As you know weddings are EVENTS and wedding invitations come with lots of crap. So, I wanted to create a beautiful pocket to house my invitations so that everything wouldn't fly out of the envelope when someone opened it (we skipped the formality of inner envelopes). I priced some on Etsy and realized that there was no way I could afford pockets until I found a DIY solution. So here they are...lovely pockets...designed by me!
The first thing that was decided were the dimensions. I knew that oversized envelopes were extra postage so I decided to keep them at a 5x7 size (not to mention ease of finding envelopes for them). Actually, they ended up being more like 5.5 x 7 because we decided the easiest thing to do was to fold an 8.5 x 11 piece of paper in half to create our fold. I also recommend a bone folder if you have access to one, such crisp fold lines!
My aunt is a scrapbooker so we borrowed her papercutter with a nice crisp blade to ensure a clean line and then used glue tape. We folded in half, cut to 7 inches tall, then cut an exact diagonal on the "front" of the pocket.
**Advice** DO NOT USE DOLLAR STORE GLUE TAPE GO BUY THE GOOD STUFF Seriously. The money you save at the Dollar Store you waste trying to figure out why your glue tape won't stick, why its loaded into the dispenser backwards, or why the promised length only yielded sticky for 10 pockets.
Once the pockets were completed and glued together we added the ribbon. I had wanted a lace look but was worried about the glue sticking out through the lace until we found this ribbon and I fell in love. We bought every roll we could find at about 4 Michaels stores because I'm obsessed. Also, it was 75% off and we were worried they were going to stop making it.
Then the invitations went on hiatus because we moved.
Then I realized I needed to send them so it was time for the finishing touches! We were originally going to add a monogram underneath the gold rose but the "M" stamp I had purchased is still lost in a box somewhere, so we decided to go straight to the glitter (which is still all over my new living room). I used a stamp from a set I bought for my aunt and I bought the embossing gun on clearance. If you've never embossed before its really simple, you dip your stamp in slow-drying ink (most of them are labeled as such) sprinkle the powder over it, then heat. You could technically do this with a blow dryer but an embossing gun is a much lighter fan which is good because you blow the powder EVERYWHERE. Which in my case was all over the living room couch because we still don't have a dining room table. The glitter sticks to the ink and becomes stuck in the shape of your stamp and the remaining embossing powder flies everywhere.
Ta-Da! The finished product!
My actual invitation insert was a template I purchased for $8 on Etsy and adjusted to be a 4x6 size to fit loosely in my pockets. I personally designed and cut my reception invitations using my Silhouette Cameo, and the Accommodation cards are on pre-made business card paper by Avery.
3 packs of blue cardstock: $2 on sale at Michaels
Paper cutter: borrowed
6 rolls of ribbon: $2.39 a roll on clearance at Michaels (14.34)
8 Glue tapes: 6 at 50 cents each and 2 at 2.49
Embossing Powder (still half a jar left): 3.99
Stamp Ink: 2.99
Stamp-I bought a whole set of stamps to give to my aunt and borrowed this one out of it but I think I spent $10 on all of them.
Heat Gun: $10 on clearance
Total: 55.30
Invitations & Inserts:
Etsy Template: $8
Printing invites by VistaPrint: $35 for 250 (way more than we needed)
Business Card Pre-cut paper: $4.44 at Walmart
1 pack of white cardstock: $2 on sale at Michaels
Total: 49.44
Total Cost: $104.74 divided by 150 = .698 an invite! 70 cents an invite!!!
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| Original mockup |
The first thing that was decided were the dimensions. I knew that oversized envelopes were extra postage so I decided to keep them at a 5x7 size (not to mention ease of finding envelopes for them). Actually, they ended up being more like 5.5 x 7 because we decided the easiest thing to do was to fold an 8.5 x 11 piece of paper in half to create our fold. I also recommend a bone folder if you have access to one, such crisp fold lines!
 |
| Our basic shape: upside-down |
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| Borrowed things are the best things |
My aunt is a scrapbooker so we borrowed her papercutter with a nice crisp blade to ensure a clean line and then used glue tape. We folded in half, cut to 7 inches tall, then cut an exact diagonal on the "front" of the pocket.
 |
| Using borrowed paper cutter |
**Advice** DO NOT USE DOLLAR STORE GLUE TAPE GO BUY THE GOOD STUFF Seriously. The money you save at the Dollar Store you waste trying to figure out why your glue tape won't stick, why its loaded into the dispenser backwards, or why the promised length only yielded sticky for 10 pockets.
 |
| Glue tape is the best...just not the cheap kind |
 |
| This ribbon is gorgeous |
Then the invitations went on hiatus because we moved.
Then I realized I needed to send them so it was time for the finishing touches! We were originally going to add a monogram underneath the gold rose but the "M" stamp I had purchased is still lost in a box somewhere, so we decided to go straight to the glitter (which is still all over my new living room). I used a stamp from a set I bought for my aunt and I bought the embossing gun on clearance. If you've never embossed before its really simple, you dip your stamp in slow-drying ink (most of them are labeled as such) sprinkle the powder over it, then heat. You could technically do this with a blow dryer but an embossing gun is a much lighter fan which is good because you blow the powder EVERYWHERE. Which in my case was all over the living room couch because we still don't have a dining room table. The glitter sticks to the ink and becomes stuck in the shape of your stamp and the remaining embossing powder flies everywhere.
 |
| This is the brand I used--so pretty |
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| We used white stamp ink so the gold wouldn't be dulled |
 |
| Liberally apply |
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| Heat to set! |
Ta-Da! The finished product!
 |
| So pretty! |
3 packs of blue cardstock: $2 on sale at Michaels
Paper cutter: borrowed
6 rolls of ribbon: $2.39 a roll on clearance at Michaels (14.34)
8 Glue tapes: 6 at 50 cents each and 2 at 2.49
Embossing Powder (still half a jar left): 3.99
Stamp Ink: 2.99
Stamp-I bought a whole set of stamps to give to my aunt and borrowed this one out of it but I think I spent $10 on all of them.
Heat Gun: $10 on clearance
Total: 55.30
Invitations & Inserts:
Etsy Template: $8
Printing invites by VistaPrint: $35 for 250 (way more than we needed)
Business Card Pre-cut paper: $4.44 at Walmart
1 pack of white cardstock: $2 on sale at Michaels
Total: 49.44
Total Cost: $104.74 divided by 150 = .698 an invite! 70 cents an invite!!!
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