Craft Guides for Make-It-Yourself Wedding Favors

Here are two very different wedding favors that are easy and relatively inexpensive to make but will have your guests talking for months after your wedding day. The first one is Caramel Apples. This favor would be awesome for a fall wedding. I had a friend who got married in October and she made caramel apples as her favor and everyone loved them. Here is a step by step guide to how to make caramel apples.

1. Determine the amount of guests that will be attending your wedding. Be sure to add a few more to the number you determine in case you have additional people show up to the wedding.
2. Use the following recipe to create your caramel apple wedding favor. This recipe is for 6 apples so use it accordingly.
3. Buy the apples. Also purchase crafts sticks, you can find these in bulk at your local craft store (such as Michaels or AC Moore).
4. Purchase 1 14 ounce package of individually wrapped caramels for every 6 apples you will be using.
5. Have 2 tablespoons of milk on hand for every 6 apples.
6. Enlist as many friends and family as you can to help you especially if you are having a large wedding. This will make the work go much faster and will be a more enjoyable time for everyone.
7. Remove the stems from the apples. Take a craft stick and place it in the top of the apple where the stem once was. Grease a cookie sheet for your wedding favors to set on.
8. Unwrap 1 package of the caramels and put them in a microwave safe bowl along with 2 tablespoons of milk for each set of 6 apples. Put the bowl into the microwave and cook it for 2 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking. Take the bowl out of the microwave and let it cool for a brief period of time.
9. Take your apple, which has a craft stick already in it and roll the apple in the caramel mixture until it is well covered. Set the covered apple on to the prepared cookie sheet to harden.
10. When the apples are hardened, wrap them in Cello Wrappers. These can be purchased in a variety of colors or clear at your local craft store (i.e. Michaels) or party shop (i.e. Party City).
11. Choose ribbon from your local craft store that reflects the colors of your wedding. Tie the Cello Wrapper with the ribbon. Use scissors to curl the ends after they are tied for a special finishing touch.
12. Finally, add a label that includes the couple's name and wedding date. You can purchase labels that can be printed off of your computer at your local craft store (i.e. Michaels) or office supply store (i.e. Office Max).
13. Sit back and listen to the oohs and ahhs of your wedding guest as they enjoy this unique Make-It-Yourself wedding favor.

The second wedding favor we want to take a look at is called a Soundtrack of Love. I used this wedding favor for my wedding in July and have people still talking about it 7 months later!

1. Determine the amount of guests that will be attending your wedding. Be sure to add a few more to the number you determine in case you have additional people show up to the wedding.
2. Compile a list of songs that have special meaning to you and your fiance. Be sure to include the song you will dance to as husband and wife, the first song you heard on the radio together, etc. We also included songs that held special meaning to us and our parents. For example, my dad and my song is Butterfly Kisses and so we included that on our wedding favor. Be careful though because a CD will only hold so many songs on it, so you will probably need to do some editing before the final version is put out.
3. Locate the songs on Cd's or legally download them onto your computer. Set them up in the order you want them to appear on your wedding favor.
4. Purchase the Cd's you will need based on instruction number 1. Allow that a certain number of Cd's will not burn correctly and buy extra. You can purchase Cd's in bulk at Target, Walmart or your local wholesale store for relatively low prices. You will also want to purchase CD cases at this time as well. Be sure to buy as many cases as you do Cd's so that you have enough to cover the wedding favors you need.
5. Burn the Cd's. Give yourself plenty of time to do this especially if you are having a large number of guests. It took me several hours to do 200 Cd's.
6. Decide on art work for your CD cover, case, spine and play list. I used Memorex exPressit Label Design to put together my finished wedding CD. I used a picture of my fiance (now husband) and I as the cover to the CD and a simple flower with our names and the wedding date for the case. I also used our wedding colors, pink and green, to put our play list together. You can purchase the program (it is one of the cheapest programs around) at Office Max. I purchased labels at Office Max as well. Though I am sure that you can find something similar and just as good at Staples or any other office supply store.
These wedding favors are a great way of putting a personal touch on an already special day for you. Your guests will always think of you whenever they play your soundtrack of love.