My friend Amy and I met in the second grade on the DeVaney school playground. She was the new kid and I asked if she wanted to jump rope. We’ve been friends ever since. Last weekend I was giddy to stand up as a bridesmaid in Amy’s Greenwich Village wedding to Jeff Hock. I needed to gift wrap a USB drive filled with music that I bought them to enjoy on their honeymoon flight to South Africa. And I needed to take the wrapped box through airport scanners.

Years ago I bought a vintage kissing couple pendant at a Manhattan summertime flea market. I wore the sweet thing ad nauseum, which you can see here in this summer cider and berry smoothie post that includes this photo of me fawning over Stephanie and Dale at the Green City Market. But then the clasp on my pendant broke …and I was heartbroken. Since then I’ve kept my broken pendant in a ceramic bowl on my dresser. Then it occurred to me to give it a new life by scanning and enlarging it to make this romantic package decoration.

WANNA MAKE IT? Get the full supplies list and step-by-step tutorial for the kissing couple >>>

Supplies:

• Kathy’s free kissing couple template with inside lid message (PDF) – includes message that fits the lid of a 3.5″ x 3.5″ size (TIP: Download a trial version of Adobe Illustrator or rent computer time at FedEx Office to customize the inside box message for your recipient). If you have a larger box use this template that contains three different sizes of the kissing couple (PDF).
• Eggshell blue wrapping paper
• Empty recycled jewelry box – mine was an old 3.5″ x 3.5″ Banana Republic box
• 1 sheet white card stock
• USB drive
• Amazon.com MP3 downloads (keepin’ it legal)
• Xacto knife (this is my kit), metal edge ruler and gridded self-healing rotary mat OR good paper scissors
• Foam mounting squares (I used gray because I had it in the house; you could also try these 3-D foam adhesive dots)
• Scissors
• Tape
• Rubber cement
• White tissue paper
• Computer
• Printer

Make your mix on a USB (burning a CD-ROM is so 2000)
Purchase MP3s from Amazon.com and move to your recipient’s USB drive. I included a couple old romantic favorites: “This Old Love” by Lior and “Reminiscing” by The Little River Band.” Wrap your box TV-style Ever notice how on TV gift boxes are never wrapped closed? Well, that’s kind of what I needed to take on the flight just in case TSA needed to search my carry-on baggage. And as a side-bonus it keeps the presentation intact after unwrapping. Wrap the lid and the base of your box separately, ensuring that the blue wrapping paper fully covers the inside sides.

Download and print my free template of the inside box message. I have included a blank version on the template that you can use as is, or if you’d like to customize it, just download a free trial version of Adobe Illustrator or rent time at your local FedEx Office.

Affix your heartfelt message on the inside lid of the box using rubber cement.

Add the kissing couple
Print my free kissing couple template on white card stock and carefully cut out the shape using an Xacto knife and self-healing mat.

Cut foam mounting squares into smaller squares. I used gray removable squares that I already had but I recommend buying white for this project.

Peel off the backing and stick on the back of the kissing couple and heart.

Affix to the box for a slight 3D effect. Put the USB drive in the box and close. Forever kisses, forever bliss to Amy and Jeff!

Whew! I finally edited and posted our episode of ‘Amazing Wedding Cakes’ that first aired June 2009 on WeTV …right after Bridezillas as a part of WeTV’s We Go Bridal night. Check it out below…

The background: While on the road in Austin for SXSW, I got a call from Mary Maher from Cakegirls. Cakegirls is a super creative bakeshop extraordinaire owned by two Chicago sisters, Mary and Brenda Maher. Cakegirls has garnered awards and press galore for their luxury cakes, wedding cakes and specialty cakes. Mary wanted to feature our poppy wedding cake on season 2 of ‘Amazing Wedding Cakes’, a nationally broadcasted reality cake TV show starring the Maher sisters and three other US cake creators from coast-to-coast.

After a little begging with Shane, we stopped by The Cake Girls’ Belmont Avenue shop on a cold winter day to film our segment. I brought along my wedding inspiration – a swatch of retro-poppy fabric – that we used as the central theme throughout our wedding, from our sewn fabric invitations to table numbers, guest towels, ring bearer pillow, place cards, sewn zigzagged programs, menu, reserved signs, whimsical flower garland “altar” and bridesmaid’s handbags.

I probably should have thought to brush my hair or put on a little makeup before going on national TV :) but overall it’s so much fun to see our cake as a part of the show. And I’m secretly relieved that I don’t come off too much like a Bridezilla…

I am totally in love with these sewn fabric wedding invitations that I designed for recent bride Natalie Fayard.

