I love the idea of making your own napkins for a special occasion. Yes, you have to be a dedicated crafter/entertainer, but all you need really is iron-on transfer paper, freezer paper, or stencils. (Or, if you are very serious, you can embroider. But that is not for the faint of craft.)

I love everything about these! By Emersonmade, found via Party Perfect.

Yes, a little more time consuming, but I couldn’t resist. If you don’t want to embroider, find an embroidery font and do an iron-on transfer. Via Apartment Therapy.

Perfect for a holiday or small wedding, turn napkins into place cards. (They used fabric markers.) Via Country Living.

A love note for your sweetie, found via Design Mom.

Kill two birds with one stone with menu napkins. Found via Country Living.

Our dear friends Aaron and Lindsay are getting married in May. They came to us months ago (and by us, I mean my husband and me) with the idea that they wanted to send books as their invitations. We all tossed around a bunch of ideas for a bunch of weeks, and here is the end result…

 

  

The bride and groom spent weeks collecting books, and refused to pay more than a dollar for any of them (a good thing since they had to send out over 90 of them). My very talented husband designed the printed matter, and I consulted on things like the pocket, the rounded corners, the ribbon, the wax seal, etc. We love the way it turned out, as did they!

Here are a few other book invites that caught my eye…

Jordan of Oh Happy Day designed this lovely invite for the now (sadly) defunct Cookie Nesting Blog. It was for a bookworm party for kids. So cute! (Read her post for her defense of cutting up a book.)

This is positively the most ambitious book invitation I’ve ever seen…they actually made the books. They began with the story of the bride and groom, and towards the end of the book, the reader would find the wedding invite and the perforated reply card. So much time and love went into these. I tip my hat to Nikki and Nick. Found on Merriment Design.

Mikodesign planned a trés jolie fête for her daughter’s birthday. The theme was Paris, and she made a little photobooth with these talk bubbles. Genius! Originally spotted on Party Perfect Blog.

  

Inchmark made these precious thank you note cards for son.

Let your kids think inside the bubble. Maya Made‘s daughter came up with this idea herself. So cute!

Of course these chalkboard wall decals exist! From Wall Sticker Shop.

Talk Bubble paperclips from Fred & Friends.

The weather is gettin’ good, so it’s time to take the party outside. And what’s better than a piñata at an outdoor par-tay? Check out these clever homemade creations…

A love note piñata for a wedding! A brilliant idea found on Ruffled.

This gorgeous creation was designed based on a camillia flower. Made by Inchmark for her daughter’s 4th birthday.

Mini-piñata party favors are really easy to make! Found on You Are My Fave (craft by Not Martha).

Design Mom planned a Knight party for her precious son. They couldn’t find a good-looking knight related piñata, so they made one. Naturally.

Want to make a piñata from nature? Once you smack this one down, it’s way easier to clean up! Found on Daily Danny.