New Summer Designs from My Invitations

DIY Block Print Invitation

Commitment: 3 hours for 25

Cost: $45 for 25, $1.80 each

Supplies:

• watercolor paper cut to 5'' by 7''
• pencil
• linoleum block
• 4'' by 6''
• linoleum block cutter set
• block printing ink
• ink plate or a piece of glass
• brayer
• baren

Direction:

1. Start by printing a 5'' by 7'' invitation. Open WORD from the Page Setup Menu, select Custom Page Size from the Settings options. Set the custom page size for 5'' wide by 7'' high.
2. Set the margins spacing to 0.50'' for the left and right margins. For the top and bottom, set the margin spacing to 0.50''. this will give you some blank space to apply your block print design. Save and print on the watercolor paper.
3. Your next step is to create a design. You can create any style, but bold design with clear detail. It's important to note that your design will nedd to be in mirror image of how you will want it to print.
4. With a pencil, draw your design directly on the surface of the linoleum block. To help you determine where not to cut, color in the design with the pencil. With the linoleum cutter, remove all of the non-colored area around the design.
5. To cut away the linoleum, use firm, even strokes with the lino cutters. You need not cut too deep.
6. When you are done with the design, it's time to take it for a test print. Squeeze a small amount of ink onto the piece of glass or ink plate. With your brayer, roll the ink out into a smooth, thin layer. Carefully roll the inked brayer onto the surface of your block. All of the raised areas will accept the ink. Depending on how deeply you carved your design, you may end up with little carving lines showing the background when you print. If it is not to your liking, go back and carve away those areas.
7. Place printed invitation on top of the inking block. Using the baren, rub the paper with even pressure. This pulls the ink from the block onto the paper. Carefully peeled the paper from the block and allow it to dry.

DIY Embroidered wedding invitation

Commitment: 30-45 minutes per wedding invitation

Cost: $32 per 50, $ 0.64

Supplies:

crane lettra 110 lb cardstock in fluorescent white, 8 ½ '' by 11''

eggplant coloured cardstock, 8 ½ '' by 11''

paper cutter
rubber stamp

dye-based ink pad to match or coordinate with your floss color

piece of thick cardboard or a self-healing cutting mat

paper piercing tool

embroidery floss to coordinate with coloured cardstock

embroidery needle

scissors

single sided tape

double-sided tape

 

Directions:

1. start this project off by cutting the cardstocks to size. With you paper cutter, trim the white cardstock to 5'' by 7'' and the eggplant cardstock to 5 ½ '' by 7 ¼''
2. print your invitation wording on the white cardstock, leaving a 3'' margin on the bottom of the page. This blank area will be where the embroidery goes later on. Note: if your rubber stamp is smaller or larger than 3''. you will need top adjust your bottom margin accordingly. To set up your invitation for printing, open WORD and from the Page Setup Menu, select Custom Page Size from the Settings options. Set the custom page size for 5'' wide by 7''. Set the margin spacing to 0.25'' for the left and right margins. For the top, set the margin spacing to 0.25. For the bottom, set the spacing to 3''
3. enter your invitation wording and print it on the crane lettra cardstock.
4. In this step you will be adding a rubber-stamp image onto the invitation to serve as a template for your embroidery. To ink a rubber stamp, gently tap it several times on the surface of the ink pad to get the entire rubber image evenly inked. Firmly press the stamp onto the invitation where you'd like the image to go. Don't twist or move the stamp when press down; you will smudge the image. Lift the stamp straight off the paper.
5. Next step is to create holes for the embroidery with the paper piercing tool. Place the stamp invitation on top of the thick piece cardboard or self-healing cutting mat. You are creating some elevation so that the needle of the piercing tool has space to go all the way through the cardstock. Working your way around the entire outline of the stamp image, poke holes about ¼ ''. make sure not to get closer than 1/8 ''to the edges of the cardstock; you will risk ripping the paper if you do.
6. Next, thread your embroidery needle. Embroidery floss comes in long bundles of 6 strands that are twisted together, called skeins. Unwind 2 long strands of embroidery floss from the skein and thread them through the embroidery needle. Knot the ends as you would a regular needle and thread. You are ready to get embroidering.
7. Start by picking an area to concentrate on like starting from the bottom left and working upward and outward in small sections. Begin by passing the threaded needle from underside through one of the holes. Next, thread the needle down through the whole next to it. Pass the needle back up through the first hole. What you are doing is called the backstitch. It creates a solid line of stitching. Move through the remaining holes, using the backstitch technique until you run out of floss or finish an area of the design. At the points where you need to stop and rethread or move to another section, push the needle through a hole so that it's on the bottom side of the card. Snip the floss and use a bit of clear tape to hold the cut floss in place. Rethread your needle and start where you left off.
8. The back side of the invitation will be a little bit messy so we will be creating a mat so the back side is concealed. Apply strips of double-sided tape to the back of the invitation and firmly press the invitation onto the eggplant-colored cardstock, centering it from top to bottom and

