Party Tips: Recyling

 

Creative Commons License photo credit: garryknight

Recycling and composting at parties can be a real challenge. Have you ever stood in someone's kitchen at party unsure of what to do with the plastic plate, food scraps and pop can in your hand?

RecycleScene has some great tips:

• Choose items that are easily recyclable. Serve drinks in cans rather than styrofoam cups. 

• Put out easily identifiable bins where guests can see them. Blue for recycling, green for food waste, black for garbage. Guests are more likely to recycle or compost if the bins are accessible.

• Compost food scraps. In Ontario, most of us have green bins so this is really easy.

• Use Cloth napkins and real dishes. You can rent the dishes for a large party. If that doesn't suit you, look for biodegrable tableware made from sugarcane or wheat fibers. If you must use paper products, look for post-consumer recycled fibers. And don't forget that napkins can go into the green bin!

• Re-use decorations from other parties or make decorations out of other materials, such as a pinata. Invset some time in making non-specific festive decorations such as felt pennets or banners, a generic "party" sign that can be used for any party over and over again. I love the idea of the wooden sign in the image above. Why not try your hand at a diy project?

Digital Bulletin Board

I recently discovered pinterest.com, a site that functions as a digital bulletin board. Instead of adding websites to your bookmarks toolbar, you can "pin" things you like to your "pinboard".

You can create pinboards about anything. Several templates are pre-loaded with titles such as "books to read", "for the home", "my style pinboard" etc, but can delete or edit these, as well as create your own category.

The site is very easy to use, just drag the "pin it" widget into your browser toolbar. When you come across something you like, click on the widget. A new window pops up- you can select exactly what you want to pin, and to which category.

Next add a description and tags. The site will automatically add the source, no need to keep track yourself!

Pinterest is also linked to facebook and twitter. You can "follow" other users, and "repin" items you like to your own pinboards.

To create an account, you have to sign up for the waitlist but I found it was very quick. Once you are signed in, you can invite up to five friends to join as well.

To see more, follow my pinboards here

E invitations

Online invitations, a.k.a "e-vites" are an excellent choice for many reasons-they're free, paperless and quick and easy. Two sites that I use frequently are evite.com and mypunchbowl.com
Here are some highlights of each.

Evite

• completely free (you need to register for an account)
  
• quick and easy to use
• pre-made templates for every category
• custom options are somewhat limited but you can change the design image or "design your own" from scratch
  
• easily import your contacts from email accounts such as gmail and hotmail
• guests options such as potluck requests, polls, even let guests create a playlist
  
• links to google maps
• option to post the invitation to facebook
  
• tracks rsvps for you
• after the event, guests can post photos
• free e-cards available
  

To create an account go to http://www.evite.com/

Punchbowl

• a digital version of a real invitation-designs have envelopes
• classier than a usual e-invitation
• basic options are free-you can upgrade your account to "plus" or "premium" for a monthly fee
• customize options such as background and text colour, add a photo
• tracks rsvps for you
• links to social media-facebook, twitter, linked in, my space
  
• free e-cards available
• party planning options-find a venue, create a budget, order party supplies etc.

To create an account go to http://www.mypunchbowl.com/

DIY greeting cards and invitations

Materials needed:

• pre-made envelopes, in any size
• variety of decorative papers-I used scrapbooking paper
• embellishments: die cuts, glitter, stickers, scraps of ribbon, etc.
  
• glue stick
• glue gun for thicker elements (if using)
• bone folder (optional)
• cutting mat and xcato knife or paper cutter

The only essential aspect of making your own cards is making sure they fit into the envelopes.

Other than that, let your imagination run wild!

Craft stores sell blank card and envelope sets. This project is even easier with pre-made cards, just decorate! Each card takes only a minute or two.

If you are making invitations, you will likely want to make them all the same. I don't think this is strictly necessary-your guests won't compare them! But it is easiest to make them all the same colour scheme, you can vary the patterns and shapes if you like.

For invitations print out all the details such as date, time, location and the contact information for the guests to rsvp and print out as many copies as you need from your home computer.

Glue this sheet into each invitation.

This is really a creative exercise, you can make cards and invitations in any colour scheme and pattern you like.

Here are some samples I created using leftover scrapbooking supplies and bits and bobs I had lying around the house. I confess I save ribbon-I have a drawer full of random pieces.

