- Crate Paper

It seems that the popularity of the DIY wedding has grown exponentially as brides and grooms discover the true delight of personalized additions to their significant day. So in celebration of this handmade trend, Crate is hosting their very own "Down the Aisle" week-long event and we're excitedly inviting you to be a part of it! Nearly all 17+ of Crate Paper's designers have contributed exceptionally exquisite and over-the-top inspiring projects towards the event. We'll be highlighting their projects over the entirety of the week with each day representing it's own unique, wedding-relegated theme - the first day being that of invitations and general gift-giving wedding cards.

Of course, the week wouldn't nearly be eventful enough without your contribution, so Crate came up with the idea to host a universal, "share the love" triple challenge. We're talking weddings after all, aren't we?! In supplement of the creations that'll show this week, we're wanting to put forth some of yours as well, so what we've come up with is the following set of challenge participation options:

- Scrapbook your Love Story via Crate Paper: Relive the beginning on paper -

- Capture the Day: Document either yours or another's wedding day on a layout/album -

- DIY Wedding: Almost anything goes, though it must be strictly wedding themed -

After selecting and carrying out one of the aforementioned challenges using 95% Crate, send an image of your project to cpblog@cratepaper.com. Starting next Monday, we'll begin premiering our faves of those received {Deadline: June 11/11:49 pm Central}, and of those, we'll select three to WIN a $50 gift certificate to the beloved wedding gift registration site, Crate & Barrel! The three winners will be announced Tuesday, June 14th, right here on our blog!!

To start the week, we've to introduce a simple, perfectly refined invitation from Danielle Flanders...

Hi there! This is Danielle with a wedding invitation idea for you to start out the week. I'm so excited to see what everyone has made for Crate's "Down the Aisle"week! There are so many beautiful ways you can make your own invitations, save money and still make them look fabulous! While working on this idea, I tried to keep it fairly simple, so they can be mass-produced and still look very professional and beautiful as well.

First, I cut a piece of vellum and a piece of white cardstock the same size: 5" x 4". I printed out the wording with my computer onto a 8.5" x 11" piece of printer paper and chose an elegant font for it. The font I chose is called Vladimir Script. I looked up traditional invites online to choose the wording for the invitation {sample only}. The names are completely made up for the tutorial!

Next, place the vellum directly over the computer printed page where you would like it to print on your vellum and adhere in a small section at the top of the vellum, so it doesn't move around as it's going through the printer. Send the paper through the printer again.

Gently peel off the printed vellum and adhere it to your 5" x 4" cardstock piece at the top. We will be covering the adhesive with a strip of paper.

Cut a 2" circle from the Traditions paper and snip some small pieces out of it as shown above. Create a small burlap flower by wrapping a strip of burlap around itself, adhering it with a hot glue gun. Cut a piece of the striped paper from the 6" x 6" Portrait paper pad and snip the ends into a "V" shape.

Die cut some leaves from the June paper. Snip them in half. The die cut is "Turning a New Leaf" by Papertrey Ink.

Adhere leaves and striped paper onto the invite as shown.

Adhere paper flower. Attach the curled burlap on top the flower.

Punch two small holes through the top of the invite and wrap a piece of twine through them. Tie it in a know. I placed the knot to the left to balance out the heaviness created with the flower in the bottom right-hand corner. You can leave long tails of the twine or trim them.

You are finished! Now you just need to create two-hundred more of them!! Happy Wedding Day to all of you!

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The invitation is just the start of an upcoming wedding - how about a thoughtful round of cards to give to the bride/groom on their wedding day or any day thereafter or before it? One can never give too many congratulatory cards to a newly joined couple...

There are ceaseless options out there when deciding which tools to use for handcrafting your own cards. Jen Chesnick took to her Silhouette die-cut machine in producing realistic bride/groom attire cards from Portrait's pattern papers. She's even taken into consideration some of the finer details, including a bottom laced dress {Portrait Ribbon Collection} and rose/ribbon accented wrapping.

And occasionally, individual wedding cards are meant to be as meticulously beautiful and layered like this one from Christine Middlecamp. Take into consideration when a guest opts to give a card and monetary amount instead of a hand-chosen gift from a bride/groom's registry. A card such as this one easily speaks for itself...

This officially concludes day one of the event. It'll resume once again tomorrow, though the focus will be entirely different and the project display vast and varied. We also have arranged for a special giveaway in the next day or two thanks to a co-host of sorts. Details to follow soon!

Comments

Wow! Gorgeous work all around! It's all really stunning!

Posted by: Lori Gentile | June 06, 2011 at 08:42 AM

Absolutely gorgeous!! I am so excited for this week...I am making bridal shower invites for my SIL and I know this week will be very inspiring!! Thanks so much!

Posted by: Amanda J | June 06, 2011 at 09:11 AM

hooray the deadline is the 18th. My Sister gets married on the 11th- with her own DIY wedding- so I have time to scrap it when I get back

Posted by: Karen Williams | June 06, 2011 at 10:20 AM

OKAY, I'm CONFUSED!!?? You posted that the deadline is JUNE 18th~~correct!!??
But you also posted that you were going to post the winners on JUNE 14th so I just wanted to get this right because if the contest isn't over until the 18th how can you post the winners on the 14th?? Thought I'd ask so I got it right!! THANKS and have a FABULOUS MONDAY!! I am SO EXCITED for this week of Crate Paper FABULOSITY!! =)

Posted by: Larissa Heskett | June 06, 2011 at 10:49 AM

these are absolutely beautiful ladies! what a fun week!

Posted by: Lexi Bridges | June 06, 2011 at 11:04 AM

I'm so in love with these! Beautiful work, ladies! :)

Posted by: Sarah Martina | June 06, 2011 at 11:15 AM

what a great prize! I will be trying this challenge for sure- maybe two of them even ;)

Posted by: heathyr | June 06, 2011 at 01:16 PM

Wonderful goodies!!! So much inspiration too ;)

Posted by: Heather I. | June 06, 2011 at 02:24 PM

Thank you for helping recognize our error Larissa. We jumped a week forward via our calender! Woops! Apologize about that..please review the correct deadline. We'll make mention of the changed date with tomorrow's post! Thank you once again!

Posted by: Crate Paper | June 06, 2011 at 04:35 PM

What a great challenge...and loveeeeeeeeeeee what the DT created!! Just GORGEOUS! :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)

Posted by: Julie Tucker-Wolek | June 06, 2011 at 08:45 PM