Ah, the joys of moving.  As much as I love decorating a new space, it always takes me several months before I feel comfortable enough in a new space to invite guests over.  Designer Cristina Pandol (you might remember her creative map moving announcements) decided to take advantage of this transitional period and her new apartment’s industrial feel when planning her house warming party.  She created invitations with an “under construction” theme using rubber stamps and leftover wallpaper from her decorating adventures.

From Cristina: After 3 months of being at my new place, I finally was getting my act together and having a house warming party.  Naturally, I needed an invitation.  Even though my place wasn’t completely put together, I figured “under construction” could be the theme for the party and my downtown Los Angeles loft would serve as the inspiration for the entire project.

Since I had painted, hung wallpaper, and sewn throw pillows all myself, I knew that the invitation had to be completely handmade.  I also wanted them to complement the very industrial and urban aesthetic of my apartment.

I drew the little tools and used Neutraface and AW Conqueror Slab for the type.  Once the design was finalized, I sent the stamp to be made and while I was waiting for that I set off to buy a ZAP! heat gun and Adirondack powder.  I stamped each invitation with clear watermark ink, then covered the wet ink with the powder, removed the extra powder by flipping the card over on a large piece of scrap paper, and then used the heat gun to melt the powder.

I decided on a light gray envelopes to match my cement floors and to use the extra wallpaper that I had hung as envelope liners so every envelope was different.  I picked a forever stamp of Gregory Peck since he’s such a Los Angeles icon and the coloring of the stamp worked with the aesthetic and color palette of the invitation.

Thanks so much Cristina!

Design: Cristina Pandol

Rubber Stamp: Hollywood Rubber Stamp Company

Photo Credits: Garrett Shannon