:: cheap and chic invites ::
I know it’s been quite awhile since I did a wedding update! Up until now I didn’t really have anything exciting or tangible to show: but I recently finished the invitations and wanted to share the results with you! My goal was to create fun cards that reflected our theme, were within what our minuscule budget could afford, and not be a hassle to make!
The result was fun, colorful and definitely fit within our budget and theme. Best of all, they ended up being easy to make (a bonus!!!). The most expensive aspect of the cards was the Japanese washi paper, but I bought it with other decorations in mind besides the invitations as well. I think in the end, these only cost around $60 for between 50-55 invitations that I made (and I’ve got lots of the red cardstock leftover for other things!). Which is a huge bargain imho.
Making these took some time, but construction was straight forward. The biggest help was to think out all the steps beforehand, so that I could make these in an assembly-line manner. I printed everything off and cut the papers (including the Japanese paper) out first, trimmed the red cardstock down, scored and folded the cardstock and then began gluing all the inserts into the invitations. The decorative strips were glued to the outside, then the Japanese character stamped on the inside flaps, and the cord added. I ended up deciding on simple, white business envelops that I picked up at target for about $1 a box. I decided that having nice envelopes wasn’t a priority, since no one will really care anyway. lol!
I’m pretty pleased with how these turned out–they look like little menus to me, which is so cute! Now I’m starting to get excited about all the other decorations… though for now I need to focus on folding paper cranes in my down time for the reception area and center pieces!
Here are some of this week’s inspiring links… enjoy!
Nubby dissects the art of personal branding (very informative and a must-read!)
for those of us that are sewing-geeks: everything you ever wanted to know about thread [ source ]
some groovy 1960s styles to get you inspired!
Super Kawaii Mama did it again with a fantastically simple, but oh-so-cute hair tutorial!
a post of nothing but vintage and vintage-inspired hair styles!
for those of us (like myself!) who are scarf-challenged, Sal shows different ways to wear a scarf
a Flickr set that I could browse for hours!
Have a lovely weekend, my friends! I’m afraid I’m coming down with a cold, and just want to spend a couple days curled up in a ball and watch movies (The Painted Veil has captured my attention)! But alas, there is too much to do… and so little time!
Posted on September 26th, 2008 to wedding, weekly inspiration.
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:: a model idea :: »20 lovely thoughts to “:: cheap and chic invites ::”
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Christina says:
September 26th, 2008 at 10:29 am
The invitations are awesome! I love the Japanese theme idea. I am a huge Japanophile.
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mick says:
September 26th, 2008 at 10:35 am
Casey, these turned out great! I’ve been making our save the dates all week, and I’m really considering making our invitations too. Would you be willing to email me a little bit more info about how you made yours? They turned out so cute! Also, what did you do for a reply card?
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Lena says:
September 26th, 2008 at 10:57 am
Oh, those are really lovely, especially as they are quite simple. My brother hand his wife made their invitation-cards themselves as well – it’s a lot to do, but so much nicer than ordinary ones that you can buy…
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Kelly says:
September 26th, 2008 at 11:45 am
Those are too pretty! And awesome that you did it on such a budget! I’ll have to remember this for when I get married.
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Aimee says:
September 26th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
Hey Casey! These are so amazing. I’m like 5000 steps behind you in the wedding invite area. I only know I want to make my own but haven’t thought of how I want them to look just yet. We’re getting married in a field on my family’s property so it will probably be something very nature inspired given the large amount of deer, fox, and birds roaming around. In any case thanks for posting your beautiful handiwork. Now I can’t wait to get started on mine.
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jenny says:
September 26th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
These invitations look amazing!! I’m just in the beggining of planning my wedding so I’m at the stage of collection inspiration for decorations, themes and so on, and this post will definately be in my “inspiration file”.
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vasiliisa says:
September 26th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
They look so cute. I made my sister’s wedding invitations and they didn’t turn out half this nice
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Megan says:
September 26th, 2008 at 5:23 pm
Those are FANTASTIC and look much more expensive than they are which is great! Have a wonderful weekend!
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Oxanna says:
September 26th, 2008 at 5:29 pm
How beautiful! Very unique and charming. I agree with you – envelopes are the least important thing. As long as the invitation itself arrives safe & sound, it’s OK by me.
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Fuji Mama says:
September 26th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
They turned out beautifully! Can’t wait for the next wedding update.
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elizabeth of course says:
September 26th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
they look wonderful. And great job keeping the cost down. Wedding invitse are so expensive for somethign that people are just going to toss.
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whimsykid says:
September 26th, 2008 at 7:31 pm
Those are really pretty (and they look really fancy and expensive, too)! I love Japanese washi paper, and that’s so cool about your themed wedding.
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Jenny-Rose says:
September 26th, 2008 at 8:19 pm
So fabulous! I love the papers you picked out!
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Kelly says:
September 27th, 2008 at 8:34 am
These are too lovely and so professional looking! I can’t wait to see your other ideas!
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Betty Lou says:
September 27th, 2008 at 9:24 am
Oh they look nice, i like your handwriting! I’m also engaged but no weddingplans so far. And thanks for mention me ;D
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Clare says:
September 28th, 2008 at 6:35 am
Oh! How neat! I think making your own invitations is a great idea -so much more personal and inexpensive than the pre-made ones. Lovely.
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Freelancer's Fashion says:
September 28th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
Oh those are really beautiful! I’ bet the ones receiving it will be very happy
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Sal says:
September 29th, 2008 at 9:40 am
Seriously, lady, those are AMAZING. And thanks for the mention!
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Coral Stars » Sewing basics: The sewing basket says:
September 29th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
[...] in learning more about threads, there is a wonderful pdf which can be found on Label-Free [via Casey’s Musings] which will tell you quite literally EVERYTHING you would ever need to [...]
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Aya says:
September 29th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
What a lovely idea! And you picked the perfect kanji for it… “Ai”, meaning Love in Japanese
SO beautiful…
