handmade by nicole | dry embossed greeting cards

About Me

It all started as I was planning my wedding in 2006. I searched for a unique, personal wedding invitation design that would be both memorable and affordable. Nothing really fit the bill so I decided to bite the bullet and do it myself. Norice Wakumoto, owner and all-things-paper diva of Creations Unlimited, came up with a design for me and taught me the dry embossing technique. No kidding, it changed my life. :)

A very good friend of mine actually inspired me to start making my own dry embossed greeting cards. (Thanks, Dior!) I wracked my brain trying to think of a unique birthday gift that would remind her of Hawaii. I bought some Hawaiian flower stencils and other necessary supplies and ended up here, several months later.

I use Dreamweaver Stencils for the majority of my creations. They offer so many different designs and I've found their stencils to be of top quality. If you're reading this and wondering what in the world dry embossing is, Dreamweaver has a great explanation on their website.

There are so many stencils, color combinations, and papers that I have yet to explore. I look forward to sharing my latest creations with you!

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Tuesday, November 3, 2009

My Custom Wedding Invitations

Here are the custom wedding invitations I made for my wedding, including the RSVP and map designs. The wording is printed on a text-weight paper that shimmers in a blue color. This panel was embossed with a bamboo stencil, shaded using a pigment ink, and then mounted onto a darker blue shimmery accent paper. This was all attached to a heavyweight textured cardstock in "Admiral" blue.

Photo by Mark Nomura

Custom Wedding Invitations

These are the wedding invitations I designed for my sister-in-law. I made custom washi-lined pockets and designed the invite wording panel, map, RSVP, and Welcome Luau invite.

Here's a conceptual favor tag mock-up:

Custom Pocket Wedding Invitation

I made pockets for Beth's wedding invitations. It features a slanted opening, lined with celebratory washi paper.

The invite wording is mounted to the back of the pocket.

Wedding Program and Favor Tag mock-ups

See the entire set.

Pineapple (Mini)

Mini Pineapple on Ivory Linen:

Blue Whale

Blue Whale on Ivory Linen:

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

First Etsy Sale!!!

Yay! I made my first Etsy sale today, nearly 1 month after opening shop! HUGE MAHALO to Mariko!!!

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Aloha Bird of Paradise

Retirement card for my first "real" boss who has devoted 40+ years of his life to our United States Navy. He's a great guy and he will be missed as he begins a new journey of travel, golf, and spending time with family. :)