Invitation or Save the Date Deal!

Open my email box to this great deal from yet another new deal site! I think I get daily emails from 5 or 6 different companies now but, I have also bought some amazing deals! It's hard to give up on getting the emails - you know what I mean right? So, back to today's deal: $20 for $50 worth of invitations from Paper Culture.

Paper Culture has some unique differences when it comes to ordering online invitations - they have a nice comparison chart but, let's look at a couple of things that I think are pretty cool about this company! 

• All Cards & Envelopes: 100% Post-Consumer Recycled
• They plant a tree in your honor w/ EVERY Order
• All Cards: 130lb Paper
• FREE Mail & Addressing Service

I absolutely LOVE that they offer the mailing and addressing service - talk about a time saver! WOW. You only have to pay for the stamps - there are no hidden fees with this service and that really impressed me!

The deal is on now for $50 worth of invitations for $20! There are only a limited number of deals available but, you  have until August 26th to purchase this deal (unless they sell out!).

Paper Culture offers: Save the Date Cards, Moving Announcements, Thank You cards and so many other choices! This is definitely not a deal to miss! 

Aqua Blue and Red Wedding Color Inspiration

Are you ready for my favorite color combo? Sure, it's a little different and not your average wedding color - but these two colors together totally rock! I have seen these colors matched up before but, when I saw this gown from Bonny Bridal (style 6123) I was in love! What a gorgeous gown!

This dress is from the Crown Collection but, with it's little sweep train would be perfect for an outdoor wedding! I could even picture this dress in a tropical location - matching the ocean color! Just thinking about how beautiful this would be makes me want to fly off to an out of the way destination wedding!

The Ritzy Rose came up with this gorgeous brooch bouquet, Tutu cute flowergirl dresses, Handmade clutch for your bridesmaids, Crown Collection Gown, Carrie's Cakes has some awesome wedding cakes and if you are in Sandy, Utah you should check her out, this Save The Date Card does have a matching wedding invitation, my favorite handmade tie maker Me And Matilda has this adorable necktie and the paper place cards are certainly one of a kind!

Personal Style: Gothic, Punk, Vintage, Retro & Rockability

Weddings come in all shapes and sizes - and so does your personal style! I am all about the backyard, barnyard,  simple weddings as much as I am about the full scale, over the top, spend as much as you can weddings. Your wedding is about you - the couple! It should, most certainly, reflect personal style! These invites, save the date and accoutrements (oh my god I so love that word!) are very unique and very stylish: from Royal Steamline

Save The Dates for the couple who loves travel!

So...I was imagining a couple that met traveling or perhaps work for an airline....or maybe a couple that tried out for The Amazing Race...those were my feelings when I saw these Vintage Boarding Pass Save The Date cards from Etsy seller BeyondDesign. The seller writes about herself:


• Life is way too short to be ordinary
• Pink isn't just a color, it's a lifestyle
• Taking criticism seriously is a dangerous habit
• Nothing is more rewarding than working for yourself
• The growth of this business is a direct result of having really supportive friends and a phenomenal husband.

I absolutely agree with BeyondDesign's philosophy so I am proud to share her gorgeous Save The Dates! Check out her Etsy store - she has so many unique save the dates and she does invitations and monograms too! 

Vintage Boarding Pass Save The Date

Save The Date - By The Numbers!

A unique Save the Date - this is what I am sharing tonight. I see a lot of them, so when something different catches my eye I save it! This Save The Date would surely get me talking about the wedding I was saving the date for! I would even hang it over my wall calendar just to have something a little different! And, my little crafty friends, this would be a breeze for you! So....what you need:

• Punch Kit Number Stamper - like this one here for $21.99
• You need a liner for the inside of the envelope. If your colors are green - you are in luck! Just download this template here. For other colors you could just copy of paste the lines, put it in your own word processor and change the colors!
• A small ribbon
• A card to "anchor" the ribbon and numbers to - I personally think using a shaped card would be fun! Like these: Scalloped cards from Paper-Source. They sell in packs of 20 - but there is a great sale going on over there right now! 

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• Next up you are going to need envelopes. Assuming you are going with the scalloped paper they will fit in this envelope - called the 4-bar envelopes

So the site says that the number puncher they used was a little larger so you will have to check it out and make sure the smaller numbers will work for you. The other little idea I was was maybe adding text or an image on the Scalloped paper...and doing the paper on each side (so they can hang the banner!!). I just think this is really adorable and totally unique....and you can save a HUGE amount of money doing this! Also, that number puncher you bought? Could so easily be used again for things in the wedding (seating/escort card, table numbers, favors, etc!).

