Hot Searches:
Mrs. Pomegranate's Picture
Mrs. Pomegranate, Sacramento Age and Occupation: 27, Technical Specialist Fiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Software Engineer Engagement Date: August 23, 2007 Wedding Date: October, 2008 Blogging Since: June 5, 2008 Venue: R.H. Phillips Winery About Me: Hi, I'm Miss Pomegranate and I'm a shopaholic. I have a weak spot for the chic cheap - especially anything I can re-create on the DIY. Shoes are my vice, music is my passion in life and technology is the medium by which I live and work. When I'm not scoping out a sale, I'm spending my quality time training for a marathon, playing Wii with my fiance and snuggling with my Silver Labrador and Teacup Panther - and oh yeah, planning my wedding!
About Mrs. Pomegranate

DIY Invitations Follow-Up

August 18th, 2008 @ 3:21 pm by Mrs. Pomegranate

Well, I promised you a a follow-up post on our DIY Invitations and a follow-up post you shall have! I apologize for the delay, but I’m just getting over something that I was fighting during the latter part of last week. This is a testament to the necessity of taking your vitamins and getting your beauty sleep while planning your wedding. Otherwise, you may end up wasting valuable DIY time by watching hours of Olympics without much energy to do anything else. I digress.

I should preface this post with our original budget amount so that you know what my creative restraints were - I wanted to create 100 invitations for under $500, including cards, envelopes, labels and all postage. This, of course, meant no letterpress - but gave me a little wiggle room. In this post, I’ll cover a few tips and tricks about printing/designing your own invitations, how to tie that pesky-yet-lovely square knot, where I got some of the fun graphics, and how I ultimately was able to come in under budget.

z159804


Tips & Tricks

z16073401
Image via SteamStudios


I Heart Bleeds!
I had originally thought that bleeds were simply put in place to accommodate to-the-edge printing. This marks only the beginning of my misunderstanding of the printing world. I soon discovered that bleeds are the saving grace of all things creatively printed. Not all printers, trimmers and “precision” cutters are all that accurate. Therefore, it’s not super helpful to spend many hours trying to get your artwork aligned to the nearest pixel - to be honest, it won’t matter. Instead, make sure to extend your artwork out by .125 inches to alleviate any discrepencies when printing and cutting out your pieces.

Shop Around!
After having such an amazing experience with Kinko’s during my DIY Save the Dates adventure, I had assumed that this would be where my DIY Invitations would be completed. However, the prices were ghastly! The simple cost of printing the cards would nearly put me over budget - add cutting, scoring, hole-punching, and face trimming to the mix and I was at nearly twice my original budget. After shopping around, I found them to be at the pricier end of things. I lucked out by pulling a few strings with some business contacts and was able to get all of the work done for well-below Kinko’s original estimate. I’m glad I spent the time searching for the right printer.

Proof It!
When I discovered CatPrint, I thought I had struck printing gold! But - once I received the proofs I ordered (two copies for $10), I knew it wasn’t meant to be. I am a true paper snob and was unhappy with the paper they offered (I wanted uncoated cardstock). I’m glad I only wasted $10 on my proofs and not hundreds to see my mistake - even if it did take 5 days to receive them in the mail. Plan ahead - so that you can print as many proofs as it takes!

Those Pesky-Yet-Lovely Square Knots
Mamita Pom informed me that the Square Knot is an old Girl Scout trick. Having never been a Scout myself, I trusted her expertise. All in all, they’re very simple - the rule is, left over right, right over left!

z16062603
I started out with each end on either side of the center ribbon.

z16062604
Left over right…

z16062605
…right over left…

z15980403
…makes a perfect little square knot!

Fun Graphics
Please do not use any of these graphics shown below. First off, they are non-vector images and will not size well. Secondly, an artist has worked very hard to create these and deserves to be paid the minor amount of money it would take to buy themon iStockphoto.

z16074001
Seamless Rococo Swatches
5 credits by Ceneri on iStockphoto
The lower left portion of the swatch set contains the black and white damask pattern I used throughout the design.

z16073902
Ornamental Scroll
5 credits by schismstudios on iStockphoto
This was used on my DIY Save the Dates, as well as in a multiude of other elements throughout the design.

z16073903
Floral Lines 03
5 credits by sanyal on iStockphoto
I used two of these for the top and bottom of the monogram.

How I Came In Under Budget
I attribute my under-budget status to the following four reasons:

  1. All of our pieces fit on one piece of 11″ x 17″ sheet of paper and could be separated by only 7 cuts.
  2. I used quality uncoated cover weight cardstock, but it was not fancy linen textured paper.
  3. Our invite folded down to 4″ x 6″, fit in a standard A6 envelope and was lightweight - so it only required a single 42-cent stamp.
  4. Our response card was a postcard and therefore only needed a single 27-cent postcard stamp.

