Easy Invites By ohthethinksyouwillthink on - Updated Sep 18, 2011
I knew that I wanted to make my own invitations for my wedding, but found myself pressed for time. This kit was a wonderful solution that gave me the handmade look I wanted without the stress of trying to piece everything together myself.
Michaels has a good selection of these kits in a variety of patterns and designs. Each kit includes: water-pressed paper, vellum sheets, white ribbon, reply cards & envelopes, large envelopes, and instructions--enough for 50 invitations.
My wedding colour was purple, so I chose white, water-pressed paper with purple flowers pressed into it.
The included instructions gave directions on how to set the margins of my word processor to match the size of the vellum papers to be used. Once I had worded my invitations, I was able to print out a test copy on a test paper the kit had provided, to make sure that everything looked just right.
To assemble an invitation, all I had to do was place a printed vellum sheet on top of the water-pressed background, and tie them together through the pre-punched holes with the included ribbon. After placing the reply card on top, they were all set to be slid into the envelope and mailed.
The only problem I had with this kit was an issue with actually printing onto the vellum papers. Perhaps a more sensitive printer would not do this, but mine was eating up the papers! They came out crinkled with ink smeared everywhere. After a couple of unsucessful tries, I took the whole lot down to Grand & Toy and had them use one of their photocopiers to do the job. Thankfully, that went smoothly, and only cost me an additional $5.00.
So, if you decide to use these kits, I would recommend having a really good printer, or just taking them to a professional printer the first time around. It will save you the panic attack I had!
Overall, though, I would definitely recommend this route to brides searching for invitations. They are very budget-friendly, the process is easy, and the finished product is beautiful. What more could you ask for?
About The Author:
Gartner Studios Invitation Kit Purchased at: Michaels Price: $39.99
I really like it when couples do such personalized invitations.
This sounds really great. I love the way those invitations looked!
I worked at a print shop and we would have to put these through our ink jet printer. A laser printer got too hot and would either melt the vellum or jam, like what you experienced. An office jet should also work too. Or, the best backup, is like what you ended up doing and used a color copy machine that has a straighter pathway for the paper to pass through without many curves inside the machine. That's ultimately the same thing I did for our customers. These really are nice invitations and I enjoy using them.
Thanks for your vote on my new balance shoes. :) Nice to hear from you. joe :)