbook!
The other treat for the evening was that it was so incredibly nice outside that we actually got to eat dinner out on the back patio. We typically don't get to do that very often in hot, humid St. Louis!

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Friday, June 20, 2008

BM Dresses

By the way, for those of you that have a vested interest in the bridesmaid dresses (all 4 of you!), Jen kindly let me know that she called today to check on the dresses. No love! She was told something about the company running behind. So...I'll check back again in a couple of weeks. They have to be almost here!

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T Minus Four Months

Well folks, the time has come. To shop. To shop like I've never. shopped. before. As the wedding draws nearer, my list of things "to buy" grows infinitely larger. Enter parents. My parents are making the trip to STL this weekend and I fully plan on shopping for two days straight with my mom. Well, that may be a bit of an exaggeration, but not much! razz

What's on the list, you may ask? Lots of gifts, for one. Gifts for everyone who's an attendant or is participating in the ceremony or otherwise helping us out in some way. That's quite a few people! And then we have things like dinner napkins, cake/appetizer plates, champagne glasses, ribbon, craft supplies. etc., etc. And then of course I'm still looking for 1) a veil, 2) a bracelet, 3) a sparkly hair piece. Oh, and then there's random things like a box, basket, or SOMEthing to hold the programs and cards we receive. Ingredients for a drink - we're still trying to come up with a "signature" drink for the reception. You get the idea. So some of this stuff will be easy and other things will be a bit more challenging. It's always hard when you don't know exactly what you're looking for...that's when the shopping hours pile up. SO, I will let you know how it all plays out.

Probably on Monday!! Maybe even Sunday night, if I'm excited about all of our purchases.

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Thursday, June 19, 2008

Thank You, Thank You

I want to throw a big shout out and THANK YOU to my friend and bridesmaid Jen for helping me a couple Saturdays ago... She helped me cut, punch, dye cut, and emboss for several hours in preparation for our girls invitation making extravaganza next weekend. I think she and the Cuttlebug became quick friends, actually. wink

But really, our few hours of work will save us tons of time when all the girls are in one room. In addition to making the bridal shower and bachelorette party invitations (which is what Jen and I were getting prepared for), when the girls are here we'll be putting together most of the wedding invitations as well, so we'll need all the extra time we can get!

Jen also helped me laminate water bottle labels. Yes, I'm making personalized water bottle labels! biggrin I was working on cutting them all out last night and still have a few pages to go. When I get them finished and one actually attached to a water bottle, I'll post a picture! I'm thinking hot glue as the adhesive, as I think this will stand up to water. If anyone has other ideas, let me know.

Anyway, I'm rambling...and my whole point was to tell you all how helpful Jen was. So Jen, thanks!!

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Wednesday, June 18, 2008

We've Passed a Year...

Nate and I were at the Cardinals game last night and he realized it was a year + a day since we had gotten engaged!

First of all, we both thought it ironic that we were at a baseball game again at the same time a year later, since we got engaged at the A's / Cardinals game.

Secondly, my gracious time flies! The wedding is almost here... eek

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Thursday, June 12, 2008

Available for Purchase...

All of our engagement images are now available for purchase on Pictage. Sign the guest book and look around!

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Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Engagement Pics!

We made our photographer's blog!! Click here. And here are the pictures from his blog.
















The rest of our engagement pictures are available via a slideshow on his website, which you will find here: www.stephenseward.net

To view the slideshow:
Go to the Portrait site.
Click on the Proofing page
Use "kliethermes" as the password

Do enjoy! I'm very excited and am happy with how many turned out. Let me know what you all think!!!

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Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Huntsville

We made it to Huntsville right around 5:30pm. Our friends Dave and Michelle live in a beautiful neighborhood and their house is great. And I have absolutely no pictures to show you. Once we got to Huntsville, I apparently forgot about my camera! We had a lovely BBQ dinner that night, got to meet their friends Amy and Shawn, and then woke up the next morning and headed to their friends Eric & Sharon's lakehouse.

And for a lakehouse, this was fantastic. It was over 4000 square feet. We were roughing it, let me tell you! And yep, no pictures of that either. smile We spent Saturday and Sunday living it up at Smith Lake. We sunbathed, went boating, ate, drank, mingled...it was heaven! There were quite a few 13-year old girls running around, as Eric and Sharon have a 13-year old daughter, but that was easy to get over. Here are the few pictures I captured during our time there:Nate jumping off the dock...it was two story.