Thanks to Google, Natalie and her mother found me and my sewn fabric poppy wedding invitations that were featured in the The Knot’s 2007-2008 Fall/Winter National Magazine. Natalie had found this lovely yellow, black, white and khaki fabric that has such energy and throwback personality:

One tricky wrinkle: Natalie’s fabric had a lot of large flowers (3″ – 4″) and smaller flowers that were not “perfect,” overlapping to create oddly shaped sides when cut out. To make things worse, the “perfect” flowers were so spread out that it would require oodles and oodles of expensive yardage to get a full-flower look.

So I noodled around and designed this variation for Natalie featuring half flowers layered on top of loose fabric leaves. I couldn’t be more more thrilled with this design twist …and to tell the truth, I think I like these even better than my poppy ones.

From Natalie: “A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!  Kathy, they’re awesome; you are so great honestly! …Thank you again so much for all your hardwork and all the time you took to assist me with this project. I look back and have learned so much.”

You’re more than welcome to use this invitation template and design for free with the request that anyone using this template or design post a comment below or email me to track its usage. Craft and pass it on!

Supplies:

• Kathy’s sewn invitation text template in Adobe Illustrator CS3 (429K, uses Copperplate Gothic Bold and Spoleto from Novel Fonts, not Monotype. If you can’t find this version of Spoleto you could substitute Machiarge or Fenway Park)
• A6 size (4 1/2″x 6 1/4″) flat luxe cream cards OR 8 1/2 x 11 luxe cream 210g text paper (also available in bulk) or other heavy paper
• A7 size (5” x 7”) flat yellow cards
• Flowers and leaves cut out of fabric – edges should be raw
• 4.75” x 6.75” fabric squares for invitation backs – edges should be raw (optional)
• Fusible interfacing (craft, medium or heavyweight)
• Yellow thread
• A7 size (5 1/4″x 7 1/4″) yellow envelopes
• Rotary paper trimmer OR Xacto knife (this is my kit) and metal edge ruler if you’re printing yourself and cutting 8 1/2 x 11 paper
• Gridded self-healing rotary mat, clear fabric ruler and rotary fabric cutter for cutting fabric squares (you will thank me)
• Good fabric scissors
• Good iron
• Sewing machine

This time I created a special ‘how to’ video for you featuring a fun song called “Valley of the Dolls” by Mylo that my friend Chad Crosby included in a CD mix that he made for me.

Traditional step-by-step instructions and photos are after the jump. Don’t feel like making them yourself? Contact me and I’ll help.

COPYRIGHT NOTE: You’re more than welcome to use this project and template for your own personal use. Please post a comment below or email me if you use this project so I can smile when I see that it’s being used. Craft and pass it on!

Print invitations
First design the text in Illustrator using my template or your own design. You can either get them letterpressed or print them on your computer or at Kinko’s. (Note: Buying A6 and A7 flat cards will save you a lot of time because they’re already the right size. However, if you decide to print them on your own computer and your printer can’t handle odd sizes, buy sheets of paper instead of A6, print 2 per page and cut to size.)

Cut flowers and leaves
Press fabric flat. Iron on interfacing behind areas of flowers and leaves to stiffen and add weight (you can skip this if you’re using thick fabric).

Cut out flowers and leaves, making sure to cut slightly *outside* the lines. Remember not every invitation needs to be exactly the same.

Cut all large and odd-shaped flowers so that they bleed off the top of the invitation.

Cut fabric for invitation backs

Iron craft weight interfacing onto fabric (if using thick fabric you can skip this step).

Using your rotary cutter and ruler cut 4.75” x 6.75” squares, one for each invitation back. Remember all fabric edges are intentionally left raw and unfinished.

Stack your invitation and sew
Place the fabric rectangle back face down on your mat. Layer on the A7 flat yellow card next and then the A6 cream printed page on top.

Sew yellow thread through all three layers 1/8th of an inch from the cream sides; you can either backstitch or tie it off (here’s a perfectionist trick: backstitch where the flower is going to go to hide your backstitch).

Here’s what the sewn fabric back looks like.

Put the flower on the top and slip a loose leaf underneath. Sew around the edge of the flower. Leaf edges will be raw and loose.

You will see the stitching on the back of the invitation; again, this is intentional to add to the texture and handmade feel. Voila!

Get creative! Layer flowers on top of loose leaves and sew around edges

Mix and match flowers and leaves to create a range of pretty invitations.

For instance, I made these leaf-only “more manly” invitations were for Natalie and Jeff’s single male guests :)

Create bunches of variations and have fun!

Don’t feel like making them yourself? Contact me and I’ll help.

COPYRIGHT NOTE: You’re more than welcome to use this project and template for your own personal use. Please post a comment below or email me if you use this project so I can smile when I see that it’s being used. Craft and pass it on!

Cristin Siegel made this sophisticated wedding card box to collect cards at her sister-in-law Mara’s wedding reception. Pretty crafty and much cuter than a most of the pre-made money boxes being sold out there, don’t you think? And it coordinated perfectly with Mara’s black-and-yellow wedding theme to boot.

