When I saw these Couture Maps in countless magazines and blogs, I knew I wanted one. I mean, really, just look at them:
However, they are…shall we say…cost prohibitive. I really love the look of them, but I also don’t want to break the bank for them. After a few days of pouting and looking at the site for way too long, I decided to be a problem solver. Cue the Gocco.
I had bought a Gocco awhile back after reading one of Mrs. Lemon’s posts. Mr. Peppermint & I had considered making our entire invitation package but after time constraints sunk in, we opted to have the invitation and reply card made while we supplied any extra inserts. Making the custom map ourselves would add a great personal touch as well as save us a considerable amount of money.
Since this was our first Gocco project, I was extremely relieved that our gocco came with a cd (in English!) that explained how it worked–otherwise we would’ve been lost. So, we opened it up and got started…
First you set your design down before closing the machine and pushing down (to flash the bulbs and burn the image onto the screen)
Next you remove the screen (with image burned on) and apply ink between the plastic film & screen, making sure not to touch or rub the screen with the tip of the ink tube (very important!)…
You place the inked up screen back in the Gocco, put a test piece of paper where the original drawing had been and push it closed (squishing the ink–the best part!)…
We did it in two colors that overlapped, so here’s Mr. Peppermint inking the second layer…
After a night of Gocco fun, we had our maps ready to go. I must say that it wasn’t as hard or time-consuming as I thought it would be (we made about 100) and I’m so glad we did it ourselves! Had we been Gocco pros I think we would have been wiser about how to line it up properly (a few have the colors overlapping too much), but I kind of like the personal touch it gives.
Here’s what we came up with:
Your maps are soooo cute!! I love that personal touch. I’ve been thinking about our maps and what to do, you’ve inspired me. I think I need to get a Gocco and try my hand at cute maps. Thanks for the great post!
i want to gocco so badly but it looks sooo hard~!!
i also want to do these kind of couture maps (and i think i could achieve it on illustrator)..problem is that our guests will be coming from all areas of nyc to long island and our church and reception site aren’t quite close enough to do a cutesy map like this i don’t think :/
Question. Did you print out two screens. One for the black the other for the green?
Thanks!
where did you buy your Gocco? and what model did you get?
again with the gocco cuteness…i want one now. lol. the maps look cute. great work
ladyjeni - I did do two screens, though I should mention that with Gocco, you can do more than one color on the same screen. We chose not to because our two colors were very close to each other (and since this was our first Gocco experience, we wanted to make sure it worked!!)
e - I was a bit intimidated by Gocco as well, but I must say that it was surprisingly easy (especially with the English instructional CD). We bought ours through welsh products (http://www.welshproducts.com/) and it came with the CD.
Great Job Miss Peppermint! Bravo!
Those are adorable!
And thanks for the mini Gocco tutorial. I ordered one from Japan via Ebay (and the mail is taking FOREVER!), so there won’t be any instructions with mine….. In other words, the more I see of the process, the better!!
Great job, Ms Peppermint!
I love those couture maps too, but not so much the price 
So I searched high and low for someone who can do something similar for me. Luckily, I stumbled upon an etsy artist(http://vcad.etsy.com) to do a custom artwork without breaking the bank. And I’m soooo happy with how they turned out!!!
Thanks for the tutorial, I always wondered how they worked. It’s not as intimidating as it seems.
Ladies, I too Gocco and one of the most important steps is to make sure your image is a xerox. The carbon form the xerox is what allows the image to be transferred to the high mesh screen. I learned this thru trial and error, but Gocco is such a cool machine!!!
My sister saw that in countless mags to and made me do one for her wedding. I did it in Illustrator! It’s really fun and you can get creative with it too!
Thanks for the tutorial! Which gocco model did you buy?
nancEE & Nadine - I have the PG5 gocco which I bought from http://welshproducts.com/process/proddetail.php?prodID=G1PG5&basicID=G1PG5
(really great service & fast!)
Toooo cute!!! But every time I decide I don’t REALLY need a gocco another project like this times up! GAH!!!
That settles it. I’m getting one. I’ve been on the fence about the goccos for awhile, but I’ve been pining for those maps also. And you just make it look so easy. Mine!
I am so jealous… I want a Gocco machine.
Miss Peppermint, LA/Palm Springs
Age and Occupation: 23, Actress
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Web Producer
Engagement Date: October 21, 2006
Wedding Date: December 2007
Blogging Since: July 2, 2007
Venue: historic estate overlooking the heart of Palm Springs
About Me: I am a Southern California native who enjoys cooking, writing, travel and all things in the arts. Mr. Peppermint and I met in college and he proposed on our four year anniversary in one of our most special places, Joshua Tree National Park. We're having a destination wedding in Palms Springs that will incorporate tradition as well as reflect our personalities!
Ahh, so cute! I love it. I’ve always been a big fan of Couture Maps, but couldn’t get over the price. This is an awesome alternative and adds such a sweet personal touch.