Weddingbee Blog

I shared my first attempt at DIY invitations for our engagement party because this was such an exciting time for me. I was so elated that I had finally stepped foot inside an AC Moore for a wedding project because it felt like I was finally embarking upon all that I had read about online.

I was finally taking a stab at creating something for my wedding, which I had daydreamed about doing for such a long time. Here I was, beginning my journey as a real DIY bride! Ahh! I had so much hope from all the wonderful stuff I’d seen here on Weddingbee and felt as if all those brides that had gone before me were by my side saying, “You can do it! Go for it!”

Here are the supplies I bought for this project:

1. One package of 50 invitations and envelopes (from Staples)
2. One very pretty “Love in Bloom,” rubber stamp (from ACMoore)
3. One pad of silver ink (from AC Moore)
4. Pretty cardstock (from AC Moore)
5. Double-sided tape (also purchased from Staples)
6. Scissors

There are a lot of tutorials on how to line envelopes online. There are instructions from Martha Stewart here and videos here; but I found the most helpful tutorial was obviously right here on Weddingbee by Mrs. Pineapple. I don’t know what it was about the way she explained her methods, but it wasn’t until I read her instructions that I finally got it.

Nevertheless, I faced challenges. The biggest was cutting out the template. I tried and tried and could not get my template to resemble the shape of the envelope. Mr. B eventually stepped in and as simple as 1, 2, 3, cut it perfectly. Here’s a picture of it:

Once I got the template right, the rest was pretty easy. I drew an outline on the back side of the cardstock and cut it with scissors. It’s really not helpful to use a cutting machine because of the rounded corners, but with a few extra hands, the cutting was pretty easy. This is my mom cutting the outline:

The next step was sliding the paper into the envelope. A lot of people, including me, were surprised to find out that the cardstock goes all the way down to the bottom of the envelope. I wouldn’t suggest trying to save paper by changing this. If the cardstock does not extend to the bottom, I don’t think it will stay in place.

I used the lip of the envelope and folded it down onto the cardstock once it was securely in the envelope and centered. This created a crease in the cardstock that I could use as a guide for placing tape. I pulled the lip back up and applied a few pieces of double sided tape around the triangular part of the cardstock you see here:

Note: Double-sided tape is tricky to work with. You have to be careful laying it on the paper smoothly because bumps will show through.

When you’re ready to adhere the card stock to the envelope, do so by folding the envelope lip down onto the card stock rather than lying the card stock down on the lip. Pressing the lip down works a lot better.

Here’s what the finished product will look like:

I loved the way the liner turned out, but I wanted something a little more. I had seen a stamp at ACMoore that said, “Love in Bloom,” and I really wanted to buy it, but didn’t because I thought it was too expensive. Instead, I bought a packet of other wedding-related stamps that were on sale. I wasn’t crazy about any of them and I honestly could not get the “Love in Bloom,” stamp out of my mind. Eventually, I broke down and went back to purchase this one. Overall, I’d say it was worth every penny of $6.99. What do you think?

Make sure when you use a stamp as large as this one that you cover the entire thing with ink. I can’t tell you the number of envelopes I threw out because only half the stamp appeared. Also, press down really hard when you’re applying the stamp because that will help the image appear bolder. As you can see, I stood up to press down on the stamp:

I also used the double-sided tape dispenser to hold back the lip of the envelope as I applied the stamp. Otherwise I would get a smudge of ink on the lip of the envelope, and while most people probably wouldn’t notice, the finished product won’t look as clean.

Here she is in all her glory (click the picture to see it larger):

Sorry if you can’t see the stamp too well in these pictures. I hope you like my DIY design! If this tutorial was super confusing, I apologize. Check out the tutorial I mentioned by Mrs. Pineapple! It’s the only reason I was able to do this in the first place.

Have you ever lined envelopes? What tutorial did you use?