And Amy and Michelle sunbathing. That's it! I guess I was way too relaxed to be snapping pictures.

It really was a fabulous time. Eric and Sharon were so hospitable and they had a lovely wraparound porch where we spent both of our evenings. You can bet we'll be back if we ever get down that way again!

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Monday, June 2, 2008

Nashville

As some of you know, we went down to Huntsville, AL over Memorial Day weekend to visit some friends. We left town on Thursday night after work (really late - like 9:00pm) and had planned to stay in Nashville that night. Thank goodness...because we got there at 1:30am!

Once we rolled out of bed the next morning, we made our way to downtown Nashville. We were only minutes from there, as we stayed at the Vanderbilt University Marriott. The main street in town is Broadway, and that's where a majority of the bars and shops are located. We were hungry, so we randomly chose a place called Legends Corner:

We ordered ourselves a couple of beers, some lunch, and then sat down to listen to these gentleman:
The singer was very good, but Nate and I decided what his problem was...he sounds like every other guy singer in country music these days. Nothing really "fresh." The dynamic of the Nashville bars is very interesting during the day time. When we arrived, we were the only ones in the bar. Then we heard the bartenders and musicians talking about a Greyhound bus that had just passed by. We kept hearing "Are they stopping?" or "Is it just a drive-by?" Since the musicians work strictly for tips, they keep a close eye on those buses. While we were there, two different bus groups came in, stayed for a few songs, and then were gone again. I guess they do a quick tour of many of the bars on Broadway. Very interesting. The musicians knew the bus driver by name, too. During one of the busy times, we caught a picture of this couple dancing:
We were having a nice, relaxing time and before we knew it a couple of hours had passed. We had planned to go check out the Grand Ol' Opry, but decided we would save that for another trip and just hang out in the bar. Besides all the record covers they had plastered on the bar walls, they had a framed guitar that Johnny Cash used for something like 10 years. He donated it to the bar:

After we left the bar, we nosed around in several of the shops. I bought myself a Johnny Cash t-shirt. biggrin Then we were on our merry way to Huntsville.

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Sunday, June 1, 2008

Invitations, Menus, Escort Cards, Oh My!

I have dedicated a large part of this weekend to stationary. There are quite a few paper items that go into a wedding and since working with paper is one of my very favorite things, I've added a few more!

I had already come up with a design for the bridal shower and bach party invites (you know, helping out the bridesmaids smile), so now that I've got my paper I did some printing for those. There's still plenty of work to do - enough that the "girls" are getting together the end of this month to assemble invites. And one of my bridesmaids, Jen, is going to help me next Saturday with some prep work before we have our girls weekend - like the dye cutting, punching, regular cutting, etc. So that way, hopefully all we'll have to do is lots of gluing and a little detailed stamping and punching when the girls are here.

I've also ordered the paper for the wedding invitations and have been working diligently with my aunt on those. I'm hoping that the paper will arrive soon and my aunt will be able to cut it down before the invite making weekend, so then we'll be able to get started making the wedding invites too!

So today, I started playing with some of my other ideas. The first is a menu. I thought it would add a nice touch to have an individual dinner menu at each seat at the reception. Not only is it informational, but I think it will add a nice detail to the tables. I'm picturing trying to somehow wrap the napkin around the bottom of the menu and lay it at each place setting. Our monogram has worked it's way into being part of our theme, so I'm using it on a lot of the stationary items to tie them all together. Here is what I came up with:
I used the monogram at the top of the menu.
I added these cute little leaves to separate the sections. I made the leaves using a paper punch I found at Archivers.
The whole she-bang! Once I figured out the design, this was really a snap to make. Keep in mind that this is just a draft version, so the food may not be entirely correct and the paper will be ivory and not white....but you get the general idea.

I also begin thinking about table numbers and escort cards. Nate and I decided we wanted to assign tables for a couple of reasons:

  1. We're having a lot of out-of-town people; we can force them to mingle! biggrin
  2. We're renting tables; assigning tables will ensure maximized use of space.
So here are the designs I'm playing with... The escort card:
Simple, but I wanted to do something with the table number itself in a script font...and I thought it looked cool to push it off the paper. I'm thinking maybe a watermarked leaf might look good on the right side...I'll have to play with that.

And here's the table number I created:
It's going to be tent style, so all we have to do is print them and fold them in half. This is also very simple, but it brings in both of the wedding colors...and is super easy!

I'm starting to feel like all the stationary ideas swimming around in my head are coming together!

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