Introduction: Hand Made, Vintage English Telegram/Telegraph Theme, Wedding Invitations.
I have a wedding coming up soon and I thought I would share with you a cheap but very effective way to make a nice, vintage and traditional wedding invitation. We went with this design to go with our vintage/shabby chic theme. I will try answer any questions, (Please note the dates, addresses and names on the invitation has been changed for privacy reasons).
Things that you will need:
- Computer software (I used Microsoft Word but people more confident with Photoshop might prefer using it).
- Laser printer or access to a Laser photocopier (I used the one in my office). This is so the ink don't run when you wet it later.
- Paper, any type will do (I used the cheap office photocopier paper).
- Kettle
- T-bags
- Clean paint brush
- Jug that can hold hot water
- Tray
- A place to hang to dry or an oven
- Iron
- Dish Cloth
- Wax and wax sealing stamp
Step 1: Edit My Template With Your Details.
Edit my template with your details. The template will be in a .doc format. please only use this for personal use and not to sell.
Step 2: Print Out Document.
Print the document after you have edited with a laser printer. If you do not own a laser printer then do what I did and photocopy the document (as most photocopiers are laser). You may get away not using a laser printer but I havent tried and would imagine that the ink would run when it gets wet.
Step 3: Brew Your Tea Stain.
I brewed my tea stain with 5 tea bags to every 1 pint of boiled water. Use the cheapest tea bags you can find. Leave the tea bags to brew for 5 to 10 minutes. and stir occasionally with you paint brush.
Step 4: Tea Stain Your Paper.
Using a tray, paint the tea onto both sides of the paper. The more tea you use the darker and older it will look. If the paper creases don't worry as this adds to the effect and they will be ironed out later. You want the paper to fully soak up the tea.
Step 5: Drying the Paper.
There is two ways to dry the paper.
The first is to hang dry. This can be done in bulk but does take a long time and a lot of room to dry. Just remove the the wet paper from the tray you are using to stain. Do this very carefully as the paper will tear very easy and you might lose a few edges. Hang them up on a washing line or something similar and leave them till they are dry. Make sure they are not touching as they may stick together. Drying time will take a few hours but it does depend on what the temperature and humidity are in you local area.
The second way is to put the paper in a oven. This will dry them very quick but you can only do a few at a time. Preheat your oven to the lowest setting and set up some grease free and flat areas. Place your paper in and "cook" between 5 and 10 minutes. Check its dry and remove.
Step 6: Iron the Paper.
This step is optional but either way you dry your paper it will be creased and not flat.
Place the paper between a dish cloth or something similar and steam iron until its flat and has no creases.
Immediately put the paper under something heavy to stop it rolling up.
Step 7: Add Anymore Information.
These invites will be posted with a cover letter and a RSVP in a similar style. But this is the step to add any more personal information. Also adding pen makes each invite unique.
Step 8: Fold, Seal and Send
Fold as in the pictures and seal with wax.
To seal with wax you need either a stamp and sealing wax. Or you could also buy stick on wax seals.
Burn the wax and drip into a small circle on the edge. Leave a few seconds and stamp the wax. Remove after a further few seconds and you are finished. Turnover, address, stamp and send.
i hope this Instructable either helps or at least gives you a great idea for a vintage wedding invite.
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