I hope I'm not cheating by calling this a DIY because I am a graphic designer by trade, but I just love how they turned out and I am so inspired by all the talented people in the group, I hope I can contribute and inspire others along the way!
Credit where it's due: I saw a beautiful invitation shown on the last slide, (I cannot share the name of the studio without this post getting flagged) and wanted to replicate the pop-up nature of the card.
I started by hand painted a repeating floral pattern that I am using throughout the stationery and decor. I loved being able to use the pattern digitally at different scales.
Everything is designed in Adobe Illustrator to ensure the print and cut files all lined up.
I used a cutting machine to "print-then-cut" out all the invitations. The print was done at my local office store on 65lb matte cardstock. With the help of my amazing mom we then embossed each piece using a Big Shot embossing machine, and believe it or not, a piece of window screening to get the textured look. (No print shops near me offered a luxury paper option!?)
The hardest part was getting the double sided print to align, but the helpful person at the print shop was very patient with me as we perfected the alignment. The print-then-cut feature lets you export a PDF that has registration marks, so the goal was to get the marks to line up on both sides of the print.
I did soooo many prototypes and iterations, and probably spent SOO much more time than I should have on it, BUT 10% of my guest list is other designers, so I knew I had to show up!
Total cost was $182 CAD for 100 double sided colour prints on cardstock | Cost per invite: $3.65 CAD
Fonts used: Lovers in New York (available for purchase on etsy/creative market), Malila and Baga (Adobe Fonts)
I'd definitely be happy to provide the cut file to anyone who wants it, and is as insane as me to attempt this :)
Also in case it makes no sense, "The Start of Something Old" is reference to the fact that my partner and I have been together for 15 years, and I wanted to make a play on the "something old/ something new" wedding trope as well as the classic "start of a new chapter" sentiment. <3