DIY Invitations (On a Budget)!
Paper is passe? Puhleez!
Paper invitations still remain the classiest way to invite people to your events (especially the monumental ones), and the cool part is they don't have to cost more than $1 each! I'll show you how.
I do love a good party so I was thrilled when asked to help with a baby shower by designing the invitations and overseeing decorations.
I wanted to share these DIY invitations with you because I think they turned out to be so cute!
I LOVE it when I can "do it myself" well within a budget!
Just a note before we get into the fun stuff. The envelopes for these invites were designed for giving out by hand, not for sending through the U.S. Postal Service. With some tweaking they may be able to withstand being mailed.
What you'll be needing for this project is:
-A computer with internet (looks like you've got that covered!)
-A printer (preferably one that prints in color)
-Card stock
-Nice paper (Think something a little heavier than standard printer paper but easy to fold such resume grade or pretty scrapbooking paper.)
-Decorative tape such as Scotch Washi or what you can find at the Dollar Store
-Scissors (A paper cutter would be nice, too.)
-A circular guide of some sort (I used the cardboard circle that came attached to my Washi Tape.)
Step 1: Design
If you haven't heard of Canva.com before now, today is your lucky day! Canva is a free, web-based graphic design service that anyone with no prior design experience could use - it's that easy and the designs look amazing!
Canva is what I used to make this printable invitation that is inspired by this original design found on etsy. I simply picked a template I liked, customized it, and voila!
One thing to note: While Canva is a free service, it does cost to use some of their design elements. All in all, this design cost me just $1 and I was able to print as many copies as my heart desired.
Step 2: Download & Print
Make sure your invitation prints scaled to 100%. You should get one invitation per sheet of cardstock paper.
Step 3: Trim With Paper Cutter/Scissors
Now onto Envelopes!
Step 1
Somehow I missed taking a picture of this step. Hopefully my little illustration will help you understand. ;-)
Take your invitation and the paper you have chosen for your envelope, place the invitation on top lengthwise, line up the edges (as shown in the illustration), and mark where the invitation ends on the right (Do not mark or cut under the invitation.). Next, cut the paper slightly pass the mark to give your invitation some wiggle room.
____________
l l l
l________l l
l l
l l
l___________l
Step 2
Fold the trimmed paper in half length-wise, then once again use the invitation to mark and trim the paper on the open side.
Step 3
Now use a circular item as a guide to draw a clean half circle on the open side of the folded invitation paper.
Step 4
Now cut along the half circle (cutting only the top fold of the paper) so that you have a nice little half peep hole.
Step 5
Using decorative tape, such as Scotch Washi Tape, to close the open edges. I like the look of different but complementing styles.
And here you have it! Cute and ready to be handed out!
I would love to hear any of your ideas or thoughts, so please leave a comment!
And if you found this post helpful, please like/share it and subscribe to my newsletter for more fun tips and inspiration on etiquette and the stuff of life. :)
-Abigail