This craft would also be great for storing photos or papers in a den or office, sans ribbon, of course.

Supplies:

• Sturdy box (cardboard shoe box or other; be sure to choose a deep one if you want to cut a card slot)
• Bookbinders glue (also at Paper Source)
• Brush (Cristin used a silicone basting brush for easier clean-up)
• Decorative paper for outside and inside
• Satin ribbon

Find a sturdy box with a lid and make sure that both the bottom and the top are in good shape.

NOTE: If you’d like to cut a card slot for people to drop cards in, first be sure you’ve chosen a box that’s deep enough. Then cut a slit in the box that’s 1/4″ wide and at least 6″ long. Cristin opted to skip the slot, instead decorating the inside of the box as neatly as she did the outside. If you’ve chosen to cut a slit, then in subsequent steps below you’ll need to cut your decorative paper and wrap it inside the slot to finish it off.

Spread book binding glue on the box and wrap the top and bottom individually with decorative paper. Tip: Cristin recommends using natural or recycled paper because the texture helps to hide any wrinkles or imperfections you might get in the box because of the glue.

Optional: If you’d like to add a ribbon to the lid: Cut one piece of ribbon that will goes from inside the left side to the inside of the right side. Glue one end in place, stretch the ribbon across the top of the lid, and glue the other end inside the lid. Cut two more pieces of ribbon long enough to act as ties. Glue one end to the underside of the box, leaving the other end loose. Repeat on the other side. Once dry, tie the two ends together into a bow. No need to be too particular about the ribbon ends, as you’ll cover up the ribbon ends on the inside with the yellow paper.

For the inside Cristin chose a solid yellow color wrapping paper, but she wanted it to be textured to better match the outside. Measure one piece of paper for the interior bottom and four pieces of paper for each of the four interior sides. To get a textured effect, ball up the paper up tightly in your hands to get it to fold and wrinkle. Smooth it out again and you’ll now have a textured look. Glue the paper inside the box. Repeat on the inside of the lid, covering up the loose ends of the ribbon.

I really like this thoughtful detail from Cristin and Adam Siegel’s Chicago nuptials. Cristin tied handmade name tags around the tops of water-filled glass Ball mason jars to hold the bridal party’s bouquets during the reception. And aren’t the bridesmaid bouquets that feature orchids and fiddlehead ferns lovely?

Supplies:

• Thick paper in two colors (Cristin used solid and patterned natural shades for her fall nuptials)
• Rub on letters
• Ribbon
• Hole punch
• Glue stick or rubber cement
• Ball mason jars
• Pre-cut paper flowers (optional)

You should be able to find the supplies in the Joann.com scrapbooking section. Cut your paper into a tag shape. Cut narrow rectangles and glue them about 1/4th inch from the end. Position the rub-on letters and follow the directions to transfer them one-by-one onto the tags. Optionally add pre-made paper flowers.

Punch a large hole into the top of the tag, slip the ribbon through the hole, and wrap and tie the ribbon around the top of the jar.

Like this project? Be sure to check out Cristin and Adam’s popular free template for their Giving Tree Save the Date Wedding Announcement.

Holy smokes! This invitation by Nick and Nikki Lo Bue is one of the most amazing wedding invitations I’ve ever seen.

Nick and Nikki had a charming story behind their relationship which inspired them to make this stunning book as their wedding invitation. Making the wedding book gave the couple a fabulous opportunity to tell their story to friends and family as well as give guests a cute keepsake.

They asked a dear friend who also happened to be a copywriter to write their story and worked closely with their friend Stacey Stern at Steracle Press to help bring their wedding book concept to reality.

Nick’s friend Jeff Carlson drew the super cute color illustrations such as the couple’s daily Starbucks runs at work where they met, the home-y Chicago skyline, and more.

The wedding book begins with the story of how Nick and Nikki met at a Chicago design firm, followed by the unique story behind their relationship including daily Starbucks runs and a move for one to Austin and back, and Nick’s proposal, ending with the formal wedding invitation/details.

Nikki included a perforated and stamped RSVP postcard at the end of the book for guests to tear out and mail.

Wherever possible, Nikki used archival paper/elements to create the book to ensure that it will last a long time without yellowing or showing signs of age. Suppliers are listed later in this post.

Not only did Nikki make the invitations but also the lovely letterpressed fabric book jackets, mailing labels, belly bands around the boxes as well as the ‘nikki & nick’ tags on the cloth drawstring book bags.

Nikki has kindly documented free step-by-step DIY instructions and supply lists after the jump. We request that if you use this idea or instructions, please post a comment below. Enjoy making your very own smythe sewn book!

NOTE: The instructions that follow are not for the faint of heart. Fortunately, graphic designer Nikki is available to provide her services to you. Feel free to contact her at nikkilobue[AT]gmail[DOT]com or 512.627.2607. Lucky you!

