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 24, 2014 | DIY Invitations Ideas, Wedding Invitations Ideas
Will you be a DIY bride or not? DIY makes things fun, exciting, and one of the best projects to work on as a DIY bride would be your wedding invitations and stationery. This week we are focusing on ‘Paper Cutting’ techniques. It will include information on how you can create beautiful and elegant DIY wedding invitations. Amaze your family, friends, and guests with such a great creation. Here is how and what you will need.
Essentially, what you will first require would be a vision for your DIY wedding invitations and stationery. If you have a theme in mind for the wedding, then you can start from there, and find inspirations for the rest. Find a beautiful design, or even make a beautiful design, by sketching it out on paper and ask your family and close friends for their opinions if you want to, and then set your heart on it. Once you have this design set, this will act as your template, and you will need to make sure that the design has outlines that are distinct in order for them to be visible to be cut.
Materials Required for Paper Cut DIY Wedding Invites
- DIY Wedding Invitations Kits/ Paper
- Exacto Knife
- Swivel Blade (best used when cutting curves)
- Scalpel (with either a rounded blade or straight blade)
- Cutting Mat
- Snap Blades
- Punches
- Pin Tools
- Either the following:
- Printer (to print the template onto the DIY wedding invitation kits, as well as invitation wordings, if you are not opting to have the invitations retailer carry out printing services)
- Tracing Paper/Carbon Paper and Stylus Tool
The Next Step to DIY Paper Cut Wedding Invitations
Once you have your design template, you need to determine what you want to cut, that is for positive or negative space, but essentially, what you are usually aiming for is a cutout. Some of us have difficulty transferring the pattern or template for your paper cutting. There are a number of ways in which you can go about it whereby the easiest would be to print it onto the DIY wedding invitations. However, you can also opt to make a template cut-out or print the design or image, stick it onto the wedding invite card and then cut out the design till its complete. Another way would be to use either tracing paper or carbon paper to transfer the template onto the wedding invite paper.
After that, use the knife and blades appropriately and carefully to get your result. Remember that the beautiful outcome that would be your wedding invitation requires a lot of patience and time, as well as commitment to it and the end result.
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.
by | Aug 15, 2014 | DIY Invitations Ideas, DIY Paper & Card Stock, DIY Wedding Invitations
Table accessories are important when you want a finished look for your tables at your wedding reception. Now, if you have delightful wedding invitations sorted out, which you made yourself, then why not go the extra mile and also do up DIY wedding table accessories to carry on the same theme of your DIY wedding invitations. You can draw the same inspiration from the wedding invites theme, and then start from there. These themes can be anything from floral designs, garden inspired elements, hearts, or even a beach theme. Some truly unique wedding invites have origami creations attached to the front facing, so why not continue that throughout your wedding stationery as well, including your placemats and napkin bands.
Here are some ways n where you can purchase yourself some DIY stationery kits for the likes of placemats and napkin bands, and add trims and accessories to make unique creations for your special day. Having categories them by floral elements, paper art and origami, and beads, buckles and diamante, here at DIY Invitations, we will present to your options which you can use, be inspired and enhance upon to make your big day truly special.
Floral Elements DIY Inspirations
Flowers are great inspirations for weddings, be it a specific flower in mind, the flowers of the season or even a garden. When it comes to DIY and floral elements for your wedding invites down to table accessories such as placemats and napkin bands, there are some options which you can put to use, such as the following;
- Flowers added to DIY Napkin Bands. You can both use a real flower, or artificial flower, and then pin it to your napkin band, to add glamour to the ensemble. You can do the same to the placemat, by adding it to a corner. The same can be done with paper as well.
- Burlap flowers for Napkin Bands and Placemats. You can add burlap onto the base of a DIY paper placemat to create a texture and contrast as well as make a burlap flower and pin it to the napkin band.
- Ribbons and Lace materials for Table Accessories. You can put ribbons and lace into great use. Not only can you make various flowers out of these materials, but also they are also great to use as placemat, be it as a lace material in whole, or intertwine ribbons and lace streamer, in a weave pattern. There are many ways to put them to use.
Paper Art and Origami DIY Inspirations
- Paper flowers added to DIY table accessories. You can use paper art or be creative to make floral origami and add it to the napkin band and placemat, which would be similar to the first options given in floral elements.
- Tissue Flowers added to DIY table accessories. Similar to paper flower, you can use tissue materials to make tissue flowers or pompoms, which can be added to your table centres, napkin bands, and placemats.
- Paper Doilies for Table Accessories. You can use paper doilies in varying colours, as the base of your placemat, or use then to highlight your napkin band, or even turn it into a flower.
- Laser cut or cutouts of designs according to your theme. If you do not want to use doilies, and want your own designs, you can use the laser cut technique on your DIY stationery, and make yourself an ornate and intricate design for your placemats and napkin bands.
Beads, Buckles and Diamante DIY Inspirations
- Beads for your DIY Stationery. Using a design of beads, make it as a flower, a shape, or something from your theme, can spruce up for your napkin bands and the placemats in a great way.
- Adding buckles to your DIY table accessories. Buckles either made out of beads or diamante, are great additions to your ensemble. Add a splash of glamour with these options.
- Mix and Match your Materials for your DIY table stationery and decor. Using all the options given here, you can make a beautiful array of creations that will be ideal for your big day. Choose wisely, and make samples to see for yourself and pick the best one out of the lot.
Image by Belle & Chic
