Wedding Blog
Actually, it was last week’s project… but during my spare time (when Mr. E was off playing basketball or poker with his friends), I decided to tackle my envelopes, even though the invitations won’t go out until late June! I figured I should get a head start so that I won’t go nuts over the summer when I’m busier.
I purchased 100 feet of this pistachio colored wrapping paper from Papermart for $32. When I received it, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was a combined glossy/matte finish - very cool looking - albeit a bit “greener” than I hoped.
So I got crackin’! Here is my mess of a dining table. You can kinda see the glossy/matte finish I’m referring to on the paper.
I made a template and meticulously traced and cut out 115 of these suckers. I even used my handy-dandy corner rounder to round out the pointed tip to match the envelope tip.
And then with my faithful friend, 3M double sided tape, I carefully stuck each one into a Stardream Quartz A9 envelope (from Envelopemall).
TADA!!
Now I am working on lightly drawing in 4 straight lines along the front of each envelope for the addresses so that my calligraphy will be straight (the lines will be erased afterwards, of course). And then I will stamp the back of each flap with the custom address stamp I had made at Impress (which turned out awesome, by the way! If you are thinking of having a custom stamp made, Impress is the way to go!).
**CAUTION** Attempt only if you have plenty of time… and patience! Luckily I have both (for now) 
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wow! miss emerald, i am SO impressed! i consider myself to be pretty artistic and crafty, but i am officially blown away. your envelopes look fabulous!
I am doing almost the exact same thing for my invitations. It all seemed like a good idea when I started, but after a few weekends of tirelessly working on my invitations, it got a bit depressing. I’m getting close to finishing though, and I must admit, I’m quite proud of my handiwork!
I love it! I’m using a similar green color in my wedding, and that paper looks fantastic.
Another tip for straight calligraphy, is to use a light box (it’s are a piece of plastic with a light bulb underneath, sold with scrapbooking supplies). You can tape a lined card to the lightbox, then set your envelope on top, flip on the light, and the lines will show through to guide your writing.
don’t draw ‘em…use a bone tool and then you don’t have unsightly lines!!
Lindsay, whats a bone tool??? what is this tool that can save me time??
I did the same thing–I looked all around for paper to use for my envelope liners, and the only kind that went with the invitations that I liked was nearly $2 an 8.5″ x 11″ sheet at Kate’s. So I didn’t use it. Then I was working on another project, trying to use some blue rag-style wrapping paper (also from Kate’s) as background to frame an apron. But it didn’t look right with the apron. I had it lying on the table, next to a similar envelope (from some thank you cards I bought for engagement presents) when inspiration struck! The pale blue paper looks wonderful with my butter envelopes. All that searching for paper and I had it at home all the time.
And, Miss Emerald, yours looks wonderful. I love that pistachio wrapping paper, and I love Stardream paper–the Quartz is great. I really love the red Stardream (ruby? Mars? I forget the name), I need to find a project to use it! Should have used it for Valentines…
I’ve made envelopes, but never thought of making my own linings! They look fantastic, great job!!
Time saver: Before you insert the liner, do the calligraphy. That way you can skip the pencil lines step (because you can insert a heavy cardboard with black thick lines to use as a guide, then move it to the next envelope; my invitations from Crane’s came with one of these guides, or you can make your own) and if there is a goof on the calligraphy, you’re tossing only the outer part (which you didn’t put any work into) instead of the lining and everything.
Iris… *sigh* I thought of doing that, unfortunately, we have collected only about 10 addresses out of the 80 or so that we need! Haha, as I mentioned, these invitations arent going out until summer, so I am just trying to get ahead of the game…
I hear ya — it’s pulling teeth to get the darn addresses!
I am totally copying your idea for birthday and holiday cards, too! This seriously upgrades a cheap or not particularly well-matched envelope.
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Mrs. Emerald, Chicago
Age and Occupation: 26, Wedding Planner
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Paralegal
Engagement Date: October 8, 2006
Wedding Date: September 2007
Blogging Since: November 29, 2006
Venue: Hyatt Lodge, Oak Brook IL
About Me: I have been dreaming about my wedding forever, and flipping through bridal magazines since high school, so I am in my element! I am calling our theme "Vintage Inspired French/Asian Fusion." Mr. Emerald is very involved in the planning process, but of course he generally defers to me cuz I have a strong opinion of how I want everything to be :-).
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love those nice little touches.
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