Book pages

• 8.5”x11” sheets of paper for book pages (we used Crane’s pearl white wove unwatermarked paper, which is an archival sheet and ordered it through Lewis Paper)

Use a page layout program to design/layout your book pages; a page layout program such as Adobe InDesign or QuarkXpress would be best, but Microsoft Word could work if you do not have access to a page layout program. Layout your book pages in reader’s spreads in landscape format, knowing that the finished size of each page will be 5.5”high x 4.25”wide when the page is folded. Allow 1.125” margins on the right and left edges of your document (you will need the extra width when the pages are folded and stitched so that the content of your book is far enough away from the spine). Allow at least .375” margins on either side of the center of your document. A good margin to use for the top and bottom is .75” or 1”.

After you have completed your layout for your book, you will need to imposition your document pages, meaning you will sequentially reorder the pages by shifting each page one page to the left in your document (so your document pages will no longer be in readers spreads, but once you fold the printed pages and put them in sequential order, they will be in readers spreads once again). After you have prepped the pages, you may want to print out a copy of your book and make a dummy to make sure all of your pages are appearing in the correct order.

Once you have imposed your document and prepped it for printing, you can print the book pages yourself if you have the capability, or have someone else print them for you.

Fold your printed pages in half to be 5.5”high x 4.25”wide. To make a really crisp edge, press a Teflon bone folder along the folded edge. Sequentially order your folded book pages and set them aside.

Letterpressed Front and Back Book Covers
Choose a cover weight paper for the front and back covers of your book, and create your design. You can print the covers yourself if you have the capability, or you can send them out to be printed by someone else. We designed our front and back book covers and had them letterpressed on Crane’s Lettra Pearl White 110# Cover stock, which was an archival paper made specifically for letterpress printing; it also matched the paper stock we used for the pages of our book.

If you choose to have your book smythe-sewn, check with your binder to find out what size they would like to covers to be – they will likely want them to be larger than what the finished size of the book will be, because they will line up the pages of the book and trim off any excess so that the finished edges of the book pages will all be flush. Our book covers were 4.375” wide x 5.75” high before sending them out to be smythe sewn and trimmed.

If you will not be having your books smythe sewn, you can make the document size for the covers to be the finished size of the books – 5.5”high x 4.25”wide.

Once you have your front and back covers, you can send them out along with your book pages to be bound.

Optional: perforated RSVP card
Since our books were also our wedding invitation, we included a perforated and stamped rsvp postcard at the end of the book, which our guests could tear out and send to us. The front of the postcard asked the usual rsvp info (name, how many guests would be attending, meal choice, etc.), and on the backside we included an area where the guests could write us a note if they wanted to.

We had our rsvp card letterpressed printed, and so our letterpress printer perforated the cards for us after they were printed. We worked with our smythe sew binder to determine what the size of the card should be, and how far away the perforation needed to be from the spine. Our rsvp cards were 4.375” wide x 5.75” high before sending them out to be smythe sewn and trimmed, and were perforated .75” away from edge of spine on the long side of the book (the 5.75” side). The cards were letterpressed on the same paper stock as our front and back book covers, using the same ink colors.

Smythe sewn book binding
If you have a really thin book you could probably try and stitch it yourself by hand or on a machine. If you have a thick book like we did, you will need to send out your book components to be professionally bound. Research book binders in your area to find a vendor who can smythe sew (stitch bind) the books. It may help to go through a printer – chances are they will have the capability to bind books in-house or will have a trusted vendor that they use. Ask the binder to see some thread samples so that you can decide which color you would like to use. They can also advise you on various details such as how far away the stitching will be from the spine, and how far apart each stitch will be. When you have all the book components ready (front covers, back covers and interior pages), you can send the components out to be Smyth sewn and trimmed. Check with your binder first to find out how they would like to receive the book components – if they have the capability to trim the books after they have been sewn, they will most likely prefer the covers and interior pages not to be trimmed to size because they will do it themselves, which will affect the size of all the book components.

Letterpressed Fabric Book Jackets
What lovely green fabric book jackets covered the books.

Supplies:

• Iron
• Exacto knife
• Pencil
• Ruler
• Large cutting mat
• Teflon bone folder
• Wax paper sheets
• Book fabric (Rainbow Ecological Fiber – we used Rainbow Brillianta 4250 Lime, which came in a 52.5” yard roll)
• Oversized text weight paper (we used 26” x 20” sheets of solid paper from Paper Source)
• Fusion 4000 acid free adhesive (comes on a 40.5″ x 30” yard roll from Talas)

Turn on your iron to the heat setting specified in the directions that came with the Fusion 4000. Using a pencil, ruler and an exacto knife, trim the book fabric and Fusion 4000 into 26” x 20” sheets to match the size of the Paper.

