Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Paper Possibilitites

You may have seen the announcement on Facebook - my sister and I have taken the big leap and joined forces as Possibility Paper Company.

We've been stamping for years: cards for friends, teaching stamping classes, and making invitations for showers and parties. Then came Emily's wedding. I demanded that Laurie meet me at Mom's and help me with the invitations. (I really didn't give her a choice in the matter!) and for an entire weekend, with help from Mom, we embossed with Certainly Celery Craft Ink and clear embossing powder. About 150 inviations, with multiple pieces for each one.

Eventually we helped out with a lot of weddings, married off more daughters and their friends and finally realized that there were other brides who didn't have the benefit of a mom with a stamp room

So here we are, and I have weddings on the brain. All the time.

Yesterday I went to the post office to mail off a package of labels (we are full service!) to a bride. While I was there I took a look at the wedding stamps. Take a look at these beauties:

This one is very striking. It's a $.49 "forever" stamp that would look so good on a white envelope! The little heart hints at the fact that the envelope contains news of love, but it's not entirely obvious. I like it - and I wouldn't feel silly using them up after the wedding.

Postage is reasonable, but still a factor when choosing your invitations. The cost of using this stamp is $49/hundred invitations. Your invitations have to be in a standard sized envelope and weigh less than an ounce and be less than 1/4 inch thick to mail with this stamp. However, if you exceed any of those restrictions or want an odd sized envelope - say 6x6 inch square - there is a $.70 option that features vintage tulips. That extra ounce raises your price to $70/100. Not a huge cost in the scope of all the wedding expenses, but one to consider when choosing your invitations.

An older but still popular choice is a pair of stamps that look awesome on vanilla or cream colored envelopes. The standard version features roses, but this $.70 option for 1-2 oz or square or oversized envelopes is just beautiful.

These have been around for a while now and are beloved by brides who want traditional or classic weddings and invitations. They are probably not as popular with the whimsical or theatrical bride. And if you have opted for envelopes in a color outside the white/cream spectrum, you will probably want to explore other options with the post office. You'll find a wide variety of richly colored stamps that will fit most color scheme or bridal themes. Some of them are actual works of art. I love the Farmer's Market stamp collection, and I think this Water Lily group
would be striking with many pastel envelopes.

I don't know how much brides agonize over these details; there used to be far fewer choices. Maybe I just like it because I collected stamps as a kid. Do you remember what the stamps on YOUR wedding invitaions looked like? Did you notice the stamp on the last invitation you received?

As you can tell, I am loving everything about our new business! As I recently mentioned, more time with my sister is one of the biggests gifts of my life up north, and Possibility Paper Company makes even more time together possible. You just never know where life will take you! This is definitely one of the blessings to be counted 1100 Miles North!

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