YAHOO- I did it! Check out my invites...

[ChargerGrrl]

OK, so I''m a creative but not crafty person. I work in marketing, and it''s all about the presentation!

When it came time to select invites, I had very specific ideas of what I wanted. Nothing out there really came close. And when it did, they were $6 each. With inspiration from my MOH (aka scrapbook queen), and many of the lovely invites I''ve seen here on PS, I present my DIY invites!


Here''s the outside of the pocketfold, with a bellyband wrapped around it to give it some color. We used our mono on the return address label (it doesn''t look clear in the pic but it is- it''s almost invisible)

 

[ChargerGrrl]

Here's the inside of the pocketfold featuring the actual invite & inserts. Oh yeah- I used a Tacori-inspired RSVP postcard. (Just had to steal that idea!)

I LOVE the sparkly champagne color of the pocketfolds!

 

[ChargerGrrl]

Last pic- here's a close-up of the invite. Sorry about the glare!
btw- i know that thirtieth is misspelled on this sample. it was fixed for the finished product.

 

[Fancy605]

Ohhh, what Regal invites! They are so elegant! If I recieved an invitation like that I would just know that the event would be something amazing!

 

[qtiekiki]

It looks awesome. I love the shimmer of the pocket fold. Great Job!

 

[AmberWaves]

CG, it really looks fantastic. So... how excited are you?!? Love the champagne color, too. If I got an invite like that, I''d totally be impressed. Now, though, even more so because you DIYd!

 

[ello]

You are so talented! I bet you are amazing in your field! It looks stunning so elegant and clean - just perfect! Was it professionally die-cut and scored or did you do it all by hand? Where did you find the amazing paper? OH I JUST LOVE IT!!! Good job!

 

[plantationcatt]

Wow, that is a perfectly elegant and yet not boring invitation. I especially love the sparkly champagne color. I can''t belive you did those yourself. Amazing talent, there.

 

[FireGoddess]

They are elegant and gorgeous!!!!!

 

[Fancy605]

Wow! I didn''t read carefully enough. You did those by yourself??? WOW, now I am even more impressed! How DID you do it?

 

[KimberlyH]

Absolutely gorgeous, Charger, and I love the red ribbon as it reminds me of red wine, right up the alley of your winery wedding!

 

[ChargerGrrl]

THANKS everyone for your kind words! I had a "vision" of what I wanted and am thrilled that I was able to make it come to life!

Here's some info about the materials I used:

The pocketfolds & envelopes are from http://www.cardsandpockets.com/ You'll see my pocketfold style (signature C) on the homepage. They're a Mother & Daughter operation and are sooo easy to work with. Great customer service! The pocketfold color is champagne metallic, and the envelopes are just basic soft white.

The invitation and insert paper is from http://www.lcipaper.com/ I believe that it's the 80# ecru cardstock.

The invitation mat & bellyband was scrapbook paper that I found at a local shop. I had never been into a scrapbook store before. WOW- talk about selection!!

The "scripty" font was FREE from http://www.dafont.com/ It's the jane austen. I don't remember what the small caps font was, but it was one of the basic ones in MSWord.

I designed everything in MSWord on a regular 8.5x11 layout, using tables to make sure that the dimensions for each insert were correct. It was easier for me to feed the 8.5 x 11 paper into the laser printer, rather than the small pieces for each insert. I then hand cut everything on the paper cutter we have at the office. It took some trial and error- those darn inserts were hard to line up!! I wish I had access to photoshop, it probably would've been easier.

I stayed late at the office and used our *new* color laser printer. Even though the only color was from the mono, I really wanted the rest of the invite and inserts to look sharp! I had originally wanted the invite to be printed via thermography, but the minumum job everywhere was for 100 pieces, and I only needed 45 invites. In the end, I really like how they turned out. Our new printer is FAB!

Last thing- I mentioned in my first post that I priced a similar version (out the door) at $6 a pop- granted that would've been with thermography printing. When everything was said and done, these came out to about $2.75. Neither price includes postage.

 

[chickflick]

Beautiful! I did my own too and while I really like them, I''m sooooo glad that''s done!! Great job!! I love the elegance of them.

 

[jcrow]

congrats! they turned out great!

 

[ellaila]

Oh WOW! Great job, ChargerGrrl! Those wine and champagne colors are just too too perfect for a winery wedding!

And how good does it feel to have done them on your own? Arent you just SO proud of yourself??

Excellent excellent work!

 

[Mara]

i love them! i almost did a pocketfold for my DIY's when i was shopping, but i fell in love with our design online and had to go with that instead. it wasn't quite as neatly put together as the pocket fold but i made it work...hehee. they look great, congrats!

 

[VegasAngel]

Wow, they are super nice-very classy.

 

[portia]

Wow... those are beautiful ChargerGrrl! Very elegant!!

 

[MissGotRocks]

Very impressive - you did a great job!

 

[BrightSpot]

They look fabulous, Charger! Great job!

 

[Selkie]

Wow, I love them, CG! They''re perfect!

 

[selflove]

CG those are so impressive! They look great! Doesn''t it feel good to have that task done with, and knowing that they turned out perfectly?

 

[Selkie]

Please excuse the thread hijack - how are you doing, Selflove? Haven''t seen you around much lately.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

They look great! I am glad I could inspire your RSVP postcard. Some people have even written messages on the front which I think is so nice!

 

[flutterby]

How did i miss these? They turned out beautiful! And so inexpensive. Good job! Cant wait to see what else you are able to do before the big day. You are obviously talented!

I just got a new job in santa monica, and I love it! I was in redondo the other day and thought of you, you moved, right? Hope all is well, we really need a gtg soon! Not too soon, i leave for my wedding in like 8 days!!!!!!!!!

 

[ChargerGrrl]

Date: 7/24/2006 3:37:20 PM
Author: Selkie
Please excuse the thread hijack - how are you doing, Selflove? Haven''t seen you around much lately.

No problem!

What''s up SL? Hope all is well!

 

[sunkist]

Charger your invites are fantastic! Great job. They look incredibly professional. Hooray for getting that done!

 

[ChargerGrrl]

Date: 7/25/2006 1:50:32 AM
Author: msflutter
How did i miss these? They turned out beautiful! And so inexpensive. Good job! Cant wait to see what else you are able to do before the big day. You are obviously talented!

I just got a new job in santa monica, and I love it! I was in redondo the other day and thought of you, you moved, right? Hope all is well, we really need a gtg soon! Not too soon, i leave for my wedding in like 8 days!!!!!!!!!

THANKS much, MsF!

Congrats on the new job! That will certainlyy make your commute from the new place much easier.

I too was back in my old stomping grounds this last weekend. Had to escape the heat! My timing sucks. I move to the hottest place in the Valley right in the heat of the summer. I heard it hit 115 in Woodland Hills on Saturday. UGH.

Oh yes, it''s time for a GTG! I think we should shoot for late August or early Sept. That way you can share wedding stories. You''re at the home stretch- how exciting!!