How To: Tissue Paper Flowers

Saving money is hard to do. But throwing a beautiful event does not mean having to break the bank. There are many ways to save a few dollar$ and impress your guests. We do have to admit, most of the time this does means putting in a little extra elbow grease - but that's the fun part!

One great way to remain under budget, fake flowers. Most hear fake, anything, and cringe. Not the case with Tissue Paper flowers. With so many different patterns, colors and sizes to mix and match, (as we like to say) the possibilities are endless. And with 100% recycled paper now available, you can honor your budget and our planet!

Supplies You'll Need

1.  Tissue Paper

2. Green Wire (stem)

3. Scissors

Here's our 'How To' to Perfectly Festive Flowers

1. Fold one piece of Tissue Paper accordion-style, each fold roughly 1'' thick

2. depending on the size of flower you want, cut accordion strip into segments (flowers shown are 4 segments per sheet of Tissue Paper)

3. Cut two 1/2'' slits in the middle of each segment

4. String thin wire through slits of paper, fold wire in half and twist wire to form 'stem'

5. Separate folds of the Tissue Paper using your fingertips in a back and forth pattern, molding into a beautiful flower

Suggestion Saturday - JoAnn Fabrics

This may seem odd for a Suggestion Saturday, but the possibilities are endless for what can be created with supplies from JoAnns!

What: Craft store with supplies ranging from thread and sewing machines to fake flowers, paint and scrapbooking materials.
Where: Closest one to us is in Riverfront Plaza, 2639 N Elston (just north of the Damen/Fullerton intersection).  But check here for the one closest to you.
When: I find stuff at JoAnn's for every single event. Sometimes it's something very small, and other times the entire event comes together with materials I've purchased from this store! Try making a 'Build Your Own Garden' kit for a kid's party, or letter favors to personalize your gifts, or even making your own invitations.  Ribbon dresses up any annoucement, put together a gift basket for friends coming in town, or for your upcoming wedding.
Why: Because it's always fun to be creative - and you never know what great idea you can come up with...and they always have sales!
Who: All Agesa

Groupon

For those of you that subscribe to Groupon in the city of Chicago, today's deal is for one of our favorite places (and a recently featured Suggestion Saturday), 1154 Lill!


The Groupon deal will only run today and is good for $25 toward $50 Worth of Custom Handbags and More at 1154 Lill Studio.


Check it out, the deal is on!

You Swoop

If you live in Chicago, you've no doubt heard of Groupon - well there's a new kid in town, YouSwoop. YouSwoop operates on the same theory; give one amazing opportunity at savings per day.  You sign up with your email address and start receiving emails the very next day on a deal that offers 50%-95% off at businesses throughout Chicago. 

Now, you may be asking, "What does this have to do with Event Planning?"  Well, the answer is simple. If you can save on things you're going to buy anyway, you'll have more money to put towards your next event! GENIUS!!

YouSwoop is also a great way to find novel businesses in Chicago. New (and well established) restaurants are featured on YouSwoop weekly - most of which you've likely not heard of yet!

Sign up, check 'em out, and save!

Beers and Tears Tuesday

Not all events have to be large productions. In this time of serious economic woes, spending a ton of money isn't always an option. And that, a lot of the time, trickles down to dinners out with friends. So how can you stay social on a budget? We've got just the thing for you, and the idea came from something we do ourselves.
As a planner, I'm at events and in the public almost 7 days a week. So when I want to hang out with friends, going to a restaurant or bar isn't always what I'm looking for. And going out in Chicago, even just once or twice a week, can get very expensive. So I came up with a fun, weekly event designed around one of my favorite things, NBC's 'The Biggest Loser.' It's something I end up talking about for hours with my friends anyway, so the planner in me figured 'why not turn it into a party!'

And thus...

Beers and Tears Tuesday

...was born

Each friend brings something to nibble on (something healthy of course) and their favorite alcoholic (or non, if that's your thing) beverage and we mingle around the TV for two hours. With everyone bringing food and a beverage, there's enough to keep everyone satisfied and lighten the burden on the hostess'/host's wallet. You can even rotate houses if you wish! The final cost ALWAYS comes out less than our bill at a restaurant and we get to kick off our shoes and just relax!!

Another great idea to unite everyone's efforts is to pick a signature drink and have each guest bring one ingredient. Margaritas are delish, Caipirinha is unique and tasty, or use your own favorite beverage!!

So pick your favorite TV show, invite some friends and ENJOY!

