The Big Reveal...

I think that most of the people invited to the wedding who read this blog should have received their invitations by today.  So, here is the big reveal!  

First, the outer envelopes:

They are Stardream Sapphire A9 envelopes.  They have the gold, embossed stamp on the envelope flap and a gold, monogrammed sticker/seal on the bottom of the flap (I picked them up from Michael's a few months back.  They were 42 for $1.00).

I simply printed the addresses onto the envelopes using my laser printer.  The font is Edwardian Script.  And, of course, you will recognize Miss Oveta Culp Hobby in the upper right hand corner.   

Next up, the inner envelope:

I used a gold calligraphy pen to write the names of the guests on the envelope.  My handwriting isn't beautiful, but it's one of the only places people had to see it. 

Then I sealed the back with a wax seal.  These suckers were complicated, but they were the only things that Philip requested for the invitations, so I had to do them.  I'll have to dedicate an entire post to them.  Unfortunately, I can't get a good picture of them.  The seal actually has a script 'B' stamped onto them. 

Now, let's open this beauty up!

 

That is the navy blue pocketfold with the RSVP envelope layered on top of it.  And, layered on top of the RSVP envelope is the RSVP itself.  And, it's all wrapped together with a simple ivory ribbon (like a beautiful gift!). 

Let's get a close up of those RSVPs and return envelopes:

It's pretty simple.  They are printed on ivory paper and then mounted on coppery brown cardstock.   Here is a better idea of what they look like (direct from the Publisher File that I created them from):

I tried to keep them simple but elegant.  I think I succeeded.  I used Edwardian Script and Copperplate Gothic.  The swirls actually came from our Monogram.  I used Microsoft Paint to break it down into its smaller elements so I could use them in other places.  

And, here is the RSVP envelope:

I used the same stamp from embossing the outer envelope flap to stamp the RSVP envelopes.  Except, for these, I used navy blue ink.  I almost wish I would have used the embossing ink and powder for these as well.  It's just fun to work with!  I used just plain stamps for the RSVP envelopes.  Most of them had the statue of liberty or the American flag on them.  

Next, the part I'm sure you've all been waiting for, the pocketfolds themselves:

The pocketfolds are navy blue (actually, they are Night from Paper Source).  The invitation part is navy font printed on ivory paper which is then mounted on coppery brown cardstock.  The inserts are navy font printed on ivory paper.  

The inserts are the Map, the Directions, the Information/Accommodations, and the Reception.  I included any information I could think of!  And, our wedding website is included in that as well for any other questions the guests may have.  

Well, there you have it.  These puppies have a whole lot of my blood, sweat, and tears in them.  Not to mention all of the time and effort spent on them!  They aren't exactly what I had pictured in the beginning, but I am more than happy with them.  

So, what do you think?!

My favorite part of the invitations...

The invitations are almost complete.  I keep having little issues which are delaying the process.  However, they should be finished tonight!  And, if not, I'm throwing them in the trash and just calling everyone.  lol   -- kidding!

Anyway, last night, I got to work on something for the invitations that was actually fun.  That is really unusual lately!  I'm talking about embossing!

Yesterday after work, I picked up a heat gun thing to do the embossing.  I thought it would be tricky or boring or some other terrible thing.  I was wrong!  It's so cool!  I love embossing.  I wish I would have included more of it for our invitations!  

First, you get your envelope ready.  And, by ready, I mean stick it on a flat surface (ha!).

Next, stamp the flap on the envelope.  I used the stamp I created for our return address.  The ink I used was Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Embossing Ink in Clear For Embossing.  

Next, pour embossing powder over the stamped envelope and then lightly tap it off so that the powder is only covering the ink.  I used Zing! Embossing Powder in Gold (I wanted to make sure that it would show up on the dark blue envelopes!).  

Next, use an embossing heat tool to raise the image.  I used a Uchida Embossing Heat Tool.  I got it from Michael's with a 40% off coupon.  It ended up being about $15.  

In that photo, you can see that the bottom powder is already "melting" and starting to raise up.  It's pretty much the coolest thing ever to watch.  ;)  When it's finished, it looks like this:

The entire stamp is raised up off the paper.  And, it looks shiny and beautiful.  :)  Please excuse all of the blacked out middles on the stamp; I can't take any chances on getting stalkers!  I'm already under enough stress!

The process is super easy and takes only about a minute.  And it's just so cool to watch the powder melt!  If you haven't ever embossed anything, give it a whirl!  It helped me ease some stress from this crazy invitation making endeavor!  

I bit the bullet...

And finally ordered the envelopes for the invitations (and a few other items).  It hurt me quite a bit to do so because envelopes are expensive!  Well, the envelopes I wanted were expensive.  

See, I wanted ivory inner envelopes (easy peasy) with navy outer envelopes (not so easy).  Since my pocketfolds are 5" x 7", I needed A7 inner envelopes and A8 or A9 outer envelopes.  I searched and searched and searched.

I was going to buy the ivory inner envelopes and the RSVP (A2) envelopes off Amazon.com.  And I found the navy colored envelopes for a fairly reasonable price on www.envelopemall.com. However, when it came to shipping, it was slightly outrageous.  One box of envelopes was going to cost almost $15 to ship!  That's almost what I'm paying for the envelopes!  

Change of plan.  If I order more boxes of envelopes at the same time, the shipping only goes up a buck or two.  So, I ordered the navy outer envelopes, the ivory inner envelopes, the RSVP envelopes, the thank you card envelopes, and the program envelopes all at the same time.  The shipping still only ended up being just over $15.  

Here's what I ordered:

Stardream "Euro Flap" 5-3/4 x 8-3/4" (A9) Envelope 100 Pack - Outer Envelopes

Carnival 5-1/4 x 7-1/4", (A7) Envelope 100 Pack - Inner Envelopes & Thank You Card Envelopes

Carnival 4-3/8 x 5-3/4", (A2) Envelope 100 Pack - RSVP Envelopes

Carnival 4-1/8 x 9-1/2", (No 10 Sq. Flap) Envelope 100 Pack - Program Envelopes

And, with that, I feel slightly nauseous about the amount spent on all things paper for this wedding.  Ugh.  At least I should be done with the invitations by this time next week.  With fingers crossed that is.  Hopefully the envelopes won't take long to arrive!  Then I can get them out of my house and not have to think about how much they cost!  ;)