Do it Yourself Stationery
- Save time and Money -

Save hundreds of dollars designing and prinitng your own invitations and avoid those expensive printing costs.

STEP 1
Choosing your design. We can help you add a creative flare to your design, whether it is formal or modern. The options are endless with our large range of coloured and textured papers.

STEP 2
Choose a couple of samples of paper, mix and match and experiment to your hearts delight. Our website will  provide you with some ideas to create your own invitations at home. If you get stuck, ring us and we can give you a few tips to help you from beginning to end.

STEP 3
Design and print your invitation.We can help to make it easy by  emailing you a template (in Word) to get you started. Then you can play with different fonts until you find the look you want. Apply the finishing touches using buckles, ribbons, paper fasteners, hole punches or rubber stamps. With the many different textured papers and embellishments we offer, the combination of invitations that you can put together is endless.

You might want something with a “Sandy Affair” for a beach wedding using soft blues and creams or "pebble" paper for little bit of texture to add interest. Perhaps you would prefer a more formal invitation selecting a simple but classic ivory and black combination for example -the choice is yours!

To keep continuity try to use a similar style and paper for your RSVP, Placecards and thankyous. We will be able to give you more tips on these throughout the website.

We hope this website gives you the knowledge to create fabulous stationery that people will want to keep and even to inspire you so that you may never have to buy a card again or wrapping paper for that matter. Knowing a few simple techniques means you do not have to be arty. You might surprise yourself.

We endeavor to include as many tips as possible throughout the site so that you may not have to leave your home to make your invitations.

Ideas and Tips

WHERE DO I START ?

WHAT COLOUR COMBINATION ?

You may choose the colour of your invitations to match

• the colour of the bridesmaid dresses or,
• the wedding flowers,
• the reception colours
• themes i.e.blues and yellow for a beach wedding or natural colours for a country wedding, and so forth
• or simply because it is your favouite colour.

DECIDING ON SHAPE!! HERE ARE JUST A FEW.

1. A4 folded into three.

210 x 297mm

TIP 2: When folded, check that you invitation will fit into a standard DL envelope Size: 220 x 110mm

2a. Square Card.

Folds to 150 x 150mm


Cut a square card from an A4
sheet and use the remainder.

You can either buy blank square cards in white, cream and black or make them from an A4 sheet of card yourself.
TIP: If you make them from an A4 card yourself, use the remaineder card for RSVPS or placecards.

Again, square card with square cutouts are available at The Paper Place in cream, white and black, or make them out of any coloured card.

3. A5 Card = Half of A4

Cut A4 card in half, and mount a samller piece of paper on with your wording. This creates an effective border. Join the two pieces of paper with a paper fastener, or ribbon, seal,   etc.
TIP: Paper fasteners are now available in silver and gold pearl, diamante styles plus star, heart, round and square shapes.

4.

Score to fold. Make slots for the ribbon to tie through.

Throughout our site you will see variations on these styles.

WORDING

At The Paper Place we have samples of invitations with wording.
If you see a phrase that you like, the staff are happy to photocopy the wording for you.

NUMBERS

Remember when planning how many invitations, placecards and order of service you have to do, many guests are coupled.
For example: You may have a 100 people coming so you may do
50 invitations for couples ( one per couple )
10 invitations for single people
5 extras in case of mistakes or last minute invites.
As a rough guide you would need 65 sheets of each paper to make enough invitations for 100 people.

The number of sheets you need also varies depending on type of invitation you are making. For example you may get three invitations to an A4 sheet is you are doing them in thirds. Therefore 65 divided by 3 = approx 22 sheets. *Remember you will still need 65 envelopes

Example 2, if you do your invitation in C5 (1/2 of A4) you would need approximately 35 sheets. *However remember you will still need 65 envelopes.

If you already know what colour combination you want and the shape of the invitation, then you're half way there. The design layout of your invitation is the hardest part of your wedding stationery. Once this has been designed everything else generally flows from this design to your order of service books, placecard, thankyous, etc. At The Paper Place we have many samples and designs for you to look at to spark your imagination.

NEXT STEP

Buy a couple of paper samples to make up some prototypes to show your partner. This will also show you exactly how the invitation will turn out and the process involved. This hopefully means you will have tested the printer or photocopier you are going to use and that it works on the paper you have chosen.

ENVELOPE SIZES

DL = 220 x 110 mm
C5 = 162 x 229 mm
Square envelopes either 160 x 160 mm
or 130 x 130 mm
RSVP (11B ) 89 x 140 mm
C6 = 115 x 162 mm

Remember

• Wax sealed envelopes may break in the mail. Always have invitations `Franked' at the counter at the Post Office
  
  
• It's always wise to make a sample invitation first
  
  
• Printers vary, so make sure the paper you choose prints according to your expectations before purchasing in bulk
  
  
• Double-sided tape is perfect for sticking most papers together, but you will need the extra strong version for ribbons and perhaps craft glue for other accessories
  
  
• When working with translucent (trace) papers, the adhesive will show through particularly if you are using a Dark backing card. Consider using:
  1. A ribbon to tie the translucent paper on or to cover the glued area
  2. Small paper fasteners to pin the translucent paper to the backing card

   

• When folding card, it is best to score it first. You can score using an embossing tool and ruler or purchase a 'Creaser Board'. This gives a well defined crease in the card to give a professional looking finish
  
  
• When printing your own placecards from an A4 sheet.
  You can get 6 x (10cm x 10.5cm) then score in half.
  
  
• Most trace papers have a shiny side and a matt non shiny side.
  It is usually preferrable to print on the non shiny side.
  
  NB: Once again, to hand write names use the non shiny side and test the paper first. Our black "stay anywhere" pens won't smudge or bleed
  
  
• Always make an invitation to fit a standard envelope, otherwise you may have to consider making your own envelopes.
  
  Standard envelopes are C6 (1/4 of an A4), DL (1/3 of an A4), 11B (for RSVP).
  C5 (1/2 an A4)
  130x130mm square
  150x 150mm square
  160x160mm square
  NB: We also carry 130x180mm envelopes for those invitations you just can't find an envelope for!
  (refer to our online shopping cart to view) 

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