DIY Airmail Save the Date

Hi EB readers and Happy 2011!

I am Lauren from Lauren Elise Crafted and I am back today to share our first DIY of 2011. I hope everyone had a lovely holiday! Mine was very low-key and all about family, good food, sharing a few fun presents but mostly just spending time together (the important things!).

Since the holidays are an infamous time for getting engaged, I thought I would share a handmade save the date tutorial for all you newly engaged couples out there…..

For this DIY, I drew inspiration from airmail letters! I love the look of airmail letters and the vintage, European feel that they have. Unlike emails and texts, letters are so tangible and as such, can hold such special significance for us. Other than the iconic blue and red airmail stripe, I wanted to capture that tangibility with this save the date and that is why I designed it on fabric. This wedding reminder will not be one that your guests misplace or throw away but instead hang proudly in their homes. The drill fabric adds to the rustic quality and the embroidery detail emphasizes that it is unique and handmade (qualities I love!).

Have you made or are you making your own save the dates? How did you make them uniquely you?

Materials ::

° cotton drill fabric
° scissors
° freezer paper
° iron
° home inket printer
° airmail save-the-date template
° pencil
° black, red, and blue embroidery floss
° needle
° hole punch
° craft eyelets, eyelet setter, & hammer
° red & white bakers twine

Instructions ::

° Cut out an 8.5” x 11” piece of drill fabric {image A}. Cut out an 8.5” x 11” piece of freezer paper {image B}. Turn on your iron and let it heat up. Place the freezer paper down on a protected surface (I used a scrap piece of fabric on my cutting mat) and then place the drill directly on top of the freezer paper. Run the iron over the drill fabric, holding for a few seconds in each place {image C}. The freezer paper and drill should be adhered together and stiff enough to run through a typical home printer. Print out a calendar of your wedding month onto the drill {image E}. Pull the freezer paper away from the drill {image D}. You should be left with your printed calendar without any type of film or residue from the paper.

° Print out the airmail save-the-date template with your respective names and wedding date. Place the template underneath the drill and hold it up to a light source to begin tracing the design with a pencil {image F}. I held mine up to a window for natural light.

° After tracing the entire design, begin to embroider over the pencil marks with the black, blue, and red embroidery floss using a simple backstitch {image G & H}. Embroider the entire design.

° Punch a hole in each top corner of the drill fabric with a hole punch {image I}. Use an eyelet setter tool to hammer the eyelet into place in the hole {image J & K} by following the eyelet setter instructions. Finally string some bakers twine through each of the eyelets and tie a knot so that the save the date will have something to hang from {image L}. Hang and display as a wedding reminder!

It has been a pleasure to be here with you today! If you have any questions about anything I have made, please feel free to contact me through my blog. I am also available to make anything you see. I would love to craft something special for you!

-Lauren