Next step is to iron the book fabric, Fusion 4000, and paper together; heating the Fusion 4000 activates the adhesive, which will seamlessly fuse the book fabric and paper to make your jacket. For the best results, follow the instructions that came with the Fusion 4000 and do some test runs until you get the hang of the method. If you would like to have a design letterpressed onto your book jackets, it would be a good idea to save some of your imperfect jackets so you can give the samples to your printer. They can use the jacket samples to do some test prints to make sure the printing process will produce desirable results.

The order of the layers should go (from top to bottom): 1 large sheet of wax paper, book fabric, Fusion 4000, paper. Place your iron on top of the stacked elements and quickly and thoroughly iron all areas of the sheet, moving the wax paper with you as you iron (using the sheet of wax paper will allow you to move the iron more freely over the element, while protecting the elements from being burned by the iron, or having any of the Fusion 4000 adhesive accidentally getting onto your iron).

When you are finished ironing, let the jacket cool and then use magazines or books to weight it and keep it flat – this will help prevent warping and curling.

If you are not going to have a design printed on your jacket, you can trim the jackets down to their final size with an exacto knife, ruler, and a cutting mat. Be sure to use a sharp exacto knife blade when you are trimming; using a dull blade will cause the fabric to fray as you trim. The final size of your book jacket will depend on the height width, and thickness of the finished size of your book. To determine what the (flat) length of your jacket should be, add the width of the front and back covers to the width of the spine, then add 1/8”. Try making a test jacket and fitting it on the book first to be sure it will fit before trimming down all the rest of your jackets.

Place the fabric side of the jacket face up, and measure the width of your book. Then, in the center of your jacket, lightly mark the width of the spine at the top and bottom of the jacket with a very sharp pencil. It may help to center the spine of your book face down in the center of the jacket and use that as a guide to place your marks. After you have marked the width of the book spine, work your way out to mark the next set of score marks, which should be the width of the book cover +1/16”. Take that measurement and mark the width on either side of your spine marks (these are the score marks that will enable the jacket to wrap around the front and back covers of the book). After you have finished making your marks, line a ruler up to the corresponding marks at the top and bottom edges; and, with the end of the Teflon folder (whichever end you feel most comfortable using) press a line into the jacket.

Optional – printing:
If you choose to have a design printed on your jackets, you will need to do a little research and find a printer (I recommend using a letterpress printer) who has the ability to print on the book fabric you would like to use. Once you find a printer, you can work with your printer to find out what size the book jacket sheets need to be before they can be printed on – sizes will vary depending on the size of their letterpress.

Layout the design for your book jacket, and include crop marks to indicate the final (flat) trim size of the book jacket. If possible, ask you printer if you can approve a print so that you can know what to expect to see in the final product,

Once you receive the printed jackets back from the printer all that will be left to do is to score, fold, and wrap them around your book.

Optional finishing touches…

Boxes, bags and padding
A nice way to protect and contain your book is to place it in an appropriate-sized fabric drawstring bag (you may want to iron the bag first to remove any wrinkles).

Supplies:

• 5” x 7” cloth drawstring bags from PackCo
• 7” x 5.5” x 1” kraft jewelry boxes from Uline
• Peat Moss, crinkle paper, or tissue paper for padding

If you are going to mail your book or give it someone as a gift, you can place the book into a lined box (such as 7” x 5.5” x 1” kraft jewelry boxes from Uline). Unless the book fits snugly in the box, you will need to use a material to pad the box to protect the book from moving around and potentially damaging the book. A few ideas for padding are: peat moss, crinkle paper, and tissue paper. Line the box with your desired material, place the book in the box and close the lid.

Tags
As a finishing touch on the bags, you can tie a personalized tag onto the end of one of the drawstrings of the bag.

Supplies:

• Iron
• Exacto knife
• Pencil
• Ruler
• Large cutting mat
• 1/8” round hole punch
• Paper to print the tags yourself, or a design file with crop marks (to indicate final tag size) to have someone else print them for you

We designed 3”high x.75”wide tags to tie onto our bags. The tags were letterpressed with our names and wedding date, using the same paper stock and ink colors as our letterpressed book covers. Personalize your tags with your desired design and then either print them yourself or have someone else print them for you. Once you have your printed tags, use a cutting mat, exacto knife and a ruler to trim them down to size (be sure to include crop marks in the print file so that you can use them as your guides).

After the tags are trimmed, use a 1/8” round hole punch to punch the tops and turn them into tags. Loop one of the drawstrings on the bag through your tag, tying a knot at the end of the string so that the tag will not fall off. Place your book inside the bag, cinch the top closed, and tie the drawstrings into a bow.

Belly Bands for your boxes
For a finished look you can apply a bellyband and a label to the box to firmly secure the lid.