Rent the Runway

A special event can be a major occurence in your life. From an engagement party to a huge New Year's Eve fete to your first big office event to high school reunion, an event is your time to shine as the guest-of-honor or the hostess or just an attendee. But what do you wear?

Well, thanks to two Harvard Business School classmates, your closet just got a LOT bigger. Jennifer Fleiss and Jennifer Hyman came up with the perfect solution for every budget-concious fashionista: Rent the Runway. Rent the Runway allows you, yes you, to rent high fashion garments for that special occasion at a fraction of the retail price and then return the item in a pre-paid package when you're done.

How does 90% off sound? Sounds pretty good to us. We're stoked at the awesome steals found on renttherunway.com, but we love the green factor even more. So often we girls buy a great dress or outfit only to wear it once. And then the once-beloved item hangs in our closet, taking up space until we are ready to admit that that trend has long passed. Now you can rent an awesome outfit and return it so it can be used by someone else (after a good cleaning!).

Check out some of our favorite finds for your next event, then head over to Rent the Runway yourself to sign up . . . for FREE!

For a black-tie affair

for a New Year's Eve bash

for your rehearsal dinner

your birthday party

office holiday party

The site is filled with great options for rent, starting at just $50. And with no sign-up fees, you'll be a budget- and earth-concious fashionista in no time at all!

100 Wedding Blogs (and Twitter) To Follow in 2010

The BrideTide.com list is up! Take a look at the 100 Wedding Blogs to Follow for 2010. So many good ones to help inspire and support your wedding planning efforts.

Don't forget to check out the Great Eco Section - conveniently reposted below for your enjoyment!

ECO


Earth Friendly Weddings
An inspiring resource for planning environmentally and socially responsible green weddings for today's modern bride.

Eco Chic Weddings Blog
Ethical. Thrifty. Chic. This blog takes green weddings to a whole new level.

Recycled Bride
The RB blog is your place to get the latest scoop on eco-chic wedding and lifestyle trends. Updated daily by Tracy DiNunzio.

Eco-Beautiful Weddings
The Daily Blog is the resource for eco-couture weddings and is the first and only quarterly online magazine and daily blog dedicated to eco-friendly weddings.

Pixielist.com

WGIC recently saw a great news segment on 190 North about Pixielist.com, a site described in their own words below:

PixieListTM is a free service that makes it easy to give away usable items from the home or office that you no longer need. Save money and the planet by reusing free items offered by others in your community. Everything listed here is 100% free with no strings attached. That's the rule. Free to give. Free to get. All free!

Looking for something that you don't already see on PixieList? Use our wish list feature to let other people know you can really use that certain something.

We charities and wish list items from registered charities are clearly marked. If you donate items to a registered charity, you may even get a tax deduction!

So use PixieList and really clean up!

While Pixielist.com is relatively new to the scene, the thought behind it is good. We love the idea of FREE, (I mean, who doesn't!?), but we also love that products are getting reused instead of thrown away! So shop away~

It IS Easy Being Green!

Everyone remembers Kermit the Frog lamenting that "it's not easy being green!" These days, that couldn't be more wrong. It's so easy to be green. And it pays to be green too! Well, no one is actually going to pay you, but you'll definitely see more green in your wallet if you go green at your next event.

The biggest (and most expensive) event that most of us will ever host is our wedding (or our kid's wedding). With these easy and affordable tips on how to go green at your wedding, you can still make a big impact on your guests without impacting the environment!

1. Donate Your Leftovers: All caterers overestimate how much food you will need for your reception. It's a necessary evil. Instead of tossing the remaining food, arrange for your caterer to donate it to a local food bank or homeless shelter. Note: In some areas, the laws do not allow caterers to do this. You may need to find a friend or family member who can take the leftover food to the shelter themselves.

The Impact: No leftovers rotting in your fridge while you're in Hawaii, and dozens of needy people can have a delicious gourmet meal!

2. Skip the Favors: Where do most wedding favors end up? The landfill. No one really wants that little bottle of bubbles or a stale box of Jordan Almonds. While there are some cute favor ideas (lucky Bamboo, plantable seeds, home-made goodies), most require packaging or delivery that makes an big impact on the environment. So forgo actual favors for a more socially-conscious kind of favor. At my wedding, we chose three charities who were near and dear to our hearts. We made a cute bulletin board with information about the charities and why we chose them. And then we asked our guests to pin their name tags to the charity of their choice. After the honeymoon, we made a donation in our guests' names to the charity they chose.

