A fellow bride who I’ve been in close contact with since getting engaged sent me this E-mail a few months ago:
“I found some invites that I really like from Jean M. They are way over what I wanted to spend but I feel like I should do what I like instead of settling for cheap. My mom offered to pay for the invites but I just feel like I have more freedom to pick them out if I foot the bill. I don’t think my mom would go for $321 invites. Now that I type that number, I don’t know if I want to spend that much either.”
Here’s what she wanted:
“Kim” By Jean M - 100 Invitations $321, 100 Response Cards and Envelopes $66. Total: $387
My thrifty side kicked in, and I told her that we should replicate those invitations with my Gocco Machine. Gocco is a fun little home screenprinter that I bought a little while back, and did my own invitations on. She was hesitant at first, but then I told her that we could probably do custom invites for around $100, she pretty much threw her Jean M dreams out of the window.
Months passed, and we scrapped the “replication” idea for a more “custom” look. She had found some clipart that she liked and together we designed a nifty little invitation set for her.
Earlier this week, we turned all her ideas into a reality! Michelle brought the pizza and supplies, Mrs. Lemon brought her Gocco, Miss Penguin supplied the venue and ANOTHER Gocco (why have 1 when you can have 2?) and we all settled in for a long night of flashing and printing.
Here’s Michelle’s Budget Breakdown for 100 invitation sets (all materials purchased from Paper Source, except envelopes from EnvelopeMall.com) :
5 packs (125) of pure white pointed flap enclosure (5.5×8.5) cards: $27.50
2 packs (100) of pure white (RSVP) postcards: $16
Deep blue Gocco ink: $3.75
Silver ink: $3.75
Screens: $15.85
Bulbs: $15.85
Blocking material: $3.30
Outer Envelopes: $55
5.5 hours of goccing fun: PRICELESS!!!
Total: $141
Michelle didn’t think we’d actually make her do all the work…but we did 
Oh No We Di’-int! 2 Goccos at once? Madness. Pure madness.
Mrs. Lemon accidentally put the blue screen in front of the print screen and broke my blue screen! Doh! Oddly enough, I happened to have a bunch of Rosco Color Correction Filters on hand, so we cut a blue one up. Worked like a charm! YES SO LUCKY.
Modified Blue Screen in action:
Here are the finished products. They turned out lovely, and so custom!
Invites:
Response Postcards:
Pretty, sparkly ink!
And, of course, crafty-as ever Mrs. Lemon brought me a present celebrating my Bee-hood. It’s a felt beanbag, and it might possibly be the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen!
Miss “Printing Princess” Penguin, and Mrs. “Flashbulb Fairy” Lemon, at your service!
SWEEEEEEEET! I love it. Question for ya Miss P and Mrs. L ~ Did you gals wait for one ink to dry before gocco’ing the 2nd color? ie the & sign behind the bride and groom’s name. or the text over the silver motif on their rsvp card.
They look fabulous, great job! The ones you guys created have a warmer feel than the straight black and white ones. She’s a lucky bride to have you guys as friends.
Miss Cherry B -
Yep, we gave them all a good 20 minutes in between printing…so we alternated by printing the bottom layer of the RSVP’s first, then bottom layer of Invitations, and back and forth like that so there was no actual “wait” time (cause the whole project took about 5 hours!)
i’m thinking about making my invites as well, but with the price of the gocco doesn’t it make it more expensive?
you guys are TOO CUTE! weddingbee should have its very own etsy shop so that us commoners can sport it on the streets! =)
i may be biased but the beanbag is one of my all time favorite projects ever featured on wb. the invites are stunning as well - amazing job ladies!!!!
Sarah - Yes, depending on how you look at it. I originally saw invitations I wanted but all cost well over $1500, and there was no way I was paying that. I bought the Gocco for $250, paper for $200, plus I do lots more projects than just wedding stuff (…and I do friends wedding projects as well!)
If you intend to just make 1 or 2 projects on the Gocco, then depending on how fancy your invites are, it may not be worth it. For me (and most gocco users) the cost is quickly offset by the “mileage” you get off of the machine!
Ohhhh Miss Penguin you are making me want a gocco so much! I’m going to have to leave hints around the house for Mr. Chickadee. These look awesome and it sounds like yall had sooo much fun!
Those are gorgeous invitations! A job well done!
Those are gorgeous invitations! A job well done!
i’m not a bride-to-be (yet) but COULD I BE IN CLOSE CONTACT WITH YOU TOO!?!?! i just got mine and would looooove to gocco party with ya’ll. you know, cuz practice makes perfect…
hm…is that weird?!
OMGosh - GREAT INVITATIONS!!!
I want a Gocco and a creative brain.
Gocco Experts:
I had never even HEARD of a Gocco before reading about Mrs. Lemon’s, but now I think I am going to invest in one. So, first question — B5 or B6? I notice that the B5 is listed as an “updated” version, but is generally pricier, is it worth it? Any major differences, or should I just go with whatever is cheapest to find online? Are these large enough to print standard sized wedding invitations? I’d rather not have to get the supersized way expensive one that Paper Source is selling — that’s a tad out of my price range.
Once I get it up and running, I can host a D.C. WeddingBee reader Gocco party. 
oh my, can i hire you and mrs. lemon’s goccoing services? i’ll make my awesome fudge as a bonus!
that looks great and i am seriously debating getting a gocco…for what, i’m not sure since i’m not engaged yet but i’m sure i could come up with something to gocco. lol.
and am i alone in thinking we should totally have a norcal weddingbee get together?
I am a huge nerd but I feel so cool that my wedding invites are on this site! It was a blast and all I have been thinking about is buying a Gocco to make my programs on. I am holding back….for now! I love my invitiations and HATE that I have to wait until April for my friends and family to see them. Thanks Miss. Penguin and Mrs. Lemon! It was a huge honor to have you guys help me with this.
I can’t thank Mrs. Lemon and Miss. Penguin enough for helping me with these! I am over the moon excited about sending out my invitations…sadly, that will have to wait another 6 months. Until then, I can admire them myself. Thanks again ladies!!!
god i sooo wish i knew about gocco earlier! i’m almost done with my own wedding planning, but i wonder if i should invest in one for my future brides… i sooo want to play with one!
omg! having a good time AND playing with paper AND being productive (making invites). can we be friends?! =D
beautiful invitations! so jealous! do you happen to know where she got the art for the swirl design?
Those look wonderful!!! Great job!
They are beautiful…
I’ve found so many images I love on istockphoto.com but all the files are vector files that they say require Adobe Illustrator (kind of expensive). Did you find that you needed Adobe Illustrator or a similar software to open the clip art?
For my line of work, I have both photoshop and Adobe illustrator. I used photoshop, but you should be able to use any graphic design program that opens .eps files. I believe there are free ones out there (bees have blogged about them) but I’m not particularly familiar with programs other than Illustrator or Photoshop. Perhaps post a question on the boards, I know a lot of girls out there are designing their own invites without investing in pricey programs. GL!
Thanks!
Mrs. Penguin, Sacramento
Age and Occupation: 26, Video & TV Producer/Director/Editor
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Doctor of Physical Therapy
Engagement Date: January 29, 2007
Wedding Date: June 7, 2008
Blogging Since: September 14, 2007
Venue: Winery in the Gold Country
About Me: I'm a silly mess of a girl who, above all else in this world, LOVES the Spice Girls. I eat sushi at least 3 times a week, and feel guilty about how much it costs the other 4 days a week. I love designer jeans and cheap accessories. I don't like sweets, but I love the UCLA Bruins!
yall rock the gocco party that rocks the body!