Let's dive right in with a project I've gotten loads of question about - Wedding Programs. My husband and I had a lot of trouble finding programs for our wedding. We had very specific needs, the most important being that the programs be bilingual. Since I'm a self-professed paper queen, I decided to make them myself.My finished programs measured 4.75" x 6" (12.07cm x 15.24cm). I used Bazill cardstock in Pinecone, Red Robin, and Pebble Beach. I'll refer to these measurements and colors in the tutorial, but you can easily adapt both to your liking.
Materials:
- 1 piece 9.5" x 6" (24.13cm x 15.24cm) Pinecone cardstock
- 1 piece 4.25" x 5.75" (110.80cm x 14.60cm) Red Robin cardstock
- 1 piece 4" x 5.5" (10.16cm x 13.97cm) Pebble Beach cardstock
- 1 piece 9.4" x 5.875" (23.88cm x 14.92cm) standard printer or copier paper
- 1 piece 16" (40.64cm) red embroidery floss or ribbon
- glue or double-sided tape
- paper cutter or scissors
- printer
- paper scorer (optional)
- bone folder (optional)
1. Fold the Pinecone cardstock.Fold the cardstock in half to form a booklet. Remember, you're folding it so that the final booklet measures 4.75" wide x 6" tall (12.07cm x 15.24cm). If you have a bone folder or paper scorer, score the cardstock at the 4.75" (12.07cm) mark. If you don't have either of these tools, you can fold the left side over to match the corners on the right side. Smooth the fold down with your hands to make a good crease in the cardstock.
2. Adhere the Red Robin cardstock.
Place your folded piece of Pinecone cardstock in front of you so that the front cover of the booklet is on top. Using glue or double-sided tape, adhere the Red Robin cardstock on the front cover of the booklet. The Red Robin cardstock should be in the center with an equal amount of border showing on each side. Press down on the cardstock to make sure it adheres well.
3. Print your cover image on the Pebble Beach cardstock.
You'll want to come up with a layout for your front cover in graphics software (e.g., Photoshop, Illustrator) or in page layout software (e.g., InDesign, Publisher). You can find free images and fonts on the Internet. Please remember to check with the original artist to make sure you have permission to use them. The layout should be the same size as the cardstock, which is 4" x 5.5" (10.16cm x 13.97cm). Once you've made your cover image, go ahead and print it on the piece of Pebble Beach cardstock.
Tip: Print a test sheet before making your final project. Every printer has different margin settings and you may need to adjust accordingly. If you can't get the margins to line up, you can print your cover image on a larger size piece of cardstock, then cut the cardstock down to size after printing.
4. Adhere the Pebble Beach cardstock.
Once your cover image is printed on your Pebble Beach cardstock, the next step is to attach the cardstock just like we did in Step 2. Using glue or double-sided tape, place the Pebble Beach cardstock in the center of the Red Robin cardstock. There should be an equal amount of border showing on each side. Press down on the cardstock to make sure it adheres well.
5. Create the inside pages of your program.
This is the trickiest bit. First, you'll need to design a layout with the text and images you want to appear in your program. You can do this using graphics software (e.g., Photoshop, Illustrator) or page layout software (e.g., InDesign, Publisher). If you're sticking with a simple layout, you can probably get away with just using a word processing program.
This piece of paper is going to be folded in half just like the original piece of Pinecone cardstock. That means that each side of the paper will have two pages printed on it. It can be tricky to keep all the different sides and pages straight, so I've provided some simple diagrams. The front side of your printer paper will have pages four and one printed on it. The back side of your printer paper will have pages two and three printed on it.
Tip: The number of pages in the booklet should be in multiples of four. If you need more pages in your program, you can make two double-sided layouts. Each layout has four pages, so this will give you an eight-page booklet.
6. Assemble the program.
Place the folded printer paper inside the Pinecone cardstock program cover. Then place the embroidery floss or ribbon along the fold, running along the outside and inside of the program. This acts as a binding and holds the pages in place.
Once the embroidery floss or ribbon is positioned correctly, tie a tight knot or bow to hold it in place. Congratulations, you're finished!
Who else has made their own wedding programs? What techniques did you use?
Tip: The number of pages in the booklet should be in multiples of four. If you need more pages in your program, you can make two double-sided layouts. Each layout has four pages, so this will give you an eight-page booklet.
6. Assemble the program.
Place the folded printer paper inside the Pinecone cardstock program cover. Then place the embroidery floss or ribbon along the fold, running along the outside and inside of the program. This acts as a binding and holds the pages in place.
Once the embroidery floss or ribbon is positioned correctly, tie a tight knot or bow to hold it in place. Congratulations, you're finished!
Who else has made their own wedding programs? What techniques did you use?
3 comments:
These are really pretty. I love the cardstock colors and the printed designs. Very nice.
This is the type of program that I have been wanting! I will be making them myself as well and will definitely utilize this DIY article. I couldn't find any other instructions for the type of compact booklet I wanted anywhere else. Thanks so much!
Beautiful Program! I am also trying to make a bilingual (English and German) Program. If its not too much trouble, I would love to see your WHOLE program. I am in dire need of help. Can you email me at amfsoprano (at)aol (dot) com?
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