Save the Dates Parte Dos: The Reveal

As you might recall, I had quite the ambitious idea for our Save the Dates.  The most intimidating factor to me was the actual print-at-home process.  Fortunately, I had lots of practice with that.  The other barrier that stood in my way was finding a company who could print on balloons...affordably.  After lots of googling (and emailing to make sure that some companies were still in business...some weren't), I discovered Extra Twist Custom Balloon Printing.  They were an absolute joy to work with, mostly because of their excellent communication.  I emailed the printer our desired balloon text as a jpeg, and we went back and forth about font choices and so on.  She was very careful to ensure that I created a design that would produce a high-quality print.  I really appreciated that.  After about three weeks, a box of deflated, printed balloons showed up on our doorstep.  Sister Lioness was in town visiting, so I recruited her for help and we got to work.

Materials:
A printer that has the ability to adjust according to paper size (look for an envelope feature)
#10 Open End Luxe Fino Envelopes in Pool - 10 for $5.50 at Paper Source
Custom Stamp - $8.00 from Etsy seller drumchick99
Embossing Powder in Clear - $7.95 at Paper Source
Watermark Inkpad for Embossing - $8.95 at Paper Source
Embossing Heat Tool - $23.75 at Paper Source
#10 Luxe Fino Flat Cards in Cream - 25 for $6.25 at Paper Source
Squeeze Punch - 1/2" Rounded Corner - $11.95 at Paper Source
Custom Printed Balloons in Green -  $70.00 for 11-inch latex balloons at Extra Twist
Green Bakers Twine - $12.00 at Divine Twine
An eyeglasses screwdriver

The first thing I did was print out the envelopes.  My printer was a little temperamental about this.  It only worked if I hand fed each one, one at a time.  Even then, it was problematic at times.

Other times, it was beautiful.

I then printed out the cards.  The front read, "Hello!  Please inflate the balloon."  It then listed our wedding website on the bottom of the card.  The back looked like this:

We used Wedding Chicks' template, added our favorite picture from the proposal (in black and white, except for my ring which is an aquamarine), and circled our date in a matching aquamarine.  With the help of the Weddingbee Boards, I was able to identify these fonts as Monterey BT and EcuyerDAX, both of which are available for free on dafont.  I downloaded these fonts, used them on the front of the card and the envelope, and I plan to use them on our invitations, programs, menus, etc.

Sister Lioness then used the corner punch to round out the edges of the cards.

Then, I embossed a little balloon on each envelope.  Side note: embossing totally intimidated me, but the lady at Paper Source convinced me that it wasn't scary and I'm SO GLAD she did.

While I was embossing, Sister Lioness finished up the cards.  Now while you read this last part, you have to sing it to the tune of a certain SNL Digital Short.  Ready, go!

Step One: Punch some holes in the card.

Two: Thread your twine though that card.

Three: Attach a balloon to that card.

It's a balloon on a card!  Ooooo!  Okay, I'm done singing inappropriate things.  Here is the final product!

{all personal photos}

So were our guests as psyched about these as we were?  Stay tuned to find out!