Squuuuuueeeeee! My bestie is finallllly getting married. And that means wedding invitations! I don’t typically design for weddings because tbh they can be tedious😳 The first ones I ever made were my own and I remember how involved they were.
I was a baby designer and didn’t know quite how to pull them off. I was wandering in a craft store through the wedding aisle and saw DIY kits. Seems easy enough right? Not really. I had to learn how to use a printer for envelopes, print on vellum paper and then assemble each set tying a tiny ribbon through punched holes. Tedious. All 100 of them.
Fast forward to yesterday. After finalizing the invites, I did some test prints. Then I realized I didn’t have enough paper and envelopes. Run to the store. Find appropriate kraft colored paper and envelopes. (Stop and have a client meeting.) Print and cut some invites. When making a mock-up set, see that the envelopes are not the appropriate matching size. 😱 omg they are too big. How do I solve that?!? Resize the RSVPs. Oh! I will make a wrap style sleeve!
Then for a couple hours help my husband bring home a new bed and desk. Move existing furniture around to fit new furniture. My husband got a bit mad and rammed the desk into a wall. Now there’s a hole!! Ugh. Rearrange my desk area to see if I can use his old desk. Nope. I abandon that idea. Take a phone call to distract from my frustrations then at 11:30 p.m. lie down with my son so he can fall asleep.
Midnight I get up and start again on the invites. They need to be done this weekend so my BFF can pick them up and mail this week. I had to look up when should invites be mailed and 8-12 weeks before is recommended. This week is 12 weeks and then a month for RSVPs to trail in. Semi-tight deadline.
I have several printers and last night made me mad because one printer would not print the envelopes!! I went though about 20 envelopes setting up the right size and aspect. This is the most tedious activity. After an hour, I about give up but finally figure it out. My inkjet was leaving steaks and it took a couple maneuvers to make sure they weren’t seen. I ended up putting a stamp on the corner to cover the smudges.
To make the wrap idea to work I decided to design a cute seal. I had planned on cutting them out with my Silhouette Cameo however with people sleeping near the office, I didn’t think they would be too happy with my loud cutter at 2 a.m. so I hand-punched them. Only 72 of them. Lol need some overrun in the event of poor cutting and there def were.
Two more hours go by after cutting, folding, stamping/sticking and stuffing for a total of 65 invites. I made an extra as a keepsake. I loveeeee the end result and can’t wait til she sees them! It’s the little details that I appreciate even though they can be involved. From the faint wood grain coming through the front, to the set sliding out and the invite and RSVP nestled inside, I packed a lot of love in making these. If I had to sit down and straight through work in these it would have been nearly 8 hours. Not too bad however too much time for me to think about doing this all the time for people. I finished at 4 a.m. I jumped in the shower because we had to be up at 7:30 for a 9:00 soccer game. I did manage to get up in time.
My bestie and her fiancé will be by tomorrow to get these. I hope they love them! The picture I digitized on the invite is the cabin on her family property they are getting married on and where we camp with them. Shes not a glitzy glamy girl so these simple kraft invites were perfect for her. Sweet and simple. Packed with love.
I hope you enjoyed my crazy crafty endeavor. What were your invites like for your wedding? I’ll have to did mine out and share!
Craftmanic Mommy 