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Mrs. Mary Jane, Grand Forks, ND Age and Occupation: 26, Instructional Designer Fiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Lead Programmer Engagement Date: February 28, 2009 Wedding Date: September 2009 Venue: City Hall About Me: I'm a career woman on the surface and a homemaker at heart. I love fast cars and high heels, and my favorite food is cake. Mr. Mary Jane and I are both full-time employees and students, and we just bought our first house. We love to curl up on the couch with buttery popcorn, Sour Patch Kids, and the latest Netflix arrival -- whenever we can get a break from everyday life.
About Mrs. Mary Jane

Well, it’s been a long road (4 days’ worth, in actuality!). To begin this post, let’s recap.

When I start a project, I don’t mess around:
It began with a Post-It note on a Friday.
I had a change of heart on Saturday.
On Monday, new plan emerged, and a crisis was averted.
Monday night revealed a new design (and a lot of paper-cutting).
On Tuesday, we took a break.
On Wednesday and Thursday, we assembled, stuffed, and stamped them.

And now that that’s out of the way, let’s see ’em!!



In some of the pics, you can kind of see that the RSVP card was a different shade of ivory than the other cards. This is because the paper was a different brand. Was it planned that way? No. Do I care that it doesn’t match? Obviously not enough to change it. Perhaps people will think it was meant to be that way so it would stand out. :)

This card featured above is MINE. I’m going to scrapbook it later. It’s my favorite shade of brown cardstock: “Mud Pie”, and it was really well-put together. No crappy/messed up invitations went out, but we did sift through and pick out the best for our moms and grandmas. I’m not ashamed. (Come on, don’t pretend that your DIY paper products are all 100% the same perfect quality.)

I mentioned before that due to Michaels’ limited supply, there were three browns, and this next photo shows a “French Silk”-colored invitation without the “Directions” card. These were sent to family and friends who know where Mr. MJ’s family home is. We thought they’d think it was a little weird if they received directions cards, as proud as I was of my design! (The RSVP card is missing from this card too, but it was included in the ones we sent!)

So there you have it. These did not come out perfectly, by any means. I mentioned in my previous post that the cards ended up with screwed up margins. The paper cutter was getting dull too, so there was some fray on some of them. And that light orange line I made as a cutting guide? Well, it printed in neon orange and was noticeable on several of the cards even after cutting and assembling. (It was uh… meant to be that way. Yeah, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.) My point is: these were DIY. No machine made these invitations. They weren’t perfect, but they were the best we could do, and we’ve gotten tons of compliments on them. I’m really happy with the way they turned out. (Seriously, I’m looking at my own post and thinking it’s surely got to be some other, much more crafty bee’s invitation suite!!!)

Now, what about the money, honey? I’ll break it down for you. We made a total of 66 invitations, so that’s how I’ll measure the following costs. (I’m not going to count stuff I bought, but didn’t use, unless it came in a multi-pack.)

Stuff I had to buy (and use):

  • Seventy 4×6 prints from Walmart (1-Hour service): $13.30
  • Eleven sheets of Floral cardstock @ 99 cents each: $11.00
  • Thirty-three sheets of various solid brown cardstock @ 69 cents each: $22.80
  • Two 25-packs of ivory “Recollections”-brand cardstock @ $5.99 each: $12.00
  • Two 20-packs of ivory “Value-Pack”-cards and envelopes @ $5.99 each: $12.00*
  • Two 100-packs of gold “Recollections”-brand brads @ $2.99 each: $6.00
  • Two 50-packs of pink “Martha Stewart”-brand seals @ $3.99 each: $8.00
  • Two 50-packs of gold paper clips from Office Max @ $2.19 each: $4.40
  • One 100-pack of “Ascend”-brand greeting card-sized envelopes: $17
  • Double-sided tape squares (bought at Michaels): $0 (I’ve had ’em for years)

Tools I used (already owned, thus not included in cost):

  • Single-page paper cutter
  • 1/16″ hole puncher
  • Corner-rounder
  • Ruler & Pencil
  • Mr. Mary Jane (Kidding! He’s definitely not a tool, and I don’t own him [at least, not for another month or so!!]) He just helped out a TON with this project.

