My Wedding Report

Well, first I must apologize for the delay of this post and my absence. I know I promised you the tutorial long ago, and I figure I should probably finish that before I show you all my invitations. In the middle of my wedding craziness my computer hard drive crashed and I lost a whole bunch of blog pictures and posts along with address spreadsheets, contracts and all sorts of other stuff that stresses you out. Not to worry, I think I’ve pieced a lot of it back together in the last few weeks.

Ready for the tutorial on the Duckling save the dates? I’m warning you ahead of time there were quite a few steps. So stay with me and let me know if I start to not make sense.

The original inspiration for our save the dates came from Martha Stewart. I happened to be having a brainstorming meeting with my month-of-coordinator, Courtney from Joyful Weddings and Events and showed her the inspiration picture and a few of the other ideas I wanted to incorporate. Courtney is fellow cricut user so I knew that she would appreciate the idea. She had the idea of adding in the mini envelope for the numbers to come out of and encouraged me to just go for it.

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I knew I wanted to use one of our engagement pictures and bring out some of our wedding colors. So with the idea of a number ribbon, a mini envelope and after making a few test samples, I decided to just go for it.

The Supplies
A7 Papersource Soft White (looks like a light cream)
A7 Lake Envelopes Paper Source
Mini Envelope Lake Paper Source
Fiskars Corner Rounder
Cricut
Opposites Cartridge
Basics Cartridge
Cuttlebug
10 mm ribbon in cream
Raspberry 12x 12 Scrapbook Heavy Paper
Blue 12×12 Scrapbook Heavy Paper
Mini Hole Punch
Mini Xyron Tape Adhesive Runner
Xacto Knife
Scotch Tape

The Graphic Design
I am definitely not a graphic designer, but with Mr. Ducky’s encouragement I decided to do our Save the Date design myself. He definitely helped along the way to help me with how to do the different Photoshop effects since I was very rusty on using the program. I inserted one of our engagement pictures and used the masking feature to create the rounded corners.

I’ve been drooling over Veer’s Feel Script font since Mrs. Lemon shared a sample in a post awhile ago. Feel Script is one of the glyph fonts that Pengy wrote about the other day. To compliment the Feel Script I used Garamont which is just a basic font that came with my computer.

The swirly design you see in the background is a photoshop brush. Pixels and Ice Cream has such a great selection of free photoshop brushes and patterns. I used the April Showers photoshop brushes for our Save the Dates, although there are lots of cute options on the website.

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We printed the Save the Dates on A7 Soft White paper from Papersource. The printer is a Canon MP830 and the quality is amazing. The color is very vibrant and saturated in person. If you are looking for a printer I really recommend this one, because it looks like we got them professionally printed. After everything was printed out we used the Fiskars corner rounder. I bought this after reading a post by Penguin on DIY essentials. It was awesome.

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The Number Strings
To cut out all the numbers and spacers I used the Cricut. The numbers were from the Opposites Attract Cartridge. To get the correct size to fit in the envelope without looking to small I set the settings to 2 inches high and on the shadow setting you see on the Cricut keyboard. After printing all the numbers we had to punch two holes with the mini hole punch so that the ribbon could be laced later. This was probably the biggest pain of the whole project.

For the spacers I selected a rounded square from the Geometrics and Shapes cartridge that already had the slots automatically cut into each square. This was a cartridge that came with my cricut when I originally bought it. This was a big time saver and my family was grateful to not use that hole punch anymore. For the settings I used 1 inch high and that seemed to work well. Also, you may have noticed that the original inspiration had bows in between each set of numbers but ours have spacers and a single bow at the end. Part of this was just the simple fact that bows take way longer, but also that bows create knots that could mean extra postage. Our were regular postage and we bought the forever stamp before pricing went up.

I had originally bought the ribbon from Paper Source but returned it after I found a much cheaper version at Michaels for $0.99 a spool. After cutting all the ribbon to the desired length we tied mini bows at each end. Then it was pretty much back to elementary school lacing the ribbon through. It was important that each number have 2 holes so that it would stay flat and not twist to be perpendicular to the ribbon.

