Double Scroll Wedding Invitations
For other DIY wedding ideas, visit our tips and tools collection.
Overview
Invitations can set the tone of a wedding's theme. Couples often personalize their invitations with custom elements or make invitations
from scratch. This page describes how to make scroll invitations with wax seals. Add personal
touches with your own ideas, and the scrolls can become as simple or as fancy as you like.
These designs can also be used to make scroll wedding programs.
Click images to see larger versions.
Supplies
- For Scroll:
- Paper
- Printer or calligraphy pens
- Paper cutter
- Dowel rods
- Elmer's White Glue (or wood glue)
- Clothes pins
- For Binding:
- Ribbon
- Scissors
- Rubber Cement
- Sealing wax
- Wax seal stamp
- Matches
Process
- Create scroll
- Determine the text of your invitation.
- Select the paper of your choice. 8½" x 11" sheets with a light parchment coloring or texture work well.
- Print the invitations with your printer or write them by hand. Two invitations can be printed side by side on each page. Be sure to leave several inches of white space at the top and bottom.
- Use the paper cutter to separate the invitations.
- Cut the dowel rods to the desired length (approximately 6"). The thinner the dowel rods, the easier they will be to cut. If they are too thin, then your invitations may be hard to work with and not sturdy. A diameter of 3/16" works well.
- Apply the glue (either wood glue or white glue) to the invitation. The glue should be spread evenly across the top inch of the print side of the invitation.
- While the glue is wet, place the dowel rod on the glue. Roll tightly 1½ times. Secure with clothes pin until glue is dry.
- Repeat the prior two steps with the bottom of the invitation.
- Create binding
- Cut ribbon to appropriate length (approximately 3 inches). It may take several trials before you find the best length for your invitations. If you are layering two types of ribbon, be sure to cut the outer ribbon a bit longer than the inner ribbon.
- Use rubber cement to glue ribbon layers together. Be careful to avoid excess glue as rubber cement does not rub easily off fabric.
- Once ribbon is dry, bring ends together forming a loop. Overlap ends by about half an inch, and apply rubber cement.
- Light sealing wax wick and carefully apply 3-5 drops to the seam of the ribbon loop. Immediately press seal firmly into wax. Tip: This process works best with two people -- one to apply wax and one to imprint the wax with the seal.
- Secure invitation with binding
- Make sure the scroll and the binding have fully dried.
- Tightly roll each end of the scroll inward.
- Slide binding onto scroll.
Note: If you wish to remove binding, tighten invitation by twisting dowel rods toward each other. The binding should then easily slide off the invitation.
Final Product
This is the final version of the scroll invitation that we mailed to our guests. These mailed fine without any special packaging
(decorative mailing tubes or fancy boxes are available from some vendors). We simply enclosed
each scroll in an envelope and paid a slightly higher postage rate (it was actually the same rate used for two ounce first class
letters -- make sure to check with the U.S. Postal Office for current rates). The sealing wax held firm during shipping. The
biggest problem faced was that some guests were unsure of how to open the scroll (see note above).
This is the simpler version of the scroll invitation that we handed out at church and to several other people in person.
Since there are no dowels to provide support, these do not mail easily in an envelope. However, they are much quicker
to make than the double scroll version, and this style can also be used for a themed wedding program to hand to guests. Learn
how to make wedding scroll programs.
For more DIY wedding ideas, check out our tips and tools collection.
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