Supplies:

• 26” x 20” sheets of solid text weight paper from Paper Source (www.paper-source.com)
• Exacto knife
• Pencil
• Ruler
• Large cutting mat

To create the double-banded belly bands, use two complimentary sheets of oversized text weight paper (we bought two colors of 26” x 20” sheets from Paper Source, but you can use any paper you want as long as the paper will be long enough to allow you to wrap it around your desired box with a little bit of overlap where the ends meet).

Decide which color you would like to use for the top of the bellyband, and which color you will use on the bottom. Using a ruler, exacto knife and cutting mat, trim the paper you would like top use as the bottom of the bellyband into 4.25”wide x 14”long strips. Trim your other paper stock into 3.5”wide x 14”long strips. Center the top strip on the bottom strip and use a glue stick to glue the top strip to the bottom strip to create your double-banded belly band.

Put your bellyband face down on a flat surface, and place your box right side up and centered within the middle of the bellyband. Loosely wrap the bellyband up and around the edges of the box – the ends should meet as close as possible in the center of the top lid of the box. Once you like the placement of the bellyband, use a glue stick to apply some glue to the bottom area of the box where the bellyband will fall and press down firmly so that the bellyband and box stick together. Tightly fold the edges of the belly band up and around the top lid of the box, using a glue stick to glue the ends of the strips where they overlap (you can also use a small piece of clear tape to hold the bellyband in place). If you are applying a mailing label, apply your label to the top of the box and over the bellyband, covering up the seam where the bellyband ends meet. Press firmly to secure the label to the bellyband and the top of the box.

Mailing labels

• 8.5” x 11” label stock sheets (you can get this from almost any office supply store)
• Exacto knife
• Pencil
• Ruler
• Large cutting mat
• Rounded corner punch (you can get this from almost any fabric/craft store)

We created 5.3” x 2.625” labels to use on our bellybands and boxes, but you can create your own custom mailing labels by using 8.5”x11” label stock and trimming the labels down to your desired size. To make your own oversized labels, find some 8.5” x 11” full sheet label stock that you can run through your printer, or stock that your desired printer can print on. Determine the size you would like the labels to be, create your design (with crop marks) and then print your design onto the labels (if applicable, include name and/or mailing address if you do not want to handwrite it). Once printed, trim the labels along the crop marks using a ruler, an exacto knife and a cutting mat. You can leave the label edges square or use a rounded corner punch to round each of the corners of the label. After you are finished trimming, peel off the label backs and apply the labels to the top of the bellyband and box.

Resources
Letterpress printer:
Stacey Stern at Steracle Press in Chicago, IL or stacey[AT]steracle[DOT]com

Smyth sewn book binder:
Greden, located in (suburbs?) Chicago IL

Heat-activated adhesive sheets to fuse book fabric and paper together:
Fusion 4000 (40.5″ x 30 yard roll) from Talas

Book Fabric:
Rainbow Ecological Fibers – http://www.ecofibers.com
We used Rainbow Brillianta 4250 Lime, which came in a 52.5” yard roll

Archival paper for book pages:
8.5” x 11” sheets of pearl white Crane’s wove unwatermarked paper, ordered through Lewis Paper

Paper for belly bands and interior of book jackets:
26” x 20” sheets of solid paper from Paper Source

Boxes:
7” x 5.5” x 1” kraft jewelry boxes from Uline

Peat Moss for padding the boxes:
Can be purchased through a florist (it usually comes by the box)

Labels:
8.5” x 11” full sheet label stock (you can get this from almost any office supply store)
Rounded corner punch (you can get this from almost any fabric/craft store)

Cloth drawstring bags:
5” x 7” cloth bags from PackCo

Back in the summer, Liesel Eastman saw our wedding featured in the Knot Magazine and contacted me to see if I could help with the creative details for her October wedding to Barrett.

In addition to creating her online RSVP system and designing the sewn zigzagged programs, table numbers, ring bearer pillow, place cards and menu, I made eight super cute evening handbags for Liesel and her seven bridesmaids using retro poppy fabric. The pattern I designed for Liesel was improved upon what I’d made for my bridesmaids. Practice makes perfect :)

Each handbag was unique: I made eight different flower appliques on the handbag fronts and added eight leaves playfully peeking out of the seam on the handbag backs.

As always, free instructions to make your own are below. Don’t feel like making them yourself? Contact me and I can help.

You’re welcome to use these instructions and templates for free for your own personal use. Anyone using the template simply post a comment below or email me to track its usage.

