Popping the other question

Today I'm sharing a project that was done several months ago that I've yet to share. Since it tops the list of Michelle's Favorite Projects EVER, I thought it would be ok to share during the September Creative Challenge! 
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When it comes to weddings, the most important question is will you marry me? Second to that, in my mind, is will you be my bridesmaid?  Even before he asked the big question I had already been thinking of who I'd ask. I adore my friends and cannot imagine such a big day without having them there by my side. 

Of course I wanted to do more than just ask them; I wanted to do something creative and FUN! When I saw these confetti invitations on Oh Happy Day! my creativity wheels started to turn. After a few weeks of searching for other fun ideas, I came right back to these party poppers.

To make the poppers, I used Oh Happy Day's easy to follow instructions. I also used her awesome "twist me" template. The only minor difference is that I used regular paper and book binding glue. If you make these, I recommend printing on label paper like she suggests!

Creating the inside of the poppers was my favorite part. First I came up with a clever saying:  the time has come to POP the other question will you be my bridesmaid?  Using Word, I created 1 inch circle text boxes. For each popper I made 2x the circles so that they would be double sided. I printed the circles in color on cardstock and got busy punching them out with a 1inch circle punch. I then glued them all to a piece of twine, as seen below.

What fun would a party popper be without confetti? That's right it would be a party pooper! Using scraps of colorful paper, a flower punch and my regular ol' hole punch I went to town on making confetti. Each popper was packed FULL of colorful confetti.

I was fortunate to ask most of my lovely ladies in person. Witnessing the party poppers was so.much.fun!! Here are some action shots of Jnelly. Note: I made each girl go outside for this. Over the years I've learned confetti and glitter are outside toys.

In addition to the party poppers, I wanted to make something a little more sentimental. It was important for me to share with  each girl why I asked them to be part of this special day. I also wanted an opportunity to set my expectations, promises (mainly to not turn into a bridezilla) and a heartfelt thank you. This idea was inspired by this post by Elise of enJOY it.

I settled on making each girl a small book using these mini accordion book kits from Paper Source. I purchased seven different colors of the books, but used the same cover paper and ribbon for all of them. Included in each kit are the instructions so I won't bore you with the how-to. I was happy with how they turned out! I especially love how bright and cheerful they look!

Here is a peek inside of one of the books:

In case you're curious, inside the book:

front: pictures and a personal message to each friend. I cropped all the pictures to 2X2 inches and printed several on 8.5x11 paper to save on cost.

back: printed on cardstock and cut to size with

As you can probably tell, this project was a labor of love that spanned a few weeks and several episodes of Say Yes to the Dress. It was time well spent and I am so happy with the outcome...cause it is important to share that they all said YES (phew!).  I had extra poppers and asked B if he wanted me to make some for his g'men and he said uhh, no thanks! Party pooper ;) He opted for calling each guy to formally ask them. So far they've also said YES!

This post is part of my September Creative Challenge. Follow along as Inspired Honey Bee and I do something creative Monday - Friday all this month!