Quilled Snowflake Save the Date Cards

Quilled Snowflake Save the Date Cards

Time: 5 hours per 25 cards

Cost: $48 for 25, $1.92 each.

Supplies:

white cardstock, pearl white 10'' by 5''

double-sided tape

silver cardstock 4 ¾ '' by 4 ¾''

blue cardstock 4 ½ '' by 4 ½ ''

lightweight white cardstock under 80 lb. 12'' by 12''

paper cutter

quilling tool

liquid paper adhesive

spray adhesive

glitter

1. fold the 10'' by 5 '' white cardstock in half to create 5'' by 5'' tented card. Apply double-sided tape to the back of the silver cardstock and adhere it to the front of the white card, centering it to top to bottom and left to right. Now, add double-sidedtape tape to the back of the blue cardstock and, centering it, adhere that to the front of the silver cardstock.
2. Cut a piece of the light weight12'' by 12'' white cardstock into ¼ '' wide strips. From these strips you will need to cut the following lengths: 5 strips of 6'' long; 12 strips of 3'' long; 4 strips of 2'' long
3. take a strip of 6'' by ¼ '' cardstock and insert the end into the opening at the end of the quilling tool. Bring the tool to the end of the paper and beginning rolling the paper around the end of the tool. Roll it all the way up and then let go. The circle will loosen a bit. Apply a tiny bit of liquid paper adhesive to the loosen end and glue it down on the body of the circle. Remove the piece form the quilling tool. The piece will serve as the center of your snowflake. The remaining quills will build upon it.
4. The next step is to create small teadrop shapes. This is done by creating circles and pinching one end. Roll one of the 3'' strips on the quilling tool. Adhere the loose end to the body and remove the piece from the quilling tool. Using your index finger and thumb, pinch one end of the circle to create a teardrop shape. Create 4 teardrop shapes for this snowflake.
5. You will now make a marquis shape. It's a circle with both ends flattened to create a shape that looks like an eye. Roll one of the 2 '' strips onto the quilling tool. Adhere the loose end of the body and remove the piece from the quilling tool. Using your thumb and index finger, pinch one side to create a teardrop, then pinch the other side. Create 4 marquis shapes for this snowflake.
6. The next step is to create scrolls. Gently fold a 6'' strip in half. Roll each end toward the fold. It'll end up looking like a fancy heart. You will need 4 scrolls.
7. Now we are going to create the arms. The arms are made from 3'' strips. Roll 1 end around the quilling tool, about 3 full turns. Release it from the quilling tool and roll the other end about 12 times, until the total lenght of the piece is about 1'' long. Release it from the tool. Repeat on another 3 '' strip. To finish up the arms you will need to glue 2 piece back to back to create single arm. You will need total 4 arms
8. it's time to assemble the rolled paper. Let's start with the center piece, the first round you created. Using liquid paper adhesive, glue the arms pieces at the widest end. To the center circle. The edges of the loops should be butted next to each other.
9. Next, take a scroll and glue it onto those small loops of the arms. Gently pull the scrolls out until it touches the arms. Glue the pieces together where they meet.
10. Take one of the teardrops and glue it to the middle of the scroll. Gently pull the scrolls over to meet
11. the teardrop, and glue them together. Repeat on all sides.
12. The final touch is to glue the marquis pieces into the indentations at the top of the loops of each arm
13. in a well-ventilated place, spray the snowflakes with spray aerosol adhesive and sprinkle with glitter. Shake off the excess glitter

