It’s All About the Packaging
March 29th, 2007 @ 12:22 pm by Mrs. Emerald
Did I mention that my invites came in over a week ago from the printers?! And they look amazing, I’m so excited! But I’ve been racking my brain trying to figure out the best way to enclose them. I’ve been playing around with (and hence, wasting) vellum, and I think I’ve finalized my design. Yahoo!
My invites are 8.5″ x 5.5″ so I ordered 12″ x 12″ vellum from Paperandmore. With my handy dandy paper trimmer, I cut the vellum down to 8.5″ x 12″ and created a faux envelope to house the invite/response card, response envelope, etc. I purchased 100 yards of 5/8″ double face chocolate brown satin ribbon from JKM, and figured I would just tie a bow around the invite, and have a personlized tag with the invitee’s names on it, like so:
(I don’t like the color of the name tag backing, I will probably use chocolate brown).
The back has a flap opening just like an envelope, but I’m not gonna seal the sides.
Although I liked this idea overall, I wasn’t crazy about the bow cuz it looked rather messy (it’s hard to tie a perfect bow, let alone 100+ of them!). Not to mention it made a big ole’ bump in the envelope, and I didn’t want recipients thinking that they need to untie the bow in order to open the invite.
So on the train ride home the other night, I mentally played with the ribbon and decided to design a permanent bow. When I got home and actually tried it out, it was perfect! What’s perfect, you ask? Well, let me show you…
I cut two strips of ribbon, one 7″ and another 1.75″
Then with the 7″ piece, I used double sided tape (I swear, that is my favorite product right now!) and created a loop.
Next I took the 1.75″ ribbon and placed a small strip of tape along each end (hard to see in pic), and positioned both ribbons in a cross like this.
Fold one end over, and then the other end over, press firmly to seal tape.
End result? I can make one of these in about 30 seconds, and it’s so much fun, haha.
VOILA! So much cleaner, more minimalist, and oh-so-chic (in my opinion 
)! While I love the simplicity of this look, I will still have the name tag attached next to the bow (see pic 1) because I love the personalization aspect of it.
Tip: To my surprise, the double sided tape worked REALLY well for this project! But it sticks to the ribbon like no other, so you better position it right the first time. Once it goes on, its very difficult to remove without ruining the strip of ribbon!
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16 Responses to “It’s All About the Packaging”
looks amazing! love it. love it! love your diy step by step!
Your invites look awesome! The new bow looks really clean and so pretty~! =)
Would you mind telling me which printers you used– I am designing my own invites and am looking for a printer in the Chicago area.
Thanks! =)
May - I actually used an online printing vendor, http://www.overnightprints.com. My invites are very untraditional for wedding invites, so thick and glossy! I love it =)
Do you care to let me know what kind of double sided tape you’re using? I use double sided tape for everything… but it’s not so sticky.
Kellie,
3M double sided tape - mine is labeled “permanent”! Works great for me!
Ms. Emerald–
my invites are actually a little bit like Ms. Plumeria’s — the “open ended” invitation that papersource has also… did you just email them your mock-up and they were able to print it for you?
It looks great and I love your step by step instructions… very helpful!
Aww…those are cute invites! Actually, the first bow would have worked too, but I can understand your concern about it bumping up. Great job!
thanks for the great step by step. that’s a great way to make a bow. i’ll be helping my best friend put together her invites this weekend so this is perfect timing. thanks!
Another tip, if you are using very thin ribbon, is to cut a short length of it and just tie it around the base ribbon. I am doing this on my invites…of course, someone always thinks they are supposed to untie the ribbon. But once it is in their hands, there is nothing I will be able to do 
They’re so pretty! Great job!
Bellisimo!
you’re right - bows are hard to tie! you came up with an excellent solution and they look awesome!
beautiful… the bow adds such a elegant touch
Mrs. Emerald, Chicago
Age and Occupation: 26, Hospitality Administration
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 :-).
Awesome timing. I have ribbon and need to make “perfect” knots for my invites. I’m trying to play around with it before I order the invites. I just bought the double sides tape the other day and I wasn’t sure how it would work out. Yay! I’m going to try this when I get home tonight.
On another note, double faced satin ribbon can be hard to cut…it seems to slip and slide. I have to do angle cuts on 1.5″ ribbon. I hope it works! It doesn’t look liek you ahd any trouble with your’s. They look great!