by | Oct 29, 2014 | DIY Embellishments, DIY Invitations Ideas, DIY Paper & Card Stock, DIY Wedding Invitations, Wedding Speciality Paper
Being engaged is a blissful feeling, isn’t it? In the midst of all the daydreaming of the wedding, you are making plans for your big day. Like most brides out there, you want something unique that has not been done over and over again. As a sophisticated and modern bride, you want to DIY, and you can, with the likes of using everyday embellishments combined with DIY wedding invitations.
What you will initially need to sort out would be your DIY wedding invitations, and you can acquire those from a reputable wedding invitations retailer that deals with DIY kits. Make sure you have the right colour in mind, and the style in terms of whether it is folded, has a special featured (such as a pocket flap) or flat cards (that are free-standing with no folds). Once you know the basis of the wedding invitations card and the accompanying invitation accessories, figure out the invitation wording you want and even add your guest list into their system and have those printed and kept aside to add on your embellishments.
When we say arts and crafts, we mean decorative items and/or handmade trinkets made using items that you will find in your own home. It is what you make out of those materials with the help of tools that offer you a myriad of options to make something beautiful come alive. Some of these very items could be hose found in your sewing booth, while the others in the kitchen. However, certain tools that go the extra mile to make a beautiful creation will need to be acquired. These tools include the likes of punches whether it is for a singular design or a border design, to decorative scissors, stamps, ink, and paint. In terms of materials, you may use paper be it the paper or card stock, which depends on the paper weight, cloth and paper ribbons, burlap, lace, doilies, origami paper, embroidery thread, and beading.
To make the likes of quills (with paper), pin-wheels, ribbon and paper flowers, hand-print art, stamp illustrations using stamps, or stamps cut out of fruits and vegetables and the list goes on, there are techniques that need to be used. For example, when involved in paper quilling, you need to cut out thin strips of paper that are 1/4 cm in width and roll it tightly. Once this is done, you can shape it to make the design you want and glue it to paper so it stays that way.
These are just some ways in which you can transform your DIY wedding invitations into something beautiful and truly unique. Add your own touches and make your wedding one that your family and friends will talk about for years to come.
by | Oct 24, 2014 | DIY Invitations Ideas, DIY Paper & Card Stock, DIY Wedding Invitations
Black is one of the most fashionable colours in the world, whether it is for gala black tie events to sleek looks in modern architecture and not forgetting design. It is only natural that it transcends to the wedding industry, whether you are in the market for luxe black wedding invitations or DIY wedding invitations to the big day’s decor accents. It is easy to team up black with other colours in the colour wheel as it compliments them whether it is a traditional or modern setting.
If you are opting for a DIY wedding, you can truly come up with one of the most unique DIY wedding invitations that is styled with a black theme. Many of us know that the process of going DIY for wedding stationery can be either one of two options. One is to buy your own paper, rulers and cutters and the whole she-bang, where as the other option is to get yourself acquainted with DIY wedding invitation and stationery kits that have set template for you to work with.
The latter option offers you several styles in which your DIY wedding invite can be presented in terms of how the invites are folded, the sizing and also the placement of key invitation wording and text. If you are opting to have those printed beforehand with the necessary customisations (which is a bonus because then you do not need to go through the process of either printing those yourself or hiring a calligrapher to do the work for you). Opting for the DIY route can be difficult, so it’s always a good idea to cut down time spent doing up processes or focuses on the items that needs the most work, time and patience.
Nevertheless, getting back to black wedding invitations styles, a la DIY, if you have a blank canvas being the DIY wedding invitation kits, then the next step is to style them. The most elegance choice would be to opt for soft pastel tones to be accompanied with the bold black, and they say the lighter and whiter the better. However, there is no rule that you cannot go down the modern route with bold contrasting colours to make your invite design pop.
When you work on the DIY aspects, you can use creative elements such as stencils that consists of flourishes to stripes designs for a crisp look, to stamps, and even use watercolours for a beautiful outcome of art. It is always a great idea to know what you want in terms of the wedding theme you will have for your wedding apart from the colour, of course. Though the basic norm is to opt for black on white, there is no stopping you from going bold and opting for white or any other colour on a black wedding invitation kit.
by | Oct 17, 2014 | DIY Embellishments, DIY Envelopes, DIY Invitations Ideas, DIY Paper & Card Stock, DIY Wedding Invitations
More and more brides are getting more and more involved in wedding planning, right down to the making wedding items and elements themselves, such as DIY wedding invitations and stationery to the wedding decor. However, at the time of the wedding, the decor needs to be handled by somebody else, but the wedding stationery and invitations can be sorted out way in advance, and therefore is a convenient choice to DIY when it comes to their wedding.
