Weddingbee

Honestly, I’ve never really had a problem with the hand-written thank you note before. I’ve always almost enjoyed writing them, knowing that it’s likely that the recipient will be happy (and maybe even a little surprised) to get one. And I’ll admit, I am that annoying person who is a teensy bit offended when I don’t receive a thank you for a wedding/shower/engagement type gift.

So I didn’t think writing the thank you notes for my bridal shower gifts would be that big of a pain. I started off strong- two or three cards a night for a few nights about a week ago- but then I tapered off. I promised myself I’d send them out by tomorrow, so as to avoid paying the new postage rate (which translates into way more than a penny’s worth of hassle in going to the post office, waiting in line, and then affixing one cent stamps alongside the old ones). But wouldn’t you know I found myself last night with only a handful of thank you notes written. So much for pacing myself, I just wrote the rest of them in one sitting, for a total of FORTY thank yous. I know this is only a preview to the post-wedding marathon- HOW did you people do it?!

Why of course I took a picture.
(You’ll see I had to use up some of the custom stamps we got in a free giveaway.)

Here are my hard-earned tips:
1. Pace yourself (ha!)
2. Realize that no one is going to compare their thank yous- it is okay to write the EXACT same thing in each card!
3. Follow a formula like this one- my interpretation of the one suggested in my copy of The Wedding Blue Book (thanks, Bee!)

A. Greeting
“Dear Mrs. Smith,”
B. Thank them for coming/Tell them you missed them if they didn’t come (here’s where it’s key to remember who was actually there…)
“Thank you so much for coming to my bridal shower! It meant so much to me to have so many friends and family there.” (*this line was especially useful when I wasn’t exactly sure if the person was a Mr. Tiramisu friend or distant family- they have a huuuuge family and I admit it’s hard to keep track!)
C. The gift
“Thank you also for the beautiful [insert gift here]”/”generous gift card to [store]”
D. It’s use
“I can’t wait to use it in our new home”/”go shopping and choose something fun for our new home”
E. Mention seeing them again
“Hope to catch up with you soon!”
F. Closing
“Love,”/”Fondly,”/”Best,”/”SMOOOOOOCH.”(reserved for certain special recipients),
Miss Tiramisu

Once I figured out the handy formula I whipped these out pretty quickly. Anyone have tips for making the process smoother? Did your groom help out? You better believe Mr. Tiramisu will be writing his fair share of the wedding thank yous!

(First image from www.paper-source.com)

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Using my handy dandy paper cutter, I simply cut the cardstock and folded the cards.

Voila! Fun red umbrella in a downpour thank you notes.

What are you doing for your shower thank you notes?
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The back of the die is padded with foam. If you press down on the foam, you can feel the metal stencil edge that cuts through the paper.

For my project, I only needed to cut one flower so I trimmed a small piece of paper down and placed it over the shape that I wanted to use. To use the dies, you will need to use the sandwich technique that I showed you in my first tutorial. (A plate + B plate + die tool + cardstock + B plate). Once I finished assembling the Cuttlebug sandwich, I cranked it through the machine.

I removed the top plate and here is what the die cut looked like.

After removing all the surrounding paper scraps, I was left with a single perfectly cut flower.

Note that the top B plate of the Cuttlebug sandwich will have permanent impressions engraved from the metal edges of the dies. The plate warps a bit when it is sandwiched with the dies and will eventually need to be replaced after heavy usage.

I added the flower as an embellishment to another thank you card I made. The card is 5.5″ x 4.25″ and the center rectangle is 4.25″ x 3″. I layered the center piece with different patterned paper and ribbon. “Thank you” is stamped on a small piece of white paper and layered onto a rectangle of celery-colored cardstock that I cut with a pair of scalloped scissors.

Here’s a close up picture. I added a little rhinestone to the middle of the flower to give the card some sparkle.