Supplies:

• 1/4 yard chocolate brown wool gabardine fabric from Fabric.com (the fabric quality is fantastic)
• 1/4 yard interior fabric (I used poppy) from Fabric.com
• 1/2 yard blockout drapery liner (the secret sauce for making quality handbags; I used ‘rain no stain’)
• Iron-on craft weight interfacing
• Heavyweight sew-in interfacing (just a square for sewing your front flower applique)
• Rotary fabric cutter
• Clear fabric ruler
• Self-healing mat
• Magnetic Snap
• Good fabric scissors or embroidery scissors
• Sewing machine
• Thread

Cut your pieces. Cut out the handbag pieces using a rotary cutter, clear fabric ruler and rotary mat:

Outside fabric (I used chocolate wool gabardine from Fabric.com)
Front (cut 1): 8.5″ wide x 16″ tall
Straps (cut 2): 4″ wide x 14″ tall

Inside fabric (I used retro-inspired poppy fabric)
Inside (cut 1): 8.5″ wide x 16″ tall

Iron-on interfacing
Inside fabric lining (cut 1): 8.5″ wide x 16″ tall
Straps interfacing (cut 2): 4″ wide x 14″ tall

Blockout drapery lining
Outside fabric lining (cut 1): 8.5″ wide x 16″ tall

Make your handbag inside. Iron your interfacing onto the wrong side of the floral fabric. Fold it in half, right sides together and sew 1/2 inch seams on the left and right sides.

Now this part is sort of hard to explain. Make your handbag bottom by creating a triangle where the side seam meets the bottom. Your triangle should be 1.5 inches wide and 1 inch tall with the seam flattened open. Mark with a pencil and sew across the bottom of the triangle. See how it’s already creating a soft handbag bottom?

Sew your appliques. So here’s the way I do appliques. Iron interfacing onto the back of your flowers and leaves. Cut out once the fabric is cool.

Cut a square of heavyweight sew-in interfacing slightly larger than your applique. Fold your chocolate brown piece together in half, wrong sides together, and place on your mat. Place your flower where you want, being sure to put it at least 1 inch from the side and 1.5 inches from the bottom account for seam allowances and the bag bottom.

Now this step will help avoid puckering on your applique. Carefully put your square of sew-in interfacing on the wrong side of the chocolate brown fabric so that it’s right behind your applique. Sew your applique using a zigzag stitch, sewing through both the chocolate fabric and interfacing.

Cut away the excess interfacing. Repeat these steps for any appliques you want to put on the handbag back. And you can embellish your applique using straight stitching like I did on the veins of the leaf.

Sew your handbag front. Drapery blockout liner is the secret sauce in making high-quality evening handbags because it adds weight while remaining pliable. Place your drapery blockout liner on your mat (or on the floor like I did). Put your chocolate handbag front on top, right side up. Fold the whole thing in half top to bottom, right sides together, and sew 1/2 inch seams on the left and right sides.

Create a soft bottom by repeat the triangle step that you did for your lining (see triangle photo above).

Make straps. Iron the strap interfacing onto the wrong side of the straps. Fold the strap in half lengthwise and press. Open the crease. Now fold each side into the middle crease. Fold in half again to enclose the raw edges. Sew the long edge of the strap, about 1/4″ from the side. Repeat on the other long side. Now repeat to make the second strap.

Attach straps. Pin one strap to the front of the handbag, 1.78″ from the left side seam. Sew 1/4″ close to the edge to secure the strap to the handbag. Repeat on the right side and now the front strap is attached. Now repeat to attach the second strap onto the back of the handbag.

Attach handbag outside to handbag inside. Remember the triangles that you made? Line them up, matching one triangle from the outside to one triangle on the inside. Sew. Now your front is attached to your back. I did mine assembly line, above.

Put in metallic snap. Metallic snaps come in four pieces: front, back and two washers. Fold the poppy inside down 1/2″ towards the wrong side around its circumference. Measure and find the middle of the bag and put a pin to mark the center. Cut a small piece of iron-on interfacing and iron in the middle of the wrong side of the front lining (I interface it so that the metallic snap is even more secure and wears better). Position the top edge of the snap 1″ below the folded side of the lining. Mark where the two snap pins hit using a pencil or pen. Cut two small holes in the front lining at your markings and slip the snap pins through to the other side. Slip on the washer and fold down per the package instructions. Now line up the back snap onto the back lining, being super careful to make sure the back snap is in the middle so it will line up with the front snap. Repeat instructions above to put the back snap on the back lining piece. Now your snap is in.

Close handbag and enjoy. Fold the handbag inside out. Pin the lining to the wool outside. Sew close around the circumference of the handbag, about 1/4″ from the edge. Be sure to backstitch.

Happy Wedding, Liesel and Barrett!

Like this theme? Then try our sewn poppy fabric invitations, sewn return address envelopes with custom stamps, table numbers, guest towels, ring bearer pillow, place cards, sewn zigzagged programs, menu, reserved signs, whimsical flower garland “altar” and bridesmaid’s handbags.

Don’t feel like making them yourself? Contact me and I’ll help.

COPYRIGHT NOTE: You’re more than welcome to use this project and pattern for your own personal use. Please post a comment below or email me if you use this project so I can smile when I see that it’s being used. Craft and pass it on!

