Wedding Inspired Wednesday {No 10}: DIY "Will you be my...." Cards

        Part of the wedding process is picking those few special people to be your bridesmaids/groomsmen. The people who mean the absolute most to you, and who you would want more than anyone standing next to you on that big day when you begin the next chapter of your life. With such an important meaning, you should take time and consideration on how you ask them. I find it rather informal if you just call them up or shoot them a text or e-mail. If anything, take them to lunch, to get their nails done, something special! My special way of asking? Making "Will you be my cards...".

         After endless searching online I couldn't find anything that made me say, "AHA! That's it!" - so I figured I would just buy the paper myself and get to working! Paper Planet in Fort Worth sells HUGE rolls of custom made paper. I swung by there on a Saturday, looked at all their gorgeous paper and settled on 3 different kinds. The backing and main card would be made with a maroon textured paper, which sort of reminded me of leather. Then came the inner layers of espresso brown, metallic copper, and ivory cardstock. See below:

         I was making 5 cards - so one full sheet of the maroon ($6), a half sheet of metallic copper ($3), 5 8x11 sheets of espresso brown ($2) and 12 8x11 sheets of ivory cardstock ($6) = $17 (I rounded up for tax purposes too). Each card was a single pocket-invite lay-out. You could easily buy pre-made pocket invites online if you didn't want to go through the hassle of making them yourself.

1.  I wanted 5x7s, so I measured the length of the paper 17" -this included the length of the opened card + the flap to be folded over 6.75" + 6.75" + 3.5" = 17"
2. Then the height of the cards would be 4.75" The reduced measurements allow the cards to fit properly in the envelopes without being too bulky

3.   Measure 3.5" from the end and fold - Bone Folders are the best for creating straight, perfect folds. Check out this link here to see Martha Stewart's Bone Folder

4.   Using a hot glue gun, put a thin line of glue along the edge of the flap, you can use the bone folder or another straight edge to press the two pieces together *Make sure to start inward and push outward, otherwise your pocket won't be very use-able haha *Also it is ok if it comes out of the edge, just cut it off after it dries :-)

5. Using your preferred method of folding, measure 6.75" from the other end and fold to creat your pocket invite!

6.   The inner left side of my pocket is where it stated what their wedding role was. "Maid of Honor" or "Bridesmaid", with 3 different layers. First layer was espresso brown. I measured the full 6.75"x4.75" for each invite and cut 5 of them - then hot glued it to the inside.

7.    Second layer was the metallic copper paper - this was measured a little smaller at 6.5"x4.5" and hot glued to the inside on top of the espresso brown

8.   The final layer was typed up on my Microsoft Word - I created text boxes measuring 6"x4" - although they would later be cut to 6.25"x4.25" to allow room for margins - I was able to fit 2-3 per 8x11 page pending their role and what I typed below. Each one included their title, name, and personal reason on why I chose them to be a part of my special day. After printing, I cut them and hot glued them on top of the copper paper

9.   Then came the pocket inserts. I had 4 composing of Expectations, Attire, I Promise..., and the Five of You

Expectations: This is what I expected of each bridesmaid, including bachelorette party, day of the rehearsal dinner and what we would be doing, day of the wedding and what we would be doing. I also told them that I knew there would be a few showers thrown and since each of them technically live out of town, I did not expect them all to be at each of them, or even just one - that I understood the expenses of flying and travelling.

Attire: This was not fully decided, but I did let them know to expect to wear boots, and a cocktail length dress. That I would let them decide on their dresses since this was their out-of-pocket expense and I wanted them to like what they bought and if possible, even wear again after the wedding. Also, they would be responsible for their hair and make-up, we could arrange for the person who does mine to help them, they could find their own, or do it themselves.

I Promise...: This was my promise to them. To not be a Bridezilla, to enjoy this planning process to the fullest, and to laugh as often as possible. To understand that the day was about us and love, not bees and insects, bad hair-dos, or being sweaty. I asked them to be honest with me, if I was getting out of control, getting fat from too much cake tastings, if my hair choices were hideous, etc. It was a light-hearted, sweet promise .

The Five of You: This included each of the girls names, roles, and numbers.

10.   Expectations was the biggest, using a text box on Microsoft Word 6.25"x4.25" and cut accordingly to 6.5"x4.5" to allow smaller area from any hot glue that might have made the pocket smaller

11.   Attire/I promise/The Five of You are all cut subsequently smaller, pending on how much you type on each, this will also determine if they go in the same order as mine did. *Be sure to note you cut each ones length the same only the heights will change

12.   On the back of each invite, I also glued a picture of myself with the particular person. A picture I was fond of or knew they were fond of.

13. On the front I did a 1.5" square Monogram using the same espresso/copper/ivory layers.

Final step was to mail them out and wait! :-) If any of these steps are unclear, please let me know and I will gladly clarify! I will be posting another pocket-invite how-to hopefully the beginning the of June 2012! So stay tuned! :-)

For more card inspirations, check out my other posts: DIY Wedding Invitation Class or Burlap Bunting How-To to learn how to print directly on burlap - you could even print the info on the burlap and glue the printed burlap to decorative paper for a real rustic touch. :-)