My favourite blog - Ruffled, had these fab DIY Sunprint place cards from Magpie Paper Works. I just had to share this with you. Nothing like a bit of a krafternoon session!

Link here and details follow: http://ruffledblog.com/diy-sunprint-place-cards/

DIY Sunprint Place Cards

We’re absolutely wild about this DIY tutorial sent over by Magpie Paper Works. With just a little bit of science and creativity, you’re guaranteed to end up with handfuls of pretty on this one! Jessica’s brand new font, Vermandois looks gorgeous with this project. The truth is, this font is unbelievably perfect for any wedding stationery.

What you’ll need:
- Sunprint Kits (here)
- Your favorite font (here shown in calligraphy font Vermandois)
- 8.5″ x 11″ printable transparency film
- Inkjet or laser printer
- Sunprint Template (MS Word or PDF)
- Cardboard
- Scissors
- Water
- Sunlight


Instructions:
First, open the template in MS Word, Open Office, or another writing/publishing program. Select your favorite font and type a guest’s name in the center of each 4″ square. Print each completed page onto a sheet of transparency paper. When your prints are dry, cut along the inside of the black lines with a pair of scissors. Make sure not to leave any border behind, or it may show up on the final sunprint.



In a dim indoor room, carefully open your Sunprint packet and remove the plexiglass square that is included in each kit, along with one Sunprint sheet. Lay an unexposed Sunprint sheet and your trimmed place card on top of a piece of cardboard. You can also layer interesting objects on top of your place card – small flowers, feathers and string can make interesting shapes. When you are happy with your arrangement, place the plexiglass sheet on top to flatten and hold your items to the Sunprint paper. The blue molecules embedded in the paper are sensitive to ultra-violet light, so be sure to prepare your print in a place where the sun’s light cannot reach the paper.


Take your Sunprint outside and expose it to direct sunlight for 3 – 5 minutes. You will see the paper fading from blue to white. If no direct sunlight is available, don’t worry – just expose your print a little longer and wait for the same fading effect. Under cloud cover, you can expect the process to take approximately 5 to 20 minutes.



When your print looks “bleached”, take the paper inside and place it into a tray of cool water for 1 to 5 minutes, or rinse it completely in running water for 2 to 3 minutes. As you wash, the paper will change before your eyes – white becomes a pretty robin’s egg teal and blue becomes white! Dry your prints on a paper towel and blot as necessary to absorb any excess. If you like, you can place a few paper towels and a heavy book on top of your prints, and let the whole shebang dry overnight. When all of the water has evaporated from your prints (about 12 hours later) your place cards will be a vivid dark blue and the names will appear bright white. Pretty pretty!



And if you have a large guest list, don’t fret! You can expose multiple place cards at the same time by swapping the plexiglass tile for a larger sheet size. Your local home improvement store sells them in larger sheets.

View step-by-step images in the gallery

Download MS Word template
Download PDF template

Please note…these downloads are for personal use only. They are not intended for commercial use or distribution or alteration.

Invitations!

Here are a few snaps (taken on phone) of kitchen tea and pre-wedding invitations I did for some friends of mine. 

Kitchen tea - I created a vintage floral border.

 The invitation wrap was a translucent paper with lace pattern. The wrap was closed with a lace seal.

Pre-wedding invitation. They wanted a relaxed informal invitation to set the tone of the party. The jar of hearts theme is carried through the actual wedding invitations too.
They were sent in the brown Craft envelopes, as shown.

the end.

Kate and Sev's Engagement Party

My friend Kate and her lovely fiance Sev, just came back from living in Hong Kong. 

Here are some snaps of their engagement party which I was fortunate enough to help them with. 

It was a super hot summer Saturday. The theme was 'Summer soiree' and it was held at Kate's parent's beautiful home on the northern beaches for approx 80 guests.

The happy couple

Kate - isn't she gorgeous!

 Welcome everyone!

 We used vintage milk bottles filled with Cider and paper straws and mojitos as welcome drinks. Chalkboards Kate and I made during a 'crafternoon' session were great signage and props.

 Kate went to the flower market the day before the party and bought the most beautiful array of mixed flowers (hydrangeas playing a huge part, yay - my favourite!). Kate, her sister Sarah and I had fun making arrangements in vases, bottles, pails and all kinds of interesting containers to place around the deck and interior of the party.

Kate and Sev are high school sweethearts, so there were frames dotted around the party of their favourite memories. Sweet!

And of course beautiful bunting, lanterns and homemade pom poms (another 'crafternoon' session) in the colour theme of lemon and turquoise! 

The view of the valley

I made these fab food flags from a download on my favourite blog Ruffled (http://ruffledblog.com/)

The food was canapes meets rustic buffet. I ordered some divine rice paper rolls from Miss Chu (are there any other, really?). Kate and Sev's family and friends also cooked up a storm. It was a fabulous fare feast for sure. (I am a bit of a fan of alliteration, obviously)

The dessert buffet - Kate, her Mum, Sev's family and bridesmaid's outdid themselves making these delicious sweets and it was devoured by her amazing friends and family.

 I love my apothecary lolly jar collection and am particularly in love with the lace adhesive tape from emerald and ella (http://emeraldandella.com.au/)

Happily ever after indeed.

 

The end!

Christmas table and themed decorations

I love creating the Christmas table theme each year. I made red and white pom poms and used red and

white stitched gros grain ribbon down the centre for colour and texture. Vintage jars filled with candied peanuts were little gifts and added to the 'Christmas' feel.

Wooden fans were a great way to stay cool and swat and Aussie summer flies away.

Nikita's 1st Birthday Party

My dearest friend allowed me to unleash my pent up weekend party planner for their daughter's 1st Birthday. It was a a little girl's picnic/garden party them and boy did I have fun! It was held on a very hot November Saturday at the beautiful home. There were about 70 guests, Here are a few amateur photos. Big thanks to my superhero husband Minh for being my set-up mate and Mark from DE.

The little invitation I designed (personal details have been removed)

My friends at Decorative Events supplied fun furniture and items to tie in with the theme. The amazing Mark from DE and I had soooo much trawling through their warehouse for items.

Others I made or ordered, as listed.

   

Love love the vintage paper straws from Emerald and Ella (http://www.emeraldandella.com.au/)

Paper cups are paper Eskimo

 

Vintage milk bottles from eBay. LOVE these.

 

Vintage lace and pink polka dot tape from Emerald and Ella. It couldn't be a children's Birthday party without a lolly station!

Fab tea cups and bird cages from DE. I filled the tea cups and wooden crates with fans, fedora hats and vintage silk hair flowers for all the guests- they loved them and donned them excitedly.

I made signs for each, 'Shady - too cool for sunburn' etc. We all love a picnic, but no need to get burnt. I bought the fans, flowers and fedoras online.

I made hundreds of pink and white paper pom poms and ordered vintage paper bunting from Pink Frosting and fabric bunting from Emerald and Ella.

DE supplied the most beautiful white iron garden furniture, love seats etc. I also had picnic blankets and cushions on the grass for all the guests to enjoy. Little wooden crates were a great drink holder.

 

 Rather than lolly bags, each of the the child guests were given a personalised herb plant (so much more fun and not to mention healthier). I used buff mailing tags from Office works for the vintage look.

I placed all the herb pots on a vintage ladder and made a chalkboard from such gorgeous photo rustic frames (which are made of old floorboards) purchased at Kirribilli markets. I simply painted the backing insert with chalkboard paint and voila! That way with glass it's a great photo/signage frame and without - a vintage chalkboard.

The end!