Invitation DIY

Not too long ago, Chris and I set out to prep and send all of our wedding invitations.  Despite still needing a handful of confirmed addresses, we buckled down and got them sent as I posted before.

I also said that I wanted to post about the actual prep itself. So. I'm doing just that.

My beautiful set-up for making those invites:

I've got: 12" x 12" red and light blue vellum paper, a bone folder, a ribbon-hole-punch, a paper slicer, reams of turquoise and red gingham ribbon, and the invites themselves.

The back of the petal holders.

Front and back of the invites all folded together. 

It actually took quite some time with the bone folder to get the invites together like this.  The invite itself is inside, a square printed with all the information.  I had to put the invite in each petal folder, get the sides to all fold in just right so that it would look like the bottom part of that picture.  Then, I took the bone folder and creased down all four edges.

Also, because I'm paranoid and crazy, I shook some periodically to make sure that I'd actually put the invite on the inside.

Then came the vellum and ribbon part.  To make the invites look like this:

1. I took the vellum I had ordered and sliced it into one-inch-wide strips using the paper slicer (slash my favorite helper).
2. Used the ribbon punch to punch the holes in both ends of the vellum strips.
3. I cut the gingham ribbon into foot-long pieces.
4. I placed an invite in the center of one of the vellum strips.
5. I folded the ends of the vellum (doing my best to make sure they were even) over the front of the invite, creasing it on each side with the bone folder.
6. Then came the tricky part: tying a length of ribbon into a bow....without tearing the vellum (which I did many times).

Once all those steps were done (and goodness gracious did that take for-ev-er!!!!!) it was time to print the envelopes.

Honestly, it was such a frustrating process using Microsoft Publisher, and Excel Spreadsheet, and lots and lots of ink and envelopes. I don't even want to get into it.

Suffice to say, eventually, all the envelopes were printed and ready for their invitations.

We stuffed them all and I couldn't resist adding one more touch:

Shimmery turquoise heart stamp.

The great thing about a crafty/DIY-style everything is that it doesn't have to be perfect!  Not all the stampings were perfect, but that's totally okay!

All boxed up and ready for the big invite drop-off!

Phew!!!  Just remembering all the steps is exhausting!