After slaving over the computer to create the perfect design, I was ready to tackle the DIY wedding invitation project.  I estimate it taking approx 2-3 months to complete as it involved many steps and continuous labour.  I figured out all the little steps that I will need to do, and decided to do it in a self-assembly style.  ie. I would create all the little components individually and then piece it all together at the end.  I chose not to ask for help in this entire process simply because it really wasn’t needed.  Most of the prep work was all about cutting and stamping, in which I only have 1 tool for.  The actual assembly of the card require precision and I was too much of a control freak to let someone else put that together.  quality assurance, you know?  Other than the embossing part, most of the jobs were quite simple, something I do in front of the TV watching movies and catching up on shows.

Lots of tools were used in this entire project – but all the tools were needed for later projects, plus I hunted down coupons and sales to ensure I got it as cheaply as possible.  Without these tools, I don’ t think I would have been able to keep my sanity for the project.

Tools + Materials I used/purchased:

1. 2″ circle cutter (purchased at Michael’s – 40% off coupon)

2. Fiskar paper cutter (with spare blades and score blades)

3. Round corner cutter

4. Floral swirl stamp + clear embossing stamp pad + embossing powder in silver  (Stamp was purchased from Impress Rubber Stamps)

5.  Embossing heat gun

6. 2×5 white blank labels

7.  Scotch advanced tape glider (this is a MUST)

8.  Monogram stamp (I designed it and had it custom made via Etsy Jessica Mould)

9.  Cardstocks (Orange cardstock from LCI Paper, Shimmery Ivory cardstock from Paperland)

Here’s some pictures and description of the various steps on making my wedding invites – I tried to take pictures of my progress along the way, as this was a major project and I wanted to document it!

1. Prepare the ribbons by measuring and cutting the ribbon to 6.5″ each.  Then hot glue the brown ribbon onto the wider silver ribbon.

2. Make the monograms

3. Cut the orange cardstock that came in 8.5×11 into half, then score that in half. Trim the edge to create rounded corners.

4.  Get the wording printed professionally on shimmery ivory cardstock.  (I fit 4 pieces per 8.5 x 11 cardstock).  Cut and divide each piece.  Trim corners.

5.  Embossing time!  This definitely took the longest as it require a lot more precision.  Ink the Swirl design stamp with clear embossing ink onto the invitation.  Pour silver embossing powder on.  Shake off excess (this turns out to be a pain, as the shimmery ivory cardstock tends to stick, so had to flick the back of the cardstock a few times to get rid of the stubborn excess powder – Nick made a noise complaint during this step).  Then use the hot embossing gun to seal and melt the powder into the final look.  wait to cool then stack.    I used this same stamp and process for both English Church Invitation and Chinese Church Invitation and Reception invitation English and Chinese sides.

6.  Now comes the actual card assembly.  Using the tape glider, which puts a double sided clear tape onto the surface, I taped the combined body ribbon onto the orange card.  Then tape the monogram to the side on top of the ribbon.   Do this twice per card (minus the monogram which is only for the front) – one combined ribbon for the front, one for the back so that when the card is closed, the ribbon looks like it goes all the way around.  (this took a lot of eye hand coordination to ensure the ribbons were glued at the same height from the edge).

Next tape the English Church card to the top of the inside Orange card.  Then tape the Chinese church card to the bottom of the inside Orange card.    Ensure it’s balanced from side to side, top and bottom.  repeat 200 times.

7. Almost done!  envelop time.  Mail merge the name and address to the blank 2×5 labels. I designed the labels to have orange dot as background and 2 separate boxes, one large box to fit the guest’s address. and a small vertical box for my return address in case it fails to arrive to the destination.  with the 2×5 labels, I can get 8 labels per sheet.  Then print another batch that is designed just for the RSVP return envelops with my own address.  Peel and stick the return address label to the a1 envelop.  (the wrap around label is last as the invite needs to be stuffed and closed before you can apply this)

8. Put the entire invitation together.  Each card gets a Reception invitation insert.  approx 80 of the invites gets a formal RSVP insert + a1 return envelop.  approx 100 of them gets a starbucks card (if the guests are invited by me – more chinese traditions).  I worked out a system to make sure I was inserting the correct ones and stacking it separately for addressing.

9.  Stuff the entire invitation suite into the a2 envelop (it was a tight fit).  Then peel and stick on the wrap around label (where 1/4 of the label has my own address on it in case it fails to deliver, and the main part goes to the front for Canada Post to mail to my guests).

Ta-da!  simple but not so quick 9 steps on completing my DIY wedding invitations!