And then there was Gocco

It was about the time I seriously started in on the DIY invitations that I found Weddingbee. I was amazed at the awesome invitations all the bees were making! It took me a while to even research what this Gocco thing was they were all raving about, because I figured it was some high tech artsy gadget that I would have no idea how to use (just like I have no idea how to make a webpage or actually design something using a computer program that is not Word). After that, however, it didn't take long for me to decide that I had to have a Gocco. Unfortunately, I just couldn't justify the cost, especially since I had saved so much money on the invitations, etc.--it would have almost been like canceling out the thriftiness. Luckily for me, I decided to check Craigslist. Less than 12 hours before I checked, someone in northeast Philly posted up a Gocco B6 for sale--$60, only used once, came with original inks, bulbs, screens, manual, etc. It was meant to be!! (Granted, I got lost on the way to pick it up, forgot my cell phone, and had to try multiple street-corner payphones in a borderline sketchy area of the city at dusk in order to get directions. I am sure I have ear herpes now.) But I successfully purchased a Gocco of my very own!

I decided to use the rehearsal dinner invites as my first experiment. I watched the Paper Source tutorial first, but that only served to make me more nervous, so I thought I should just go for it. I figured the worst that could happen was that the crazy lightbulb things would flash in my face and blind me for life. :) I wanted to sort of make these invites match the rest of the paper, and on eBay I was able to find the same fern stamp (only bigger) that was on the invite set, so that was kind of a cool find. I then ordered white A6 flat cards and chartreuse envelopes from Paper Source along with the envelope liner template kit (probably could have made my own template again, but I really wanted the kit) and some avocado ink.
For the template, I printed my text out on my inkjet, stamped the fern in black ink, and ran it through a xerox machine. Unfortunately, my first master got wet after I flashed it (long story), so I had to make a new original and master, and I ended up using the regular black printer ink with the photocopied fern stamp, and it worked fine.
I set up in front of the computer so I could watch the Paper Source tutorial step by step, and I also used the manual itself and the tutorial here. After the first master getting wet, the second time worked like a charm. The only thing I would do differently next time is to fashion some kind of guide so I could line everything up each time. It didn't make a huge difference for this project, but I think it would be helpful in general.
For the envelopes, I used the same Container Store wrapping paper to line them. I used plain clear Avery address labels for the fronts, but I did want something a little nicer for the return address. Despite being convinced I should buy a personalized embosser because I am out of my mind at this point regarding DIY projects, I was able to talk myself down off the ledge from another $60 purchase on the grounds that I had just unnecessarily bought the Gocco. Instead, I ordered a rubber stamp with our address from Staples ($12) and bought a heat embosser from A.C. Moore ($14 with coupon). I prefer to look at this as a $35 savings instead of a $25 purchase.
All in all, I probably could have easily printed these invites on my home printer, rubber-stamped the fern, and been done with it. But I really wanted to learn how to use the Gocco, and I am pleased with how these came out! Yay for Gocco!
Price breakdown:
Gocco--$60 (But does this really count? It is an investment in my crafting future.)
Paper Source--$30
Fern stamp--$5
Labels & liner paper--already had
Return address stamp and heat embosser--$25

Total: $60 (not including postage)