DIY Pocketfolds

Invitations. Some brides look at an invite, and say it's just a piece of paper that will get thrown away. I look at an invite and I swoon. I love invites. Hell, I love paper. I was that kid that owned all the Lisa Frank stationary in the store, and I'm still the girl who can spend hours in an Office Max. Yes, Office Max. I'm greatly looking forward to the day I move to KC, and have a Paper Source within a ten minute drive. Maybe my obsession is a bit much. Maybe. But I'm proud to say I'm creating my invites by hand - from the design of my invitation suite, to the pocketfolds, to the envelope liners (well, hopefully). Am I a crazy bride? Absolutely. Do I love my invites? More than you will ever know. The past couple weeks, I've been working on pocketfolds.

Pocketfolds are a more recent addition to the invitation world. They consist of several different parts: the pocketfold itself, the invitation, and inserts. I'm also opting to add in belly bands, which hold the pocketfolds together. However, first thing is first: the pocketfold itself.

First, I made a template. Best tip ever? Design based on your envelope size! Figure out what size you want your envelope to be (I chose A7, a super popular size), then make each part of your invite at least 1/4 inch smaller. A7 envelopes are 5.25 x 7.25...because I knew I was having thicker pocketfolds, I opted for a 4.75 x 6 invite.

I ordered my paper custom cut from Cards and Pockets. I know that I could have bought cardstock in bulk and cut it myself, but for cost, the custom cut stuff was worth every penny. Plus, I was able to order samples - which I'm so glad I did. I ordered my paper to be 6 x 15. Once I got my shiny, Onyx black paper (which I love), I made templates for my inner "flap".

 (note: if you let a boy do this, it will be a wavy flap)

I traced and cut away flaps like mad. I'm a perfectionist, so this step took a while at times. Afterward, I used a paper cutter with a scoring blade to made folds. I made my sections to be 2.5, 4.75, 4.25, and 3.5 inches - in that order. The flap is in the 3.5 section, which will be folded up onto the 4.25 section to make the pocket. Once I scored the lines, I used a bone folder to crease them. This made the pockets lay much flatter. 

(folding me some pockets!)

(note: if you push too hard, you end up scratching your paper - sad day!)

Next, I attached the pocket. I used a double stick tape, rather than a glue, because it was cleaner. I chose to use Zips, which is an awesome type of scrapbooking adhesive. I cut the tape to 1/16 smaller than the flap (to allow for the pointy tips), peeled off the paper, and stuck my invites together. 

(peeling off the paper backing)

I chose to round my outside corners. I didn't want to deal with the straight edges of making a pointed flap in all honestly. BUT I picked up a sweet squeeze punch corner rounder, courtesy of Fiskars.

(how vicious looking is this thing?)

Once I rounded my corners, I was done! Tada!

(full pocketfold, open)

(and folded)

I love how they turned out. Yes, I could have bought them (or even gone a much less expensive route), but I have no doubts about these puppies. They're definitely a labor of love though. I've finished about 50 of these so far...but I have at least 50 more to go. Yikes. Guess I better get cracking!