Do you ever get the hankerin' for something? The other day, out of the blue, I had this urge to host a party (kinda the same way my Halloween party came about last year). I knew I didn't want to sell anything---like Mary Kay, Thirty-One, Pampered Chef, etc.---but I found the PERFECT reason to have people over and mix up mimosas...a Pinterest party!

What is a Pinterest party, you ask?

When I was a kid at Vacation Bible School every summer, my most FAVORITE part was the arts & crafts. Nothing made me happier. Well, a Pinterest party is like that...for adults! *Mind blown*
 Why didn't I think of something like this? It's absolute genius!

Here's how it works: After picking a theme and pinning several different crafty ideas to a board on Pinterest, you ask guests to pick their top two or three favorite projects. At the party, you recreate whichever project received the most interest. It's like Wine & Palette without having to bring in the professional painters. Score!

Setting a Date, Time and Location
While it would be a blast to have a summer Pinterest party, it's been a crazy busy summer so far for us and I don't really see signs of it slowing down. Then, football season starts (Boomer Sooner!), but wait...a Sooner bye week in September (the last weekend of summer/first weekend of fall)?! Could it be?! It's perfect! A fall-themed Pinterest party!

So I marked September 21 on my calendar, then I thought about the time of day to hold it...

Usually, fall weddings and other events are scheduled on OU bye weeks, so I wanted to stay away from the evening hours. Hmm...how could I somehow make it a MORNING event people would be interested in?  Using Pinterest as my inspiration, I decided to make it a brunch! I thought the time of 10 a.m.---Noon(ish) would work out perfectly for the most people's schedules.

While our house is the perfect size for us, it's not the best for entertaining large groups. Then I thought, "Why not use the backyard?" We don't have a pool (yet) or other large objects taking up the space, plus it's fairly level, so why not? The weather in mid-September is usually perfect, and if it decides to rain we can move inside or see about renting a tent last minute. It can still work. Plus, more people can fit in the backyard than inside.

Making the Guest List
I kept the list narrowed down to my closest friends, neighbors and co-workers (family members are a given). I also thought about who exactly would be interested in a craft project. I have 35 people on my list and, knowing not everyone will be able to make it, I hope sending out Save-the-Dates will make a difference when planning as the day gets closer, which brings me to...

To Send Save-the-Dates or Not?
I am a planner...I like to know as far in advance as possible what I will be doing. Assuming there are others like me on my guest list, I want to accommodate them. Yes, Save-the-Dates are usually associated with weddings and larger events, but for us planners, we want to know. Plus, it gave me an excuse to play in Photoshop.

It was about this time I began thinking about the seasonal decor I would be using. A good Save-the-Date reflects the style of the event, so I wanted to be sure to capture it. But first, I had to decide what exactly that would be.

Selecting a Style
When I think of fall, I think of golds, reds, oranges and dark greens. All pretty bold colors. I initially thought that would be easiest, but not necessarily...

In April we attended a shabby chic wedding and the detail was incredible. Using that as my inspiration, but trying not to copy, I chose a few textures I knew I wanted to use: lace, burlap and raffia. I wanted to stay with pastel colors on the Save-the-Dates, so I chose light purple, blue, peach and tan. These won't be the only colors I use, but they seem to go so well with the textures.

Bringing Ideas to Life
With a style and theme in mind, I set off to create my Save-the-Dates. First, I researched websites I could simply enter the information and they would print them for me. When I couldn't find a design I was looking for, I decided to just make them myself using Photoshop. I had them printed in one-hour photo as 4x6s, but they still needed something...where else to turn in a time of need other than Hobby Lobby?

A little lace, raffia, buttons, flowers, hot glue and---because the tacky "printed at WalMart" on the back of each photo didn't seem to match my theme---backing paper later...








To dress up the plain brown paper envelopes, I used the same decorative paper I glued to the back of each Save-the-Date on the back-side of the flap:


I thought it gave it a slightly more elegant feel, but not too formal.

In keeping with the light blue and brown theme, I also dressed up the front:




Hopefully when my guests receive this in their mailbox, they will be intrigued enough to open it. :)

This has been a time-consuming project so far, but luckily I'm not inviting hundreds of people so it's very doable. Plus, there's plenty of time between now and the party, and I doubt many people have made plans for that day (or more specifically, that morning).

One of the best parts about this project so far has been the price. $20 at Hobby Lobby bought all the lace I needed (plus more to use elsewhere), more than enough brown paper envelopes, the cute little bronze paper clips with reusable sticky things on the back, flowers, buttons, raffia, a few burlap pieces I plan on using, the pretty blue and brown paper and more. The 4x6 prints were super cheap to have printed, too. Woo hoo!

Back to Pinterest I go!