Invitations that Snap!

Within my rather "exciting" previous post, I promised you lovelies a look at the Snapdragon wedding invitations! Before we get to the paper porn, I want you to know that the support I have received from the Hive has been invaluable. I have never in my life felt so much love and support from every person in every single area of my life. Many, many thanks, and much love! I am doing just fine.

And now.... on to the invites! As I have said before, these invites were a labor of love, and somebody besides my garbage guy should appreciate them!!! ;)

I refer to the Snapdragon invitations as Texture on Speed. Every piece in the suite is dimensional. I LOVE invitations that you can really FEEL - so that was in the background of my mind as the invitation design came to life. Every piece is DIY. The only way this invitation could have been more handcrafted would have been if I had milled the paper myself.... which would have been totally crazypants!

Guests would have received a white linen outer envelope (see photo above.) Then, they would have found a Stardream Lapis A7 inner envelope with their names artfully scrawled across the front:

Inside, my DIY Stardream Lapis pocketfold, with a Navy linen belly band, embossed in gold. I love the simplicity of "You're Invited."

Hmm, let's see what's inside! The blurs are to maintain my parents' privacy. Many apologies! The fonts are Parma Petit and Champignon, courtesy of DaFont.

A closeup of the main section... I used white linen matted by textured navy.

I doublestamped each invite in Navy ink with Gold overlay:

Then I embossed two Gold stars and "hung" them from the top stamp with gold embroidery thread. The embossing and sewing actually did not take as much time to complete as it might appear - however - I MIGHT have been under the influence of a bowl full of Starburst Candies. Um yeah. Sugar high.

Presented in the pocket, I enclosed an informational tri-fold. I bought the chandelier image from iStockPhoto, and the font is Exotica. I included information that our guests might need to know... our wedding website, accommodations, directions, and local dining and activities options so that our guests could make the most of their visit to Chi-town.

Hmmm, what's this? A map of my favorite city (tucked inside the tri-fold!)

I drew the outline of the map by hand with a high quality art pen. I am THE WORST at handling a nib, so that's why I opted for the version that wouldn't throw up India Ink all over my drawing. Kudos to those of you who have the nib skillz!

I scanned the drawing into my 'puter and colored the map in Illustrator....

I included iconic Chicago hot spots, as well as places that meant something to Mr. ex-Snapdragon and I. For my Dad, I included a fictional "Volvo Enthusiast League."

My father literally knows everything you could possibly know about Volvo automobiles. As an extremely safe car, all of the sibling Snapdragons learned to drive in a Volvo 240. To this day, Snapbrother Noah and I are the only Snapdragons to own a non-Volvo. Don't believe me? Check out this Volvo roll call snapped this past Christmas (ignore the PJs - it was Christmas morning!) We all stood in front of the Volvo in which we learned to drive. Our dogs wanted to sneak into the photo, too. :)

Um yeah, five Volvos, and that's not counting the Volvos that have been totalled, wrecked, or otherwise worn out by teenage drivers. The Snapdragons are crazy for Volvos. We are famous for them in our lil Texas town.

I printed the maps on white linen, and I mounted each piece on Stardream cover, with a cheesy gold stamp on the lower lefthand corner. Hey, weddings are totally appropriate for Cheesetown!

So that's that. The Snapdragon invitations. I hope this helps you find inspiration for your own invites! For me, I loved that my invitations were infused with so many personal touches. Anybody receiving these missives would have known exactly who sent them.

My last WeddingBee post will be in July, with a guide to my honeymoon (that I am taking with my sista!) 'Til then, what kinds of personal touches are you including in your own invitation design?