Favorite DIY So Far (a.k.a. OOT Bag Booklets)

Also known as my OOT bag booklets. These are a labor of love, for sure. I say "are" instead of "were" because I've only finished one. They are 8 pages, front and back, and time consuming... to say the least. But boy am I pleased with how it turned out!

I printed the pages on white card stock and trimmed each page to 5.25" X 7.25." Then I mounted each page (front and back) on dark brown card stock, trimmed to 5.5" X 8.5." I cut a small piece of red card stock to wrap around the front and back of the booklet. Using a small finishing nail, I pierced 2 holes through all the pages. I used silver brads to hold the whole thing together.

Due to the thickness of the completed booklet, I wanted to add a ribbon tie to keep the booklet closed. To secure the ribbon, I attached it to both covers, between the card stock and printed pages.

The entire booklet consisted of the following pages:Welcome Postcard Photo Welcome Message from Bride and Groom Description of Contents Schedule of Events Directions Local Map Things To Do Places To Eat Photo-sharing Information Explanation of Local Landmarks Crossword Puzzle Word Search Maze Sudoku (2 Puzzles)

Here are some highlights:

Scanned image of a Weeki Wachee mermaid postcard:

Welcome letter from us:

Schedule of events:

One of the Sudoku puzzles:

Although it will take me a big chunk of time to finish 15 of these lovelies, I think our guests will really appreciate the personal touch. And if our guests don't notice, then at least it was a fun project to work on!

these look super polished! Nice job

Wow. Amazing. Makes me wish I was having a smaller wedding so I could try my hand at something like this. At 120 people however, that is a non.

To be honest, the actual cost is pretty low (financially speaking). To do 15 books, I needed 120 pages of white card stock and 120 pages of dark brown card stock. I bought bulk card stock from Cards and Pockets. 

White: $3.50 for 25 sheets ($17.50 total)

Brown: $4.50 for 25 sheets ($22.50 total)

Red ribbon: Approximately $2.00

Silver brads: Approximately $4.00

Total: $46.00

Plus, I'll need to replace my printer ink, so that will cost about $20. All in all, I'm guessing it's around $4 a booklet. The real cost, however, is time. I spent countless hours designing all the pages. It takes about 20 minutes to print one copy, and then you factor in trimming, gluing, and binding. It will probably take over an hour per booklet.

I would be a weeping puddle in the corner if I had to do 60. Is that 60 rooms or 60 guests (which would be closer to 30 rooms)? I'm doing one OOT bag per room, not per person so we have about 35 OOT guests, but it equals about 15 rooms max.

Hi!  This is great!  May I use your idea? I'm having a destination wedding next September. This would be a great project for me to calm my nerves :-)

You have the best ideas!

Thanks!  OB

email: Melstepto1@aol.com

That's such a cool idea!