Weddingbee Blog

The next entry in our DIY project contest comes from Tessa, who made a bright, punchy stationery suite using Microsoft Publisher:

After weeks of searching for a gatefold whose sides were large enough to place my inserts upon, I was elated to find a 7″ x 7″ invitation with 5 x 7 inches of room on each side at Divine Ink! The gatefold has been made from Stardream Opal cardstock.

I created the monogram in Microsoft Publisher. The fonts used are Bickham Script Fancy 2 and Baker Signet. The graphic is from iStockPhoto.

Each component on the inside of the invitation has been made in Microsoft Publisher. The non-script font on the main invitation is Londonderry Air NF and the names are a combination of Bickham Script Fancy 2 (first initials only) and Kunstler Script. The graphic is from iStockPhoto. Each side of the graphic is hand-glittered and embossed.

The response cards are personalized to each recipient for a couple of reasons: 1) to ensure that all cards are returned with legible names and 2) to be able to obtain an accurate count of guests…not necessarily to keep uninvited guests out, but to let the recipient know who and how many of their party I’m expecting…should they opt to bring another person with them, they may indicate so on “Number Attending” space of the card.

In order to create a detailed street map, I obtained directions from Google Maps. I then zoomed into a section that gave me an adequate detailing of street names, landmarks, etc. I copied that section using the “Print Screen” button on my keyboard and pasted the section into a pre-sized box in Publisher. Once I cropped and shrunk the section to fit within the box area, I zoomed into the image (up to 600%) and traced the major details using the AutoShape Curve tool in order to make the bends of roads and rivers smooth and true to the map. Once a section was complete, I returned to the original map and moved to the next section (at the same zoom level) to repeat the
process, eventually piecing together 10 fragments to make one large drawing.

Each section of this invitation has two layers. The printed layer is done on Curious Metallic Cryogen White cardstock and the other two ¼ inch layers from Stardream Fuse Fairway and Azalea, respectively. In order to secure the ribbons and not have them punched through the invitation itself, I cut out a small piece of cardstock and punched two holes in each side of it. I then strung the ribbon through the holes and glued it to the inside of the gatefold. The right side has two of these devices…one in which the holes are vertical with a ribbon going length-wise and the other horizontal with the ribbon going width-wise. This was done to hold the smaller card in place
atop the larger one.

The best part of DIY (besides the finished product) is the final price! I am purchasing large sheets of each paper type (20” x 28.5”) from Paper Mojo and having them cut down for a small fee. The gatefolds and ribbon will be purchased in bulk and the ink cartridges for my printer purchased from eBay for significantly less than I would pay for them in the store! Thus, instead of paying well over $1500 for 125 custom-made, custom-printed invitations, I am spending just under $500!

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If you have a DIY project you’d like to submit, send it to guest@weddingbee.com.  See full contest details and prizes here.