Printing for 100 Invitations $271.53
This included the paper, cutting, scoring, hole-punching, and face trimming of the invites.

100 Paper Source Moss A6 Envelopes $31.50
From the same color suite as the DIY Save the Dates

3 Spools of Paper Source Moss 1/4″ Ribbon $10.50
I used every single bit of that ribbon - there were no leftovers.

25 sheets of Paper Source Superfine White Cover Stock $6.50
I bought this in bulk and used a few sheets for the address labels.

1/4 of a Xyron Acid-Free Permanent Adhesive Cartridge $4.50
This was used to turn the printed labels into sticky labels.

100 Black & White Copies on my work’s copy machine $5.00
My cheap fix once I decided that I wanted to line our envelopes with black and white striped paper at the last minute.

100 Charles and Ray Eames 42-Cent Stamps $42.00
Loved these! We used them in lieu of custom Zazzle stamps on the outer envelopes.

100 Tropical Fruit 27-Cent Postcard Stamps $27.00
Uhm, how could I pass up an opportunity to put a pomegranate stamp on our RSVP card? I couldn’t.

GRAND TOTAL $398.53

**I did not include our iStock graphics - they have and will be used in many other DIY projects, therefore their budgetary impact was very minimal.

Any questions? Feel free to post them in the comments below - I’ll try to answer as many as I can!

30 Responses to “DIY Invitations Follow-Up”

1.
beka says:

Those are some of the most gorgeous invitations I’ve ever seen! How creative and unique, and under-budget too :) Go you.

2.
Jenny Louwheeze says:

These are really fantastic! After tying a hundred little bows on programs the last couple weeks, I wish I’d known your square knot trick :) I will never scoff at another ribbon again!

3.
haliwood says:

There’s a good chance I’m having a blonde moment here…it appears that the square ribbon is more of a decoration. Is the ribbon you actually bound the booklet with tied on the inside then?

Amazing job! Amazing!

4.
rynkramer says:

Fabulous!

5.
Bee Icon
Miss Pomegranate says:

@haliwood: It’s bound with the ribbon through three holes. From the outside, I put an end through the top hole, the other end through the bottom hole and then both came through the middle hole from the inside - then they were tied into a square knot.

6.
brandilily says:

Eames stamps! My FH (architect) was sooooo excited when he saw those were an option. We like them much better than anything else USPS has on offer right now and didn’t want to shell out for custom postage. Nice to see someone else using them too.

7.
Amber says:

Ok, I need some DIY instructions on how you did the envelope liner. Just a link or quick instructions. It is SO cute!!

8.
Bee Icon
Miss Pomegranate says:

@Amber: I used the Paper Source envelope liner template, shown here. If you buy your envelopes from Paper Source, these templates are an exact match. Mamita Pom has since taken these from me to help her line the Rehearsal Dinner envelopes as well. It’s super handy!

9.
Nicole says:

where did you end up printing everthing?

10.
Bee Icon
Miss Pomegranate says:

@Nicole: I used a business contact that normally does not handle small personal jobs like wedding invitations. I would totally recommend using any resources you might have available - think beyond the wedding industry!

11.
Bee Icon
Miss Cherry Pie says:

You know what’s weird? I used both of those same istockphoto graphics for inviting our wedding party– the scroll for the men and the damask for the women!

http://www.weddingbee.com/2008/04/14/inviting-the-wedding-party/

12.
Jenny says:

I was wondering, what kind of search words do you use when you look for these graphics? I’m overwhelmed every time I look up stuff on istockphoto. I end up looking through pages and pages of stuff. I’m sure there is a better way than what I am doing, but I just haven’t figured it out.

13.
Bee Icon
Miss Pomegranate says:

@Jenny: Some words I used are: Flourish, Damask, Rococo, Ornamental, Black, Frame. I always make sure to only select Illustrations and not Photographs, etc.

14.
Mimi says:

Beautiful invitations! I always admire DIY’s. A question….what program or file did you save your iStock illustration to?

15.
Bee Icon
Miss Pomegranate says:

@Mimi: All of my files were created in Illustrator. All of the iStockphoto files were vector images (you get jpegs as well, but they are not easily resized) and will open easily in Illustrator.

16.
LLauRRa says:

Great work, Miss Pom!! You’ve given me hope that I don’t need any fancy letterpress to make a gorgeous impression!! Thanks for sharing.

PS: For ladies that want to imitate this style, I know of a couple free resources for some patterns, and scrolls that look almost just like this!

Ornamental Scroll:
http://www.jlwdesign.com/2007/free-illustrator-symbols-swirly-curls-ornaments/

Damask background pattern:
http://xe0s.deviantart.com/art/Floral-Vector-Pattern-in-ai-46502121
and
http://giboo.deviantart.com/art/Baroque-floral-vector-pattern-53972092

Yay!! Free stuff!

