So after all my scouring of the internet, I discovered I can’t afford letterpress wedding invitations that I love, and none of the non-letterpress ones grabbed me.

Solution: DIY

And when I say DIY, I mean completely from scratch, not from one of the DIY kits, because none of those were perfect either. And if I’m going to spend a lot of hours assembling the invitations myself, I’m going to make exactly what I want.

And thus began my search for paper. I don’t live near a good paper outlet, so I would have to buy everything online. Here are my experiences in trying to buy paper online.

Paper Source

My first stop was Paper Source (which also has brick-and-mortar locations, just not near me), which is where I found the chiyogami paper that started my search for cherry blossom invitations to begin with. Paper Source has pretty much everything you need to make a nice invitation, from blank envelopes and cards to fasteners and ribbon, to all kinds of flat paper. I recommend buying the $5 swatch book so you can see all the different colors and paper textures.

Advantages: Really great customer service. When I e-mailed them about the feasibility of printing on a particular envelope, they were kind enough to send me a free sample. When I contacted them later about a product that was out-of-stock online, they were able to track it down in one of the retail locations and ship it to me.

Disadvantages: It’s a bit pricey. There are always things that are out of stock on the web site. And the web site itself is a bit hard to navigate; I never quite know what to click if I’m looking for glue or a paper punch.

LCI Paper

LCI Paper is a bit more affordable than Paper Source, and it also has a wide variety of blank cards and envelopes. LCI Paper has more options for different textured papers, but I found the color selection to be a bit lacking. The decorative paper selection isn’t particularly impressive and they also don’t offer much in the way of papercrafting supplies and accessories. You can order $1 samples for just about anything on the web site.

Advantages: Very affordable. The web site is also very helpful in terms of assessing what a paper is like—they tell you what weight the paper is, whether it’s inkjet or laser-friendly, and you can easily order samples.

Disadvantages: Several of the nicer papers come in relatively few colors, and often only in white or ecru. The ecru is pretty yellow.

Paper Mojo

Paper Mojo has the greatest selection of decorative papers that I found online. And if you’re not happy with it, they will special-order from the Japanese Paper Place for you. Paper Mojo also has a nice selection of linen and Stardream card stock. They can do custom cutting on the flat paper you order, so you’re not wrangling giant sheets of paper at home.

Advantages: Selection, and samples galore! For some types of paper, they have put together little sample packs for you. For other types of paper, you can select the specific designs you want to see. Samples run from $0.50 to $6.00. Shipping for samples is free.

Disadvantages: They don’t really offer much in the way of tools and other supplies, so you’ll have to get your eyelets and ribbon somewhere else.

Other

The sites above are the ones I ordered my wedding invitation paper from, but here are some others:

• Envelop Me: Specializes in Envelopments®, but also has other cards, folders, and paper.
• Envelope Mall: Lots and lots of different envelopes in different sizes, papers, and textures. You can also have your envelopes printed.
• Mountain Cow: The site does both software and bulk stationery.
  You can buy a number of different flat cards, folders, pochettes, and envelopes. They also have Envelopments®.
• Paper Studio: Another nice source for decorative and chiyogami paper. I especially like the web site feature that lets you search by color. Samples are cheap and easy to order. They also have tools and supplies for crafting.