Throughout the year, there are always reasons to celebrate. What better way to invite friends and family to partake than with DIY party invitations? It may seem easier to run to the store and purchase generic multi-packs of ready-made invitations, but the sentiment of your special occasion will be more aptly conveyed with something more personalized and unique.
DIY Birthday Invitations
Birthdays are cherished and celebrated occasions. As our birthday month approaches, we excitedly check the calendar and count down the days until our special day has arrived. Homemade birthday invitations allow us to share that anticipation with our loved ones. The effort put into creating handmade cards draws each and every one of its recipients into the excitement of the occasion.
There are millions of birthday card ideas out there and the process may seem daunting. It’s best to first focus on what the theme of the birthday might be. If you’re making a Disney themed birthday for a three year old girl, Minnie Mouse invitations would be a perfect choice. If your six year old is into Jurassic park and all things dinosaur related, then dinosaur invitations would make his or her birthday dreams come true.
There are endless options when it comes to themes for birthday parties. The best rule is to go with the interests of the birthday boy or girl, be it unicorns, mermaids, Anna and Elsa from Frozen, racecars, zoo animals, or superheroes. Just make sure that whatever theme you choose for the invitations carries over to the party itself, whether with party decorations, the birthday cake, or party bags.
Once you have chosen your theme, you can get started on creating your DIY birthday invitations. Begin by selecting a cardstock paper that has a decent weight to it. You want the paper to withstand whatever decor elements you decide to use. Cardstock with an 80 pound to 100 pound weight would be a good choice.
If you want to start with an entirely blank slate, you can select a white colored cardstock paper. Alternatively, you can select a color that relates to the theme of the birthday party. For example, if you are making Minnie Mouse invitations, a pastel pink color would be perfect. Regardless of the color cardstock that is chosen, make sure to have various other colors on hand. These will be useful for smaller cutouts in the design process.
With your chosen cardstock in hand, fold the paper in half lengthwise to create your card-sized invitations. For a neat fold, use a scoring tool or the back of a kitchen knife. Once you have ensured a neat fold, use scissors to cut the paper in half along the fold. Each sheet of cardstock paper will yield two invitations.
Continuing with the Minnie Mouse theme, draw a large round circle on black cardstock paper. Draw two smaller circles on black cardstock paper as well. The larger circle will be Minnie’s head and the two smaller circles will be her signature ears. Once you have pasted them onto your pink cardstock, use a pink ribbon, with or without white polka dots, to make a large bow between her ears. Then, simply print out the text for your birthday invitation on standard white printer paper and cut to fit the shape of Minnie’s head.
The above is just one example for a DIY birthday invitation. The design options are really endless. Just make sure to have fun with it and include your family in the project.
DIY Graduation Invitations
Another special occasion meant to be shared with friends and family are long awaited graduations. Whether it’s from elementary school, high school, college, or graduate school, a graduation is a big deal and an achievement to be celebrated. DIY graduation announcements send a much more personal touch than a generic mass email.
A graduation may seem like a tough theme to translate onto paper, but it’s actually easier than you would think. All you need to begin is black cardstock paper with a weight of at least 80 pounds. Fold the paper in half lengthwise. Once again, use a scoring tool or the back of a kitchen knife to create a neat fold.
Take another sheet of black cardstock paper and cut out a 4 inch by 4 inch square. Rotate the square and once it presents as a diamond shape, glue it onto the front of your folded invitation. Cut out another square from white cardstock paper, sized approximately 3.5 inches by 3.5 inches. Glue it onto the black diamond in the same manner so there is a white diamond shape bordered with black on all sides. Lastly, glue a gold tassel to the center of the diamond to create your graduation cap.
Use the inside of the card for your message. It can either be printed on standard white paper and glued to the inside of the card or written with glitter pens. The unique customization options are really endless when it comes to designing your graduation party invitations.
DIY Tea Party Invitations
Tea parties may seem like a thing of the past, or a concept only relevant across the pond in England. However, with the ever increasing popularity of tea beverages, it should be no shocker that tea parties are having a comeback. Just in case hosting a tea party isn’t original enough, make your own DIY tea party invitations to really level up your game.
Begin with a parchment colored cardstock paper with a weight of at least 80 pounds. Fold the cardstock in half lengthwise using a scoring tool to create a neat fold. After you have cut the paper into two, fold the paper in half lengthwise once more. Again, cut along the fold to create four card-shaped invitations from your original sheet of cardstock paper.
Using mod podge glue, paste empty tea bag sleeves all across your invitations. You can trim the tea bag sleeves and adhere them in any neat or abstract pattern you would like. Once dried, flip over the card and use a calligraphy pen to write out the details for your tea party.
DIY Baby Shower Invitations
If you’re not yet at the stage of hosting tea parties, there are still plenty of other reasons you’d need to make DIY invitations. Welcoming a baby would be another occasion worthy of only the best invite. Click here for some great DIY baby shower invitation ideas.
DIY Wedding Invitations
If there was ever a time to go for professionally printed invitations, you would think a wedding would qualify. However, you’d be surprised how many people want to do something different and more unique. You can create gorgeous wedding invitations on your own that can rival any mass-printed project. Click here to get started with the right cardstock paper for your wedding invitations.
In short, life is filled with events worthy of celebration. Delve into your artistic side and create truly unique invitations so that you can share those special moments with those that matter most.