Get crafty
This wedding invitation was really easy to make! I bought ready made cards. These came already scored so there's no hassle in folding them accurately. You can save money by buying A4 card, cutting it down to A5 and then folding it yourself, but you'll find that spending a little more on pre-scored greetings cards is well worth the money. You can buy these cards at high street craft shops such as Hobbycraft but you'll probably find them cheaper online if you buy in bulk - try Craft Creations.

To make these cards, I also bought a sticker sheet of "wedding invitation" stickers. This gives an embossed look to the card. I then purchased packs of mini cards and envelopes. I simply stuck each envelope on the card, peeled a wedding invitation sticker off the sheet and stuck it on the mini card and fixed the card into the mini envelope.

The trickiest part is peeling the stickers off and sticking them down. Using a cocktail stick or a long embroidery needle is the easiest way. Don't press the sticker down till you've got it in the right position.

A Variation....
Here's a variation on the theme!

I've simply added a calla lily which you can buy at craft suppliers. And I've placed the mini card and envelope at a slightly jaunty angle.

This card was very quick to make which is important if you're planning on inviting a lot of guests to your wedding. Particularly if you're going to make matching orders of service and thank you cards too!

One thing I would definitely recommend is making up one card first and timing yourself before you decide to go ahead and make them all. If you're making one card, spending twenty minutes doing it isn't too bad. If you've got to make 60 cards, that's 20 hours work.

An alternative design....
I made this card using glass paints. The card base is just another pre-folded greetings card bought from a craft suppliers. I've used the wedding invitation stickers again too.

The glass painting has been done onto an acetate square. You can buy these in sheets from craft suppliers (I've seen them in Hobbycraft and Paperchase) and then cut them with a craft or Stanley knife.

First I did the design on a piece of paper. I then used glass paint outliner in gold to trace the design onto the acetate. Finally, when the outliner had dried, I used a very fine paint brush and filled in the flowers and bow. It's quite fiddly! One handy tip is to make sure that the design includes large enough areas that you can fill with colour. You also need to develop a steady hand. You could do glass painting on your wine glasses to match your invitations but you won't be able to put them in the dishwasher afterwards!

Co-ordinate
Card blanks are available in a wide range of sizes including small ones that are suitable to use as name place markers. To make the name place markers in this picture, I put the blanks through the printer to print the name. Trish's name place has been customized using wedding confetti. Neil's has a mirror tile on which I've painted a heart using glass paint outliner and glass paint.

For orders of service, you can buy slightly bigger card blanks and print the inserts using your home printer.

Save on postage - use the internet!
One way of saving money on your invitations is to send them by email! Of course, not everyone is on email but you can always email guests that are and just send invitations by Royal Mail to those who don't have internet access. Try Evite or Sendomatic for free or low-cost designs.
You can get ideas and inexpensive craft supplies from the internet for making your own invitations.
Another useful website is Vistaprint. Vistaprint provide inexpensive printing for small businesses. Some items are even free - you pay just for postage and packing and if you order in advance, this can be under a fiver for 100 postcards. If you're handy with Photoshop, you can design your own postcards to use as invitations and get them printed by Vistaprint. They do "keep the day" fridge magnets too!

Use the supermarkets!
These days you can buy everything from wedding invitations to wedding cakes in the supermarket! With a bit of embellishment and imagination, supermarket cards can be transformed into something unique and special!

Email: jennifer@diybrides.co.uk
Copyright Jennifer Page 2008