DIY Invitation Graphics

[november709]

Hi everyone!
I''m new to this post, although my FI is no stranger! He swears by this message board after all the help he got re: our engagement and the ring - which is beautiful, so thanks all!

So, we decided to DIY our invitations because we couldn''t find anything out there the suits our taste. We''ve already designed our pocketfolds and are about the begin designing the actual invitation and inserts. I''ve been scouring the web over the past few days for free templates and clipart, but I''m not finding anything that calls to me. I''m beginning to think I''m not going about this in the right way. Do I have to purchase software or something? If possible, I''d like to avoid doing that. Does anyone have any advice/resources on where I should begin when designing an invitation from scratch? Thanks so much in advance!

 

[swimmer]

Do you have a PaperSouce near you? They have all sorts of interesting options, both diy and print ready sure to inspire you. link

 

[Inanna]

I''m in the same situation as you, so I''ll be watching this thread carefully.

Last night I found a website that sells templates for DIY invitations (at a fairly hefty price, considering the printing is still DIY). Its called Sweet Penelope: http://www.sweetpenelope.com/. I like a few of their designs and how customizable it is, but I''m still looking.

 

[rockzilla]

We used Sweet Penelope for our Save the Dates and invites. Though its not incredibly cheap, she does format everything for you and I think its well worth the cost. You have to remember that every image online somewhere was created/designed by someone, so its a little unfair to just expect to get it for free...it seems only fair to compensate the designer for their work. Also, try etsy, there are some graphic designers on there who will do it for a reasonable price.

If you go with sweet penelope, just make sure you contact her in advance because she''s a one woman shop, so if she''s say, on vacation, you may have to wait.

 

[sammyj]

I'm DIYing everything as well but I'm having a friend (who is a graphic designer) help me with things. I would also recommend etsy if you just need a pdf image that you will print/cut/paste/etc. on your own. If you know how to work with Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, or even Microsoft Publisher, then I think you're already one step ahead! You can download a 30-day trial of Illustrator from the Adobe website...maybe Photoshop too. Good luck!

ETA: If you're just looking for images and graphics (and you're adept at the formatting), I know lots of people use istockphoto.com. You have to purchase the image/vector, but there are tons of choices and they're relatively inexpensive.

 

[MakingTheGrade]

Yeah, I basically just found fonts and images I liked online, did some photoshopping and formatting and then printed it out on nice paper.

 

[sunnyd]

Date: 6/19/2009 2:26:19 PM
Author: sammyj
ETA: If you''re just looking for images and graphics (and you''re adept at the formatting), I know lots of people use istockphoto.com. You have to purchase the image/vector, but there are tons of choices and they''re relatively inexpensive.

Ditto this. They''re only a couple of bucks, and I''ve been easily manipulating the images in Word, of all places.

Actually, Word has some cute images too under clipart.

 

[november709]

Thank everyone! I really appreciate your thoughts. I think I''ll try the photoshop or microsoft publisher route. I would like to create my own design, and I certainly wouldn''t want to copy anyone else''s hard work, so maybe this would be my best bet. I''ll check out etsy.com also...thanks, again! I''m always looking for inspiration!