Trading punches

This was a somewhat interesting weekend where we got quite a bit done. Starting Friday night, we assembled invitations. The solution for the minor mistake in the Chinese wording was taken care of by punching out a heart shape right over the character that shouldn't be there. And to make that look less obvious, a bunch of hearts (in two different sizes) were also punched out in random places to even it out. After getting the approval from both sets of parents (this fix will only occur on their invites b/c our guests won't even notice it) we set to work. Note that approval from my mother included the rejection of having only two hearts b/c they were "too far apart" which makes it look like we're distant from each other (also too plain and random), three hearts b/c "having three hearts in the relationship is bad," four is obviously bad (sounds like "death" in Chinese), five is bad b/c it's an odd number (don't get that one at all), so it had to be at least six hearts. Also note that she really liked the double heart (two hearts punched really close together so that it's like joined) and insisted that be there. Anyway, punching took forever and one of the punches didn't work as smoothly as the other so that was a real pain. But then we got into a rhythm and even involved the out-laws. Both of them insisted on helping but it was difficult for me to communicate how to do things (FMIL needed specific guidance on holding the punch the right way -- she was so afraid she'd make a mistake) with the language barrier. Both of them had issues with the tape roller and consequently wasted some and also dug grooves into the paper but I can't complain b/c together we got a lot done. After this, we were able to assemble a whole bunch of invites (gluing the ribbon & seal, putting in some of the enclosures, rubbing cornstarch on the glue dot to prevent it from seeping through the sheer ribbon and sticking to the inside of the pocket fold), count them, and put them neatly into several shoeboxes. However, we are still not done b/c this doofus left some ingredients at home.

The next night we started to experiment with the favors. My intention is to engrave the 300+ champagne glasses with a double happiness sign and stamp on our date and somehow include our names or monogram. I want ppl to be able to use this glass in the future and think of us when they do (but will you remember who it's from if it's not personalized?). So we started by punching out a double happiness sign (imported from HK, by way of BM's sister) into Contact paper. I punched a total of three pieces and got very tired so fiance took over by stepping on it, which seemed to work a lot better b/c I wasn't strong enough to actually punch through the paper after the third time. After getting the "stencil," my first experiment with the engraving didn't work out very well b/c some of the engraving chemical ran off the little square I cut and it started to engrave a big smudge next to it. FMIL didn't understand what happened and thought that she could clean the smudge away by using glass cleaner wipes, paint thinner, and/or soap and water. She just couldn't grasp that this wasn't paint or anything that coated the glass but something that removed bits of the glass (basically scratching the surface away) and is totally permanent.

Seeing as how tedious this particular project is (stamping will be even worse b/c as you try to stamp onto the rounded glass, the ink will make the stamp slip) I am ready to call DIY quits. However, programs still need to be made, menu cards, possible petal cones, my veil, and other sundry items. I may need to bribe the BMs over to help w/ the glasses!