DIY crystal-accented wedding table number

Time: 3 hours

Cost: $46 for 20, $2.30 each

Supplies:

• white card-stock cut 4'' by 6''
• pencil
• rhinestone adhesive
• tweezers
• 4-mm to 6-mm clear flat-back rhinestones, about 80 pieces per table number, depending on your design.
• Double-sided tape
• pattern paper, cut to 4 ½ by 6 ½ ''
• black card-stock, cut to 5 ''' by 7 ''
• hole punch
• ¼ '' wide ribbon, 12'' long

Directions:

1. Open WORD and from the Page Setup menu, select Custom Page Size from the Settings options. Set the page size for 4'' wide by 6''. Set the margin spacing to 0.25 '' for the left and right margins, for the top set the spacing to 0.25 '' and for the bottom to o.50''.
2. Enter your table number in a pretty font, center it on the page. Print
3. with a pencil, lightly draw a design on the card-stock where you would like to add your rhinestones bling. Do make sure the design is open and wide enough for the rhinestones.
4. Trace the design with rhinestones adhesive, using small dots along the pencil lines you created.
5. With tweezers, pick up a rhinestone and gently set it onto the glue. Press down to secure it in place. Let the glue dry according.
6. Add strips of double-sided tape to the back of the white card-stock piece. Center it over a piece of the patterned paper and press down to secure it in place. Next, add double-sided tape to the back of the patterned paper stack and center it over a piece of black card-stock. Press it firmly in place.
7. The final step is to punch a hole near the top of the table number with a hole punch, centered about ½ '' from the top edge. Thread a length of ribbon through and tie to your flower arrangement.

DIY Accordion Fold Invitation

Craft Time: 

30 – 45 minutes per invitation

Supplies:

• 1 sheet of chipboard, 8 ½ by 11
• Rotary cutter or paper cutter
• Ruler
• Satin fabric in white 1 yard scissors
• red-lined double-sided tape, available at most craft stores in the adhesive aisle
• 2 sheets of pink card-stock, 8 ½ '' by 11''
• bone folder
• 2 sheets of white card-stock, 8 ½ '' by 11 ''
• 1-in wide ribbon in pink, 12 in. long

Directions:

