Archive for May, 2009
Seals of Love
I love wax seals!
According to wikipedia, wax seals were used in the 16th century for security purposes. They prevented tampering and proof that a letter was actually from the real sender. Today, wax seals are no longer needed for such purposes but can still be used to add an elegant touch to your wedding invitations.
Here are some tips to get you started:
1. You need to purchase a stamper to create the impression. Michaels has a selection of inexpensive stampers in wedding symbols (love doves, hearts, bells, …) and alphabet initials. If you want something more unique or one custom made you can check out Ebay or Etsy.
2. Purchase faux sealing wax for use in a mini glue gun - Faux sealing wax is flexible and won’t crack like real wax. Michaels also sells this type of wax, but has limited colours. I have purchased from Seasons Creationson Ebay before and they have a ton of colours to choose from.
3. Don’t make your seal too fat- If you do then your envelope will be over-sized and you’ll have to pay for extra postage.
4. Rub a bit of cooking oil onto the stamper - I’ve found that after using the stamper a few times, it’ll begin to stick to the wax. Rub a bit of oil onto the stamper - just a little is all you need and the stamper will peal off the wax easily
5. Buy extra envelopes - It may take a little bit of time to get use to the stamper and wax at first. Be sure to buy some extra envelopes because if you don’t get tip 4 right (see above) then you may end up ripping some envelopes when trying to pull the stamper apart from the wax.
6. Buy pre-made wax seals- If you’re not in a DIY mood you can always purchase pre-made wax seals. They’re like stickers you just peel off and stick to your envelopes.
Invitation Mailing 101
So now that you have your wedding invitations in your hands, read these tips before you go ahead and stuff each one and place them in the mailbox. These tips are based on my own personal experience and since I’m Canadian there’s references to Canada Post. For those readers that are south of the border or beyond I’m sure you can relate this to your own postal service.
1. Get your full invitation suite weighed at the post office - I’ve heard numerous horror stories from brides that have affixed a standard postage stamp without realizing that their invites were over-weight or over-sized. There’s information on the Canada post website about what is considered standard weight and size but it can get a little confusing. Your best bet is to take your invitation to a postal outlet and get it weighed by those who know best.
2. Pick a stamp that matches your invites - I’ve received invitations with the Canadian flag stamp (Canadians I’m sure you know what I’m talking about) before and honestly, unless you’re going with a patriotic or red & blue theme I don’t think it’s the best looking stamp for a wedding invitation. Especially when you do have other options. Canada Post changes their postage stamps from time to time. Right now they have a lovely Rhododendrons flower stamp that might match some invitations. When I was getting married they had peonies!
3. Number your RSVP cards- If you’re having your guests mail their response cards back to you, be sure to number them so you can easily refer the number back to your guest list. You’ll be surprised at how many guests will reply with just their first name (or no name at all) and if you have several “John’s” on your list then you might have trouble figuring out who RSVP’d. To save yourself the headache, add a discrete number to the RSVP card or envelope.
4. Consider hand-cancelling your personalized stamps - If you ordered a personalized postage stamp you may want to consider getting them hand-cancelled by a post office clerk. Normally stamps are machine-cancelled meaning a machine will mark up each stamp to prevent it from being re-used. So if your personalized stamp is a pic of you and your FI then you might end up with black lines on your faces. If you have your postage hand-cancelled by a post office clerk then they will personally stamp each postage stamp in the corner. Bare in mind, depending on which post office you go to it can be a big stamp on your envelope. I didn’t like the look of the stamper my post office had so I just let my postage be machine-cancelled. Also, there’s no guarantee that your hand-cancelled postage won’t be machine-cancelled too!
Join us for a walk in the park
I’m delighted to announce that we’ll be participating in The Spring Wedding Show hosted by The Wedding Co. (which by the way is a fabulous resource for Toronto brides). The Spring Wedding Show is an innovative, online wedding show that spotlights some of the the best and most unique products and services for your wedding.
Here are some of the details:
- The park gates will be open from May 22 to May 31
- Enjoy the warm weather and visit when it’s convenient: The park will remain open for 10 days, 24 hours a day
- Enjoy Complimentary admission and return as many times as you like.
Our “booth” is in the Invitations Category. Hope to see you in the Park. The gates opened today and it’s just way too cute!
Stationery Love
When I started doing handwritten calligraphy one of the common questions I was asked was “Why? Isn’t that what computers are for?” So to answer this question, let me give you a bit of background about myself:
Call me a bona-fide pack rat but I’m one of those gals that has kept every single card - birthday, wedding, Christmas, invitation, you name it - that I’ve ever received. (see pic below)
I converted a shoebox into my “stationary” box (yes I know, it’s misspelled - see pic below) when I was a kid and to this day it is still filled with the hello kitty and morning glory stationery I used to collect.
Perhaps my love of stationery came from the days a few of my childhood friends moved away and we kept in touch through snail mail. I used to decorate my stationery with colouful lettering and pictures. Of course this all stopped with the invention of the Internet.
So for those that ask why I do what some call a dying art? It’s because of my love of stationery. I love seeing a beautiful card in my mailbox, in between the junk mail and bills. I know I’m not the only one. I do Calligraphy for those brides who will appreciate a beautifully addressed invitation. Who will gush over a custom postage stamp, a wax seal or a letterpress invitation. And for the fellow pack rats that will keep a gorgeous envelope that was addressed to them. =)
