Graduation Time!

When you think of graduating students, you probably always envision spring. But there are a number of college students that graduate at the end of the fall semester.

This post is to show off a graduation announcement that is a step above your typical card. This is a 5x3.5 inch black gatefold with a shimmering champagne printed card, complete with a matching champagne seal. The printed design is simple, with the graduating year inside a graduation hat.

Happy Holidays!

Looking forward to the end of the month and holiday festivities!

The Save the Date Originals 2010 holiday cards are still rolling out. I couldn't decide upon a design this year, and ended up sending out a handful of different cards/magnets/designs.



Much work is to be done on the website over the coming months and year.

Did you know? Shaped cards are now available. Circles, of course, but also ovals, diamonds, sandals, hearts, stars and more. A section with examples will be available at some point in the future.

I hereby vow to have the holiday card section updated with some ideas/examples well before next December.

Newspaper announcement save the date magnets

This idea came from a customer asking me to scan in her engagement announcement from the local newspaper, and print it on a magnet.

It turned out to look a lot better if I re-typed the wording and had her email me the photograph she wanted to use.

Why not turn that newspaper idea into a save the date magnet?

Below is a photograph of a 2.75x6 inch non-glossy magnet designed to look like a newspaper engagement announcement:



http://savethedateoriginals.com/details/NWU1.php

Winter Cards & Magnets

Tis the season. If you mail out holiday cards yearly, you will soon be at work addressing them.

This website still does not have a fleshed out holiday section; Nonetheless, each year I turn out a number of holiday, Christmas, winter, and/or New Year themed cards.

Sometimes they are traditional:


Sometimes they are a little more fun:


And sometimes, I find myself working on a number of magnetic projects needed in time for the holidays. Customers are looking for a variety, as usual. Customers might be looking for save the date magnets to include in their Christmas card mailings. Customers might be looking for photographic magnets to send to family.

In some cases, people are just looking for a cute favor to hand out.

Check out this 4x3 inch magnet:


Rarely do I offer non glossy magnets, and this is one such example. While it may be non-glossy, this example is made out of a nice cream metallic paper. This particular magnet can be ordered as few as 5 at a time. Click here to order 10 on etsy.

Whether you are looking for cards or magnets, you definitely want to place an order before the first week of December passes. Now is the time.

Ticket Save the Dates, take 3 (or 4?)

A new 5.5x2 inch "concert" ticket with a pair of lovebirds:


Yes, ticket look-a-like save the dates are still popular. Sports tickets, movie tickets, concert tickets, you name it. Initially, inquiries for ticket save the dates definitely tended to lean towards a football or baseball theme. But, time has proven that the ticket theme has a wide range!

Check out these new design examples.

A 2x5.5 inch designs:


A 3x8 inch design:


A 8x3 inch design:


And a 4.1x2.6 inch golf scorecard type of design:



Customers have gone for the ticket theme for... birthday cards, thank you cards, actual wedding invitations, shower invitations, and, rehearsal dinner invitations.

Visit the ticket save the date page and click on the design you like for more info and a link to pricing for that design.

http://savethedateoriginals.com/TicketDesigns.php

Save the Date Originals offers custom designs for save the dates... so if you don't see it, feel free to ask about it.

World of Warcraft (WOW) Themed Save the Date

At long last, a customer emailed to ask where the promised World of Warcraft themed save the date design was. These players will be married next October 2011, and wanted a fun save the date magnet.



The couple went with the small 3.5x2 inch size, which meant keeping the design fairly simple. Their idea was to try to make the design look like one of the Achievements you can get in game after completing certain tasks. In this case, the achievement is "Shackled".

Too fun!

But this design looks like it is for members of the Horde! What about the Alliance?

Check out this version of the warcraft save the date theme, for a larger 5x3.5 inch card:

Pricing available here: http://www.savethedateoriginals.com/details/STDC10A.php

This is just one idea; No doubt WOW players have other good ones. Feel free to have me (Angela) work on something else for you.

