HaselBride

I'm late! I'm late! I'm late! For a very important date.

Yep, I am still running late on my save the dates. Visitors for Easter and the weekend after put a damper on my run-through and I wasn't able to bust out the Gocco until after I'd gone dress shopping two weekends ago.  However, my practice round went great, especially considering it was my first time EVER using the Gocco. There were only a few mishaps; one I'd prepared for.

{Click to view images bigger. Sorry for all the blurring! Kind of ruins it.}

So what do you think?! Each color is it's own screen; the three colors are avocado green, black and silver. The paper is a textured cream flat card from Paper Source, but I am sticking with flat for the real deal. The textured paper made the Gocco put the ink thicker in places. Also, I didn't want to waste ink on the test, so I didn't reink when I should have. I'm pretty pleased with the way they turned out; although I keep seeing other beautiful options and second guessing these. Thank goodness there isn't enough time to change the design entirely!

Some notes:

• I forgot I only had five screens, so I attempted to combine screens for two things: the green outline on back and the silver text on front. I didn't check the position it would burn on the paper before I burnt the image and I couldn't get it lined up to fit so I just scrapped the front text for the run-through. I need to plan that better for the final run through.
• Some of the islands of Hawaii have almost disappeared; I need to increase the size of the state so that they will actually burn on the screen. It won't be drastic, but enough that all the islands come through.
• As some of you Gocco-users already know, the screen doesn't burn evenly or all the way to the edge. The front and back will both need to be reduced a bit because I've lost some of the edges.
• Also, if you notice the black on the back is kind of fuzzy in places. I'm not sure if this is because I used the blue filter for photocopies or just the nature of Gocco. I'm going to ask around and found out more about that.
• Finally, the back is very silver and black and, as a result, kind of blah. To add more pizazz, I've decided to print the headings "Ceremony," "Reception," and "Accommodations" in green.

I ordered paper, additional ink/Gocco supplies and envelopes last week. I am hopeful that I can get these printed this weekend. However, I'm going to need your help deciding what to do with the envelopes. Mailing label? Wrap around? Gocco our address on the flap? Photos of the different options coming shortly!

Images © HaselBride.

Still running late...

I posted last Tuesday about my "big idea" for my save the dates. A few days later, I had a slight awakening when fellow graphic designer Miss Cupcake posted about her beautiful save the dates {For the Love of All Things Paper...}, incredible pocket-folds with address labels and a cd. {Right photo below.} When your profession revolves around print, pressure is added for your paper pieces to be that much more fabulous. The pressure just makes me want to curl up in a ball, take a nap and forget it all. I love procrastination.

That same week Erin posted about her amazing save the dates {The Save the Dates That Started It All}.  These are some seriously beautiful invitations created to entice her guests to make the journey to Greenville, South Carolina. {Left image below.} Talk about added pressure! :)

Good pressure, though, because this weekend I finally sat down and put my concept into InDesign. I'm pretty excited about the way my idea has turned out so far. I should mention that the back of my card was largely inspired by Miss Cupcake's layout. In my exhaustive search for the perfect layout, I discovered most people either included just the date or tons of information. The basic idea I needed to make sure guests understood is that the ceremony and the reception are taking place in two different towns, twenty minutes apart. Hence, the inclusion of the separate ceremony and reception headers.

My layout is a bit more classic than my inspiration. I know some of the detail might not show up once gocco'd, but I'm hoping to do a test run of that this week. So without further adieu, our save the dates {click them to view larger}:

So, what do you think?! They are a bit bigger than they appear: 5"x7" to be exact. I plan to print them on flat, white cards with either Paper-Source's cement-colored envelopes or brown kraft envelopes. I hope to make that decision after my test run.  I can't wait to hear what you have to say!

Top image {from right to left} © Miss Cupcake/Weddingbee, left image © Erin. Bottom images: © HaselBride.

I'm Running Late to Save the Date

As I mentioned before, my Gocco has arrived. It is time to start designing our save the dates. AH! Since our wedding is so close to Christmas and will require travel for over half of our guests, the sooner I get the info out, the better. I've had an concept in my head since before holiday break, but now I need to get my thoughts into print.

And that's the theme of our save the date {and possibly a bit of the wedding}: travel. It is something Nick and I love to do. Plus our friends and family are spread out all over the United States and with Nick's career in the Air Force and the relocation that involves, we will always have to travel to see them. Out of all of this, our save the date was born!

My basic idea for the front of the card is a map of the US with arrows pointing from all of the various locations of friends and family to the Indiana with a heart {?} where my hometown and our wedding is. {The heart might be a bit too much for me, as I'm not really a heart kind of gal, but I'm still working out the details.}

Shortly after my brainstorm, I found two related designs. The first was a super cute letterpress postcard from etsy seller rar rar press. You tell them who you miss and where you are, then they will put the hearts in the proper place. Fantastic.

The next inspiration is from Mr. Boddington's Studio's portfolio of save the dates and wedding invites is nearly perfect. I love the raggedness of the map outline and the colors. Although, our storyline is a bit different {this bride and groom chased each other around the country}, the look is exactly what I'm going for. Plus, I'd like to use some of my favorite script typefaces to make it a teeny bit more formal.

I'm a bit behind, but hopefully I will get to test out the Gocco on my "Will you be my bridesmaid?" cards this weekend. Then, next week I'm going to get to work printing the actual save the dates. First, I need to decide on colors and order paper. I'm sure this is going to take longer than I think.

For you DIY brides, did you order paper from Paper Source? or a different company? Also, did you order it pre-cut or cut it yourself?

Top image © rar rar press; bottom image © Mr. Boddington's Studio.