Meltdown

I am officially having a meltdown.

I have been really good at keeping calm during the wedding planning. It's a destinational wedding (for Mr. Techy and his family, not so much for mine). It's in my home town so 50% of the guest list is traveling.

Mr. Techy and I have been doing all the planning over the phone and by email. We chose the church based on the great photos on their website - luckily the deacon was easy going and understood our situation.

We have made major progress with the big tasks such as photographer, videographer, reception venue and church. However, I have been having horrible headaches and anxiety because of the invitations.

INVITATIONS! ! ! They are the death of me. From the beginning I was determined to make our invitations. I have been so excited about saying, "Yes, I made them!" Now I am like, "Honey, I don't want to."

I don't know why I can't focus, and make a decision. So many styles, colors, formats. I have found a number of inspirations online, but I just keep second guessing my talent and wondering if I can pull it off.

Here are a few I LOVE:

http://www.stylemepretty.com/2008/11/12/wedding-invitations-by-gourmet-invitations/



http://www.moderninvitationdesign.com/albums/album_image/5404760/1593243.htm



http://alovelymorning.blogspot.com/2008/09/diy-ish-invites-3rd-and-final-chapter.html



They are all different and beautiful in their own way. And it's been definitely hard for me to make a decision because I don't have my mom, sister, or bridesmaids nearby to give my their feedback. They don't live in NY and I miss them all dearly.

My mission for this weekend is to make a decision and to create a mock up.

I just needed to vent because poor fiance doesn't understand why I am having nightmares. But I am sure you all do.

Saludos!

Miss Cafe

Mother's Day Cards Tutorial

I wasn't able to capture the entire tutorial on camera because Mr. Techy wasn't around to take pictures. So below are the steps to creating the envelope and card from scratch.

Materials:
1 Large Sheet of Construction Paper
Pencil with eraser
1 envelope template (5x7)
1 card template (5x7)
YUDU
Black Ink
Glue Roller
Scissors
Scoring tool
Tape (preferably Scotch Tape, it doesn't rip the paper when you remove it)

Step 1)

I didn't have templates so I used a card/envelope from one of my stationery sets. I undid the envelope carefully. I then taped it to the construction paper and traced it. I also traced the card open faced and cut everything out. With an eraser, I lightly removed the pencil markings left over from when I traced the templates.

Step 2)

With a ruler and scoring tool, I made the creases so that I can fold the wings of the envelope.

Step 3)

I used the glue roller to seal 3/4s of the envelope.

Step 4)

I screen printed the images with the YUDU and let them dry for about an hour.

Step 5)

I personalized the inside of the cards, placed them in the envelopes and sealed the last flap with the glue roller.

Saludos!

Miss Cafe

The Reveal

Here they are! Sadly only two cards made it out of my initial four. I messed up a few and ran out of construction paper to make more cards and envelopes. But that's OK, I am getting the hang of it.

Front of the card:



Envelope:



Inside:



It says, "Because it take other moms more than one cup of coffee to be nearly as amazing as you!"

Happy Mother's Day!

Not too shabby for my first YUDU project.

YU like?

Saludos!

Miss Cafe

Ugh, Let's Try That Again

I finally opened my YUDU today (I know -FINALLY) and realized that the Proof of Purchase had been sliced out. I freaked out and immediately called the store I purchased it from. I was worried that I would either have a problem A) Returning it or B) Claiming my rebate.

It turns out that someone bought my YUDU, cut out the UPC and returned it - unbeknown to the store (Not Cool!). The manager I spoke to was extremely nice an told me I wouldn't have a problem - he would help me either way.

So how did the Mother's Day cards come out? I'll just wait to show you the 2nd or 3rd print run. I spent my day watching the tutorials, attempting the steps, wondering what I did wrong, rinsing and repeat. I have no idea how black ink ended up where it did - in the kitchen, on the floor, my phone and on my elbow (that I know of so far). Luckily, the ink is easy to clean up.

Fiance was looking at the contraption trying to figure out how it worked. Honey, I'll explain it to you once I figure it out.

Mother's Day cards will be slightly late this year. I'll make sure to note that they are home-made. Hopefully, my mom and future mother-in-law will be so distracted by how cute they are and how hard I worked to realize how late they arrived (I hope). I might start next year's Mother's Day cards this week - just to be safe.

Saludos!

Miss Cafe

Yu can Du it !

My poor YUDU has been sitting in its box for over a month now. Mainly because I am scared to open it. You see, I have buyer's remorse... (don't worry fiance, I am keeping you.) I am worried that if I open it, I am going to want to return it - and I'll have to succumb to a store credit.

I purchased a YUDU with intentions of making our wedding invitations. When I started researching invites a few weeks ago, I realized that many brides design and print their own - giving it that personalized touch. Now, that, sounded like a fantastic idea. Some used their home printer, some used rubber stamps and some mentioned a YUDU. I am a DIYer, but wasn't sure if I wanted to challenge myself to design and manufacture my invites - it was tempting though. After a few seconds of contemplating, I told fiance I was going to buy a YUDU.

Here is my YUDU on April 3rd, 2009, the day I bought it.



And here it is today.



The sad thing is that it's been in the exact same spot since I bought it. I vacuum around it, stack stuff on top of it, bump into it. I keep telling myself I need to make a decision. Well, according to the receipt, the store has a 60-day return policy... and I have 26 days left to commit.

But today, I decided to take the chance and open it for my first project - Mother's Day cards. Depending on the outcome, I'll decide whether or not to print my own wedding invitations with the YUDU.

Stay tuned for the tutorial and results.

Saludos!

Miss Cafe