Saying Thank You

What are the two things every parent says? “No” and “Say Please and Thank You” right? Well that’s my thought process anyway. So it got me thinking. How many times do you say thank you to the same people in your wedding? Say thank you for the Bachelorette, say thank you for the bridal shower, thank you for the gift, thank you for being part of our day. That’s a lot of Thank Yous- and I hate repeating Thank You cards… so I have a rotation.
Don’t believe me? Check it out…

Gold Glitter Thank You- Bought at Target in a pack of 50 just about a week ago. This is my standard pack of Thank Yous for gifts. I really like it, it’s got just enough glitter to say “Hey THANKS- SERIOUSLY, there’s glitter involved” who lies about glitter?

Silver Polka Dots- bought at Target approximately 3-4 years ago in a pack of 20. (Probably 10 left) Perfect for the casual thank you for your support, love, help, what have you. Contribution, in my mind, should get a thank you all it’s own.

The Queen of Thank Yous- Vera Wang embossed Thank You with matching envelope liner. This was a hefty $19 for a pack of 10, but hey when you get a really awesome gift or a loved one you hadn’t seen in years comes- you should give a really awesome thank you right? I also love spoiling people who like paper products with this one, ooh embossing.

 

This is hands down my favorite Target thank you card. Seriously do you see the cut outs? They are amazing! And I don’t know if you can tell that’s peralized paper. Oh I just adore it.
Do you find yourself giving people lots of Thank You notes? Do you have a rotation you use? What’s your favorite?

Gifts

Let me preface this post by saying whenever I actually get a gift I'm in complete and utter shock. I just really don't expect them, and no I didn't expect any for our semi-destination wedding, even though we clearly registered for some gifts. I thought it was nice enough people would be flying or driving in for the wedding. I have been pleasantly surprised and there's still 82 days away! Well guess what landed on our doorstep on Friday? And by "our doorstep" I mean the Condo office's doorstep from which I lugged a very big box while trying to walk my dog in the Phoenician 97 degree heat.

Seriously Bed, Bath and Beyond does some amazing things with their gift wrap- how adorable is that package? I almost don't want to rip it open....

But we did! And now it's time for the great debate, send the thank you now or send it after the wedding? A quick twitter poll revealed I should send them now.

So it's off to craft my first Thank You Card! What's your stance are you a now or a later?

Howl at the Thank You?

So you may have noticed by now that our wedding has developed a mind of its own and has acquired an "Arizona" wilderness-inspired theme... you may also know that back in November I decided I really like the idea of Block Printing our Thank You notes...

Well today I decided to start sketching out ideas based on FSIL's Thank Yous...

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And although the birds are cute they don't really work well for an Arizona themed wedding unless of course the bird was a roadrunner... Meep Meep. So I got to thinking of Arizona animals, Javelinas- too obscure, roadrunners- too silly, but when I got to the Coyotes it sounded just right!

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Then I sketched the same image onto the Speedy Carve block...

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And then I carved out the outline of the coyotes..

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And took a little off the top...

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So here's the final outcome with the stamping...

There are some things I'd like to fix but I really love the artistic feel of the stamp and the subtle imperfections and that you can hand write whatever message you want from Thank You to Congrats. Are you considering making a Thank You card you can reuse down the road? Do you have animals on your wedding stationary?

 ...and did anyone else want the Coyote to beat the Roadrunner?

Double Duty Save the Dates

So you've seen our Save the Dates.... but you haven't seen the backside of them....

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Most save the dates had a quick personal little note from the Bride (me!) and a hand calligraphed address.... but some lucky people got the alternate version...

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Some of them pulled double duty as Thank You notes for all the work, love, support, and endless helpfulness our families and bridal party have ALREADY provided us. 

Personally I love a quick Thank You note, for any reason really. It's so important to remind people who help you that you really do appreciate them- so what better way to thank them? Like the famous Al Capone saying "Vote Early, and often" I remind my followers to "Thank early, and often!"

