Sarah Greig Photography

I love a good hot glue gun.  I’ve always been pretty crafty–just ask my mom who indulged my many artistic phases while growing up with endless trips to Joann Fabrics and Michael’s.  I had bins of materials to create string bracelets, spin art, clay beads, puffy paint shirts, and ribbon belts.  I even had a full eucalyptus wreath creation area in our basement (wire, dried flowers, the works). I mean, wouldn’t all 12 year olds name eucalyptus wreath making (with hot glue of course) as a favorite pastime?  It should come as no shock that when I got married, I loved planning all of the tiny details, from the ribbon that was wrapped around our menus to the custom stickers on our favor boxes.  I went so far overboard making our (too large) table name signs that our florist had to anchor them in their own vase filled with sand just so they would stand up.  Lesson learned.

My cousin is getting married this weekend (read: huge Irish family goes crazy on the dance floor doing both “the worm” and the Haymaker’s Jig simultaneously) and she was feeling a bit overwhelmed by all of the small details…details that I love to plan!  I shot their engagement photos last fall and made a lovely guestbook for the reception, but I also promised her that we could take care of their table names and bar signs in one evening at Casa Greig.  A quick trip to the local Paper Source (she really had to twist my arm to go) and a survey of my craft bin (it now lives under my bed), and we were in business.  We created 22 fun table name cards that are personal to the bride and groom and reflect their wedding colors, navy and green.  They were simple to make in the assembly line of happy bride and eager bridesmaids, and two bottles of wine also helped our efforts.

DIY Table Name Cards- Makes 25
Ingredients: 2 bottles of wine, 2 packets navy scallop notecards, 2 packets green square edge notecards, 1 Seamless Web dinner delivery, 1 packet of Paper Source labels (download their template to run through your printer in your ink color of choice), grosgrain ribbon of your choice, decorative paper for card backing (optional–ours here is from the amazing Linda & Harriett), 2 glue sticks, 2 pairs of scissors, 1 roll of double-sided tape.

Directions:
1) Measure and cut decorative paper to fit larger A6 (green here) notecards.
2) Glue decorative paper to one side of the A6 cards (here we used two complementary paper designs and divided them up half and half).
3) Center the smaller scalloped baby (navy here) on the blank side of the A6 card and glue it down.
4) Download the “large paper label” template from the Paper Source website.  Type in your names, change the font accordingly, and print (we chose navy ink here)
5) Carefully center and stick the labels on top of the scalloped paper.
6) Add ribbon if you like (use double sided tape to attach any ribbon)- we used it for a bar sign and to make the Bride and Groom’s table name a little jazzier.
7) Make complimentary bar signs with signature drink, menu, etc.  Matching details throughout a reception look great!
8) High five your craft team and toast your creativity with (another) glass of wine.