Stamped wedding invitation envelopes

I wanted to spruce up the envelopes for my wedding invitations -- it is a very special day after all, right? I wanted something simple though that didn't take oodles of time. So, I got the idea to stamp the envelopes.

For this project, I used the wedding invitation envelopes, a nice big bold stamp and an ink pad in the colour of choice (for me, this was coffee brown). A lap desk or hard surface like a closed laptop is also very useful.

The directions for this are simple: decide where you want to place the stamp on the envelope. For me, this was in the lower left corner. Then press the stamp into the ink, and stamp the envelope. Move to the next one.

Estimated time for this project: due to numerous breaks and other engagements, this took me four evenings to complete 250 envelopes. After doing 50 or so, I had to take a break because my wrists hurt!

Notes:

• For the best image, press the stamp from the ball of your wrist and put even pressure around the corners. Don't press lightly and try not to smudge the image. After a number of printings, your wrist should hurt but the image is crisp and clear.
• My colours were: cream envelopes, coffee brown stamp pads and a large fleur-de-lys stamp (bought in Tennessee).

Ideas:

• The possibilities for this are endless: which colour? which type of stamp? Do you only stamp once or a few times? Which corner should you use? Should it be the front or the back?

How to make an advice jar

If you are planning a wedding or other event that gathers a large group of people together for a good cause, this is a great idea to get people involved. An advice jar sits on a desk with a pen and is always ready for anyone to write down their thoughts and give advice. It's very fun to read the advice afterwards as people often write whatever they want. I had one of these sitting on a table at my reception and we had some hilarious bits of advice to read that night.

The materials required for this project are: paper in the color of your choice (at least 20-30 8 x 10 sheets), sharpened pencils, white eraser, craft knife, self-healing cutting mat, Glue Dots, marker, scissors, a stamp and stamp pad. A ruler is also useful for marking dimensions of the paper and sign.

The Jar:

I created a sign to label my jar using white paper. I cut it out in a rectangle then I labeled the sign using a good brown Sharpie and glued it all to a very large pickle jar using Glue Dots (available in Michael's).

(sorry, I thought that I had a better picture of it but apparently I don't)

The advice papers:

Next, I had to make the actual slips of paper that people write advice on. For mine, I marked 3 x 3 inch squares with pencil on 8 x 10 sheets of cream paper and I cut them out using a craft knife on a self-healing cutting mat (that would be way too much cutting with scissors). I erased all of the pencil marks then stamped one side of the papers with a large stamp in sepia brown ink (one of my wedding colors). Now they are ready for advice!

Estimated time for this project: labeling the pickle jar took about 20 minutes, but the advice papers took a few days as I made over 100 of them. It was a lot of minuche so I took days off between steps (marking, cutting, erasing, stamping).

Ideas:

• This is a great craft for a group of people. If everyone has one of the tasks or steps then it could conceivably be done in one afternoon. 
• Use any color marker or ink pad colour of your choice, same with the choice of stamp. If your wedding is purple and white, try using white paper with a brilliant stamp in purple ink.

Stamped envelopes

I made these envelopes for my wedding invitations. They are exceptionally easy, just hard on the wrist and kind of monotonous after a little while. What I recommend is to make this while you are watching a great movie. You will be done by the time that it is over.

To make this project, you will need one really great large stamp, a stamping ink pad in the color of your choice, and your envelopes. I bought the Environment Woodstock envelopes from Paperworks, size A-6.

I looked at the envelope and decided on where I wanted to place the stamp, in this case, the bottom left corner of the front of the envelope. To create these envelopes, firmly place the stamp on the stamp pad to ink it. Then hover the stamp over the corner of the envelope and firmly press down. It helps to use a hard surface like a book for this so that it does the work, instead of your wrist. Lift the stamp carefully to reveal your image.

Estimated time for this project: about 2 hours. I had 250 envelopes that were finished by the end of a long movie.

Notes:

• After about 50 envelopes, my wrist hurt so I changed my angle so that I pressed down with my entire palm instead of just one side.