Wise Ol' Gal Owl Party

 Not too long ago I helped my pal, Paige out with a birthday party for her sister.  She was hosting it at a really swanky restaurant downtown, but she wanted a few thoughtful pieces of table decor to add meaning to the evening.  Her sister is quite the scholar, who loves owl (a sorority thing)-so we went with a vintage books and owl theme.
I bought these tags from Hobby Lobby and found a quote I loved to print on them as favors to mark each table setting.
In order to print on the tag, I first printed off the quote to see where it lay on the paper.  I then taped the bookmark over the printed quote...

I ran it through the machine and it printed in the same spot....but on the bookmarks this time.  

I carefully pulled off the tape and added ribbon.  

Next up, I took books from significant years of her life (birth, family memories, graduation, marriage, birth of her children etc).  I found books that were published the same year, and quotes in the book for each person to read.  We put pencils on the table and each guest then added a message.  I used the same process as the bookmarks and printed the tags (with the name of the guest/year/book title/quote). I found the library cards and envelopes on Amazon. 

 I placed the name cards (to let people know where to sit) in the pockets, and the bookmarks behind the cards.

 The back of the envelopes were sticky.

 The guest got to keep their bookmarks, but Paige bought her sister a leather journal she gave her on her actual birthday (and told her to bring).  I printed off a title page and table of contents.  I also printed off the year on labels.  Paige glued these down in her book.  She read each year/they shared memories from that year. The person with that assigned year at the table read the book title and quote, and then they gave her the envelope and their name tag.  These were pasted down into her book (with the personal message on the back).  The idea is for her to later add pictures and poems (her sister loves to write poems) to fill in the rest of these chapters in the book.

 Here's the table (with my fuzzy iphone) of what the finished table looks like.

 Paige bought some vintage books (20 dollars for a full box from half price books).  I stacked them in various levels on the table and added lace ribbon

 These lined up and down the table. I also bought different size owls.  I found one already in gold (the colors were golds and browns), and those that weren't already brown or gold I just sprayed gold.

 I added burlap ribbon down the middle of the table as well and some wooden L's for Laura's name.

 It was fun to add some personal touches to an already beautiful room, and I think it set a pretty class, but fun theme.