Car Door Wraps

When it comes to signage for cars, it's easy to start off with a bumper sticker, then, maybe add a car door magnet.

What next? What is the next step?

How about... a car wrap. This is a special product, one I do not offer.

Sometimes, though, I do provide designs for customers who want to print something themselves, or for a specialty product that will be manufactured by another company.

The example above is actually my own car. I partnered with Fast Signs in Menomenee Falls (WI) to print and apply a wrap to the two side doors.

Why not stick with a car magnet? Two reasons:

1) The side panels of this car are not magnetic.

2) Having the sign crafted and applied to directly to the car really does offer a striking look.

You'll notice that the sign bears a resemblance to my business card:



But it definitely isn't as simple as resizing the graphics used for the business card; They had to be completely remade for the larger size of the car door. You also have to consider the space. It is best to avoid the curlier lettering (as seen on my business card) for a car, where you want things to be easy to read as you roll by someone.

"Save the Date Originals" now has a veritable traveling billboard.

A starry night save the date design

A Starry Night is a classic design theme for weddings.

"Sometimes the stars align... and you know it was meant to be."

or

"It was fate, from the first date"

This magnet design is 4x3.5 inches;  Click on the image for more info.

This save the date magnet features a light blue for the moon and stars with a dark background.

October 2015 Update:
Check out this heart shaped magnet design along the same lines, also with a starry background.

Likewise, click on the image for more info.  There are actually a variety of sizes on the website, and custom designs are possible;  Feel free to contact STDO if you don't see exactly what you have in mind.

Pac Man and Pac Woman look-a-like save the date mgnets

Are you a couple that is nostalgic for the popular Pac Man arcade game? Have some fun with a 4x3.5 inch magnet design like this.

The Stewart/Colbert Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear

Save the Date Originals offered the sane crowd several magnets. A 3.5x2 inch magnet design, a 4.1x2.6 inch design, and even, a car magnet.

This is a good example of the non-wedding related design/printing products STDO will end up working on. In this case, a fun project! The rally goers had a good sense of humor.

These are refrigerator magnets that will surely "stick" around for a while on your fridge to remind rally goers of the day.

On the left: a woman holding this magnet at the Boise satellite rally. On the right: a car magnet.



Get one of the 3.5x2 inch magnets here:
http://savethedateoriginals.com/Sanity.php

The car 8.5x5.5 inch car magnets are no longer available.

Bachelorette!

A new bachelorette invitation card design has been added to the website. This design is also meant to be printed on white card stock, for a 5x7 inch card. Naturally, this is priced out on the website with white envelopes.

This bachelorette invitation design features zebra print and dancing ladies!

As with everything else on the website, you could add colors to the print, go with a colored card stock, or go with colored envelopes. Any of those changes would up the price, and, you would need to contact me for a new price quote.

Refridgerator magnets? Yes. Wedding invitations? Yes.

Not for the first time, I recently found myself working on a fun set of magnetic wedding invitations! The couple had gone with traditional printed card wedding invitations, but then had to change their plans. For the second set, they wanted to do something different and fun.

A watery pirate map themed 4x7 inch magnet design:

Save the Date vs Event Invitation

Save the dates are a newer idea, and after hearing about them, sometimes couples will get confused, and then try to blur the lines between save the dates and invitations.

Save the dates should be completely separate from invitations; You can do without an save the date altogether, but mixing a save the date and an invitation is no good.

Wedding invitations are the formal, official invitation that lays out the event in detail, and asks the guest to respond with whether or not they will attend. Wedding invitations should be sent out 2-3 months in advance.

Save the dates are an informal note that should, for the most part, stick to just the names and date of the couple. Save the dates should be sent out 5-10 months in advance.


On the invitation side:

Even if your wedding invitations will also be informal feel, this doesn't mean that you should send them out without asking for guests to respond in some way, or that you should send them out too far in advance.

Trying to throw a large event without a guest count is likely to lead to trouble with excess guests, or waste, if you prepare for far more than arrive. Make your life easier by getting a rough guest count. You may want to skip response card, but could still easily ask guests to respond via telephone.