1. cut the chipboard sheet into 5 '' by 7 '' pieced using the rotary cutter and ruler or a heavy-duty paper cutter
2. from the satin and the beaded tulle, cut two 6-in by 8-in pieces. You will end up with a front piece and a back piece for the top and bottom covers of the invitation.
3. Place a chipboard piece onto the center of one of the white satin pieces of fabric. If your chipboard has a brown side and a white side, make sure the whiet side is facing the white fabric. You wouldn't want the dark brown showing through on your invitation cover.
4. Fold the corners of the fabric inward, diagonally, toward the center.
5. Apply a small strip of double-sided tape on the underside of the corner to hold it in place. Do this for all 4 corners, making sure the fabric is taut and wrinkle free. Fold in the sides of the fabric toward the middle of the chipboard. Again, use a strip of double-sided tape to adhere the fabric.
6. Now place the satin-covered chipboard onto the cenetr of the beaded tulle. Repeat steps 4 and 5. Set your covers aside and move on to creating the accordion. The accorion will serve as the abse for you to attach individual panels with your wedding information in a later step.
7. Cut 2 pieces of pink cardstock to 7'' tall by 10 ½ '' wide.
8. With a bone folder and ruler, score the cardstock at the measurements: 5'' score, score ½ '' from the edge, place double-sided tape. Do that for both pieces of paper, all together 20 '' long.
9. Using double-sided tape, adhere one of the two ½ '' pieces on top of each other. This creates a single piece of cardstock that's 7'' tall and 20 '' wide.
10. Apply a liberal amount of tape on the back side of the left-most 5'' by 7'' panel of the pink cardstock. Align the cardstock on the back side of the front cover of the invitation. Align the cardstock on the back side of the front cover of the invitation. Press it firmly in place, burnishing it with the bone folder to make sure it's permanently stuck in place.
11. Fold the 12'' long piece of ribbon in half. At the fold, tape it down onto the back side of the back cover of the invitation, centering it from side to side and top to bottom.
12. Apply a liberal amount of tape on the right most 5'' by 7'' panel of pink card-stock. Align the back cover panel and stick it down. You will now have a lovely fabric covered accordion-fold book that's empty inside.
13. Create a WORD document . From the Page Setup menu, select “Custom Page Size” from the “Setting” options. Set the custom page size for 5 '' wide by 7'' high.
14. Set the margin spacing to 0.25'' for the left and right margins. For the top and bottom, set the margin spacing to 0.25.
15. Using your favourite fonts, enter the invitation information, dedicating each page to a different section. The second page is perfect for for displaying the wedding invitation. The third is suited to travel information or other wedding-related events. The final page could be RSVP. Print the invitation onto the white card-stock 5'' by 7''.
16. On the back of the wedding invitation page, apply double-sided tape. Line the pages up to their corresponding spots on the inner pink panels of the accordion fold and adhere them together.
17. Close the book and bring the ends of the ribbon to the front and a tie pretty bow.
    
    
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DIY Beach Layered Invitation

Time: 5-10 minutes per invitation 

Cost: $0.69 each

Supplies:

• White cardstock, 8 ½ '' by 11 ''
• Moss green cardstock 8 ½ by 11
• Kraft cardstock 8 ½ by 11
• Paper Cutter
• Scalloped circle paper punch, 1 in. diameter
• Hot glue gun and glue
• Small dried starfish, available through online retailers
• Double-sided tape

Directions:

1. Precut the card stock to its finish dimension before you start. For this invitation, the white cardstock should be cut to 4 ¼ by 4 ¼. The green cardstock should be cut 4 ½ by 4 ½ and the kraft cardstock to 5 by 5.
2. The next step is to create the star-in-circle embellishments. From a sheet of kraft card stock, punch several scalloped circles with your paper punch. Using the hot glue gun, applying a tiny bit of hot glue to the back of a starfish. Quickly press it, glue side down, in the centre of one of the punched circles. Set them aside for the final assembly.
3. Now it's time to create the printed portion of the template. Open WORD and create a new document.
4. From the Page Setup menu, select “Custom Page Size” from the “Settings “ options. Set the custom page size for 4.25 wide and 4.25 high.
5. Set the margin spacing to 0.25 for the left and right margins. For the top and bottom, set the margin spacing to 0.25 as a starting point for your margins. Depending on the size of your shells and the length of your wording, you will need to adjust the top margin to fit all of the embellishments and information.
6. This step is where you get to showcase your creativity. Using your favourite fonts and best wording skills, enter the invitation wording. Save and Print the wedding invitations invitation on the white 4 ¼ card stock.
7. On the back of one of the printed invitation pieces, apply double-sided tape. Turn it over and adhere this piece of cardstock to one of the green 4 ½ pieced of card stock, centering it from the bottom and from side to side. On the back of this stack, apply double-sided tape and adhere it to the front of the kraft cardstock piece.
8. To finish of the invitation, apply double-sided tape to the back of the starfish circle embellishment and adhere it to the front of the invitation part of the stack, centering it from side to side.
   
   
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