Chewing Paper - Confessions of a Paper Addict

Popularity Contest

I think each year in the wedding industry different trends take hold, but there's some sure fire favourites as well.  I thought it would be fun to tell you our top 5 colours in wedding stationery and accessories that we've seen this year in order of popularity, and some other bits and bobs as well.  Top in the popularity stakes for colour this year are:

1. IVORY - the perennial favourite, classical choice and the winner by a mile
2. BURGUNDY - not too surprising - rich, velvety and popular all year round
3. CHOCOLATE - this year's fashionable choice!
4. NAVY - still a wedding staple
5. RED/PINK/PURPLE - too hard to call this one - red possibly slightly in the lead, but a close thing

Coming in next would probably be gold and silver, then burnt orange, with yellow and green following behind.

Apparently turquoise was really big last year for bridesmaid dresses but we didn't see it reflected in stationery.  It'll be interesting to see what everyone's wearing next year.  That said, not all brides choose their stationery to match their bridesmaid dresses and colour scheme.  One bride we had chose two completely different colours for her stationery to what her bridesmaids were wearing as she didn't want anyone to guess beforehand!!  Have to say we thought that was a great approach too!!

When it comes to styles of invite, we find Calla Lillies to be a perennial favourite.  In particular this invitation kit - featuring ivory mulberry tissue with silk threads, calla lillies and ivory card and envelope, to be a constant best seller. 

I think the fact it comes with 28 different shades of the mulberry helps things too :)  Most brides customise it to choose their own backing colour and sometimes flowers too. 

Either way, all that matters is that you choose whatever *you* want and don't worry about dissenting opinions.  Brides (well most :)) get one day to make everything truly their own and you have to capitalise on that!!

CP

A Weighty Issue

We've had a few queries recently asking "Up to what thickness of card can my printer print" and it's something that's a constant and ongoing issue where card is concerned.  Too light and the card is too flimsy, but eminently printable; too heavy and it feels great but won't go around the rollers of the printer.  Here's what we consider our (fairly) definitive guide when printing on card!

As a general rule you can print on paper and card up to approx. 160gsm in thickness on a laser or a deskjet/inkjet printer (gsm stands for grams per square metre).  However, we find you can often print on thicker card on a inkjet or deskjet - anything up to 300gsm or even higher.  We have smooth card which is 220gsm which is suitable for printing on most deskjet printers.  If you don't want your card to be floppy, we would recommend staying above at least 200gsm in weight. Our manufacturer only guarantees card up to 160gsm can be printed on, however, which is true for laser printers, though the reality is you can often go higher than that with inkjets.

If you're having problems printing on paper or card, try some of the following tips:

• Check your printer setting - most have a setting for thicker card/paper or envelopes which will help them accomodate thicker card. It may be under Printer>Properties, or sometimes a small envelope symbol will represent the section for changing paper thickness.
• Feed the paper/card in one sheet at a time
• Change the printer speed to draft, or alternatively, try the opposite and check it to best quality.  Often the problem with printing on card is with the feeding mechanism of the printer.  The stiffer the card, the less pliable and bendable it is so the more trouble a printer will have grabbing it and guiding it around the rollers. Changing the speed can help the card to feed better. Be aware it can also make the text lighter or darker too as a result of changing the print speed.
• If your printer is both top and bottom feeding, use the bottom paper tray.  This tends to feed better. 
• If the office laser isn't working, try your cheaper, and simpler inkjet at home.  We have found that the cheaper printers often work better than the extremely fast laser ones at work!

In general a laid or textured card of the same weight as a smooth card will be considerably stiffer and harder to print on.  If in doubt, go for a smooth card which tends to be easier to print on.

Always do a trial on your printer before buying in bulk to do all your invitations/cards.

Good luck!

CP

Hello Ladies and Gentlemen and Welcome....

..to the greatest show on this earth.  No really.  Welcome to my blog.  As a self-confessed introvert, I swore I'd never have one.  My mini-Me is appalled.  But the persuading powers that be have me finally succumbing to the phenomenon that is the weblog, and here be I, with lots and lots of information about crafts, paper, invitation making, scrapbooking, card making, selling your crafts, quilting and lots more to bestow!!  I don't know everything. Most days I think I know nothing.  But three crafty websites and a few years down the road of running craft-related businesses, and I guess the information does pile up.

My goal is for this to be a truly useful blog.  With lots of tips for brides-to-be, invitation makers, card makers, scrapbookers and crafty people in general.  There will be regular projects, occasional competitions and lots of articles passing on all that we know at the office (i.e. all the mistakes we've made :)) and anything else we're in love with or think is *really useful*.

Happy reading!

Aisling.