In the Mail: Save the Dates...

finally! I am almost finished addressing these suckers and they will be in the mail this week! I bought the envelopes online. I had originally ordered a pretty cheap box of 100 ivory envelopes for about $15 (I can't remember the source at the moment), but when they came in, they were thinner than I wanted them..... So I ordered more, from paper-source. In this case, price = quality. I think I paid $4.50/10 envelopes ( I ordered about $25 worth). In the end, I wasn't able to send every save the date in a paper-source envelope... but now I know where to order my envelopes for next time.
Paper-source envelopes, neatly packaged:


I had thought about just printing addresses on the envelopes (easy right?), but then I saw how nice calligraphy (more like writing with a calligraphy pen) looks... So, I decided that maybe I could address them myself using a calligraphy pen. I narrowed it down to three different types:
Pen w/ non-replaceable ink:

source

Pen w/ replaceable ink:

source

Dip pen w/ bottled ink (traditional calligraphy pen):

source

Unfortunately, instead of researching these different options beforehand, I ended up buying one of each and trying them out. :) I found option 3 difficult to use (I think this option requires lots of patience and practice... I didn't have enough time for either), so that left me with options 1 & 2. Between the two, I liked option 2 the best because the option of different ink colors and there was also a good selection of pen tips (i.e. skinny to fat) to choose from. I was able to address (including the return address) almost all of our save the dates using one ink vial. (Not too bad!) I ended up buying a calligraphy kit that included several ink colors and three different pen tips. I figured if the save the dates went smoothly... I would be able to use these for our invitations as well (and for any future event that requires pretty writing).
And now for the finished product:


As much as I like to think that I can write in straight lines, I just can't. So I drew light lines on the envelopes before writing the addresses. Then I used a good eraser to remove them. I noticed that the lines were easier to erase on the better quality envelopes than on the cheap ones (so I guess it pays to buy the better quality when it comes to envelopes, this is something I hadn't considered prior to "save the dates", or the wedding for that matter). I also realized that addressing takes a lot longer than it looks. It took me two Saturday afternoons to finish these (about 50 envelopes) up... good to know for next time. :) Any one else using calligraphy on their invites?