Vendor Spotlight and GIVEAWAY: Custom Printables

At some point in your wedding planning you're going to come across these...and yes, I admit, they're irresistable. They're the wedding monogram, the lovely designs that make you and your future hubby's names look so darn cute together! Put them on your wedding invitations, address labels, wedding programs, favors...just anything you can think of! But having your own custom monogram can be a pretty penny if you don't have the graphic design skillz to pull it off. But don't fret, Valerie from Custom Printables offers an array of monograms to choose from all for an affordable price! Choose from contemporary and classic, traditional and unique designs to fit your budget-savvy, yet stylish tastes. Instead of paying for the design and the print, Custom Printables sends a custom design directly to you so you can print on your paper. Imagine my delight when Valerie made us our own monogram:

Adorable ain't it? And yes, some of you might recall, we used the design to make our own monogram rubber stamp for our invitations. The result? These embossed cuties on our envelope!

Not only does Custom Printables also offers custom wedding programs and water bottle labels! Go to their site, and you can even download free, yes free, invitation and place card templates!

So here she is, Valerie from Custom Printables!

Why did you start making wedding designs

I picked up an interest in graphic design at a young age, but actualized it mainly through school art projects and posters. A few years ago when I started a new job, my office computer came with the entire Adobe Creative Suite and so I just started playing around. I took a few classes in Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator through the local community college, and got great feedback from my classmates. When I discovered Etsy and some wedding blogs that I read regularly (including I Do Budget Weddings!), I decided there might be a niche market for folks who want great wedding stationery and artwork, lots of choices, and the option to be able to use the designs however they choose. In particular, I found that couples want someone else to create an elegant, unique wedding program but be able to print it themselves to save money.

Your custom work are great for the couple looking for a personalized touch at an affordable price. Which of your designs are the most popular?

The monograms and wedding programs for Jewish couples are quite popular. I offer a variety of designs with Hebrew phrases that come from Jewish texts and traditions, such as "I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine" and "I have found the one in whom my soul delights." Additionally, I can include the Hebrew text of the seven blessings said at a Jewish wedding, and for all weddings, depending on the length of the program, I can include descriptions of the traditions and rituals. Of course, any design offered with Hebrew can be made with English text and vice versa! My most popular monograms are Erin, Renee, Amelia, and Ellisha, and the most popular invitation is based off the New Orleans Save-the-Date found on Zazzle.

Besides invitations and programs, what are some of the unique ways you've seen couples use your designs?

One couple asked for the word "Love" in a swirly frame that matched their monogram and wedding stationery. This was given to their baker, who printed out the image onto a sheet of edible paper and placed it on one of the cake tiers! The cake was then decorated to match the swirls.

What was the most unique detail you've seen at a wedding?
When my best friend got married, on the morning of her wedding she found that her soon-to-be husband had written love notes all over the bottom of her shoes. I thought it was such a cute and unexpected surprise! At another wedding I attended, the entire event was vintage-themed with mint green, black, and white. The bridesmaids wore these lovely vintage dresses that evoked the 20s and 30s, and their hair was coiffed to match the era. The bride, instead of a full-length gown, wore a sailor-inspired white dress that was not at all costume-y. It was an elegant theme wedding that strayed far from kitsch!

Anything else you'd like to share about your shop?
I don't just do weddings! I have created designs for baby showers and birthday parties, military homecomings and retirement celebrations. Additionally, I offer candy wrappers and water bottle labels. Finally, I'm beginning to delve into the world of printing myself - I have found a remarkably reliable and inexpensive vendor - so I am able to offer the complete package for my clients.

Links where we can find more info. on your shop:

Store: http://www.customprintablesonline.com
Blog: http://customprintables.blogspot.com
Zazzle: http://www.zazzle.com/valie520*
Etsy: http://valie520.etsy.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Carrboro-NC/Custom-Printables/60997847258?ref=ts

Now onto our GIVEAWAY!

WIN IT:
Valerie is giving one lucky winner five catalog monograms and a custom two-page wedding program (or, if the couple wants more than two pages, the price of a multiple page program minus the cost of a two-page program, or $20).

The Rules
1) MANDATORY ENTRY! Go to Custom Printables Online Shop and comment on your favorite monogram or design for one entry. This is mandatory! Contestants who do not do this will be disqualified. Remember to leave your email address or some way to contact you with each entry!


