Bridal Shower Place Settings |

Honor the bride to be with these personalized place settings

One of my co-workers was planning a bridal shower for her sister-in-law, and asked if I had any creative ideas to make it really personal. The only restrictions I had were that the color theme was black and white, and it was to be a "clean" design, not foo-foo.

I decided to make placemats using the bride and groom's engagement photos, and printed them on inkjet canvas. I found some printable vellum wraps for votive holders at Michaels, along with ribbon, and decorative silver hearts. I also made CD labels for the photo memory CDs that would be gifts for the attendees.

What you need:

1. Image editing software (I used PhotoShop Elements)
2. Inkjet canvas (I used Scrapper's Canvas by Creative Imaginations)
3. Gartner Printable Vellum Votive wraps
4. Inkjet CD labels (I used Memorex, but any kind will work)
5. Ribbon
6. Gartner Heart Charms
7. Craft glue (my favorite is The Ultimate! by Crafter's Pick)
8. Embossing powder (optional)
9. Heat gun (optional - not a hair dryer)
10. Krylon's Preserve It spray

Do it yourself placemat:

1. Cut down a 13x19 inch piece of inkjet canvas to 12 x 12 inches, prior to printing.
2. Convert your photos to black and white in your image editing software
3. Add a frame to the photo
4. Add text on the frame
5. Set your printer driver to borderless 12x12 inch, and your paper type to inkjet canvas. Print on 12x12 inch inkjet canvas.
6. After ink is dry (5 minutes or so), take outside and spray on a coat of Preserve It. Let dry for 20 minutes and spray on a second coat.
7. Cut a six inch piece of ribbon. Wrap it diagonally across a corner and glue it on the back.
8. Cut a four inch piece of ribbon and tie it, along with the heart charm onto the diagonal ribbon.

Do it yourself vellum wraps:

1. Go online to www.uprint.com and follow Gartner's instructions for adding names and date to the template
2. Insert vellum into printer (consult printer user's guide if you're unsure how to load it to print on the correct side)
3. Print your page(s) Immediately sprinkle clear embossing powder on the wet ink. Tap off excess powder onto a piece of paper.
4. Heat and melt the embossing powder.
5. Punch out wraps and use glue to adhere them around the votive.
6. Cut a 12 inch piece of ribbon. Wrap it around the votive and tie a knot. Slide the metal charm onto a loose end of the ribbon, then tie a bow. Trim ends if desired.

Do it yourself CD labels:

1. Using the software that came with the label stickers, add a photo and text.
2. Print the labels, then peel and stick onto the CDs.