How sweetly romantic is this save the date wedding announcement for Cristin Witcher and her fiance Adam Siegel’s fall Chicago nuptials?

Adam designed the whimsically simple letterpressed announcement and matching tree branch mailing labels using The Giving Tree as his inspiration, a book that has special meaning to the couple. Their wedding website URL at the bottom of the card provides guests useful information about hotels, logistics and registry.

I love that the concept is so versatile. Use it for summer and spring weddings and showers by coloring the mailing label and invitation leaves in shades of green. Change the text for a children’s birthday party invitation with an eco-friendly theme.

Cristin and Adam have graciously shared their tree template here at Merriment for free with the request that anyone using the template post a comment below or email me to track its usage.

Supplies:

• Cristin and Adam’s free Giving Tree fall save the date announcement template (PDF, edit using Adobe Illustrator)
• Luna font (free!)
• Color printer
• #10 size flat cards (if letterpressing)
• 8.5 x 11 cream luxe 210 weight paper (if printing yourself)
• Paper trimmer
• #10 size envelopes
• Optional: Cristin and Adam’s free envelope label template (Microsoft Word)
• Optional: Avery labels

Download Cristin and Adam’s free template. Open in Adobe Illustrator to edit the file.

NOTE: If you don’t have Illustrator, there are several options. FedEx Office has Adobe Illustrator that you can use on their computers for a nominal fee. Alternatively, there is a 30-day trial version that you can download at Adobe.com. Be sure to download and install the font too so that it looks OK, and print out all your copies before the 30 days expire. Also, save it as a PDF file in addition to the .AI extension so that you’ll have it in case you need to print more copies after the expiration. Lastly, either Cristin or I can update the file for you with your information; we would need to charge for our time. Anyone interested in that option please email me what you’re hoping to change and we can give you a quote.

Cristin and Adam had their announcements letterpressed. If printing yourself, adjust the file to print multiple announcements onto 8 1/2″ x 11″ paper and trim to size using your paper trimmer. Place in envelopes and seal.

Enter guest names into the Word document template and print in color on the Avery labels. Cristin says this was the hardest part of the whole deal. You’ll want to buy some extra labels to give yourself wiggle room to ensure it lines up cleanly. Cut labels on lines using your paper trimmer.

Be sure to dress it up by creating personalized postage at PhotoStamps.com. Custom stamps make a big difference so ask me questions if you need help.

Cristin and Adam are getting married the same weekend where Shane and I did at A New Leaf. They’re in for a treat. It’s a great space, especially in the fall. Congratulations, Cristin and Adam, and many thanks to you both!

COPYRIGHT NOTE: You’re more than welcome to use this project and pattern for your own personal use. Please post a comment below or email me if you use the template so that Cristin and Adam can track its use. Like this free project? See more in our weddings category.

My downstairs neighbor Susan gave us a beautifully wrapped wedding gift in thick, shiny silver and pearl-like white wrapping paper. Channeling my mom, I decided to fold up the shiny white and silver paper and store it until I found some use for it.

Today I recycled the wrapping paper into a wedding card sewn with shiny metallic silver thread and coordinating lined shiny silver envelope.

Supplies:

• Salvaged wrapping paper
• Shiny silver metallic thread
• Folded blank card (your choice of size)
  
• Shiny silver envelopes (same size as card)
• Optional: Envelope liner template
• Rubber cement (love this stuff)
• Paper cutter OR Xacto basic knife set (this is my kit and it’s great), Ruler and Self-healing cutting mat
• Sewing machine

Place your envelope liner template onto the wrapping paper. Use your Xacto knife to cut the paper. If you’re using thin paper, cut slowly to avoid tearing.

Slip the cut liner into the envelope and position just below the adhesive. Carefully flip it over, bend back the envelope flap, and brush rubber cement onto the back of the liner. Turn over and smooth.

Using your blank card as a template, cut a rectangle the same size as the front of the card using your Xacto knife and ruler. Brush rubber cement on the back and affix to the front of the card. Let it dry for a bit. Using a double zigzag stitch, sew metallic silver thread around the card front.

I used a light blue Sharpie to address and write the card. Something blue…

I love the combination of turquoise and orange that Anne-Marie Rosser and Adam Whipple used for their intimate outdoor wedding reception on a Chicago terrace.

Anne-Marie started with turquoise tablecloths and crisp white linen napkins. Her long table centerpiece alternated orange orchid bunches in square glass containers, small succulents in rocks-filled square glass containers, and clusters of clean white pillar candles.

This look would be also be cute for wedding and baby showers. If you’re looking for candles you can get $10 off $50 or more at CandleBay.com. Enter coupon code CB1050 at checkout to get $10 off (they also offer $3.99 Soy Jar Candles).