Let me just start by saying, I think these invitations are adorable (and it is not just because of that cute chubby baby of mine). And believe it or not they were really easy to put together…stitching, tape, and all. I can never seem to do just a simple printed card…I like layers and interest. But I always run out of time to make what I really want. Slowly I am learning a few go-to tricks that still give a handmade touch in a fraction of the time.
My favorite tricks for cute handmade invitations include:
- a little stitched paper (zip it through the sewing machine instead of glue)
- wash tape (texture and color in one)
- rounded corners (easy to do with a special craft punch)
For the Milk & Cookies party invitations, I wanted to incorporate an idea I gathered for a “one year in a flash” party shown on my party inspiration board. I love including a photo of the child on the party invitation. I wanted to do my own version of a photo strip like the Macs One Year in A Flash party invitation. I set up a quick photo shoot on our yellow Anson chairs (perfect for the party color scheme). I put my son in one of daddy’s blue ties without a shirt on. This brought in the a touch of the Little Man theme for the invites. Along with a couple other baby photos, I made a simple photo strip in PhotoShop elements. I made the other two photos black and white and left the little man photo full color. I printed the photo strips on glossy photo paper and trimmed them leaving a little white border.
Eek…did you notice I forgot to put his name on the invitation?! No, it was not smudged out with the other personal info. The horror of realizing it after I put them altogether and had no more vellum paper! Thankfully his picture was there. My husband convinced me all of our friends and family would know who the party was for. He was right, but I still wish his name was there in a cute font :(
For the base of the invitation I found scrapbook paper with mini bunting, in the perfect colors. The paper is from the My Mind’s Eye Fine and Dandy by Jen Allyson collection at Archiver’s. The mini bunting made the invitations festive. The paper is double-sided with a bigger blue polkadot on the back. The invitations were 6 x 6″ square to allow me to get four from one sheet of scrapbook paper. I used a 1/2″ corner rounder punch to round the corners. I printed the party details on plain vellum paper and overlaid it on the bunting paper. To add some texture I stitched the vellum to the card stock with my sewing machine and grey thread. For me, stitching is easier than glue (especially on see through vellum) and it gives a nice handmade look. To finish them off, I added the photo strip at an angle secured with two small strips of wash tape at top and bottom.
The full party details are now up with a lot more pictures of the whole event! Here is one last shot with a sneak peek at the party garland made from leftover scrapbook paper…
love these invites, they’re so creative :)