Rockstar Programs!
October 8th, 2008 @ 1:00 pm by Mrs. Coconut
For Kate and Aaron’s wedding, I offered to make their wedding programs as part of my role as a bridesmaid. Kate really loved Mrs. Penguin’s program design, so I basically stole her idea (thanks, Pengy!) and went to work! Kate shipped the paper of her choice and I spent some quality time with my Gocco. Any Gocco time I missed out on with our decision to order invitations, I made up for with this project.
The program was eight pages, which meant that I used 16 lamps! In hindsight, I probably shouldn’t have used the Gocco for this project, but I think the silver ink looked amazing on Kate’s purple paper, so what’s done is done!
How Was Your Weekend?
September 30th, 2008 @ 2:23 pm by Miss Dumpling
Miss Dumpling spent Saturday doing lots and lots of errands. I’ve been procrastinating about doing wedding stuff because I have a fear of writing big checks. I’m sort of scared to see the money in our special bank account labeled “Wedding Fund” lose a digit. I’ve watched my fellow bees talk about paying the catering, photography, and venue deposits, and I guess I never really thought about how significant that was. Until yesterday, that is. Mr. Dumpling and I are now forced to eat ramen noodles for the next few years (carbs… yum!), because we finally took care of the catering for our wedding this weekend. One vendor down, about 27 more to go.
After that, he went about his business and I spent the rest of the afternoon working hard and doing fun wedding stuff.
First on the list: Get Carried away. What! It was research.
Image source.
I now hold the record for watching this movie more than anyone on the planet.
DIY Envelope Lining and Our STD Details
September 29th, 2008 @ 4:19 pm by Miss Champagne
I must have been so excited about our save the dates that I forgot one of the most important parts - the envelope!!
Our colors are ivory, black and gold, and it seemed fitting to add the gold into the envelopes. Instead of paying someone else money to line them, I purchased some pretty paper from the Paper Store to line the envelopes. Another great and probably cheaper option is to use wrapping paper. I couldn’t find the right gold, so that didn’t work for me.
We Just Can’t Wait, Please Save the Date!
September 10th, 2008 @ 3:19 pm by Miss Champagne
After sending out the requests for my side of our bridal party, it’s official ~ our wedding website can be updated and… drumroll… the save the dates can be sent!!! This is VERY good news, because I have been bombarded by family members and friends about the details of our big day. Our wedding is pretty far away, and the STDs have been on my mind for quite some time. You may recall I had some difficulty finding a hotel that would be reasonable, and although it’s nearly six months from our wedding, we really wanted our guests to get reasonable rates for travel and lodging.
Thank You and Escort Cards
September 4th, 2008 @ 4:27 pm by Mrs. Cookie
As wedding presents seem to be arriving on our doorstep lately, I thought it was time to whip out my Gocco again and get an early start on Thank Yous. And while I was at it, I also printed our escort cards.
Way back when I printed our invitations, I printed the bird and branches which I got from istock on both the cards and envelopes in order to save screens. I also burned the “Merci Beaucoup” and “Table” lettering, but wanted to wait until the final guest count came to get an accurate print number. I used the the RISO ink blocking material to separate the lettering from the invite design, and stored the screen in a Ziploc bag to save for later.
Read more…
Will You Be Mine?
August 10th, 2008 @ 12:02 pm by Miss Champagne
Ok, well not really will you be mine per se, but will you be my bridesmaid!? When Champ and I first started talking about our bridal party, I knew that it was inevitable- all of my bridesmaids would be at least 500 miles away and I would have to ask them in some way other than in person. I had read a few wedding blogs and sites stating that it was “rude” and “impersonal” to ask via phone or snail-mail, so I really wanted to make sure my bridesmaids knew how much they meant to me and how special they are.
I visited the amazing Paper Source for some paper inspiration and here ’tis.
For my six bridesmaids, I purchased A2 size notecards and envelopes in the following colors: Stardream gold, lake, sage, pool, rhubarb, and stardream opal.
Breaking in the Gocco
August 2nd, 2008 @ 4:33 pm by Miss Champagne
I first discovered Gocco (or “Goccinator” as Mr. C calls it) when my friend Tiramisu was designing her invitations. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to come up with enough projects to gocco in order for it to be a worthwhile purchase, but I decided to give it a shot. So I started really simple with the projects, and decided it would be best to keep it in the family for the first project in case my work looked a bit like a kindergartner’s.
Every year for Mother’s day I try to do something creative. Some years it works, others… eh not so much. Last year I downloaded all my CDs I know my mom would love onto her ipod. Not that big of a deal for me, but she absolutely loved it. So this year, I thought I’d add some gocco action into Mom’s present. And actually, after I made these cards, I realized that I would be personalizing a lot more from now on… Translation: I lovvvvve my gocco 
This year, I made personalized cards for both my mom and Champ’s mom. They were VERY simple (almost embarrassing now), but I felt like it was a good way to break into the DIY world. I didn’t want to start with some elaborate project and get discouraged.
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Gocco vs. Budget
July 17th, 2008 @ 5:39 pm by Mrs. Coconut
Okay, I know there have been a ton of Gocco posts in the Hive, but I hope they’re inspiring for others to check it out! Like I’ve said before, it might be difficult at first; there’s a learning curve but it’s pretty short! For those still skeptical about the hefty price of a Gocco, it can still save you money if you’re going to make more than just invites. I’m talking about Christmas cards for years to come, Valentine’s Day, and possibly baby shower invites? 
I took a while researching the Gocco and its supplies before actually buying one. I bought my Gocco for $100 (plus $45 shipping) from alittlegoodness on Etsy. They also offer them on eBay, but for some reason I felt safer buying from Etsy. For supplies, I bought from northWood Studios. They are located in Florida so shipping is much faster and they have the best customer service! I bought my envelopes and paper from Paper and More. Here is a thorough price breakdown for those that really want to know what they’re getting into:
You Can Do It, Gocco Can Help!
July 9th, 2008 @ 4:50 pm by Mrs. Cookie
I am one of those people that watch movies and then immediately turns to the DVD extras in order to reveal the movie magic. And after my post on Monday about our invites, I got a lot of questions about Gocco printing. Although there isn’t an exact science to the Gocco, and I am no means an expert, I thought I would share a little advice and some of the tricks I have up my sleeve.
The Agony and the Ecstasy
July 7th, 2008 @ 6:44 pm by Mrs. Cookie
It only took me two weeks, three tubes of brown ink, a few paper cuts, and over 1,500 presses but OUR INVITATIONS ARE DONE! Hallelujah! And as I dropped off the invites this morning in the mail, not only did I feel the relief of finishing our invites, but goosebumps crept over my body! It was a special moment between me, the invites, and the mailbox! Then I promptly rewarded myself with a Tall Iced Mocha from Starbucks – total coffee addict!
I’m really happy with the final product, even though it was a lot of work! Each piece is unique, because of the quality of the press, and a labor of love! I did however have help along the way…