Total cost of supplies: $106.02
Total cost of postage: 66 postcard stamps for $18.48 + $29.04 44-cent stamps = $47.52

Total cost per-invitation (for 66 invitations): $2.32 each (including postage for the outer envelope and RSVP postcard)

*I counted the cost of the Value Packs of cards here, but I did not use the envelopes that were included in the packages. I plan to use them for our announcements, so I won’t count them in those costs when I tackle that project.

So there you have it! Now that that’s out of the way, I can relax! (Ummm, NOT! There’s a sash to be sewn, announcements to be designed, flowers to be tackled… the list goes on!)

Tags: , , |   Link for this post | Share this post: Paper Products for a Picnic: Pics and Prices      
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38 Responses to “Paper Products for a Picnic: Pics and Prices”

1.
Bee Icon
Bee
Mrs. Quiche (message)  2,190 posts, Buzzing bee

Miss MJ, these are just the best invites I’ve seen in a long time - I love them!! You rock.

 
2.
thefuturemrsjewell
Member
thefuturemrsjewell (message)  1,534 posts, Bumble bee

congrats on getting them done. you must feel so relieved to be done and have them out of your hands! they look great!

 
3.
Bee Icon
Bee
Mrs. Ballet Flat (message)  642 posts, Busy bee

Your invites are all sorts of awesome! I absolutely love the way they came out!

 
4.
kmattso2
Member
kmattso2 (message)  990 posts, Busy bee

These look awesome!

 
5.
Curlysue
Member
Curlysue (message)  625 posts, Busy bee

oooh I lurv these! Very nice! I’ve never seen an invite set up this way and I was very interested in them from the day of the post-it post. Oh and I still think the paper clip idea is the coolest little touch!

 
6.
YahtzeeBride
Member
YahtzeeBride (message)  21 posts, Newbee

I LOVE them! Our programs turned out very similar :) I love the tiered idea. Great work!!

 
7.
tessabella76
Hostess
tessabella76 (message)  2,701 posts, Sugar bee

Awesome! Great job Miss MJ (and Mr. MJ too!)!!!!

 
8.
krissybee
Member
krissybee (message)  1,044 posts, Bumble bee

awesome job Miss MJ! so cute!

 
9.
Bee Icon
Bee
Miss Stiletto (message)  768 posts, Busy bee

Ummm….love!! These are amazing. Props to you!

 
10.
Bee Icon
Bee
Miss Mouse (message)  3,378 posts, Sugar bee

Great job! The design came out really cute. And I love how you incorporated the paper your FMIL gave you into the bellybands.

 
11.
Guest Icon
Guest
Amber

Those look great!

Where on the RSVPs do the guests write their names?

 
12.
Charm bracelet
Member
Charm bracelet (message)  827 posts, Busy bee

They look great and that is a great price for invites. I only hope I spend that little.

 
13.
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Guest
Sherry

These are very cute and I think the best part is that they match perfectly with the whole “nice backyard barbecue” thing. That’s one of the nicest things about a properly-designed invitation suite, is that it can really convey the type of event you’re having. Congrats on getting them done!

 
14.
LovestheBear
Member
LovestheBear (message)  881 posts, Busy bee

Awesome! They look so good!

 
15.
MeredithN
Member
MeredithN (message)  110 posts, Blushing bee

they look terrific! job well done!!!

 
16.
LatteLove
Hostess
LatteLove (message)  4,154 posts, Honey bee

i just love them. They’re perfectly DIY. Not perfect, but still awesome looking!

 
17.
Member Icon
Member
luckily (message)  38 posts, Newbee

SO cute! Enough minor “screw ups” to lend it a truly personal feel. :) GREAT JOB, Miss MJ!

 
18.
Bee Icon
Bee
Miss Snapdragon (message)  439 posts, Helper bee

I love these!

 
19.
Miss Mary Jane
Bee
Miss Mary Jane (message)  1,520 posts, Bumble bee

@Amber: They don’t have to actually - we used mail merge to print each guest’s name/return address on the other side of the card (not shown in this post, but I think I showed it in the previous one in the series!). So they just have to tell FMIL & FFIL how many are coming, and the card “knows” the rest!

