DIY: Purple Haze Stationary

So the other day I was feeling inspired.

Yes, it might have been by the three beers I had just drank, but hey, inspiration comes from anywhere, right?

So I busted out the trusty paper cutter, inkadinkado, and some envelope liners, and made these notecards.

Perfectly purple, to go with the beer…or at least that’s how I justified it.

I don’t know if I will ever get good enough at stamping to do fancy things like embossing or debossing (can you ever just be “bossing” something..?) but I’m pretty happy with my stamping for dummies inkadinkado set. 

It lets you do nice accents easily, and its always an adventure in seeing how the patterns come out.

Just don’t use drink and use the paper cutter at the same time…

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Friday Find: Paperless Post

So as much as #ilovepaper, I love the convenience that comes with electronic communications.

Yes, I said “electronic communications.” I remember life before the interwebs, people, when computers needed start-up disks and you were sent to the library to learn how to use a mouse. #truestory.

Back to the matter at hand. Mainly, it’s that I don’t have a lot of my friends’ addresses on file. So, come cocktail party time (which is allthetime), it’s easier to send e-invitations.

Enter Paperless Post.

No more cheesy e-vites with bad pictures of oversized martini glasses and limited room for copy and important details like “bring wine.”

Finally, a e-invite service that has designs I am not ashamed to send. (Snaps to LKS for turning me onto this one.)

Paperless Post works two ways – there are electronic invites, and you can also select to have paper versions ordered.

The designs are more like real stationary than emails, and you have much more control over the actual design elements — like fonts, type layout, and images.

Did I mention the part where you can include electronic envelope liners and response cards? So much better than an e-vite.

When the invite is delivered, the image is embedded into the actual email, so your guests can literally click the envelope to open it, and fill out the response card. There is an auto-download feature to add the event to your preferred calendar service, and an option to include a link to the location.

Plus, there is a sweet big brother aspect to it where Paperless Post lets you track who has opened your invite, bounced emails, responded, etc. (To everyone who hasn’t RSVP’d for fall beer & wine tasting, I’m watching you…)

Plus, you can track it all in an iPhone app, and set up handy reminders to your guest list. Or do old-fashioned things like export it to an excel doc, if you like to roll Windows97 style.

Some designs are simpler, with just text — which you can select from the varied Paperless Post text library.

Others you can customize with your own images.

The catch? Not all the features on Paperless Post are free. The paper invites, for one, cost $. And some of the more premium features on the electronic invites, like the fancier designs or the envelope liners, cost “paperless post coins.”

You receive 25 coins for signing up, and there are a variety of options to earn more. Or, you can purchase coins – 25 for $5.00. As many of the premium features are 2 coins/recipient – it works out to be $5.00 to send 12 of the premium electronic invites, if you buy the coins outright. (Still, this is way more affordable than if you ordered paper cards from a stationary shop and mailed them USPS.)

However, there are enough free designs that you really don’t need coins unless you really want of of the premium designs.

The internet and paper, together as one? I’m sold.

Move over e-vite, Paperless Post is here.

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Summer BBQ Stationary: Swine You Up?

If you remember CP and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, then you already know I had a major stationary fail a few weeks back.

This is said stationary.

Cute, right?

I do have to admit, after I got over the minor phone number RSVP mishap, the reprints turned out even better than the first set.

I happened to get some new inkadinkado stamps for the occasion, which I used on the outside of the envelopes.

Of course, liners on the inside.

And then the actual cards? Just a cute invite to a summer barbeque, with the RSVP line really taking the cake.

“Swine You Up, or No Shanks?”

I crack myself up, seriously.

And the baker’s twine was a nice finishing touch, if I do say so myself.

As always, #ilovepaper.

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Monochromatic Stamped DIY Stationary

I might be on an inkadinkado kick.

Just a small one.

In addition to the bridal shower stationary, I made some monochromatic stamped notecards too.

Red cards with red ink – the stamp is fairly subtle, which I like. A lot of my stuff (neon anyone?) can be a bit loud, and I really like the quietness of these stamps.

And we all know know how I feel about fancy envelopes.

With liners.

I would seriously recommend an inkadinkado to anyone who likes stamping, or wants an easy way to spice up cards and stationary.

Let’s be real here, how cute are these?

This time, I stamped a 12 x 12 sheet of red card stock, and then used my paper cutter to make six cards (4 x 5.5). Stamping the paper first was definitely easier, but it was a bit harder to predict how the pattern would end up on the finished card.

Overall I was really happy with how these came out. I doubt most people receiving them will notice the liners or the finishing touches and minute details, but I like knowing they are there.

Custom Stamped Stationary with the Inkadinkado

So I’ve been getting back into crafting lately. I know, I always say that.

But seriously. I had an epic weekend of crafting.

One of my best friends is getting married this fall – and nothing is better to give at a wedding shower than stationary customized to the bride’s new last name. Sweet, right?

(Not to mention it helped me clean up at bridal shower bingo, I rocked the “homemade” category…competitive? me? never…)

So instead of my normal celery-stamps that I am known for, I decided to bust out the inkadinkado again. While the name is epically laughable, it does create some pretty sweet stuff.