You have the option of going with both DIY Wedding Invitations and Stationery Kits or to start from scratch with DIY wedding paper, trims, embellishments and more. Depending on which choice you opt for, the next stage is done accordingly. Let’s look at both options.
DIY Wedding Invitations and Stationery Kits
When choosing this option, you need to have a theme or vision in mind to make sure that you do not purchase the kits and then later change your mind. Therefore, sketch it out and then look for the type of kits that match your criteria. Whether it’s shape, sizing or the way it is styled or folds, there are many things to look at, not forgetting colour, of course.
The next stage would be to opt for printing or to do it on your own. Some of the best wedding invitations retailers allow you to customise your DIY wedding invitations kits from the start, just by giving them the guest list and they will print it for you and have it delivered. If you opt of out this option, then you can go with a calligrapher, or if you have beautiful handwriting, then you can go ahead and do it yourself. However, if you are going to have the wedding invitation wording printed separately, then that item can be left as the final touch, which then needs to be attached to the wedding invite creation. You may opt to add ribbons, floral embellishments, studs, buckles and so more for that added glam.
Start from Scratch with DIY Wedding Invitations and Stationery
If you are doing the wedding invitations and stationery from scratch, you will need tools and materials. Here are some items you will need, and it is always best when you have a vision and theme before starting and even buying the materials in question.
- Paper (either regular, shimmer or recycled paper – 200-250gsm)
- Cutter and Cutting Tool
- Scissors
- Paper Punches
- Rubber Stamps & Inkpads
- Watercolour Paint and Brushes
- Adhesive & Glue
- Embellishments
- Bows (card variety, organza, ribbon, satin, etc)
- Buckles
- Diamante Gems
- Flowers
- Ribbons
- Jewel Sprays
- Calligraphy Pens
- Envelopes
With these tools and materials, you can set about making the vision of your DIY wedding invite and stationery come alive. Make sure to be careful when using these tools, especially the cutters and scissors to not hurt yourself, and enjoy creating your masterpiece. Always create a sample beforehand to make sure you know what you want and you can see the intended result so that all your DIY wedding invites and stationery maintain the same standard.
by | Sep 15, 2014 | DIY Invitations Ideas, DIY Wedding Invitations
A wedding invitation is a number of things, but mostly, it represents the joyous union between the bride and the groom to be. For them, it is important how their first entrance into the matrimony is presented. Your wedding invitations need to be well thought out, especially when you are opting for DIY wedding invitations. We have compiled some advice and well as tips to ensure that your vision comes to life. Everyone knows that words makes the difference, so we are going to focus on how you convey your message in a beautiful way, which is perfect for your personalities.
The Basis of the Visual and Design Concept
It is always important to have a vision or even a visual or design concept for your wedding invitations. Sometimes, some of us opt to sketch it out before you go about looking for the one that best matches it, or we have them handmade, or we make them ourselves, the point of a DIY wedding invitation itself. Keep in mind that when deciding on the font for your wedding invites, that there are some predefined preferences in the industry, which carries an elegant look for your invites. These are usually curvy and stylish, where the typefaces are cursive or even serif. You rarely see san-serif fonts, and cartoon like fonts; unless that is the theme you are going for. Choose your look carefully, try out a few samples, and put them side-by-side for a comparison.
The Mood and Visual Aesthetics
There are various types of fonts, and are characterised by various factors such as the stroke weight, the width, slope which in turn refers to the types of scripts, serifs, which are divided into san-serif and serif, as well as cursive. You need to decide which font best suit the design you have in mind. If you were going for a modern look, san-serif would be apt, while if there were ornate or floral designs, then cursive would be the best choice. This also reflects the theme and mood, such as whether you are going for a romantic and warm look as opposed to something else.
Legibility and Readability of the Type Category
Being able to read the font clearly is very important when deciding on how best to convey your message in a beautiful manner, so make sure to try out the fonts you love and see whether the invitation wording and other information you are including are legible and readable.
by | Sep 3, 2014 | DIY Embellishments, DIY Invitations Ideas, DIY Paper & Card Stock, DIY Wedding Invitations, Wedding Invitations Ideas, Wedding Speciality Paper
Embossing is a great way to add a touch of pizzazz to a simple design. What this design technique is a way of creating a raise or 3D image out of a piece of paper. This can be done using a myriad of options and shapes, and though it can be professionally done, a DIY bride can have a go at it too, as long as you have the right utensils or know what to use. With a little bit of know-how, you too can dabble in embossing to make your very own DIY wedding invitations with a beautiful finish.