Go out and buy your Cuttlebug today!
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Ingredients:

Heat Embossing Tool
Clear Embossing Powder
Chocolate Brown Embossing Ink Pad
Vintage Stamp
A4 Luxe Cards in Blush
A4 Luxe Envelopes in Blush
Swarovski Crystals. It surely wouldn’t be a creation a la Jelly Bean if there was no evidence of bling.

It was surprisingly easier than I thought it would be. I found it to be very therapeutic as I embossed away. I highly, highly recommend it.

This week on America’s Next Top Card Model: Posing

Pre-Bling Disclaimer: I apologize in advance but I was unable to take pictures - I know that’s hard to believe - of the cards after they were sparkelized due to the loss of sensation in both hands.

The Envelope

Can’t you see the emotion in her eyes?

PS. I am Mrs Jelly Beans and I am a reality show junkie!
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This Cuttlebug embossing folder is called Divine Swirl.

I cut a piece of paper to the size that I wanted it and then placed it between the embossing folder.

Next, I did the whole cuttlebug sandwich process that I talked about in my last entry and I cranked it through the machine. Out popped a sheet of swirly embossed paper!

This is a slit punch. It punches a half circle through a sheet of paper. By punching a bunch of half circles in a row, I can create scalloped borders for my cards.

Here is the finished product of the scalloped circle punch.

I used it as a border for my swirly paper.

Finally, I stamped a few images on white and guava-colored paper, cut them out, and stuck the pieces onto a piece of brown cardstock for the final product.

Here’s one last close up view. I wanted to give the card depth so I used pop up foam squares to adhere the pieces to the cardstock. I love the effect!

There are so many neat folders and dies available for the Cuttlebug. You can use them for cards, invitations, altered items… The possibilities are truly endless!
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This is an embossing folder. It’s about 4.25″ x 5.5″ (the size of a small greeting card). This particular design is called “Swiss Dots” and it will emboss a dotted pattern onto your paper. Embossing folders for the Cuttlebug cost around $5-6 each.

Here’s another view of the embossing folder. It folds in half and one side of the folder has the negative image while the other has the positive image.

First, insert a piece of paper between the folder like so.

Then place the folder in a “sandwich” between the embossing plates that are included with the machine. The order is: A plate on the bottom, then B plate, embossing folder with paper, and lastly a second B plate on top. The plates are labeled very clearly and it’s more simple than it sounds. The sandwich/plate technique is slightly tedious, but it allows the Cuttlebug to be adapted to other brands of die-cutting stencils and embossing folders rather than being restricted to only Provo-Craft products.

Next, place the plate sandwich onto the Cuttlebug and run it through by turning the crank on the right side.

Remove the paper from the folder and voila! Polka-dot embossed paper.

Here’s an example of a finished “thank you” card that I created for one of my bridesmaids using the embossed paper. I just love the textured element that it adds to the cards.

One last closeup shot.

My only complaint about the Cuttlebug is that I wish they had bigger embossing folders available. 4.25″ x 5.5″ is the size of 1/4th of a regular sheet of paper and it’s limiting in the scope of projects one can create. Michaels sells Cuttlebugs for $89.99, but I’ve seen fabulous deals for these machines. Recently Joann’s had a bug for $49.99 with free shipping. I definitely would not pay full price for one of these. You can find a good deal on one if you look around a bit.

Next, I’ll show you how the Cuttlebug can make ultra-fabulous die-cuts.
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I lined them with “Curry” colored text weight paper, which didn’t match my yellow Gocco ink that well, but we’re getting really anal with our yellows at this point aren’t we?

Then, Go-Go-Gocco away. Two passes on two screens using yellow and grey ink.

Check out this hot mess. This is what happens when you place your carbon print way too close to the edge of the Gocco. I knew this would probably happen before I flashed, but I thought I’d be ballsy and do it anyway. Since I was trying to SAVE money by making my own cards, I decided that flashing another screen wasn’t worth it, and my poor guests will have to deal with the sub-par under flashed edges.

Ta-da! Finished. Nothing too fancy, but they’ll get the job done!

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