We wanted our invitations to have both a modern yet traditional feel, but to spice it up a bit, I thought it might be fun to get creative and add a little bit of texture and dimension to our invites.
To give credit where it’s due, the paper flowers were actually Mr. D’s idea - He was accompanying me on a random trip to the scrapbook store, spotted the bottle of flowers, and said, “Hey these might look pretty cool on our invitations.” Well, those flowers ended up serving as the theme for all of our wedding stationery, inspiring all of our designs! Anyway, without further ado, here’s the how-to below!
What you’ll need:
Step 1. Cut a 2 foot 10 inch length of the string and separate the six strands.
Step 2: Start by holding the string tight near the top of the invitation and pulling it forward so that a good 6-7 inches sticks out over the bottom end of the invitation.
Step 3. Holding the string in place at the bottom end of the invitation with your left hand, take the string hanging off the top end (this would be the longer end) and wrap it around the back side of the invitation. You’ll want to have it hit the bottom end of the invitation slightly toward the right of the string already there.
Step 4. Still holding the original short end of the string tight with your left hand, pull the longer end of the string over the bottom end and back toward the top, crossing it over itself so that it makes an X.
Step 5. Pull the string under the invitation again, also slightly right of both the other strands…
Step 6. …and back over the top, this time going across the other two strings. Make sure to have it cross exactly at the center of the X made previously.
Step 7. Pull the string over toward the back side, and then pull the other end of the string also over to the backside (you are getting ready to flip it over and tie a knot).
Step 8. Tie a knot and pull it taut…you might find that the knot can move up and down the string, which makes it easy to adjust the positioning of the criss-cross on the front.
Step 9. Readjust the string on the front side if necessary, so that it is spaced out and crosses exactly where you want it to.
Step 10. Flip it back over, tie another knot in the same place (so it becomes a double knot), and cut off the excess string, leaving about 3/4 of a centimeter.
Step 11. Mount it on the backing and the pocketfold!
Step 12. Adhere the flowers to the invitation using glue dots or zots!
Wow. Amazing!
These look so pretty!
When you said that the paper flowers were Peach, did they look like peach? Because in the pictures they look more like pink…I needed to buy some, but I need to make sure what color they were.
Thanks!
I see these all of the time at the scrapbook store, and even use them on pages occasionally, but would have never thought to use them that way. How creative!
Argh argh argh… I’ll go back in a second to read the rest of this post (your invites are GORGEOUS and I’m sure it is very informative) but by the time I got to step six you’d said the word string enough times to drive me batty.
So, everyone’s unsolicited craft vocab lesson for the day: [i]embroidery floss[/i]. Gah, I’m neurotic. Sorry. 
and I can’t format. neurotic and lame.
my mom got one of your invitations! we all thought they were really pretty
@MsJadey: MsJadey, they are definitely more pink…it comes with a reddish pink, a salmon shade of pink, and a very light pale pink
Wow, that’s gorgeous!
wow! i wish i had the patience and creativity to create something as beautiful as your invites. thank you for sharing
[...] and string. The texture added to the invitations makes it jump out so much more! Check out the post for a tutorial [...]
What a simple way to help dress up your paper! It’s always the small things that make a great impact.
Simple??? I loooove how creative all the girls here are, but I am so amazed as to how you find time to hand-craft your invites!!! Bria, I would not call that simple!!! That’s a huge handful of hours spent there– I hope the guests appreciate all your hard work, Miss Daffodil!! Lovely —
That’s very unique! I had very similar invitations - I copied a design on Hello Lucky. I never thought to embellish them in 3-D though!!!
wow..very pretty…how much was the cost of producing the invites?
@cindy: I haven’t sat down to figure out the exact cost, but including postage, we probably averaged about $3-4 per invite, which I’m OK with considering similar ones we looked at that would be professionally done averaged at $8 a piece before postage!
Holy smokes!! These are stunning and completely CRAZY!! I would have gone mad! hahaha
I think you have a new biz Mrs Daffodil!
What was the feedback from your guests?
mrs daffodil - your invites are so very lovely! i’m in the process of making my own invitations and i’m having a hard time sticking the paper onto the card and making it straight! sometimes it turns out perfect and most of the times, they turn out crooked! any tips on how you managed? my invites look like your programs - they’re long so it makes it harder to stick on straight.
Mrs. Daffodil, San Francisco/Los Angeles
Age and Occupation: 26, Nonprofit Strategy Consultant
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Resident Physician
Engagement Date: December 29, 2006
Wedding Date: May, 2008
Blogging Since: August, 2007
Venue: Church w/ floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Valley; Westin in downtown LA
About Me: I moved around a lot growing up, but consider myself a Southerner at heart. I love scrapbooking, dancing, doggies, and diet coke. I am all about personalizing everything and hence, I'm a DIY bride who is just loving the entire wedding planning process! Mr. Daffodil and I met in our college fellowship group and were "just friends" for three years before we started dating. We've been together for four years now and can't wait to get married in sunny SoCal, Mr. Daffodil's hometown.
voila - gorgeousness!