Tag: embossing

Wedding Favors

A few years ago, my friend decided to have a rather impromptu wedding and didn’t even send out formal invitations. She told me she didn’t want a big fancy traditional wedding, and that’s OK.  But part of what make weddings so special (aside from the gooey romance bit) is that it is a rite of passage from single life to married life.  She was leaving the tribe to set out on her own, as it were.  And from a cultural standpoint, the rituals associated with these moments are just as much for the tribe being left behind as they are for the individual leaving.

So I told her I was going to make her some wedding favors (notice that I didn’t ask) and she said “OK, but something simple”.  I made three prototypes: a CD, a bookmark with teabags, and a seed packet with a special tag.  She ended up loving all three and so I made enough so that everyone could walk away with at least two favors.

everything (2)
bookmark (10)

1. Bookmark and Bag of Teabookmark-a
I up-cycled some paper bags, embossed the edges and stamp with gold, and folded it into a pouch. The bookmark is 2-sided, with embossed stamping on both sides.  The tea bags have an embossed tag with the bride and grooms initial. 

bookmark (2)
bookmark (4)a
bookmark (3)

2. CD
cd (5)a
For these, I used my photo printer to print directly onto the CD and print the playlist. I made the CD holder out of heavy card stock with embossed stamping and edging on the front layers.

cd (4)
cd (9)
cd (8)

3. Seed Packet with Tag
seeds (4)
I used prefab tags, but changed the chord to match the color scheme. One side has the repeated design, the other side has embossed edging and stamping. seeds (5)seeds (3)

Final Thoughts

These weren’t difficult to make, but they were time consuming because of all the details.  I tried to make each one unique but also alike in some way.

One tip I can offer for those working on similar large projects is to pick one or two central themes and build around them.  For this project the flower stamp in a circle was integral to everything!  I picked three basic colors: burgundy, green, and blue – and made sure to incorporate them into each design in slightly different places.

The best part for me was they actually look quite lovely, in spite of the rough home made quality they inevitably had.  The best part for my friend was that they were one of a kind and fit in perfectly with her laid back, small wedding.

In the end, she realized that I was doing it for myself as much as for her because her wedding was so small, she didn’t even have bridesmaids or anything.  Now, I’m a part of her wedding for all time.

Thanks for reading!

-Leann

Greeting Cards on a Budget

I haven’t been able to build up much inventory over the past few months with moving and focusing on the job search and whatnot. Luckily, my friends still ask to buy my cards, so I’m able to stay inspired.  This has lead me down two roads.

wpid-wp-1407211076867.jpeg

The first road is making crafts on a budget, which is essentially what I have always done. Not only is this due to the fact that I have more time to craft when I’m out of work but also because even when I had a good job I couldn’t justify spending money on a Cricut or something like that. So when I started making cards last year I was making them from scratch. Sure I bought embellishments and stuff, but my cards took on a certain style simply because of the resources I had available (and what little techniques I knew back then).  Over the past year, I have spent a lot of time reading crafty blogs, watching YouTube videos, etc., and I still feel like a beginner at times. The latest technique that I learned is showcased in these cards: I love it! What you do is emboss your stamped image with clear or light colored powder and then use distress ink over the image in layers. The embossed image resists the ink and you get some awesome color effects this way.

wpid-wp-1407211090670.jpeg

The other road I mentioned above is one of buying greeting cards on a budget. My friend Maria was looking for cheap simple thank you cards that she could send out to a whole bunch of people. Since my cards aren’t “cheap” she didn’t think to ask me. But it made me realize that I should work on some simpler designs that use less materials and take less time so that I can offer them for half my normal price and not feel like I’m cheating myself.  So these are the first batch. Thank you Maria for the insight and inspiration:

wpid-wp-1407211928521.jpeg

 Thanks for reading!

– Leann