Since my friend, Dena, is the one who has been helping with wedding preparations for her son, I asked if she would be willing to guest blog these posts firsthand, rather than me trying to share secondhand. Below, Dena shares what she did to create custom wedding invitations at a bargain price.

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The first step in coming up with a great invite is to find something you like to imitate. Browse invitation shops or online to see what styles you like and if you can find something to imitate. My future daughter-in-law liked this invite and I had to agree. It’s gorgeous! Unfortunately, it only came in the one color (and we’re not using orchid) and 75 invites were $453. That’s $6.04 per card, if you don’t want to do the math. Yikes!

Once she had her colors nailed down I did some shopping and created a few samples. In the end, I was able to come up with something very similar. Here is our finished invite:

I was able to get the paper on sale at JoAnn’s Fabrics, when it was on sale at half price. They didn’t have as much as I needed, but I was able to special order it in at the sale price. The total for all the paper was right around $40. Surprisingly, the thing, glittery black was over twice as much as the heavy, linen cardstock. Even with the ribbon, sticky tape, and envelopes, the invites were well under $1 each.

To save myself having to cut all the paper, I took the two black papers in to a printer who cut them on their machine. Some places will gladly do this for free, while others may charge a nominal fee. It’s well worth it for both the time savings and having perfectly cut papers. The pink linen paper was a 12X12 sheet so I cut it in half and ran each half through my printer, printing two invites to a sheet. (This left one blank 4X6 section to be used later, for rsvp cards) I then cut the two 4X6 pink sections. Our invites are 5X7, with the inner, glittery, black paper cut to 4.5X6.5 and the pink 4X6.

If I do say so myself, they turned out really nice. One mistake I made in my test invites, was that I kept buying my ribbon too thin. You need a good, wide ribbon to make them look lush. I cut each piece 7″ and they were perfect for knotting and attaching behind the wording. I also learned that you don’t want to use glue. Use atape runner type contraption. I picked mine up at Walmart. It was inexpensive, VERY sticky and worked wonderfully.

I purchased envelopes for $20 for 100 at www.ActionEnvelope.com. I’ve now ordered from them twice and have been pleased with both the quality and the service. I was less pleased with UPS who delivered the package to our local grocery store (!?!?) rather than my house and after seeing the tracking number show the item delivered to my home, had to search them down. Thankfully, we live in a small town and I found them. To this day, I have no clue why they ended up at the grocery store! We have a wonderful UPS man so I can only assume there was a substitute. Still….but I digress)

If you’re looking for even simpler options, stores like Staples and Walmart have invites with coordination envelopes, ready to just print and mail. Michael’s craft store now has a Wedding Shop with lovely invites, that can be easily personalized. HERE are some ideas from their website. I regularly get coupons for 50% off any item at Michael’s. If you used coupons with these invites kits, it seems you could get a pretty good deal. Sign up HERE to see their weekly ad and get coupons emailed to you.

Have you made or seen some neat, inexpensive wedding invites? If so, please share them in the comments. I love seeing what others have done!

May your heart be light and happy; May your smile be big and wide,
And may your pockets always have a coin or two inside!
~an old Irish toast

It’s time for happy hearts, big smiles, and Molly’s Money-Saving Digest’s-Making Money from Home! This edition of Molly’s Money-Saving Digest is full of new, creative ways to provide for your family’s needs while remaining within your budget-just what you expect from Molly! In this issue she’s rounded up lots of fresh inspiration and information, so don’t miss it!

$4.95

Here are just a few of the many topics you’ll explore in this Digest:

• Molly’s Minute: Do you know about the “four Ps” of making money from home?
• Parenting that Pays: You’ll be delighted with this exclusive interview with author Amanda Bennett (Amanda Bennett’s Unit Studies), who shares about her current writing project—a book designed to encourage resourcefulness in our kids and inspire an entrepreneurial spirit. Put some of her ideas into practice with your family and expect great things to grow!
• Begin With the Basics: Brown-Bagging It! Here’s a bunch of fresh, fun ideas for packed lunches with many informational links. Have you heard of bento (lunch-in-a-box)? Get recipe ideas and learn all about these cute lunches!
• On Sale This Month: Keep your eye out for these often-discounted items for March!
• Keeping it all Together: Continuing from last month with the next step toward a healthier budget is part 3 of our series, dealing with paying off debt and starting an emergency fund. To help you figure out which payoff scenario to use, you’ll want to play around with the free download debt reduction calculator. What a great feeling it will be to be totally debt-free!
• Feather Your Nest—Frugally: Here’s a new twist on the “use what you have” decorating philosophy. How about “use what you use?” Last month we talked about edible landscaping—now how about a little edible decorating? Try pretty fruit displays, hanging baskets, decorative bottles, and potted herbs.
• Pull Up A Chair: Calendar dates and reasons to celebrate in March and April! Fun food, game, and craft ideas to use for a St. Pat’s party!
• Something Old–Something New: Artist Jeanne Winters describes a beautiful repurposing project complete with photos!
• Montly Feature: Making Money From Home: Enjoy three special guest articles from women who are experts in freelancing and working from home: Jill Hart, founder of CWAHM (Christian Work at Home Moms); Michelle Medlock Adams, a successful freelance writer and speaker; and Donna Rees, general editor of The Old Schoolhouse^® Magazine who shares about marketing and the daily workings of a small, family-owned business, Homestead Originals.
• Do Your Homework Before Working From Home: With creativity, flexibility, and perseverance, there is money to be made from home. But you need to ask the right questions first! Explore many possibilities of popular home business with many links to help guide you in the right direction.
• Goal-Getter Spotlight: Betsy, a farm wife, homemaker, and cook extraordinaire, set aside money she saved toward a trip to Europe with her husband. You’ll be inspired!
• Readers Write In: Answers to “How do you make money from home?”
• Molly’s Question of the Month: To be answered in the April issue: Have you or your child(ren) experienced non-traditional alternatives to physically attending a college full-time after high school? Molly would love to hear from you!

“By the time you hit the end of the March Molly’s Money-Saving Digest you will be making fantastic and scrumptious lunches, decorating with ingenious repurposing techniques, entertaining with Irish spirit, and you’ll feel equipped and educated about where to look and how to succeed in a home-based business. Don’t miss out on this wealth of knowledge and creativity. Be sure to get your copy.”
~Heather Randall, TOS Review Panel

Still not convinced this E-Book is for you? Click here to view a sample of this item.
Molly has a wealth of information & support to share for an incredibly low price!
Once you’ve read this E-Book, we know you’ll be anxious to start “busting free from this economy.”

If you don’t have our prior issues, be sure to pick them up while you’re here to complete your collection.

Project Manager: Eleanor Joyce
Contributing Writers: Eleanor Joyce, Kris Price
Publication: 2009
Pages: 30
File Size: 1.6 MB

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