Card Making

So I finally decided to try out my new Cuttlebug machine.  My brother's birthday is next week so I bought a 50 pack of A2 cards and envelopes at JoAnn's for $5.99.  I also purchased a birthday embossing folder.  I figured I can use it in the future for other people's birthday cards.

The card came out really well.  I wound up tying a ribbon around it as well (I found a pack of 6 Martha Stewart ribbons at Big Lots for $3.00) that said "Happy birthday" on it.

Here is a picture of what the card and envelope look like without the ribbon:



Not too shabby!!  Now I have to decide if I want to make my own save-the-date cards and invitations.  We have a little less than 2 years so even if I make one card a day I will have them done in under a year.  It might be a bit time consuming but it's a LOT cheaper and I am all about saving money on this wedding.

I bought some embossing folders and new plates for my Cuttlebug on Amazon with a credit that I had so I will be doing a lot more experimenting when those come in.  I also got a stamp pad because I found a really pretty "Thank You" stamp at JoAnn's that I am going to use to make my own Thank You Notes after the wedding is over.  Being crafty is so much fun!!

Cuttlebug!!

I got my Cuttlebug embosser and dye cut machine in the mail today!!! 

I was so excited that I went out to Walmart and got some cheap paper so I can start experimenting with it.  I got white paper, a combination of pastel papers, and some scrapbooking paper.  It cost about $10 total.  I also bought a paper slicer for $15 so I can cut straight edges.  I'm hoping to be able to do my save-the-dates using this machine and the printer (which I just ordered some ink for).  If all I spend is money on paper and a few embossing folders, it will save a lot of money.  The machine actually came with a couple of embossing folders and die cuts too so hopefully I can incorporate those into my cards.

Venue: CHECK!

So Casey and I went up north to book our venue this weekend.  The only place he could imagine getting married at is the Candlewood Inn so we went there to check it out.  His father, who is a well-respected DJ in the area, got us a good deal on the place and because we chose to have it on a Sunday, it was even cheaper than normal.

We went in and I automatically loved it.  They had a wedding going on outside right by the water so I got to see that in progress.  I also got to see what the hall looks like when it's all done up.  It's really classy and beautiful.  Obviously, this is going to be our biggest expense, but I was still able to book the hall of my dreams UNDER our budget. 

So we set the date for August 12, 2012.  I have a little under two years to get all of the planning done.