The Mini Envelopes
Before stamping the mini envelope I used the Cuttlebug to emboss the flap so that I wouldn’t have to worry about smearing the ink. By arranging the envelopes like below I could emboss 4 envelopes at once, so it did not take too long.

After all the envelope flaps were embossed I used the Save the Date stamp from Paper Source with silver ink from Colorink. The ink took forever to dry, but showed up really well on the lake blue paper. I think it was meant for embossing. I’d recommend the Brilliance brand if you wanted to stamp without embossing. The ink dries faster. The stamp was the perfect size for the envelope and I felt like the writing tied into the font and look of the overall card. You had to line up the stamp so that it was next to flap.

On the opposite side from the stamp of each envelope I used an xacto knife to cut a tiny slot to string the ribbon through. To make sure you don’t cut through to the other side you can slide a thick piece of paper into the envelope before you make the slot.

Final Assembly!
To attach the number date string I strung the end through the little slot and used scotch tape to secure it. Yeah I know not the most beautiful thing in the world but it worked.

To fold up the numbers I basically did it accordion style with the last two numbers “09″ being on top. I tried to show this in the picture below. Then gently tuck the numbers into the envelope letting the bow stick out just enough to be slightly beyond the flap. I did not seal the flap because I worried about the ribbon sticking and creating issues when it was time to be pulled out. Instead I just made sure the the flap was staying down and flattened the crease a little bit if it wasn’t.

We used the Xyron 3/8 inch Adhesive Runner to stick the mini envelope to the cardstock. I was so impressed with the quality and durability of the “stickiness” from the xyron tape. We also tried the photo mounting squares but they just didn’t work as well. The xyron tape was so easy to roll onto the back and it just stuck. I highly recommend it.

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Last but not least we were able to slide the final product into a regular A7 envelope in lake blue that matched the mini envelope. As I mentioned they were even regular postage using the forever stamps I had bought before postage went up. Often times the post office will charge you for using ribbon, but the bow was so small that it didn’t add extra bulk. Each envelope had a slight bulge from the folded paper and mini envelope but it was still skinny enough to easily slide through the test hole they have at the post office that determines if they charge extra.

My biggest piece of advice? Make sure you have people to help you. I by no means did this by myself. My family was literally an assembly line for all of the different stages. Otherwise I’d probably still be stringing those suckers today.

And that is the long story of the Duckling Save the Dates. I hope it wasn’t entirely confusing. Does anyone have any questions I can clarify?

Up next? Duckling invitations!!

I have finally sent out our Save the Dates and now that I’m sure everyone has received them, I can finally share them with the hive. We’ve seriously taken our sweet time getting these guys out due to delays from school, life and just general procrastination. But oh well they are out and I’ve finally uploaded the pictures to share!

Without further ado here are the Duckling Save the Dates!

The first peak

Pull the Save the Date out

One more envelope!

And ta da!

Here is a picture of how my FMIL displayed her Save the Date. Isn’t that sweet?

Please let me know if you have any questions. I will try to put together a post with pictures of how we put them together, as well as what supplies were used if you are interested. Can you already tell where my cricut and cuttlebug came in handy?

I’m using Cheese’s Bee-rodcast System to give an important alert!

I know after my recent posts about the Cricut and Cuddlebug many of you have been on hunt for a good deal. Erika, is a reader and just told me about Joann Fabrics who is currently selling Cricuts and Cuttlebugs at a major discount. There is also a sale on cartridges, embossing folders and other supplies. You can either look here at their sale online or look at the sales flyer. The Cricut I have is on sale for $99! Also the Storybook cartridge I used to make my bridesmaid cards is on sale.

If you are not sure which machine is best for you, MarryingtheNavy posted this great link in the comments of a post that has a critique of The Wizard, by Spellbinders, Cuttlebug, by ProvoCraft, BigShot, by Sizzix and the Cricut Expression, by ProvoCraft. Obviously this is one person’s opinion but you might find it helpful.

For me personally I have the original Cricut (the smallest of the 3 Cricuts) and a Cuttlebug. I think they compliment each other very well. I like that the Cricut has cartridges with tons of options and you just have to key in your selection and it automatically cuts out the selection. The Cuttlebug is perfect for embossing and if you just have one particular image you need to to cut out you can buy a single die cut. I’ve heard wonderful things about Big Shot, and Mrs. Eggplant has one that she uses with all her wonderful cards.

