Wedding Invitation DIY

*Disclaimer: These pictures were not taken with the intent of being published on a blog. We had JUST moved into the house, which explains the lack of window treatments and the empty picture frames. It also appears as though I had not showered that day. Such is life.

So my sister-in-law-to-be called me the other day asking for details on my homemade wedding invitations. Yes, I made them myself. True story. I really don't consider myself all that crafty or creative, but I gave myself a nice, big pat on the back after whipping these puppies up.

Anyway, future sis-in-law wanted to know how I made them. Then I thought, "Gee, my blog is pretty boring. Maybe I can spice it up by sharing some (money saving!) creativity with the world." Lucky you.

So. (Here we go again.) Here's a brief overview of how to make your own wedding invitations.

What you'll need:

1. paper (we used 32lb linen paper in black and ivory)
2. a rubber stamp (if you're into that sort of thing... I thought they looked pretty boring without some sort of flair)
3. an ink pad in whichever color you fancy
4. spray adhesive (apparently I'm one of the few who has heard of this stuff... I used it ALL the time in college for my design projects. It's pretty awesome. Find it in the glue section of your craft store.)
5. 1" to 1 1/2" wide ribbon
6. wine
7. patience
8. a friend or two (with a little bribery, bridesmaids and fiances work perfectly)
9. did I mention patience?
   

I thought about going through the process of actually creating the invitations step by step, but I'm not very good at that. That probably explains why when trying to follow a recipe, I haphazardly throw ingredients together rather than actually doing what I'm supposed to do.

And seriously... it really wasn't hard.

Measure your envelope and cut the invitations to size. Cut a smaller top layer (we used black on the bottom and ivory on the top).

Print your text onto the top layer (if you're as anal about perfection as I am, this will take you FOREVER. Or maybe it was just the wine.)

Stamp the top layer. Or leave it plain. Be a rebel. Adhere the top layer to the bottom layer (note: Goo Gone will become your best friend. Spray adhesive goes EVERYWHERE.)

I used the same ivory paper and rubber stamp to also make the response cards and reception info cards. I found it was easier to print as many of these as would fit on one full sheet of paper and then cut into individual cards rather than try to feed tiny squares through my printer.

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Here are the three pieces. Invitation, response card with envelope, reception info card.

And to make even more work for myself, I bundled them together with a complementary ribbon, adhered to itself with double-sided tape on the back of the invitation.

I'm pretty much in love with the outcome. And I saved at least a grand. Which we spent on more important things. Like an upgraded rental car on the honeymoon ;)

Whatcha think? Are they theknot.com worthy?