Why Did The Chicken Cross The Road?
April 9th, 2008 @ 11:46 am by Mrs. Lovebug
To take up its post as a menu selection indicator on a placecard, that’s why.
It was followed in short order by a Holstein*…
…and a very confused fish:
Soon, there was an entire animal farm of beasts on our kitchen counter:
As you can see, I went ahead and went with the dollhouse-typewriter-as-placecard-holder idea I waffled on earlier. I ordered 65 of the little guys from Tina’s Dollhouses. Turned out they could only scrounge up 62. Coincidental crazinesses being what they are…we had three guests cancel.
Behold, the unfamiliar sight of a pile of 62 individually-wrapped mini typewriters:
SuperTara of Ephemera chopped up some of the stardream paper used on our invitations and sent it to me, beribboned and perfect:
I then popped the cards into the ol’ Royal one at a time and gave them each a name. So I wouldn’t have to eyeball/guess at the centering of the names, I typed them on a piece of scrap paper first. Then I held the name just above the card to line up the typewriter’s hammer:
I played with a number of different ideas for indicating menu choices before settling on the chicken/fish/cow drawings. I just hated the idea of marring the perfectly typed cards. But then I thought that the sketches would tie in to the pictures on the homemade books for the centerpieces.
I did a quick clipart search, chose the most vintage-looking and simple sketches of each animal, reduced the size of the image, and printed them on vellum.
I then painstaking–er, lovingly–cut each one out before running them through the Xyron sticker maker and applying them to the bottom corners of the cards. Cutting them out was the only way they came out looking remotely good - the big square of vellum just looked sloppy.
As you can see, some are closer cut than others:
Yay for candlelight!
And speaking of imperfections, hand-typed placecards are an OCD person’s worst nightmare. The spacing isn’t straight, some letters jump up higher than others…smudges are not unheard-of. Personally, though, I think it all adds to the authenticity. But I’m just sayin’, is all.
* I know. Holsteins are dairy cows. I needed something iconic and easily recognizable. And cute!
p.s. Sorry for not following up on comments and keeping up with everyone these days. Mad busy-ness chez Lovebug.
How are you guys indicating menu selections at your tables? No brilliant ideas that’ll make me kick myself, please… 
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11 Responses to “Why Did The Chicken Cross The Road?”
Oh that’s funny…I thought the keys were better looking, but seeing all these lined up made it clear…I now I bow before the might of the lovebug theme generator.
Miss Lovebug, I love the mini typewriters and everytime I see one, I think of your posts. Where did you get your graphics for the cow/chicken/fish?
These little creatures are so cute!
I have not yet figured out how to indicate the menu selection on our cards, I was going to make them out of copper and hand paint the names on them… crazy maybe.
I suddenly feel that I must own a vintage typewriter. These are so great!
As one who grew up among Holsteins, I appreciate the clarification.
Very cute placecards - and I’m sure the serving staff will appreciate how easy they are to interpret… no colored-dot code to remember.
You’re so detailed oriented.
I know you didn’t want to be *too* detailed, but I think you’re doing a fabu job.
We’re having a buffet, but as a sit down (is that possible?), so everyone will have a choice of foul/moo or veggie.
I’m actually doing something similar — but I couldn’t find clip art I loved (jealous of yours!) so I’m going to rubber-stamp onto stickers, which will go on the placecards. We don’t know which guests have which meal (we know if a couple has 1 chicken and 1 fish but not who’s chicken and who’s fish), so they’ll have to put the stickers on themselves.
Love the idea! We are going with a literary theme to coincide with our library reception. What are you going to do with the place card holders after the wedding? If you are interested in selling, I’m interested. sbsmittee05@aol.com
Sharon
Sharon - I’m all about that; will email you direct-like.
Angel - hahaha. You may arise.
reila: just a simple Google images search under “chicken clipart”, “cow clipart”, and “salmon clipart”. Lemme know if you can’t find ‘em and I’ll email them to ya. 
Penguin: I only hope our fling stands the test of time…
Mrs. Lovebug, Tucson
Age and Occupation in 06: 31, Writer
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Professional Game Show Contestant
Engagement Date: February 18, 2007
Wedding Date: April 19, 2008
Venue: Historic Inn
About Me: Likes: blogging, wikis, semi-colons, cuddling, fragrant flowers, syntax, and spooning. Dislikes: typos, dangling modifiers, flypaper, citronella candles, and run-ons. If I had my druthers, I'd exchange simple vows in a candlelit library. But I lost my druthers long ago...anyone seen them?
OMG, I seriously cannot wait to see the final show! Your wedding is inspirational.