 
20.
Miss Mary Jane
Bee
Miss Mary Jane (message)  1,520 posts, Bumble bee

P.S. Y’all: I DEFINITELY went over budget on these. Partially because of my paper screw up, and partially because I had only planned on making announcements (so my budget for these was, um, $0… :D). Oh well! They’s cute!

 
21.
tea
Member
tea (message)  2,681 posts, Sugar bee

awesome job mary jane!

 
22.
Bee Icon
Bee
Mrs. Perfume (message)  1,642 posts, Bumble bee

They look great!

 
23.
Bee Icon
Bee
Miss Moonbeam (message)  1,336 posts, Bumble bee

Those really turned out great, thanks for the cost breakdown.

 
24.
honeymyheart
Member
honeymyheart (message)  763 posts, Busy bee

great job ms mary jane! the details and colors are amazing, and love that you included a photo :)

 
25.
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Member
Nicole cpc (message)  26 posts, Newbee

These are really cute. I didn’t notice the difference in color right away until I read where you put that. I love the font!

 
26.
mary-alice-me
Member
mary-alice-me (message)  1,870 posts, Buzzing bee

Oh - amazing!!

 
27.
llc2011
Member
llc2011 (message)  469 posts, Helper bee

You did such a great job with these! :)

 
28.
Jenniphyr
Member
Jenniphyr (message)  1,397 posts, Bumble bee

Pretty pretty pretty!

 
29.
Bee Icon
Bee
Mrs. Glitter (message)  880 posts, Busy bee

Awesome!! I love them - congrats on finishing them!

 
30.
eileen marie
Member
eileen marie (message)  375 posts, Helper bee

My DIY paper products WERE perfect–HAHAHA! The belly-band really makes the invites. For a “casual” BBQ, these sure are bang-up invites! I thought a courthouse wedding was a simple no-frills event, but you have proved me wrong. Your wedding is going to be fab!

 
31.
Miss Poodle
Bee
Miss Poodle (message)  3,020 posts, Sugar bee

great job!! :) they turn out SO cute!

 
32.
Catalitical
Member
Catalitical (message)  27 posts, Newbee

Fan-freaking-TASTIC!!!!! You are such an inspiration!

 
33.
pvaulter718
Member
pvaulter718 (message)  1,625 posts, Bumble bee

Those are A-mazing! And yes, I bet you’ll see them very soon in another Bee’s posts! Great job with all the little details, you are something else Miss MJ!

 
34.
nicrob007
Member
nicrob007 (message)  111 posts, Blushing bee

I am in total paper love with your invites! What font did you use? It adds a real touch of whimsy to the entire project. Well done MJ you should be very proud :)

 
35.
Bee Icon
Bee
Miss Cola (message)  612 posts, Busy bee

Those are so beautiful! I love that they were handmade, it makes them so much more special. I hope my DIY invites turn out half as nice as yours.

 
36.
KatieBug3017
Member
KatieBug3017 (message)  1,434 posts, Bumble bee

Wow…love the finished product! Bravo!

 
37.
Guest Icon
Guest
wedding invites on wedding bee « Life is Beautiful

[...] are some of my favorite wedding invitations I’ve seen in [...]

 
38.
Guest Icon
Guest
Well Hive, This Is It. » Weddingbee » The Wedding Blog

[...] Mr. MJ melted my heart by doing all the hard parts of the assembly for our picnic invitation suites. [...]

 


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Mrs. Mary Jane
Mrs. Mary Jane Mrs. Mary Jane, Grand Forks, ND Age and Occupation: 26, Instructional Designer Fiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Lead Programmer Engagement Date: February 28, 2009 Wedding Date: September 2009 Venue: City Hall About Me: I'm a career woman on the surface and a homemaker at heart. I love fast cars and high heels, and my favorite food is cake. Mr. Mary Jane and I are both full-time employees and students, and we just bought our first house. We love to curl up on the couch with buttery popcorn, Sour Patch Kids, and the latest Netflix arrival -- whenever we can get a break from everyday life.
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