Wedding...wedding...wedding...

Finally...caught up on my blog. Last thing is the wedding invitations I have made for No. 2 son and fiancee who are getting married in October. Amanda (future DIL) approached me about making them and could I do something like this?

One small(?) issue...they are copyright protected! I contacted Marleine at Paper Olive to see how I could accomplish this without infringing. I hope I have done it okay!

The first thing on my list was to search the internet until I found the correct damask. Then I had to create a pattern from that damask and use that pattern to create my own damask paper. That took considerable effort in my graphics program! I then isolated one of the damask images and made a monogram from it. Each of the monograms has a crystal glued in the heart of the pattern.

The next project was to find all the black paper and take it to a print shop and have them cut it to size! My nephew's were done by hand and I was not measuring and cutting and erasing pencil marks again! It was cheap too - $11.00 for all the cuts!

I cut out squares and then halved them into triangles to form the pockets. The right pocket has a slit in it and two holes at each end of the slit....how professional...I impressed myself!!!

I made one template with everything "damask" but I found it way too busy...so, I made a second template with just the damask image at the top and sent them off for approval. No. 2 son (bless his heart) liked the invitation in the centre with the full damask and the inserts for Directions and Menu with the damask monogram at the top. Of course, keeping in the theme, the reply card was full damask pattern....and...there were crystals in the damask monogram too!

There was no way I was going to try to cut out 150 damask frames and...since I had a digital cutter (yeah Gazelle!)...I located and purchased the perfect cutting file. With a lot of help from Terri at Bosskut I managed to get them all lined up and cut out perfectly.

I wanted to have the invitation matted like a picture frame but the damask paper was too fragile and it kept tearing. I was stuck cutting them all out and layering one on top of the other. Man was I going through glue rollers! I said, "Enough"...took my trusty coupon in hand and headed to my local M's and picked up an ATG....can I say AWESOME? Way, way easier and cheaper! You can see my little pink toy in this picture.

All the components nice and tidy and ready for securing and stuffing!

Man the picture does not do these justice....the plum, the black, the white, the damask, the crystals- rich, rich, rich!!!! The whole room sparkled!

My future DIL loved them and they are in the mail. Now I just have to do the place cards, programs, name tags and personalized menus!

Have a great day!