Sending your invitations too far in advance has it's own pitfalls. You may think that all of the details are nailed down, but if you haven't signed all of your important contracts (venue!) and hired an officiant, it is not time to send out the invitations.


On the save the date side:

No response should be requested. Asking guests to respond so far in advance, without all of the details of the event, is jumping the gun! Keep these simple- don't include the venue location, or the time of the wedding. For the most part, save the dates are just supposed to be a fun extra.

Naturally, not every wedding and situation is the same, and their will be exceptions.

If your event will be in the middle of a major holiday or local festival, it is a good idea to include this on the save the date- save the dates actually are at their most useful in such cases. And if your save the date is for a destination wedding, it is actually a good to pack in a bit more information about where & when the event will be, and how to get there.

Moment to Moment

New Jersey couples, newly engaged and planning your wedding? Check out Moment to Moment events.

http://mtmevents.com/

Moment to Moment will work with a variety of budgets, and can plan more than just your wedding (have a fabulous bridal shower or engagement party with their help!).

Check out reviews on their Wedding Wire storefront:
www.weddingwire.com

Baptism Invitations

A baptism is a special and spiritual event, one to share with family. This post is about a baptism invitation I worked on recently.



We have a simple text-based design in dark navy, printed on a cream linen card stock, with rounded corners. The invitation itself is the popular size for small and economical invitations- 4.25x5.5 inches. To add something special, though, the couple included a 2.6x4.1 inch magnetic favor of their adorable baby boy.

This set is still light enough that it can be mailed out with a regular stamp.

A pocketfolding time

Over all the years I have been in business, the pocketfold invitation has only increased in popularity. With a variety of layouts, sizes, colors, designs, and more, you can end up with some very unique and customized pocketfold sets.



Purple pocketfolds, white pocketfolds, white, pink, and black; Linen textures, metallic textures, and good old matte.

Get just the pocketfold, just the printed card, or add in rounded corners, return address printing, monogrammed stickers and more.

Pocketfold invitations are usually between $2.50-$5.00

Movie ticket themed wedding invitations

This post is about a design idea for a 5x7 movie ticket themed invitation set.

Naturally, there are are a lot of ways you could incorporate a movie theme for an invitation- this is just one idea!



This invitation is a white 5x7 inch card printed over with the design. With digital printing, this is actually the only way to get light text and a dark background- completely covering the card in ink.

Two drama faces hide at the sides of the ticket, and the rsvp card matches the invitation.

This project also turns out to be another good example of multi-lingual invitations. In this case, a second set of the invitations is in Spanish.

This particular design idea would also work well with a colored card stock. Below is a photograph of a yellow toned card printed with black ink.



If you wanted to carry the theme even further, you could actually have me cut out the half-circles at the sides of the invitation.

Glass Art Projects

Glass Art Projects is a company that offers a variety of kits to make works of glass art. Sun catchers, Platters, Necklaces, and more.

Check out their website here:
http://glassartprojects.com/gap-index.html

To get a free suncatcher, visit this page and enter in my blog's url:
http://fireworkstudio.com/promos.html

Postage is about $6.00, and my blog url is "savethedateoriginals.blogspot.com"

A leafy invitation for an autumn wedding

This invitation set has two neat features.

1) The main 8.5x5.5 inch invitation card is actually two cards attached together. A metallic gold backs up the printed card.

2) An included small magnet with a matching design and a small red envelope.

These invitations predominately feature a red and orange leaf, but the main invitation includes a couple of additional leaves with a little bit of variation in color. This couple wanted to include several colors, but also didn't want the colors to overwhelm the design.

Twilight &True Blood Themed Party

I have worked on Halloween themed save the date and invitations in the past. They have all incorporated imagery you might expect- such as a haunted house, a pumpkin, a skull, or maybe a ghost.

A party theme that is similar, but more specific, is: Twilight and/ot True Blood vampire themed parties.



One of my recent customers decided to throw a party with this party theme. She found some awesome drink labels here, on HWTM's blog, that incorporate blood splatters.

