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and if you bought from cardsandpockets.com and IF you have any supplies (just a little: a pocket or two or a card, etc) that you would like to sell me to practice on (or RAK if you are feeling generous) please PM me! I am considering making invites for my son and his fiance and I would like to work with a little of the product before I make a commitment of time and money.
And also...... can you let me know how diffucult it was and would you do it again?
Hoping to hear from anybody!
oops.... did not see that you could order individual samples. The swatchbooks seem high at $14.95 so maybe we can narrow it down to a few first. I wish they had their "15 patterns" on their site.
LindyLou - is it alot of work? How many are you making?
And anyone.... would you do it again and is it worth the time and money?
As far as colors...what we found is that the shimmery CS - which I thought was beautiful was deemed cheap-looking by the couple. They have settled on the deepest of the brown selections. The order for 100 pockets (plan is to make around 80 invitations) should be on its way to me now.
We are still trying to determine if we will do the printing locally or if C&P will do it. They are a bit pricey according to a retired printer friend but the kids like their work. So far, I have yet to produce an "acceptable" sample. They've just sent the final file and I will be getting it test printed tomorrow. If it's done locally, I will do the cutting.
The invitation has been composed with My Digital Studio using some outside fonts.
It's a been difficult to work on this long distance but they're visiting this weekend so there will be progress...do or die!
I don't know of the website you mentioned but I can comment on the general process. My daughter and I just made her invites, we made around 175 knowing we would have leftovers. I decided that the money factor wasn't the main reason for making them, nor the deciding factor of what to buy for embellishments. I have ziplock bags of strips that were extra from the width so there was waste.
I ordered the CS from our LSS and she gave us a discount for a large order. We bought enough to make the favours as well-pillow boxes. I had a local printer print on the cream layer, way cheaper and looked great, than using my printer. It cost 6 dollars or so to have them printed.
The time was the biggest thing, and my daughter did all the assembly after I did all the measuring and cutting. It took a lot of time. If this is for your son, will you have to do all the work?
I borrowed a bigger trimmer from school where I work and that saved on my blades, plus being more efficient in that I could do 3 layers of CS at a time.
I would do it again though, as it was a fun thing for my daughter and I to plan and do together. Also the invitations were just as she envisioned them because we could make it happen! Although if she hadn't had a certain layout in mind that made for some waste, the CS could have been used better but that was just part of the deal.
And also...... can you let me know how diffucult it was and would you do it again?
Hoping to hear from anybody!
I made my wedding invitations over 12 years ago. I actually enjoyed it so much I started a business. So, yes I'd do it again. At first go it was pretty difficult.
Some mistakes I made:
Didn't buy enough paper - stock you buy today, might be a slightly different color next week if you need to buy more. So, I'd recommend getting 10 - 20% more depending on how good you are.
Also make 1 final piece you can look at as you're making and assembling the rest. That way you always have a reference point. Sometime on autopilot puts you in a strange funk. The reference point is great to look at and refresh.
Good luck with it!!
I don't know of the website you mentioned but I can comment on the general process. My daughter and I just made her invites, we made around 175 knowing we would have leftovers. I decided that the money factor wasn't the main reason for making them, nor the deciding factor of what to buy for embellishments. I have ziplock bags of strips that were extra from the width so there was waste.
I ordered the CS from our LSS and she gave us a discount for a large order. We bought enough to make the favours as well-pillow boxes. I had a local printer print on the cream layer, way cheaper and looked great, than using my printer. It cost 6 dollars or so to have them printed.
The time was the biggest thing, and my daughter did all the assembly after I did all the measuring and cutting. It took a lot of time. If this is for your son, will you have to do all the work?
I borrowed a bigger trimmer from school where I work and that saved on my blades, plus being more efficient in that I could do 3 layers of CS at a time.
I would do it again though, as it was a fun thing for my daughter and I to plan and do together. Also the invitations were just as she envisioned them because we could make it happen! Although if she hadn't had a certain layout in mind that made for some waste, the CS could have been used better but that was just part of the deal.
Lots to think through, good luck!
That sounds like PRICELESS time spent with your daughter. Congratulations!
I'm in the beginning stages of this now. They will be simple and half sheet so no waste of paper. I think I am printing myself, but not sure. Trying to decide if I want to use the digital image or the stamped image. I have both. I am assuming I can use either way since I bought both. Probably will only need 100 at the most. I have a sample of the color for ribbon, so I purchased several different kinds in that color for her to choose from. She didn't mention a RSVP card, but I guess I will have to talk to FDIL about that. I need them to finalize the wording, but probably won't start these until January. I have a friend helping and it shouldn't take long. Wedding is in June.
I made the invitations for three of my nieces (75, 220 and 125 invitations plus thank you notes to match the invitations, reception cards, menu cards, RSVP cards....)
The best part about it... the bridal party got together in each case and helped with the assembly. THey had a blast! Each on of these invites had some hand stamping on them. Each included a folder that we made (and yes we did have left overs. Anyone need 200 "2x12" brocade blue?). The cost was minimal compared to retail invites so I saved my brothers some $$. All in all - I would do it again!
What wonderful stories. My DD is still in high school but I hope that someday when she is ready to get married (way in the future) I have the opportunity to do this for her. What could be more special? By then I should be retired and have lots of time. Thanks for sharing your experiences and your advice.
As to my own experiences with wedding invites, when my son got married they wanted very simple invitations so we found do-it-yourself kits that we quite liked at M's. We designed and printed the info ourselves (we have a good quality printer) and then dressed them up with ribbon and a simple (flat) punched embellishment. Other than the addressing and stuffing of envelopes four of us did everything up in one afternoon (me, my son, DIL and her Mom). We had great fun and a lot of laughs since none of them are the crafty sort.
My youngest daughter recently designed wedding invitations for her best friend/roomie using engagement photos she took of them (got them printed through a place called SimplyColorLab) and they were just delighted with the results.
I just got an invitation for my niece's wedding - it's a very simple postcard style with a photo on the front and the info on the back. No inserts as they are having the replies all done by email or phone calls. I now have a super photo of them on my fridge. Loved it.
I thought the cardsandpockets.com website had some neat ideas - none of the invitations I mentioned have pockets though so, if pockets are a must-have, I'm not any help at all...
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