What are your reviews on the Craft machines you have? I’m always looking for new recommendations!

I have yet to decide how I will actually use my Cuttlebug for our wedding. However, I need to start using the Cuttlebug to get familiar with how it works and the different ways I can potentially use it. Now despite my love of craft/diy stuff I would not consider myself an expert. I don’t do those crazy scrapbooks nor have lots of experience in making paper products. And although I love Martha Stewart, I am far from getting anywhere close to her league. I am basically in the process of learning and experimenting while I create things along the way.

I recently went to Michael’s to use some coupons that were going to expire and take a advantage of their sales. I bought Fiskars 1/2 inch corner rounder that I had been wanting for awhile after reading about Mrs. Penguin’s DIY Essentials.

When buying paper I try to buy paper pads instead of individual sheets, which saves some money. I love the big paper pads because first of all you get a huge assortment and some of it coordinates making it easy to tie projects together. Also if you are patient they sometimes go on sale for 40% off at Michaels.

I wanted to share my first two creations using my Cuttlebug and Cricut. I made two simple cards.

The first card is for some friends of our that recently got married that we are taking to dinner soon to celebrate. Their initials are L & J. I used my “Cricut sampler” cartridge and “opposites attract” cartridge to cut out the lettering. I used a polka dot embossing folder with my Cuttlebug for the background of the lettering.

(The lighting isn’t the best so I apologize for the picture quality in advance)

The next card is just a straight forward Happy Birthday card. The “Birthday Girl” is from my “Storybook Cardridge” which is my favorite cartridge. I used this cartridge from my bridesmaids cards as well. For the embossing folder I used this fun swirly one I got at Michael’s.

I even did envelope liners and embossed the flaps for an extra little detail. To make the envelope liner I traced the envelop flap onto the back of the paper I was using for the liner and cut that out. I snipped each side a tiny bit so that it would easily slide into the envelope. The liner itself only goes half way down into the envelope and I used a glue stick to put in there. I also got to use my new Martha Stewart bone folder to make sure I had a smooth crease after adding the liner.

They aren’t the best, but not bad for my first 2 cards. I really like embossing the envelope flap, so that is something we could possibly do for our invitations.

You have probably figured out that I like craft stuff and DIY personal touches on everything. After Mr. Ducky saw how much I loved my Cricut and it’s creations, he decided to follow in a similar theme and get me a Cuttlebug for Christmas. “Cuttle what”? Yes, my friends it is another “craft insect” from Provo Craft to add to my collection and hopefully use for different details in the wedding. Do you think I’m a nerd yet?

The Cuttlebug embosses and does die cuts. Basically I can get different patterns and sizes of embossing folders to use on paper. I can also take specific dies to cut out specific shapes and unlike the Cricut I can get exact placement of where I want the cut to made.

An example of an embossing folder:

An example of a die cut:

The Cuttlebug was easy to figure out how to use, which is a good thing because I am not technically inclined. You use a spacer as the base and then in between two cutting pads you place the embossing folder with the paper inside.

Then after you have that set up, you place everything on the Cuttlebug and “wind” (my technical term) it through. It is not hard at all do do the “winding”. I was worried that I was going to have to press real hard or my arm would get tired if I was doing a bunch of embossing at once, but it is super smooth. You do have to press a little harder for the die cut though.

And after that you are done! Remove the paper from the embossing folder and you have a fancy design.

There are also smaller embossing folders like these 3 that give you smaller embossing images.

There are so many different kinds of embossing folder and die cuts, similar to the Cricut cartridges. I have several more generic embossing folders that can be used for any sort of event. However, there are more themed ones like thank-yous, babies, love etc. if you want to be specific. I like the you can buy individual die cuts if you want something really specific like a giraffe for example, where as with the cricut you would need to buy the whole cartridge which is much more expensive.

Now what how do I plan on using my cuttlebug for the wedding? Well to be honest I’m still figuring that out. I think I could use it on small details for our invitations and programs because it gives a more professional and polished look without me sending away for something like letterpress.

Do you have any ideas of how you would use a cuttlebug?

Up next is my first test projects with my new insect…