I used 12 x 12 paper and sliced it into 4 x 5.5 notecards. These fit easily into 4.375 x 5.75 (A3) envelopes. I couldn’t decide whether to cut the paper first or stamp first, so I went with slicing the paper. This also gives you a bit more control over how the stamp is placed on the card.

And I stamped the envelopes too, because who doesn’t want to get a fancy envelope in the mail?

My favorite crafts are always the ones I make for people I love – and this was no exception. Can’t wait to toast the new Mr. and Mrs. S in the fall!

What I’m Loving Right Now: Neon DIY Stationary

I might be having a slight love affair with neons lately.

Yes, I know they are 1980s-esque and beloved by the Taylor Swift-liking under 21 crowd. Which, besides the fact that I like TSwift, I have nothing in common with…as I haven’t been under 21 in a loooooong while.

But I can’t help it. Neons just make me happy.

So I made some stationary.

In neon blue, pink, and green.

Talk about saying HELLLOOOOOO I received a freaking letter when you open one of these suckers.

These are 5″x7″ size, which gives the cards a substantial impact. I also really enjoy the contrast of the old-school engraving fonts against the neon paper.

I resisted making envelope liners for these…but only because I didn’t have matching neon paper for that.

But seriously, neons.

Love.

Easy DIY Thank You Card Set

So I still have a fascination with this whole “measuring” feature on my paper cutter. If I could go back to the days when I measured with a ruler and cut with an exact-o knife…I wouldn’t.

A few weeks ago I whipped up this set of thank-you cards. I already had the ‘thank you’ part printed out since I used them for my niece’s birthday party, and I hoard save things to “use them later.”

The blue paper was left over from my ombre Tiffany card project, and the dashed line cardstock I already had in-house.

A little slicing, a little glue stick action, and it’s thank you card game time.

I really like how these cards coordinate as a set.

Oh, and I still have more of the ‘thank you’ pieces to use up, so I’m sure you will see another variation of these on CP soon.

And who knows? Maybe I’ll even bake some cupcakes again soon, once I get this whole “work life balance” thing to stop being such a myth. Green velvet for St. Patrick’s Day anyone?

DIY Tiffany Blue Ombre Stationary

So I finally figured out that my paper cutter has this amazing feature, where it measures paper right as you cut.

That Martha Stewart, she thinks of everything.

And don’t judge, I would have figured this out sooner if I had actually read the directions…

Anyways, this is a vast improvement over measuring everything with a ruler.

So slicing and dicing custom cards is now pretty quick. Which is good when you’re getting ready for girls night out breakfast at tiffany’s birthday dinner and still haven’t started the cards…

But these went quick. I started off with 4 different shades of Tiffany blue for an ombre effect, in 12 x 12 paper.

Trim these down to fit in A6 envelopes.

Then a quick run through the printer to customize.

And done.

(For reals, I need to learn how to do letterpress to uplevel the wow here.)

I even got these sweet transparent envelopes to make sending the cards super fun.

But seriously? This whole “distance to the blade” feature is changing my life.

It’s the little things these days, really. 

And My Kraft Paper Obsession Continues…

We all know that I sort of, well, enjoy kraft paper. A lot.

Here’s the roundup of my holiday projects that involved kraft paper. And yes, I know it is well over a month since Christmas passed, but considering that I just took down my tree last weekend…it’s still holiday time here.

You can use it to make table runners, like this.

I really love this idea. Plus, you can do fun things like handwritten place settings or scrawl the menu out. (I did not do those things because it was only Christmas Eve and I needed to keep my over-the-top-ness to a minimum. Which was hard.)

Kraft paper also makes great invitations. Like the one for my Christmas Eve Spectacular.

(Yes, I send out invites to Christmas Eve dinner…hence the reason I had to keep the table runner simple.)

Or, you can use it to make Christmas cards.

This one was for my boss. She reads a lot of romance novels, which we jokingly refer to as “The Cowboy and the Princess.”

And it’s a great way to wrap presents. Plus, yarn is an easy upgrade from your basic ribbon.

Alright, I’m back to krafting. I mean, crafting.

Last Day! Snail Mail my Email

Fact: I love paper.

I love sending paper. And I love, love, love receiving paper. Getting the mail is one of my top ten favorite things to do. So much that I actually dislike days that the mail doesn’t come.

Like Sundays. And who dislikes Sundays? It’s like disliking Christmas. Blasphemy, folks.

Back to paper.

Today is the last day of ‘Snail Mail my Email,’ which is pretty much one of the coolest things ever. And it’s free.

The idea? Send an email (100 words or less) to snailmailmyemail2@gmail.com, along with the recipient’s physical address.

They’ll handwrite your note, make it all artistic, and send it in the mail for you. You can even select custom options for the note, like doodles or perfume sprays or lipstick kisses.

(Although the idea of some stranger kissing a note with lipstick that is then sent to one of my friends is sort of…creepy. Not to mention the germ contamination…sad side effect of paper mail.)

Did I mention that it’s free?

How did this all start? The project was started in 2011, with the goal of rebuilding personal connections in our digital world — and more than 10,000 letters were illustrated and mailed to over 70 countries. You can see many of these in the Snail Mail book.

So get writing!