The Color Hive

In honor of Earth Day, I created the 'Color Hive' to share with you:

If you can't quite put your finger on what this reminds you of, here's a tip:

I've abused plenty of MS Office software to do my ghetto "design" work DIYing stationary, and in the process wasted a lot of time/scratch paper/ink to get the colors just right. Colors / shades on the computer screen can be quite different than what each printer produce, so printing this as a guide may be helpful in minimizing the steps and waste to get that perfect color.

*Originally I had made this in a full page PDF file for another free download, but I recently had to reimage my computer and I lost most of my templates in the process. I almost didn't post this but I figure it may still be useful if you print the top image.

Enjoy, and Happy Earth Day!

DIY Mini 'Laundry' Calendar - v.2011

I've gotten quite a few requests for an updated template of this little calendar (see original post HERE):


So I woke from my blog-hibernation briefly, updated the template and posted it for you to download. You can go to the original post for detailed instructions on how to make this. I added a calendar cover and a few more tag options in the new template, and it covers October 2010 through March 2012.

Download 2011 template HERE
Original post with DIY instructions can be found HERE

Goin' back to bed now, happy crafting!

Sweet Shower Thank You Postcard (Downloadable Template Included)

As promised, here are the matching thank-yous to MOH-Ho's shower invites:


I designed several back options for MOH-Ho to choose from. My favorite was the cleaner looking centered print...
but she preferred the one that had the lighter background pink text with the the original 'Sugar Spice Nice' reference.


Like her wedding invitation thank-you cards, I designed this to print on one side with the optional backside if you can get it to line up right. I'm putting up both our favorite options for download.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THIS TEMPLATE

Enjoy!

Sweet Shower Invites (Downloadable Template Included)

I am throwing a bridal shower for MOH-Ho and it is freaking me out! I did accomplish one thing, though not without huge assembly help from MOH-Ho and her momma - the shower invites:

MOH-Ho is a big time baker (she's the mastermind behind my wedding cupcakes) so she's getting a 'Sugar Spice Nice' theme dessert shower. The 3-page invite includes the basic invite on the front (sugar), details & rsvp info in the middle (spice), and a blank recipe card on the last for guests to share their favorite recipe with the bride (nice).

The linen texture strips of increasing lengths are aligned on the left side and sewn together with matching thread...

to give this staggering effect on the right:

The envelope is folded from pastel pink vellum and sewn shut. The invite info is covered by a matching address label.

I originally wanted the seal to be done with an off white linen ribbon matching the paper texture, but I wasn't sure it would hold up in the mail. Sewing it shut was a practical alternative, and it turns out to have a cleaner feel which I like.

The finished product:

Like MOH-Ho's wedding invitations, this set is also printed on a single piece of cardstock. Included are the 3 strips, address label, plus a couple extra matching small labels/tags:


CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THIS TEMPLATE


Also like MOH-Ho's wedding invitations, matching thank-yous will follow :)


NOTES:

• Paper - Recycled white linen cardstock for the invite, and pastel pink vellum for the envelope.
• Text - AFL Font Pespaye Nonmetric
• Envelope -

1. Cut 10" x 7" piece of vellum
2. Score and fold in at solid red lines (the 2 shorter folds first, then the middle)
3. Insert invite
4. Sew shut at dotted line right above top edge of invite

Planning this sweet shindig has been difficult for me for a lot of reasons. I've never attended a bridal shower before, I'm doing this long distance and my summer field assignment has kept me super busy and exhausted, plus I'm nervous that it won't be good enough for her friends and family (I'm not around women much!). Fortunately MOH-Ho has been very supportive and forgiving about my shortcomings. While I feel bad that she has to work on her own shower, I really couldn't do it without her!

Would you mind helping with your own shower?