Great job, Miss Pom. Beautifully done.

17.
Bee Icon
Miss Champagne says:

Very nice! Lovvvve that damask! Yay pom:)

18.
Bee Icon
Miss Espresso says:

I don’t know how I ever missed your original post on these but I LOVE them! You’re so creative and so budget savy Pom! I’m in awe

19.
Bee Icon
Miss Hot Cocoa says:

Only one question: how did you come to be so awesomely talented?! ;-) Every time you post on your invites I am floored.

20.
Elaine says:

What kind of hole puncher did you use to create the three holes? Thanks!

21.
jaquelinehurtado says:

where did you print? How much was it and what kind of printing was it. Can you send me a message. Thanks

22.
Mimi says:

You said you used Adobe Illustrator to create your work. How in the world did you ever learn it? Are you self taught? I tried, but did not suceed in teaching myself. It’s so very frustrating to want to do DIY projects and be limited by one’s knowledge of computer programs!

23.
Bee Icon
Miss Pomegranate says:

Awww… you ladies are all so sweet!! ::blush::
Thank you!

@Elaine: The printer I used hole punched the three holes with an 1/8″ punch - apparently it could handle multiple sheets at a time. This was something I had planned to do by hand, but I found it was so cheap and quick I let them do it.

@jaquelinehurtado: While I would love to share the name of the printer with you, they have asked me not to. They don’t normally do small jobs like wedding invitations. However, I’d encourage you to ask your business contacts just as I did - they will often extend the same pricing to you that they would give your company. The type of printing was called a “4-color process” and cost me $271.53 for 100 invites (see above for details on what that includes). You’re welcome to comment here or PM me with any further questions.

@Mimi: I won’t lie, learning Illustrator was a difficult process. I’ve tinkered with Photoshop for ages, but this was different. Designing your own invitations can be both a great motivation and a great stress all in one. I think this would be a great project to bring to an Illustrator class at a local learning exchange - like this online course.

24.
jnicholea/thatbride says:

I was never a damask fan before this. You have converted me :)

25.
Renee says:

This is a fantastic blog. It’s informative and honest! Thanks so much for all the great tips; I plan on putting them to good use! :)

26.
Rebekah at Elizabeth Anne Designs says:

They’re so lovely!

27.
Kate says:

Amazing job!!! They look professional and elegant.

I had some questions on istock photo. Can you manipulate the files after you buy them? Change the colors? Resize them and keep the right ratio? Which program did you use?

Thx. Kate

28.
Bee Icon
Miss Pomegranate says:

@Kate: You most certainly can! This is why I love iStock so much! Most of the vector images are easily re-sizable AND easy to re-color - you can even remove certain details and use them elsewhere (like the portion of the damask I used in the invites as a large icon). I used Illustrator to do all of this.

29.
soontobeewed says:

For those of you looking for a printer, check out local print shops that do printing for small businesses, business cards, signs etc. Other places to look are graphic design shops and local colleges that have a graphics design program, some colleges will non-students to use the print shop that they have available for students to print their projects-you still get all the expertise that you would get from a local printing shop. I used a local print shop and got all 400 wedding invitations (invitations, 5 different sized inserts, address on back envelope flap, monograms, pocket folders etc) printed in color for under $100. Cutting and trimming was included in that price. The machines in the shop laser cut the paper down to your size specifications for you and does all the trimming and cropping in one cut. My invitations were phenomenal and the staff went out of there way to make sure I was maximizing the space on my paper (the price charged is per sheet of paper-so you can print on 8.5×11 or 11×17 for the same price per sheet) P.S. Miss Pom, your invitations are lovely!

30.
Bee Icon
Miss Pomegranate says:

@soontobeewed: Great advice! If you’re weary to use an unexperienced student or company, just make sure to get a proof! :)


You can also just...

Copyright 2004-2008, eHarmony, Inc., Advertise

 

 
 
 
Mrs. Pomegranate Mrs. Pomegranate, Sacramento Age and Occupation: 27, Technical Specialist Fiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Software Engineer Engagement Date: August 23, 2007 Wedding Date: October, 2008 Blogging Since: June 5, 2008 Venue: R.H. Phillips Winery About Me: Hi, I'm Miss Pomegranate and I'm a shopaholic. I have a weak spot for the chic cheap - especially anything I can re-create on the DIY. Shoes are my vice, music is my passion in life and technology is the medium by which I live and work. When I'm not scoping out a sale, I'm spending my quality time training for a marathon, playing Wii with my fiance and snuggling with my Silver Labrador and Teacup Panther - and oh yeah, planning my wedding!