Copying Miss Apple Cider

That's right. It's so obvious, I made it my title. After seeing Miss Apple Cider's post on her DIY out-of-town bags, I got right down to it. I'd been conflicted over where to find cheap, bulk bags to use for this project. The best ones I had seen were at Hobby Lobby--brown paper with handles for .50 cents per bag.

But then, Miss Apple Cider came along and introduced the hive to muslin bags from this website. I followed suit and ordered 50 5" x 8" bags.

They were a little smaller than I was expecting--I guess I hadn't really thought about what 5" x 8" meant--but they would have to do. Plus, the fact that they are smaller means it's harder for them to look empty (i.e. I don't have to put as much stuff in them!). We're planning on including a welcome note, a weekend's schedule, a locally-made lip balm and a thing of homemade granola.

To decorate the bags, I also went Miss Apple Cider's route, but I had planned on stamping the bags prior to reading her post. I'd made a custom stamp of Mr. Cowboy Boot's horse that he drew for our save-the-dates from Simon Stamps.

Then, I skipped over to Hobby Lobby where I purchased a heart stamp as well as the stamp that reads "LOVE". Oh, and a few stamp pads.

Total cost of project (including shipping from ordering online):

Bags: $26.10

Custom Horse Stamp: $15

Stamps and Ink Pads: $17

Total: $58.10

Lucky for me, we plan on using the stamps elsewhere like on our note to our guests and on signage around the reception.

Did you DIY your OOT bags?

Good Bridesmaid!

A couple of days ago, Bridesmaid AC was skimming through etsy.com while at work (like a good bridesmaid) when she came across something she thought I might like. Boy, was she right! I clicked on the link she sent over and, bingo, there were our escort cards.

(source)

I'd gone back and forth between doing horse breeds as our table names versus the traditional number scheme. I even dreamt of Mr. CB slaving away at drawings of each breed similar to the horse he drew for our save-the-date. Unfortunately, Mr. CB didn't feel the same way and off I went, in search of something to suffice.

Enter etsy seller: seasonaldelights. I contacted her and let her in on my plan. I thought maybe she could make us table cards that matched her adorable gift cards and people could match up the image on their respective tags. We'll most likely have ten tables. She happened to have nine horse images on hand. The tenth? Mr. CB's, which will definitely be our table!

The seller said can replace the string with ribbon and make the matching table cards at any size we want. I'm considering having the escort cards sent to a calligrapher so people's names can be added--I definitely should not write them.

Seasonaldelights has some other gorgeous cards and tags! Check them out these images from her site, below:

Should we do ten tables of horses (that are a little bit similar and might get confusing) or should we intersperse some other farm animals? Would it be weird if we did five horse tables and sprinkled in the others?

Designing the Invites (Part IV)

As I mentioned before, the Cowboy Boot invitations will have five parts: the invitation card, the RSVP card and envelope, a map, a rehearsal dinner invitation (in some of them), and a hang tag to tie the whole thing together. We plan on using one of the various illustrations you've seen on each piece.

Next up, the hang tags--you know, the little tag that the raffia is tied through to bring it all together. Since we're using the birds on the invitation and the barn on the RSVP, the hang tag seems like the perfect place to feature Mr. CB's horse sketch (the one that adorned our save-the-dates). Give me your vote:

Option 1

Option 2

Option 3

Option 4

Option 5 (This is a circle, by the way)

Vote below!

Option 1

Option 2

Option 3

Option 4

Option 5

Or, tell me which shape you like best? And which design is your favorite? Or how you would do it differently?

Our Horse Theme

You've seen our save-the-date and the gorgeous horse that Mr. Cowboy Boot drew. The horse wasn't exactly planned for. There were several ranch-themed ideas Mr. Cowboy Boot played with--barns, barn swallows, and prairie grass--before whipping up the image that adorns our save-the-dates. He put a lot of time into "our horse" and it shows. We plan to use this image as a monogram of sorts.

Mr. Cowboy Boot's horse

Now, because I love this horse as much as I do (and because Devil's Thumb Ranch has hundreds of horses and a gorgeous stable), the horse theme started to grow. I suddenly wanted to thread horse-related objects and images throughout our decor. To be honest, it's not like we're horse people. We didn't grow up riding nor do we own horses or anything like that, but we do love the animals. They are just so gorgeous.

In light of trying to find ways to incorporate horses and horse-related things, here's some inspiration I've come across on the internet.

Horseshoe Invitations by Greenwich Letterpress

Horse Drawn Carriage
Photo by The Image Is Found Photography

Favors from Ritzy Bee Blog. Our save-the-dates are also on this derby-inspired post, here.

Ranch Inspiration Board with horseshoe escort detail from Snippet & Ink

Table Cards from Martha Stewart Weddings

Trash the dress (if only I knew how to ride like that!) from photographer Critsey Rowe

Our florist got married at Devil's Thumb Ranch last year. During her ceremony, she had the ranch release the horses in the field behind them. This was an awesome addition for their photos and something we might just have to copy.

As of now, I have a bucket of horseshoes for who knows what. Any ideas? I'm collecting vintage horse postcards for people to pen some well wishes to us (in lieu of a guest book).

The postcards I just won on eBay

And I'm considering using horse breeds instead of table numbers. With ten tables, I'm trying to get Mr. CB to sit down at the drawing board once more and illustrate some different breeds that are recognizable from each other. My mom, who owned five horses growing up, helped me to identify the most known breeds: Appaloosa, Thoroughbred, Mustang, Clydesdale, Shetland Pony and so on.

Do you have any suggestions for our horse theme? Are you including a theme in your wedding?