Will You Be My Bridesmaid? Wedding Project #1

One great thing about being engaged (one of many!) is that it is providing ample opportunities to let my creative side loose.  The first project I'm going to post about is something I must admit I am pretty proud of- my bridesmaid invitations!

When I first saw something on Pinterest about bridesmaid invitations I absolutely loved the idea.  I liked this one and this one and I really liked this one, but nothing felt quite right for me.  The box one was really hard to say no to, but I have limited funds and too many bridesmaids that I had to mail these invitations to!  Plus, I don't really like to copy/paste, and that includes seeing an idea and following the step-by-step instructions; I have to make it my own!  I encourage anyone who sees this and happens to like it enough to use it for their own purposes to use this idea as a template only and let your creative juices flow, but feel free to do it the same way if that's how you roll :)  I'm still fairly new at this whole taking step-by-step pictures thing, so excuse these pictures if they aren't the most clear!

I started out with white square scrapbook paper.

All fresh and waiting to be crafted on!

And picked up this cool scrap paper pad at the craft store.

I love this look!

These papers are double-sided, with each side having a different pattern.  This cover shows the majority of patterns to be had in the booklet but there are also solids on some of the pages.  Quality, thick paper!  I loved it!

Next step was that I folded in the four corners of my scrapbook paper so that it made a sort of envelope (sorry no picture of this particular step...hopefully you can envision how it looked).  I then unfolded it and lined around the creases with strips of the fun paper, like so:

It was so fun to mix and match the colors on each invitation!

This step was a bit time consuming (in fact this whole project was a bit time consuming. I turned on Grey's Anatomy from episode 1 and thus I made it ok for me to sit watching tv for hours because at least I was being productive!).  I used the first strips I cut as a template for all the other ones which made cutting a bit quicker.  I also used rubber cement, my preferred method of sticking things together, for this whole project.

The next step came after staring at my 6 folded and bordered pieces of paper for quite some time because I was pretty much making this up as I went along.  I had an idea of what I wanted to include in these invitations and I wanted to make them a reminder of the relationship I have shared with each of the women I chose.  

*A quick side note: I have since added a 7th bridesmaid, Michael's sister Kristen, who was the one (with her husband Matt) that introduced Michael and me and was one of our biggest supporters while we were dating.  She (and the rest of my soon-to-be in laws!) makes me feel like such a welcome addition to the family and I am so sorry she didn't get one of these invites!  

The nostalgic side of me is a pretty big one and so I LOVE pictures and knew that had to be a part of this project.  I had lots of fun walking down memory lane picking out pictures of myself and each bridesmaid to include! 

MOH #1, my sister, then and now :) 

At this point I realized I had lots of paper pieces left over from cutting strips so I set to work cutting out hearts to use as fun accents on the invitation.  Because who doesn't love hearts for a wedding?

Two hand cramps later I was rather pleased :)

The next step was to fill my bridesmaids in on what kind of wedding to expect so they could say yes in good conscience, not wondering if they just committed themselves to some kind of crazy themed wedding or a scuba-diving extravaganza or something like that.  I'm kind of a wild card and they would have wondered uneasily in the back of their minds without reassurance.   Lucky for them I'm going more traditional :)  

I got pictures of some bridal parties that had mismatched dresses like what I am going for so that those of my bridal party who do not scour Pinterest all the time would know what I was talking about.  I also got some paint swatches because I am a visual person and like to have all the details in front of me, and I of course assume everyone is just like me.  I added a personal note about why I chose them for my bridesmaid on one of the triangle flaps (tears may have been shed) and wrote out details of what to expect- location, general date, outdoor reception, etc in the center.  This last part was a little boring, as I had to hand-write the details over and over again, but the end product was worth it I think!

The finished product :)

The final step was to fold all the flaps back down and tape it shut, with a little note to open it carefully.  I wrote the addresses on the back and shipped them off!  I liked knowing that I was sending off a bit of happiness to each of the girls on the day it arrived in their mailbox.  Who doesn't like to get mail that isn't bills??  I also didn't tell anyone who my bridal party was before they got these invitations, so it was (mostly) a surprise for them!  

Hope you enjoyed this project!  I'll be doing lots more of these as wedding projects come up for our DIY celebration :)