DIY Sailboat Save the Dates

It took a few revisions and a lot of creativity to get to my final result (left), my cute little sailboats.  This post is all about my process of how I got there and how you can do something similarly cute for your invitations or your save the dates!

Looking for something a little different for my save the dates, I had designed quite a few different  "looks" going on.

The first two were quite simple.  My theme for my wedding is the compass rose, given that this is a nautical wedding by the ocean. 

So, I started with this design(below) , then I deviated to something similarly nautical, which was the ship wheel.

After taking polls everyone seemed to like the ship wheel due to the fact that it was easier for those with poor eyesight to read the text inside the wheel.

As much as I like these little save the dates, I still felt like I wanted something more memorable than this.  I happened to find this post for DIY save the date boats from broadway paper.

As much as I liked these little boats, I ran into a couple of problems.
1.) where the heck do you find lollipop sticks?
2.) I wanted it to be more "boat-looking" than what was pictured

I also noticed an issue when it came time for printing, which I easily solved.

Here are my little boats and how I did them by modification of the DIY project.

What you'll need:

• 9x12 construction paper (heavyweight)
• 8" bamboo skewers (I found a bag of 100 for $1.99 at Stop and Shop)
• A printer that can adjust to 9"x12" printing
• a x-acto knife

Instructions

1. On your computer create two triangles from a square that is 4" x 3.75".
2. Copy this shape until you have 6 squares or 12 triangles on your page (this will fit nicely on a 9x12 sheet but you will lose two squares if you are using a 8 1/2 x 11 standard sheet of paper) - this will be your sail.
3. Create a new sheet and again make a square that is 4" x 3.75".  Cut off the top and bottom corners and you should be left with a 6 sided hexagon.
4.  Divide the hexagon in two by placing a cut line horizontally through the shape - this should make two boats.
5. Repeat the hexagon throughout the page so you get 6 hexagons per page or 12 boats.  If you can only print on 8 1/2 x 11 you'll probably only be able to fit at most 10 boats.
6. Print and cut out your sails and boats.
7. Sails require 4 slices from the x-acto.  Two on the top (in photo above the anchor)  and two below (next to the web address in the photo).  Start "sewing" the skewer from the back of the sail as to not hide the text on the front of the sail.
8. The boat portion only requires 3 slices from the x-acto.  The first I placed above the writing "formal invitation to follow".  The next two are on the base of the boat.
9. Trim the wood skewers to the desired length when done.

Tip:  Make sure you slice your cuts long and not close to the edge.  The first one I did was too small and it ripped open the top of the sail!