Are you doing any unexpected Thank Yous? Did you slip a Thank You into some other wedding stationary?

My Little China Pattern... Part Deux

Did I mention that my fiancé's Grandparents bought us a full 12 piece set of China and Crystal? Well they did, when he was 2. Anyway I sought out the Hive (aka the Weddingbee Boards) for advice as to how one should say thank you for that.

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Here were the results of that informal poll:

• We should have them over for dinner using the China and Crystal
• We should take them out for dinner

I would honestly love to have his Grandparents over for dinner using the China, but unfortunately they're aging and in not the best of health. This means that the 90 minute drive to Phoenix from Tucson would be a bit much to ask for a meal on the China they bought 30 some odd years ago. So I considered taking them out for dinner, but they honestly hate eating out. What to do, what to do....insert a thinking cat image....

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And it came to me! We would be hosting the FSIL's family for New Year's Eve...why not use it then and take pictures! So we'll be using our formal China and Crystal as well as the several Mikasa bowls they also gave my fiancé.Then we'll crash their Sunday Supper (read: lunch) with the fiancé's Parents and show them how much we loved using the China! The Grandparents love it when we stop in unannounced it's fun and yet within their comfort zone. They also get bragging rights to everyone else living in the 55+ community that their Grandson "just popped in for lunch."

Here's a teaser of  the photos we will be bringing over:
We used this as a desert tray and bowl...

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Are you doing any unusual thank yous to really make sure your guests know that their gift was appreciated?

My Little China Pattern...

(For those of you that are interested: please note the title should be sung to the tune of "China Doll" by David Bowie)When I first discussed China patterns with the fiancé I soon learned we had a full set... and Oh baby!, is what you would say when you looked at our China. Let me explain why the engaged-not-yet-married-couple has a full set of China and Crystal. You see the fiancé's paternal grandparents are just a bit of hypochondriacs and really thought their time was up about 30ish years ago (please note they are still living). So they went out and bought all three of their grandchildren full 12 piece sets of China and full sets of real lead Crystal. For the other two grandchildren this generous gift was given as their wedding present. For my fiancé, it was given as a housewarming gift as the paternal grandparents had given up on a wedding. This is a wonderful sentiment but the circa 1978 pattern is interesting to say the least....

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That's right we have a full 12 piece set of the above Noritake China in the Adagio 7237 pattern in pristine condition. It's a wonderful and beautiful Victorian pattern that grows on you with time. Not quite what either of us would have registered for, but classy none the least. After some due diligence we found that the company was not only still around but is still a well respected name in China. What was even more exciting when we checked out the Crystal company we found it was Cristal d'Arques, a very well known name in lead based Crystal. We have a set of 12 High Ball and Long Champ glasses as well as a few others. But even though they were also bought circa 1978 they are still in production, and are quite timeless.

 

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And to top it all off the fiance also pulled out a full set of REAL silverware... I'm talking the snazzy stuff...

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So this brings me to the real reason I am posting this... how do you thank someone for a ridiculously expensive (and complete 12 piece) China + Crystal + Silverware set,  that was bought before you were even in the picture?

DIY- I Can Do!

While at the FSIL's house making stockings and stencils, I stumbled across the cutest idea. The best part of having an art teacher as your FSIL is that she comes up with the best ideas for her students- which translates to DIY projects I may be able to complete. Below is the inspiration piece...

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What is that wondrous creation above do you say? It's my FSIL's Thank You Notes...the style the art is called "Block Printing" it is essentially a glorified stamp, whose origins begin in Asia with wood block printing- the first form of book "printing." The above creation was made using Speed Ball products- a soft rubbery substance that is easy to carve. So much like our pumpkin carving fiasco- I will have to increase my carving dexterity.

This is our next DIY project and the tools for the job include:

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For a complete block printing tutorial (if you don't have your own personal Art Teacher) can be found at EBSQ Art.