This could be an invitation or a card for a wedding, an engagement party, a shower, or an anniversary party.

This card or invitation is more general-it could be for birthdays or as a thank you card.

It really only takes a few minutes to make a card and it's a really nice way to create a hand made custom card. Tailor the card to the person it's for, the event, or even to the wrapping paper.

Most of all-be creative and have fun!

Book Review-Real Simple Weddings

From the Editors of Real Simple Magazine, 2009

Technically this is a single issue magazine not a book, but it's close enough for me.
I received this as a gift after I had already begun my planning process, so I really didn't use it to it's full potential. However, I find it so helpful that I wanted to write about some higlights and features.

At 160 pages, it is jammed with useful tidbits interspered with lovely photographs. One of the features are "real weddings" in each chapter linked with that topic.

The book is divided into three sections, with ten chapters covering every aspect of weddings-calendars and timelines, attire, invitations, ceremony ideas and much much more.

The planning section includes handy worksheets with timelines, checklists and budgets.

A nice bonus is the pull-out quick reference guide. It's small enough to carry around with you in your purse, and has spots to jot down contact information for vendors as well as checklists.

The only negative-the local vendors resource list is all American sources.

Each section contains common questions, as well as features based on style and season.

The chapter on wedding and bridesmaids dresses is nicely divided into body types, as well as by season with full colour photographs.

The common flowers used in weddings are nicely laid out in a chart with season, colour and average price.

The index has tons of websites broken down for each chapter.

Overall, this book is an excellent resource. If you are looking for a guide-pick this one up for it's helpful information and insipirational photographs. It is worth it.

To buy:
http://www.realsimple.com/work-life/books-back-issues-subscriptions-00000000017526/

Note: the 2010 edition is also available in stores or online

Wedding Show Review

Wedding shows can be daunting, but if you`re smart you can get alot of planning done in one location. Husband and I went to two shows-a large one downtown Toronto and a smaller one in Hamilton. Here are some tips, pros and cons to make the most of your visit.

Large Shows:

It is worth going to one of these large shows, especially in the early planning stages. The best thing you can do is be prepared. Most wedding shows have a list of vendors and a map on their websites. Print one off, highlight booths you are interested in, and try to go there first before you get overwhelmed by the crowds

The Good:

• lots of vendors in one location
• easy to compare prices and services
• good for inspiration, to see what you like and don`t like
• The freebies! Tons and tons of free stuff-resuable shopping bags, samples, free wedding magazines, wedding planners etc.
  
• Free admission
  

The Bad:

• Freebies! Be prepared to carry alot of heavy stuff. We actually saw some couples with small rolling suitcases. You might scoff, but I am sure their arms were alot less tired than ours!
  
• The crowds-it`s hard to get close to some booths, or to really see the fashion shows. Watch out for pushy Bridezillas
• I found the customer service less than stellar. There are so many people, vendors don`t have the time to spend with customers
• Oodles and oodles of paper! I found this VERY wasteful. I ended up recycling most of what I brought home
• finding parking was terrible
• I found it very loud-constant announcements
• be careful filling out all those ballots. I was inundated with telemarketers and junkmail for weeks afterward. I apparently "won" a free honeymoon, it turned out to be a timeshare scam
  

What I learned:

• what I don`t like-this is actually very helpful and can help you narrow your choices
• we found a gorgeous handpainted cake inspired by Claude Monet. It was way too expensive but we walked away with our colour scheme-tones of purple and smoky silvery-gray. We kept that cake in the back of our minds throughout the rest of the planning
• it's really not worth going to more than one large show, you will find the same stuff over and over again, you will get burned out and you won't take anything in after awhile. After a few hours my eyes glazed over, and I was just wandering without purpose.
  

Small Shows:

The Good:

• less crowded
• local vendors
• customer service was much better!
  
• you can get close to the booths, and actually see the fashion show
• you can easily see everything in just a few hours
  

The Bad:

• less choice, fewer vendors of each type
  
• not as much freebies
• parking might not be free
• admission might not be free-but brides are usually admitted at no charge

What I learned:
The small show was a goldmine! All the following were sourced there:

• the violinist!
• the DJ
• the cake
• my wedding dress
• bridesmaid's dresses
• travel agent for honeymoon
• the free wedding planner I used for tracking timelines

Not bad for an afternoon, huh?