But she wanted more than drink labels- she wanted favor tags, First Aid Kit labels, and invitations.

The 5.5x4.25 inch invitations were sent out with 5x3.5 inch response cards, and include a quote from Twilight. She will hand out mini first aid kits to guests to symbolize Bella's klutzy nature.

You might have noticed that her themed party was also her birthday party. Turning 30 might suck, but this party won't.


On a sidenote- check out this alternate 4x8 inch invitation design:

There really are a lot of ways to go for invitations designs in this "vein".

Student Driver?

There are a lot of things you can do with car magnets; Advertising, personalizing, politicizing, and joking. I get the occasional "just married" car door magnet order from bridal parties.

Another idea is: the student driver magnets.

I recommend getting more than one magnet- you can put them on the back, front, and sides of your car. That way, your nervous new driver might get a little more understanding from fellow drivers. If not... at least they were warned.



This photograph features three 8x4 inch magnets with: "BEWARE: student driver".

There is an etsy listing for 3 of these magnets.

Spring cleaning: Baseball Table Numbers

STDO is getting ready to move locations in a couple of months; This meant that spring cleaning this year had to be very thorough. Consequently, I have run across all manner of save the dates, invitations, and other projects from over the years.

Check out this baseball themed table number:


Being sports illiterate, I do not actually know the who the baseball player in the photograph is. Each of the 20+ numbers featured a different famous player.

This table number is a tall folded tent card about 4.5x9 inches tall. The number is printed front and back. To ensure that the card stands up well, a join was added to the bottom. The join also folds, so that these are as much of a pain to store before the event.

Love Birds

At long last, a save the date with a lovebird theme. This is a demure design with a white background and gray graphics (though you can change that). Two birds sit on a branch.

Movie Ticket Save the Date Cards

This movie ticket is similar to an older movie ticket design I may have blogged about. The older version was a black ink design printed on a pink card stock.

This new ticket is brighter and bolder. A black and red design printed on a nice sturdy lemon yellow card stock.



These movie ticket save the dates are small, simple and fun. They are 4.25x2.6 inches, and come with white 5x3.5 inch envelopes.

Surprise!

Surprise birthday party, that is. I have not yet had the opportunity to work on surprise birthday invitations, but thanks to working with a recent customer, I have two 5x7 inch designs to add to the website:




Right now, designs like this are settled into the "Your personal events" section of my website; For everything that is not necessarily wedding related, Christmas related, or baby related. This section includes birthdays and Bat Mitsvahs, moving announcements and First Communion save the dates.

Save the Date Stickers

Like printed magnets, stickers are another way to "stick" a date of an event in a guest's mind. The idea is that your guest can affix the sticker on a calendar, or in a planner book.

Given that purpose, you wouldn't want to send your guest a gigantic sticker- just something small, with the date.



In this photograph is a good example of a small but effective card and sticker combination for a sweet 16 save the date party. The card is 4.1x2.6 inches, and the sticker is about an inch in diameter. With custom and personalized design services that STDO offers, it is easy to coordinate the card and sticker design.

I would recommend no larger than 2 inches in diameter for a save the date sticker.

New boarding pass save the date card

Save the date with a fun sea-shell boarding pass!

This new variation on the boarding pass design idea is 3.5x8.5 inches. Printed on a nice thick light blue card stock with black and a darker blue ink colors, this card takes advantage of the colored card stock.




Like the other boarding pass designs, this card comes with rounded corners. This card does not come with a perforated tear off section.

Checking out the boarding pass save the date card section

Vegas theme

I've been working with a customer on a few different stationery projects for her wedding. She has had some fun ideas. The latest is a playing card look-a-like thank you card.



This is a folded card with the right thematic look, complete with rounded corners. This thank you is an "ace of hearts". Other options are available.

I liked the idea so much that I added an etsy listing for a set of 25:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/47092198/25-folded-playing-card-thank-you-card

Hello Spring!

Save the Date Originals has a new color scheme. Out with the old and in with the new- and the new is a beige/gold/black scheme. It may not be as bold as the bright blue, but is more welcoming.

