HaselBride

Save the Dates from Minted

Great news! The fabulous folks at Minted are offering a 15% discount on all flat printed save-the-dates for HaselBride readers {including their new line of save-the-dates as well as the past design challenge winners}. The promotion will run from Monday, July 28 through Wednesday, August 20, 2008. Enter the code BLG15 at checkout to receive the discount.

A few selections from their new line of save-the-dates are featured above. My personal favorite is the turquoise Hitched {first row on the right}. The prices are incredible affordable, too. The breakdown per card is comparable to my DIY save-the-dates. If I hadn't already invested in the Gocco, I would definitely look into Minted for our invites. They offer so many different brands and options; all of them more fabulous than the one before!

Photos © Minted.

Check and check!

I've been checking things off my to-do list left and right.

First big check: We have a photographer. &%()! This has been a really hard decision for me to make because I am a huge photo nerd. I was–geek alert–on the yearbook in high school, which required that I be behind the camera for all major school events {dances, basketball games, etc.} and cemented my love for graphic design and photography. On top of that dorkiness, my major required some photo classes. So I know a thing or two about it. That little bit of knowledge has made it really hard for me to decide on a photographer.

After much hemming and hawing {and freaking out over prices}, I realized I only LOVED two Indy area photographers' work: bobbi and mike and Turtle Pond Photography. Bobbi and Mike were booked, but Turtle Pond {aka Amanda and Nate} was not. I spoke with Amanda a few days later for over thirty minutes and after our conversation was even more excited that they are available. Their photos are full of color and life {and so are they!}. I think they are going to be a great fit for us.

Second big check: The save the dates went out while I was at home. We really wanted to send them sooner, but some rumors were flying around that Nick might be graduating a lot later than originally planned {putting him six weeks behind and still in pilot training during the wedding!}. To be sure he would be able to be there and we wouldn't have to cancel/postpone/move the date, we decided to wait until he started training with the new plane and could talk to his new instructors. After getting the go-ahead, I took the save the dates and envelopes home with me during my visit a few weeks ago. While I was there, my two fabulous aunts with gorgeous handwriting came over to help my mom and I address, organize and put stamps on them all. I have the best aunts in the world and I'm not exaggerating! Everyone should be so lucky to have a bunch of extra moms to pitch in.

Third big check: My wedding dress is in! AHHH! I have to call and schedule a fitting for September. I'm pretty sure I would like to be about ten pounds lighter by then. I've been snacking a lot and not really active this year so I'm not exactly at my usual size. {Strawberry sundaes have just been sounding so good lately. I miss home and our Dairy Queen, I think, and I've been substituting Sonic.} Think I can do it?

I am turning my attention to my freelance projects for awhile and working from home again, but I hope to be posting more frequently in the coming weeks. I'm most excited about a gorgeous real wedding I have to share with you! Stay tuned for that!

Top image is the 7 Days a Week List from Knock Knock. I use this exact to-do list; I love it. Bottom image © Turtle Pond Photography.

Decisions, decisions.

Time to help me make some decisions about envelopes! I started working on printing the final save the dates this weekend and now I need to figure out the layout for addresses on the envelopes. I slapped a quick example of a possible stamp layout so we could have a better feel for what it would actually look like. Let me know in the comments and/or by voting in the poll which you like best! {As always, click images to enlarge.}

Envelope #1:

Front is a representation of my print; back is Gocco in black.

Envelope #2

Front is my print; back is Gocco in black.

Envelope #3

A customized version of the Martha Stewart weddings label; would be laser printed.

Envelope #4

Recipient address is my print; return would be Gocco black ink.

	Which envelope style do you like best?
	Envelope #1
	Envelope #2
	Envelope #3
	Envelope #4

To see the save the dates, view these posts:
I'm Late! I'm Late! For a very important date!
Still running late...
I'm Running Late to Save the Date

Which one do you like best?

Images © 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.

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.