MOH-Ho's Thank You Cards (Downloadable Template Included)

Matching the invite suite I designed for MOH-Ho, here are her thank you cards:


I included both the cover and the inside of this card for download (print one on the front and the other on the back of the same piece of paper). It was a pain to get it to line up correctly, and I don't have any tips to give on that one. If it's giving you too much trouble though, the cover alone still makes a nice card. The file contains these:


You can't see it from the pics here but I put in faint lines to help guide the cuts. Cutting the circle from the cover only works if you print both sides, but it is optional either way. I highly recommend scoring the card at the fold.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD TEMPLATE

Notes:

• Find details on the paper and envelope on the post for the invite suite
• Actual colors vary depending on your printer (also, if you print it on the gold paper like I did, the colors come out darker than they appear on white paper)
  

Enjoy!

MOH-Ho's Invite Suite (DownloadableTemplate Included)

EDIT: Apologies to those who were asking about this post, I had to take it offline for awhile and completely redo the photos. I know it took me a long time and the photos aren't as good as before, but everything is harder to do since I'm far from home, sorry about that.

Here are the invites I designed for MOH-Ho's wedding. I worked really hard on making these efficient (the set is printed on a single sheet of 8.5x11 cardstock). While I thoroughly enjoy receiving a pretty invite, I also feel terrible when I throw out fancy sets that include so much material. So I was thrilled that MOH-Ho and her parents appreciated the compactness as I did!

Here's the whole suite:

Instead of an inner envelope, I added matching circles with first names of guests to top the suite that is tied together by a cotton string:
A closer look at the directions/website card and the RSVP postcard:
Back of envelope and back of postcard:
The texture and color of the paper added the perfect touch :)
Cost Breakdown for 100 invites:

Purple Metallic Envelopes (100): $24
Gold Linen Metallic Cardstock (100): $28
String from craft store: $2
Tax & Shipping: $8
Home printing cost not included since I have no way to estimate and would vary depending on your printer

Cost per invite suite: $0.62


Below is the template set for this invite suite free for you to download:


CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD TEMPLATE PART 1 (PDF)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD TEMPLATE PART 2 (MS WORD)

Instructions:
1. Download both templates
2. Personalize text (change wording, color, font, sizes to suit your needs) in the word document
3. Print both templates on the same piece of test sheet (be sure to recycle scratch paper if you have some around!)
4. Modify text format and move text boxes as appropriate, then repeat step 3&4 on new test sheet until satisfactory
5. Print on paper of your choice, see my recommendations in post
6. Cut and assemble


Notes:

• Included are 3 cards, label, 2 name tags
• 3 cards are identically sized, fits in a 4 bar ( 3 5/8"x 5 1/8") envelope
• Postcard is slightly smaller than USPS standard (our local post office says they can still be mailed, just with a little more postage)
• Sample pic shown with Birch Std font
• Actual colors vary depending on your printer
  

Enjoy!

DIY Mini 'Laundry' Calendar

I love a useful / thoughtful favor as much as I despise little pieces of crap that ends up in the landfill right after a wedding. This idea spawned from my panic after hearing about yet another wasteful one in the works.

You can Download This Calendar for April 2009 through December 2010. I made a sample favor here by adding the circle design from MOH-Ho's invites on her wedding date.


Below are instructions to make the lil' calendar:

1. Cut an 8" long piece of wire (most wires would work, I used 26 ga. wire which was really thin):
2. Bend at 2 1/4" and 5 1/4" like this:
3. Pull wire through the springs of two mini 1" clothespins:
4. Bend, twist, and bend some mo' to make hanger shape:
5. Download Calendar and print (I recommend printing on linen paper for the texture. If you're making them in bulk, I suggest using recycled linen paper like this one.)
6. Cut or tear out each month, they need not be exactly the same size (I like to score then tear to give me torn edges that don't get too crazy.)
7. I've included little tags for the hanger which you can add as desired (see first or last pic), of course you can also make your own.
8. Clip 'em suckas with the clothespins and you've got yourself a wee hanging calendar!

It costs less than a shiny quarter and takes less than 5 minutes to make, so I made MOH-Ho a countdown calendar :)


Happy Crafting!