Celebrations, Parties

Quidditch Inspired Invites for a Harry Potter Themed Couples Shower

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Confession: I have never read Harry Potter.  I vaguely remember watching the first movie, but that was way back when it first came out and I couldn’t remember any of the details now if I tried.  The second closest I have come to having anything to do with Harry Potter was a small exhibit we happened upon in the Marseilles train station on our Europe trip in 2009.  Displayed within the different train cars were some cool props and memorabilia from the movie, but knowing very little about the series it was not much for me to get excited about.

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When my brother brought up the idea of helping plan a couple’s wedding shower for his bride-to-be and hinted that she would like a Harry Potter theme, I admit I was a little daunted and less then excited.  Then my Pinterest search skills took over and I quickly learned there was a lot that could be done with the theme – hello butterbeer, chocolate frogs, and a Honeydukes themed candy buffet!  I could go on, but I don’t want to spoil too many of the ideas I have in store for the happy couple.

My original thought for the invite was to do something with owls, but in my Pinterest searches I came across these adorable quidditch mugs from TooLegitTooKnit on Etsy and knew right away it would work perfectly for the front of the invite.

Quidditch Mugs

Borrowing the idea, I split my invite down the middle and put “He’s Found a Catch” on one side with the complimentary “She’s Found a Keeper” on the other half.  To add interest, I incorporated an overlapping lightening bolt down the middle which both mimicked Harry’s birth mark and served as a way to close up the invitations.  They was a bit of a pain to individually cut and score with my exacto knife, but luckily I only had 14 of them to make up!

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The lightening bolt closure opened up to the party details printed inside on clean white cardstock.

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For the envelopes I was able to find some “Owlgram” graphics online that I printed onto the front and backs of the envelopes.  I had to print addresses on anyway, so this really didn’t take much extra effort and gave it that special touch.  I went with a rustic Kraft type envelope to match the paper of the invite inside.

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The maid of honor also suggested we do something with a wax seal and began to hunt high and low for a wax seal kit.  I did a quick search and came across Just Another Day in Paradise‘s post for her Harry Potter Birthday invitations  and was excited to see she was able to get the wax seal look easily with clay.  I ended up finding an owl pendant at Michael’s and used it to imprint into some purple Fimo clay.  I ended up baking my clay medallions and then hot gluing onto each envelope to make sure they survived the trip through the mail.

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I love the way these turned out and am excited to get going on all the other party details, even if I am a bit of a dummy when it comes to Harry Potter.

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I can appreciate the magic and wonder that comes with Harry Potter and I do hope to one day eventually read the books and watch all the movies with my kids.  I know many adults love the series so I can imagine it is that much better when experiencing it together through the eyes of a child!

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There have been a few requests for the artwork files for these invites so I am providing them here for your use.  You can download the main cover artwork pdf here: HP Shower Invite Artwork_DolledUpDesign

I have laid it out on a legal (8.5″x14″) sized piece of paper and it is designed to be folded and fit neatly in a 5.625″ x 4.375″ envelope.

HP Invite Artwork

The inside details can be added to this high resolution jpeg: Print

Final size should be 5″x3.75″ to fit neatly inside the above cover.

The fonts I used are:

And, finally, here are a few owl post seals to use on the envelopes:

HP Invitation_owlpostseal (2)

HP Invitation_owlpostseal (1)  HP Invitation_owlpostseal (3)

I appreciate all the positive feedback on the invitations and I hope this can help some of you create your very own!   Don’t forget to check out all my other Harry Potter party posts for other great food and decoration ideas.

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Celebrations, Parties

Hangin’ With My Gnomies Bridal Shower

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I had the pleasure of being my sister’s Maid of Honor last August – my first time being in a wedding party!  I was thrilled to be part of my sister’s wedding day and excited because it meant I got to plan a Bridal shower.

When my sister first told me she wanted a gnome themed Bridal shower, I wasn’t quite sure if she was serious about it or just pulling my leg.  After confirming that was indeed her choice of theme, I began designing and acquiring gnome related items.  She was very specific about the style of gnome she wanted so while I found plenty of gnome statues, none of them quite fit with her vision.  In the end, I designed my own gnomes to use on her invites and as cardboard cut-outs for table decorations.

The invite:

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The main food table was decorated with mushrooms, fake grass and plants, and a white picket fence.  A banner with the Bride and Groom’s name was strung across two topiary trees and cardboard cut-outs of gnomes were placed throughout.

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I think that food is one of the most important aspects of a shower, so I spent a lot of time scouring the internet for finger food recipes.  The final menu I made included bacon wrapped dates, baked brie pops, mini twice baked potatoes, veggies and dip in small flower pots, stuffed mushrooms, and chicken salad rollups.

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Other guests were kind enough to bring the amazing fruit bouquet, mango salsa with tortilla chips, and a fruit salsa with cinnamon chips.

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Desserts included s’mores bites and a beautiful cake with adorable toadstool cupcakes made by our friend Katy.

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Drinks were a non-alcoholic watermelon punch and red wine sangria, as well as layered cherry jello shooters.

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For favors and an activity, I had a flip flop decorating station.  The guests were asked to RSVP with their shoe size and favorite color and I picked everyone out a pair of flip flops when Old Navy had their $1 flip flop sale.  Glue guns, ribbons, beads and flowers were provided and guests went to working adding a little extra pizazz to their new sandals.  It ended up being a lot of fun to see what everyone came up with and guests then had a pair of comfy shoes to bring to the casual camp themed wedding.

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Another component of the shower (as seen in the invite above) was donating to the underpants gnome.  Guests each brought a pair of fun new underwear for the bride-to-be and we strung them on a line in the living room.  They were paired with an advice card and the bride had to guess who had given them based on the advice written and the style of underwear chosen.  She had a lot tougher time guessing then I would have expected and there were many laughs shared with the crazy marriage advice and the gag underwear that were about 5 sizes too big.

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Finally, I also made a few gnome themed props from foam core and posterboard to take some fun photos of the bride-to-be and her guests.

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Even though we were stuffed from all the appetizers, we finished the evening off going for dinner and then out dancing.  I had a ton of fun planning  this shower and providing a special day for my sister and now can’t wait to one day be able to plan a baby shower for her!

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