Invitations 101

You have a computer, a paper trimmer, patterned paper, punches, decorative scissors, cardstock, stickers, pens (did I forget anything?) and all you can do with them is scrapbook? I don't think so! Now that we are entering into the holiday season it is a good time for a class on making invitations!

There are some basic decisions you will want to make.

1. How many invitations will you need? Unless you have an unlimited budget, you will need to be able to figure out the cost per invitation BEFORE you start purchasing supplies. In general, you will need a half sheet of cardstock and whatever layering papers, i.e. patterned paper, vellum, mulberry paper, etc. If you use two different sheets of cardstock and a sheet of vellum and/or patterned paper, it will cost you about $1.00 - $1.50 for 2 invitations. Not a bad price for a custom invitation. You will want to buy a few extra sheets to allow room for error, but also enough to make scrapbook pages with the coordinating papers. There's nothing worse than trying to find additional sheets of paper at a later date.

2. Choose your computer program. My favorite is Corel Word Perfect. I have found it is very easy to layout your invitation. You go to Format on the top tool bar, and down to "Page". First you choose the paper size (letter landscape), then subdivide page into 2 columns. At that point you can adjust the margins if you need to. When you get one finished, copy and paste it into the column on the other side of the page (Example 1)

Example 1

Smeared

Example 2

3. You can print your invitation directly on solid or patterned paper, but if you choose patterned, don't use too busy a pattern. I like to use vellum or a solid cardstock for the text, but again, choose a less busy pattern. The cardstock is very easy to use and you can find ones with little flecks in it that are visually very interesting. While vellum is my favorite, printing on it can present a few problems, but ones that can be solved. When you print, print on the mat side of the vellum. You can tell if there is a right side to the vellum if one of the sides is shinier. Buy a few extra sheets of the vellum you are using to practice on. In my printer, I have to put the side I am printing on face down. I anxiously await it coming out of my printer so I can gently grab it before it falls and the ink gets smeared. (It takes a couple minutes for it to dry. See Example 2) I hand feed each sheet of vellum into the printer because sometimes they get stuck and won't feed correctly. I set them aside, not on top of each other, so that I can keep the process going while they're drying.

4. Next, you are going to be trimming and assembling the invitations. Work with one, decide exactly how you want it to be and figure out how to do it assembly line. This will be extremely helpful if you have a lot to make. If you are making half sheet invitations, you can cut all the sheets of paper you are using in half and then trim down. Make sure you are cutting them in half the right way. You can choose any size you want; just make sure you have worked out all the measurements. So, for example, your base cardstock would be 5 1/2" X 8 1/2", the next sheet up would be 5" X 8" and the vellum would be 4 1/2" X 7 1/2".

If you are using vellum, you are going to need to test how you are going to adhere it to the cardstock beneath. The Sailor Glue Pen works well adhering light patterned vellum to light cardstock. You can adhere it in inconspicuous spots. If it is a real problem and you can't seem to get any glue to work without showing, you can always punch holes in the top and tie it together with ribbon, cloth or raffia. With a ruler, find the center and mark 2 spots, 1/2" away from the center, or 1" apart total. Holding the vellum and the next down sheet of paper together, punch the two holes. Thread you ribbon through and tie your bow. You can now adhere it to the bottom sheet of cardstock. For this, you can use photo mounting squares (Hermafix).

Holiday Party

Baby Announcement

Neighborhood Picnic

When doing assembly line, work on each different component separately. First, get all the papers cut and/or trimmed. Mark the placement for the holes. Next, punch holes and tie ribbon. Finally, adhere to base sheet.

You can find 6" X 9" envelops at most office supply stores. I will usually just buy a big box of white. If you want to get fancy, you can go to a copy store like Kinko's and find a variety of colors in packages of 25.  One of the best benefits of making your own invitations is that you can customize them to fit your personality and party theme. So as with your scrapbook layout pages, you will only be limited by your imagination and others great ideas.

One of the best benefits of making your own invitations is that you can customize them to fit your personality and party theme. So as with your scrapbook layout pages, you will only be limited by yours and others imagination.