DIY: Hand-Stamped Invitations

As you may or may not know, my little sister recently got engaged. I am so excited for her! Without getting all mushy, just let me say her fiancé is one lucky guy and I fully support this union. And you know I'll be writing all about it as events unfold.

The wedding date is coming up fast: they will be married this July in San Antonio, Texas. As her maid of honor (yes, thank you, please hold your applause), I have jumped right into the planning of things, starting with a wedding shower in our hometown next month. 

And because I never do anything the easy way, I decided to hand make the invitations. Most of the products I used came from my new favorite store, Paper Source.

Materials (full list at the end of the post):

 Blank invitation:

 Envelope liners are a bit frivolous but I just love that pop of purple.

I cut regular white card stock down to place card size to make a small insert that lists the places Eva is registered. Emily Post probably would not approve but I figure if people are going to get gifts, it doesn't hurt to herd them in the right direction. I'd rather be a bit gauche than have Eva end up with six tea kettles.

I used a small sponge dauber dipped in water to seal the envelopes. I hate the taste of envelope glue and am secretly afraid that it's poison. I really don't want to die that way.

Now all that's left is to put them in the mail! I'm kind of proud of them though, so I might have trouble letting go. It was a fun project and I am fully available to make invitations for anyone else with a party coming up soon. Seriously.

Product List

Stamps:

Happily Ever After banner stamp

For Date Time Place stamp

Lovebird clear stamps (from a set from Hobby Lobby)

Sponge dauber

Ink:

ColorBox Dye Ink in Deep Grape

LePen in Brown

Paper: 

A2 scallop cards in luxe white

A2 envelopes in paper bag

A2 envelope liners in beet

Plain white cardstock (from Michael's)

Painting the States

I have a mild addiction to Pinterest. In case you have a life outside of the internet didn't know, Pinterest is a virtual bulletin board, where you can 'pin' things you find all over the internet: recipes, photos, tutorials, shopping finds, etc. Your pins are organized however you like and are a great source of inspiration for style/cooking/photography/weddings/future projects. 

Well, something finally came of my Pinterest obsession. Last week, I came across this:

Source

Which led me to this:

Source

WHAT. I'm all for cute art bits on Etsy. But there's a tutorial on how to make this it myself? It looked so easy, even for someone who the last time she picked up a paintbrush was to help her Dad paint the front of the garage. 

Now normally I express myself through baked goods, but after nearly three months of kitchen experimentation, my hips have sent me a cease and desist letter. Also, my bridesmaid dress recently arrived in the mail and while I love it, I had a conference with my abs and we agreed we'd like to see a little more of each other before the wedding in December.

Henceforth, I am in need of a new pastime. 

So the Pinterest find was kismet. I got myself to the nearest craft store and found a ridiculous bargain on canvases and some of those 2 oz bottles of acrylic paint. 59 cents a bottle. Not joking.  Obviously it was meant to be.

Thus armed, I began my foray into the art world.

My first attempt: our dearly beloved Indiana

Why just do one? Another of my favorite states: Massachusetts

close your mouth, stupid.

And then, because I'm having so much fun, I did an 8x10 of the whole U.S. with a heart over Indiana.

For obvious reasons, I put the 'hot' in 'hot mess'.

After all this, a normal person would pat themselves on the back and move on with their lives.  But I'm insane I have too much time on my hands to do that. And also I have a lot of favorite states. So I went back to the craft store and went a little nuts.

If anyone needs me, I'll be painting myself into kitschy, state-shaped oblivion.

At least until I go on vacation. In two days.