Galentine's Day Brunch - Invites and Favors

Mark February 13 on your calendar as a day to celebrate your lady friends with a Galentine's Day Brunch.

Today we are starting at the beginning and end with invitations and favors.

A Galentine's Day celebration is meant to be intimate with your closest friends. Keeping it small will allow you to take the time to make everything very special - starting with homemade invitations and ending with well thought out favors.

This invitation is very simple to make with a just a few supplies from your craft store. The main focus of this invitation is the white doily which are super easy to find this time of year! Feel free to use brown card stock or make it more vibrant by using card stock in a hue of red, pink, or puple. However, I think the simplicity of the brown is very pretty and feminine. Type your message on a complimentary color card stock, glue everything together, and tie it off with your material (yarn, twine, string, etc.)

All you need to do for this invitation is to round up some supplies from your local craft store and a favorite picture of you and the invitee. Pick a favorite picture that includes both you and your friend to really personalize this invitation. Create a book like fold with your main piece of card stock and use your favorite colors for layering inside.

I think favors are must for any gathering you are hosting. It's just good etiquette. I see favors as a way of saying, "thank you for making time to come." We all know time is a hot commodity. Everyone has very little of it! Think about giving a favor that is useful.

Every girl loves a mani/pedi. Pick out nail polishes in reds and pinks to keep with the Galentine's Day theme. Sinful Colors is a great brand because it only costs $1.99 per bottle. Tie a white ribbon around the neck of the bottle. Add a personalized thank you tag if you are feeling extra crafty!

"Sundaes" are a cute, useful favor. You'll need bath salts, disposable razors, bath puffs, wine glasses, and miniture candy bars for garnish. You can do whatever color combination you want with these, but again I like the pink and white because it's simple. Again, I'm all about the useful. Not only can you guests use the contents, but they will have  a nice wine glass to use as well! I would wrap this in cellophane for a finished look and to secure the contents.

Bookmarks are great favors for your studious and bookworm friends. Being a book worm myself I would love to get this homemade favor. For this you need ribbon, a heart hole punch which can be found in the scrapbooking section of any craft store, and paint cards from Home Depot or Lowes. Pick out your "paint chips" in Galentine's Day colors. The gradient looks so cool! For a more sturdy bookmark, see if your office has a laminator and laminate each paint card before punching holes in them. Punch a hole for the ribbon, tie it on, and your done!

Stay tuned as the series continues with gifts, decor, and food!