Additional entries (remember to leave separate comments for each additional entry)

2) Become a new follower of this blog. You must follow publicly (1 entry)
3) Are currently a follower of my blog (2 entries)
4) Like “I Do” Budget Weddings on Facebook (2 entries)
5) Like Custom Printables on Facebook (2 entries)
6) Blog about the contest and include a link to the giveaway. Each entrant must also include a link to Custom Printables in their post (3 entries) Please include a direct link to your blog post in your comment.
7) Buy anything from Custom Printables (5 entries)
8) Follow “I Do” Budget Weddings on Twitter (1 entry)
9) Follow Custom Printables on Twitter (2 entries)
10) Tweet on this giveaway and include a link to this giveaway in your tweet (1 entry)
11) Grab my button and place it on your blog (1 entry)
12) Subscribe to "I Do" Budget Weddings emails (1 entry)
13) Become a follower on Networked Blogs (1 entry)
The deadline to enter this contest is 11:59 p.m., Saturday, June 26, 2010 (PST). A winner will be randomly chosen. Good luck!

What our invitation will say

Nothing too extravagant...simple and to the to point. As you might remember, we purchased DIY printable invites from Michaels with our 40% off coupons.

Our invation will be kind of small to avoid a higher postage, so not too much text space. But the centerpiece card in our pocketfold will say this:

"Two lives, two hearts, two families
united forever in love.
(My name)
and
(His name)
invite you to share in a celebration
as we exchange our marriage vows
(our date), two thousand ten
eleven o'clock in the morning
St. Elizabeth of Hungary Church
1849 Lake Avenue
Altadena, California.
Reception to follow"

I like how the wording kind of captures in a few words the gist of how we view our wedding - two lives coming together--and these lives include the families, friends and cultural backgrounds that have made us who we are. Nice.

There will be a separate card for reception information, as well as a separate card for RSVP directions (we're asking guests to rsvp on our Web site).

Yes, we'll have to print the invites with our trusty printer, but the real DIY process will be the part where we get to be creative and personalize them. Right now they look a bit plain. Hmmm...how to dress them up a bit to reflect our colors and style? Another DIY trial to come!

DIY Invitations...sort of

OK, I know I said I was going to make my own pocketfold invitations from scratch. I was completely jazzed about it, thoroughly convinced it was going to happen. Well, it is going to happen...just not in the super-crafty glorious vision I had imagined.
The fiance and I decided to take advantage of Michael's crazy 50% off coupons this week. Yep, that's right. This week, take an extra 50% any regular priced item (check your Sunday paper!). Then we saw these invitation kits at my local Michaels:

They're from the wedding collection of Brides Magazine--there are 30 invitations in each box, including  pocketfold envelopes, response cards and envelopes, address labels, direction cards, seals and ribbon. 

Sure, the design is very simple, but I think they're elegant. And there are ways to personalize the look (you don't have to stick to their template.) We're going to switch out the cream-colored ribbon with a purple one, and we may add some more purple in the design, but I think they're rather chic! Not the grand pocketfolds I was thinking of making myself, but I think these are much better than anything I would have produced, and probably much cheaper!

We bought two kits for a total of $48. (We're buying another kit tomorrow using an online coupon we printed this evening). With our 50% coupons, each box was $24. That means each invitation comes out to about $0.75 per unit. For 90 invitations that includes the whole shebang, this is a great deal! With postage, we may even come in under our $150  invitation budget!

FYI: Sign up for Michael's email newsletter and you can get weekly 40% coupons. We're told that we can combine these coupons with the bounce back receipt coupons we receive after each purchase. We going to try this tomorrow to see if this works!

Money-saving tip: To cut costs we decided we will have our guests RSVP online. Our website will have a separate page just for RSVPs, so instead of reply cards, our invitation will include  instructions on how to RSVP online. Since our rehearsal dinner will be more of an informal welcome dinner, we will send out evites instead of another invitation that requires more postage. Besides, snail mail is so last century!

I think I can, I think I can...

I am inspired...no wait, I am thoroughly convinced that I CAN make my own pocketfold invitations, Oh, yes, I can! No, I'm not talking about ordering my precut materials online. I'm talking about making everything from scratch. Ok, I'm not making my own paper, but I'm going to purchase my own paper and cardstock, print them, cut them into the sizes I need and create my own pocketfold envelope invite.

I saw this youtube clip and I thought, YES! Seems perfectly DIY-able!



I also read these instructions and now I am on a new mission: the DIY Invite! Now I have to figure out how to make each invitation at no more than $1. Can I do it? Better start saving those Michaels coupons!