There are many types of embossing, and we will look into each item so that you can be informed of what type you should opt for when making your very own DIY wedding invitation and putting embossing to use.
- Combo Emboss: The combination of embossing with a foil printing is known as combo embossing, and it gives of a glamorous effect to your cards.
- Debossing: Debossing is the indentation into the paper as opposed to the raised effect see in embossing.
- Dry Emboss: Dry embossing is where you use a stencil and stylus and press the paper down not the stencil to create outlines and then the embossed shapes, so that when you flip the paper, you have a beautiful embossed finish.
- Multi-Level Emboss: This type of embossing is similar to the single-level emboss, but done at varying levels or tiers, giving it a further 3D look. For example, if you want to do a three tiered heart design embossed onto your DIY wedding card, then this would be ideal.
- Printed Emboss: A printed emboss is where you have a specific image printed onto your DIY wedding invite, and this particular shape or image is where the embossing will be carried out, giving it a raised effect to the entire image. For example, let us take a red heart design on a white background. The red heart would be embossed to make it ‘pop’.
- Sculptured Emboss: This is considered the DIY form of embossing, as it involves a handmade process, using tools, and the likes of stylus to give it depth of field. It is always best to use it with the likes of a photographic element printed on the paper to give it a realistic look.
- Self-Emboss: Using a piece of paper, with the same colour on the entire surface, you can use an emboss stamp on the underside to create a definition and shape on the paper to give it a special look. For example, if you want to use a starry night DIY wedding invite theme, then you can opt to use star shaped stamps on a midnight blue coloured paper and have yourself raised stars to give it that finish and texture.
- Single-Level Emboss: This type of embossing involved the DIY wedding invite and the element or design being embossed, being raised to the same level, creating a unilateral finish.
Sculptured embossing, self-embossing, single level embossing, printed embossing, multi-level embossing, dry embossing and debossing can be easily done using a few simple utensils, such as a light box (when debossing and dry embossing), stencils, stylus, card stock, rolling pins and stamps, and stamped templates for a patterned effect when creating your very own DIY wedding invitations.
by | Aug 30, 2014 | DIY Envelopes, DIY Invitations Ideas, DIY Wedding Invitations
A blank canvas is what we always start with, whether it is a painting or a wedding, or even the wedding invites. That is why many couples to be wed opt for DIY wedding invitation kits so that they can make their own masterpiece to represent the happiest day of their lives.
A DIY wedding invitation kit lets you figure out what your end result would be from the get-go. You can do up some samples and compare them at first before you set your mind to it, and even ask your closest friends and family for their opinion before committing to your choice of design and creation as your wedding invitation.
The first step is to decide on the base colour that you want your DIY wedding invites in. You could take the easy route and choose either white or a neutral hue because you can never go wrong. If you are not sure of what you want, order a few samples in advance and try then out with the other accompanying materials you have acquired to add colour and ‘oomph’ to the wedding invite ensemble. You can add that special touch with the help of the following.
Ribbons & Lace: Ribbons and lace would be easiest way to add pops of colours onto your DIY wedding creation. Not just using it, but the way you use it makes a difference. You can pair a few different colours together, or even weave them into a design.
Watercolour Paint: Watercolour paint creations are beautiful, because not only are you adding your own personal touch, but also the colour from watercolours leaves a beautiful texture when completed.
Dyeing and Paper Texturing: A great way to add a twist to your DIY wedding invite paper would be to add colouring, in terms of dyeing, which can be done using watercolour itself, or even applying a coat of watercolour paint using a sponge or cloth.
Stamps: Stamps are great ways to add a professional looking finish with flowing and intricate designs to your wedding invite. Choose designs that go well together, or overlap in different colours to bring life into the wedding card.
Stencils: Stencils are also great ways in which you can acquire great and intricate designs, where all you need to do is colour over a stencil, and presto, you have yourself beautiful look.
Stitching: Some brides opt to add a bit of stitching for a homely feel. If your wedding is a casual one, or you have a notebook or cross-stitch theme going on, this would be ideal.
Embellishments & Accessories: Adding buckles or little diamante brooches in varying colours depending on your theme would be ideal for bursts of colour in the right amounts.
Envelope Liners: Another way of adding colour to your DIY wedding invitations is to add a great DIY envelope liner that surprises your guests as they open it. It can be anything from a design, pattern to even photographs.