The Impact: Guests feel good about helping out, there's no kitschy plastic favors being tossed in the trash bin the next morning, and the chosen charities get a boost!

3. Set up a Community Wedding Album: At my wedding alone, we had 20 disposable plastic cameras. How many good pictures did we get from them? About 4. Most were grainy, dark and blurry. And where are those cameras now? In the landfill. These days, most guests have their own digital cameras, so instead of providing a less-than-adequate substitute, set up an online wedding album for your guests to share the pictures they took with you and each other. With sites like Shutterfly, Picasa, and Flickr, it's easy to do and free! Just set up an account and let guests know about it with a quick line in the thank you cards or small cards at the place-settings.

The Impact: You'll get way more pictures than your photographer could ever capture, and there won't be dozens of plastic cameras clogging our landfills.

4. Shed Those Extra Envelopes: Traditional wedding invitations have more layers than an onion. But are they really necessary? Some people will say yes, but I say "no way!" Get rid of that outer envelope. And design postcards for your reply cards. This will help eliminate a 2nd enevelope too. And do you really need the enclosure cards? Instead, create a free wedding website with all that extra information, like menu choices, maps to the ceremony and receptions, contact information for local hotels, etc . . . .

The Impact: Less paper being wasted and a lot of money saved! All those pieces can really add up.

Have you gone green at your wedding or other event? What are your favorite "going green" tips? Leave us a comment!

Helpful Tips - Flowers

A great tip when trying to cut down costs of planning your wedding is to splurge on the reception flowers, not the ceremony ones.   Guests will be able to appreciate the flowers at the reception for 3-4 hours, whereas the ceremony flowers will only be seen for an hour, tops!

Another great tip, put your reception flowers in large cocktail glasses. This cuts down on the amount of flowers needed and it serves as a great conversation piece!

Don't Break the Bank

It seems these days that everyone is pinching pennies. Recession sounds a lot like depression, but don't worry, your next event doesn't have to be sad and gloomy. There are many ways to be thrifty and still have a great event, even in our current economy. Whether you're planning a huge corporate event or a small fete at home, follow these tips to trim your budget.

*Send e-vites: By emailing your invitations, you're saving not only the cost of the paper they are printed on, but also the cost of postage. At .43 a stamp, the savings can really add up. Plus, it's much easier to be creative with your invites when they are online without worrying about the high cost of printing in multiple colors or with special effects. (We especially like this idea because it's also eco-friendly.)

*Use what you've got: Don't be afraid to mix and match plates and flatware. It doesn't have to be a perfect match to work perfectly for you. Arrange plates, cups and forks in a funky manner and guests will be impressed, even if no two people have a matching set.

*Go with what's in season: When it comes to food or flowers, what's in season is always cheaper. Going out of season means you're paying big bucks to have something shipped to your area. Plus, seasonal foods taste much better as they are freshest. Going seasonally also enables you to hit up local farmers' markets where you can find great deals and may be able to create a lasting relationship with certain vendors (which comes in handy next time you need fresh produce or flowers).

*Ebay, Craigslist, and Freecycle: There are thousands of other hip hosts out there who have probably thrown a similar party recently. And what are they doing with all the decor? They probably aren't interested in hanging on to 250 small glass votives. Nope. Instead, they are selling these items at a super discount online. By cruising online selling sites, you can find the perfect items at a fraction of the price. And the best part about it, you can sell it to someone else when you're done, which means even more money in your pocket!

*Turn off the lights: Instead of using low-watt bulbs or dimmers, turn off the lights all together and use candles to set the mood.

*Buy your own booze: A stocked bar can be an expensive feature to hire for your party. Instead of leaving it up to the caterer, buy your own booze at a whole-sale club and hire a couple bartenders from your favorite local bar. Most bartenders are happy to make some extra cash on the side, and it can be a lot cheaper than using a caterers bar staff.

*Serve a custom drink: Another way to save on booze is to offer up a signature drink. Instead of a fully-stocked liquor bar, offer beer, wine and one custom drink designed specifically for your event. That way you won't be splurging for alcohol that may or may not get served. Try Webtender for some great drink ideas (the "In My Bar" feature is great!)

There you have it: seven easy ways to save some money at your next party. Do you have a simple way to save? Leave us a comment about how you've taken an easy step to saving some dough and we'll be happy to share your ideas with our readers.