Sugarflower Design’s Crafty Guest Post Part III: The Joys of DIY Lite!
This is our very last crafty guest post from the fabulous Autumn from Sugarflower Design! Did you miss Part I or Part II? Be sure to check them out here…and here!
I’m back for my third and (sniff, sniff) final installment on the ups and downs, dos and don’t of DIY’ing your own wedding stationery. We’ve already covered the potential pitfalls of DIY, and ways to keep your DIY design fly. But, we realized not all of you want to take on the whole enchilada. So, here are two options for cutting some costs with DIY “lite”.
Printable Stationery
Happy craftin'!
Printable stationery allows you to forgo the design process, but save money by printing and assembling yourself. There are lots of options available for printable stationery, generally breaking down into two groups:
1) Pre-printed, blank card “kits”. You set up files on your computer to print the details of your wedding on the blank areas of each card in the kit. Check out this adorable set from Target!
2) Pre-designed computer files (usually PDF files). Typically files arrive pre-formatted with your wedding details and card graphics ready to print on your home printer. Most print on standard letter-size paper that you must purchase separately and then cut apart after printing. Etsy.com has a HUGE variety of printable wedding invitations and accessories
Sugarflower Design
Some things to keep in mind when considering printable stationery:
a) Are you confident in your home printer to do the job?
b) Does the printable stationery come with sufficient instructions, templates and/or support from the designer to ensure your stationery is printed successfully?
c) What level of proofing for both color and text is supported by the PDF
designer?
d) What materials and tools are required to print, cut and assemble the stationery? Are they supplied, or do you need to find them on your own?
DIY “lite”
You have a limited budget, but you are not interested in designing or
printing your stationery. Consider purchasing low-cost, simple stationery
and spiffing it up with some DIY embellishment. I suggest sticking with
something you’ve done before – particularly if it alters the invitations
themselves (such as watercolor or embossing). Some ideas:
I can haz print job?
1) Hand-cut your own envelope liners. Templates for your envelope size/shape are available online and in craft stores.
2) Apply some well-placed Swarovski crystals to your invitation
3) Purchase a nice, contrasting color of cardstock to “stack” behind your invitation card. Just be sure your envelopes will accommodate the larger backing card!
4) Add a fabric or ribbon “belly band” to hold your cards together.
5) If you are artistic, or have a friend willing to help out, consider some simple watercolor details on your cards.
6) A custom embossing stamp with a pretty emblem or your initials will add some detail to the top of your invitation card or the back flap of your outer envelope.
It’s been a blast my ladies of BrokeAssery. Now, go get your card-on!
Excellent series of posts! All brides planning to DIY invitations should read this before jumping in! DIY can be really fun if you plan well and know what you're getting into.
I read somewhere that if you make your own invitations on the computer, you can print out one page and then reprint however many you need at Kinkos. Is that really something you can do?
THANK you for making posts like this…some of us are not so creative