Last weekend four of my girlfriends threw us an awesome engagement party in Atlanta. Not only was it a blast and so sweet, it was also the perfect excuse for all of our college friends to get together after a few months apart. We were so appreciative and loved being able to celebrate with everyone in one place at one time.
My super crafty current roommate from the Yellow House created the cutest decoration for the party – an “eat, drink & be married sign” with photos from our relationship.
In addition to the cute decorations and wonderful people who were there, the desserts were delicious. The line-up included some doctored up cupcakes after a bit of an icing catastrophe, cookies, brownies, spice bars, and my personal favorite: chocolate covered strawberries.
After thanking them multiple times for everything they had done, I wanted to present the hostesses with something fun as a gift. My love of crafts has always been high, but since planning this wedding, it has soared through the roof. Think Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and multiply it by about 10.
After a stellar discovery on Pinterest, I decided to make drink coasters for each of the hostesses based on an easy tutorial from this blog.
To give you an idea, it starts with this:
1. Buy 4 x 4 in. ceramic flooring tiles from Lowe’s or Home Depot.
2. Paint Mod Podge over the tile.
3. Stick a 4 x 4 in. sheet of scrapbook paper on the tile. (Hint: It is very easy to buy the 12 x 12 in. paper and cut it into 9 pieces.)
4. Paint another layer of Mod Podge on the paper. Let dry. Like below.
It looks like they're drying on animal skins... really they're just plastic bags. Weird.
5. Spray paint the tiles with clear, glossy spray paint to coat the paper and prevent the drinks from ruining it.
6. Let the coasters dry overnight.
7. Stick small felt pads on the bottom of the coaster to prevent the tiles from scratching your tables.
8. Tie the coasters into sets of four with a pretty bow.
9. Marvel in your beautiful work and gift away!
These really were one of the easiest things I have done in a while. Typically I would brag about how inexpensive they were too, but since they were a gift, I’ll just say… you really should consider making these.
At the engagement party, these were a huge hit amongst the hostesses! Plus, now they know that they won’t get awful rings on their tables. I know they’ll rest easy at night.
Overall, the engagement party was a blast, and I loved being able to come up with a fun and crafty way to thank the great girls who threw it for us!
What are some great hostess gifts that you have seen? We’ve got showers coming up and I’m already brainstorming!
Nice Ideas 
Sweet Gifts!!! I think they look terrific!!!
JB @ oneofthelovebugs.wordpress.com
Thanks! They were super easy and fun to make! Plus they are completely customizable to the decor of the room. Highly recommend it!
You are my daughter!!!
I love it! You taught me well.
Yay my banner made the blog!! I feel like a proud mother!! Love you, Loch!
Because it is just the cutest! Thank you for it!
So I had a test and life was crazy to preface this EXTREMELY HUGE MISHAP and here is what happened Labor Day Monday night when Geoff was checking his email: “Oh, I think Chip and Lauren’s engagement party was on Friday night.” Me: “Like THIS PAST Friday night, when we were driving through ATL to the lake?” Geoff: “Yeah, I thought about it as we were driving but you fell asleep and I forgot to tell you.”
Major. Married. Struggle.
Can’t believe we missssssed it. And you. WAAAAAMP WAAAAAAMP.
Sad! We missed y’all terribly!! But we completely understand that stuff like that happens (especially with a med school mush brain from cramming too much in).
But hope you had a blast at the lake and relaxing labor day! Let us know when y’all are in town again and we will play! Yay!