Since we are on Save The Dates....don't forget to check out my old blog post I did back in January! There are a couple of cool ideas I think that you will really like!

Source: Thank you Martha Stewart for your inspiration! 

The Key To Your Heart

I love old keys, so I can tell you now this is one my most favorite posts I have done for my blog! Skeleton keys have actually been popping up in weddings...they are vintage and they have history. There is a saying that if you wear an old skeleton key on a chain around your neck, you will open the doors of opportunity and success and guard against negativity....that's a nice theme for a wedding, right? So, here are a few things I found to go along with this theme:

A free monogram....yep, I said free! This monogram I created on Wedding Chicks (they have more!). You can pick colors and then use this on all your DIY items! Pretty awesome!!

Maybe you want to use these keys for your save the dates - just add a hang tag to it and mail it off! Would be a unique save the date for sure! Also, you can use them for your seating chart or escort cards! These keys are actually made from wood!! They are much more affordable than actual antique keys as well ($6.95 for a set of 12):

I also adore bouquet charms! I found this one on Etsy for 39.00. This could actually be used after the wedding to (in a pretty photobox).

And, finally if you are looking for something blue to add to your wedding....or you happen to be doing a tiffany blue theme I thought these earrings would work well. These actually could work for the bride or as a perfect maids gift! They are only $22.00 from Etsy seller Bionic Unicorn

Picture Collages

I have a lot of pictures that I like to use in my posts - it makes it a lot easier to show all the fun things I like to write about! So, today I was checking out the different online collage software. I decided to download a free version of Picture Collage Maker and tried out a few sample collages! I like it! Anyone who is using collages for the wedding websites, save the date cards or scrap booking will find the user interface very easy! Check out this sample for how easy Save The Date cards would be:

Another easy thing you could use this for would be for making a story board - which is what I want to use it for when I am blogging about color specific items for weddings or for my give-a-ways I host. I am working on the April give-a-way now and I think having one photo of everything (because you can save the collage as a JPG file or print it out!) is a perfect way to show off the items! Let me know what you think when you see the give-a-way I have planned for April! My final note about this product is that you can download the trial version and if you like it and want to purchase the full version - if you have a blog or website and you talk about your use of the product they will send you a license to use the product for free! That's a nice deal! So get creative and have some fun....let me know what you will be using it for!

Wedding Planning 101 - Part 6

I am going to take a break in all the major planning you have to do while preparing for The Big Day and in this post talk about your Save The Date Cards. If you are not familiar with all the terms - and lets be honest, who is unless you are a paper diva - then I suggest you learn about all the different options you have for paper and printing. I found a nice little tutorial that will get you started at Beau-Coup. They make it pretty easy to figure out what all your paper options are.

Let's start with our Save The Date cards, because pretty much that will be the first paper/printed item you send out once you have set your date. Save the date cards have taken over the standard wedding announcement cards. I love them because you have so many options. There has been a lot of buzz lately on this Epic Save The Date video created by Erin and Jeff. It is totally amazing and creative! I can only imagine what their wedding will be like if it's starting like this!

I found this picture and had to add it! Wow if you are lucky enough to live in Sydney I would check out this photographer for sure! I love her work...and this Save The Date shoot was adorable! It's so awesome to see such creative work! Kudos to you Caspix!

One site I love for Save The Dates is Shutterfly. They are affordable, fast and the best part: they have a 100% satisfaction guarantee! That is pretty amazing - considering that usually on printed items once you buy it, it's yours forever. I have to give a shout out to them for having this policy. Shutterfly has plenty of STD cards to choose from - with or without pictures! They also offer other items to go along with your choice, which ties everything together!

If you want to get crafty on your Save The Date cards you need to head over to my favorite craft site, Etsy!
I found these cute tags that can be used for a DIY project! I can imagine a cute heart circled around your date...

If you want to DIY well then I suggest you check out Paper-Source.com. I can't say enough about this company! They have everything you need to DIY! I used them for a lot of my DIY invitations. They offer some great tutorials and guides like:

• Print at home instructions - a must read for anyone who is going to DIY
• Need to know what size envelope to order - check out this pdf guide
• Save The Date Template
• All kinds of Paper and Envelopes in tons of colors!

If you decide DIY is not an option but you love the work at Paper-Source (like me!) then they do offer printing services. Keep in mind...the folks over here know and love paper and they are very creative and...you guessed it, they are not cheap! I still have to give mad love to them though because they know their stuff!