Speaking of new, check out these two new photographic save the date magnet designs:




And a new thank you card design:



Better yet- the page that you can use for ordering samples is again up and running.
http://savethedateoriginals.com/Samples.php

Bride's Seminar for Ohio brides

Are you planning a wedding anywhere near Hilliard, OH? I hope you don't miss the Bride's Seminar on April 25th. This even will be hosted by Party Planners Plus at the Heritage Gold Club.

Includes lunch, Goody Bags filled with wonderful samples and coupons from your favorite WeddingWire Vendors and more.

Learn more here:
http://www.partyplannersplus.vpweb.com/BridesSeminar.html

Chicago Bridal Fair

Save the Date Originals is sending in some favor magnets to be included in free gift bags at the Bridal Bliss Wedding Expo. This event will take place in Chicago on May 2nd, 2010.

Couples, this event is free- and, parking will be free too. Come, check vendors out and enjoy fabulous giveaways, door prizes, raffles, tastings and valuable information.

Check out the website for more info:
http://bridalblisschicago.doattend.com

Taking care of business(es) part6

Business spotlight 6: Megan Werve

Megan Werve is a photographer in Jacksonville, NC. She came to me interested in a logo that was a little more unique than the one she already had.

When people ask me, "how much do save the dates cost?", I have no immediate response. There are things I must know - that the customer must decide on- in order to provide an answer. Magnet or card? Size? Envelopes, no envelopes? Type of card stock? Folding? Design?

The same goes for logos. Some clients are looking for a logo that would take me 5 minutes to create. Some clients are looking for a logo that would take me 30 hours to create. Sometimes people just don't know what they want- leading to multiples of versions, multiple rough sketches. Multiple versions mean = more time = more money.

Megan is a great example of someone who already had an idea of what she wanted her logo to look like. She already had a good logo that she liked, and just wanted something a little more unique. A short bit of custom drawing and she had her new logo.

Original logo:



New logo:



Check out Megan's work here on her blog.

Taking care of business(es) part5

Business spotlight 5: The Crafty Cat

The Crafty Cat is Jessica Washington, located in Colorado.

Have you ever known someone that is constantly producing beautiful hand crafted items? Jessica is one of those people.

From cards to crochet; Check out Jessica's etsy shop, or her blog.

Jessica wanted business cards and magnets that matched with her website(s). She had picked out a delightful graphic from shabbyblogs for her website(s). The design includes pink and green, damask and swirls.

Having websites and stationery that match leads to a professional feel, not to be underestimated. This meant that for her business cards, something with pink and green, damask and swirls was in order.

Her business card and business magnet:

It's clear: fun with see-through stickers

A variety of clear sticker sizes are actually available here at Save the Date Originals. Some circular sizes can only be ordered at a larger quantity (100+). But small rectangular or square see-through stickers are available in many custom sizes at fairly low quantities.

From address labels to envelope seals, logos to monograms, clear stickers are fun. Apply them to cards, envelopes, boxes, candles... you name it.



With clear see through stickers like these, your best option is actually just to go with a black-ink design. Because the background will be see-through, let your paper provide background color.

If you do want to go with a color print on your sticker, just keep in mind that you will want to apply the sticker to a white or light paper/surface. Why? White/light ink colors are actually not available. If you get yellow printed on your see-through sticker, it will be very hard to see when the sticker is applied to a dark background!

Change the Date 2

I have posted about "change the date" cards before; Below is another example, a modified design from the website printed on a postcard.



Every once in a while, people have to change their date after sending out their save the dates. Things happen, plans change.

Military couple's especially are often faced with an unexpected wrench in their plans, as was this particular couple. Thank you to couples like this and the sacrifices they make!

Not just for weddings

The save the date projects I end up working on are almost always for weddings. But not always. I have created save the dates for anniveraries, bat mitzvahs, first communions, birthdays, and... reunions.

Check out this classy family reunion magnet:



A simple elegant design, in combination with a nice blue envelope, makes for a date to remember.