February 17, 2012

Party Invitations...on the cheap!



Tomorrow is my sweet baby's FIRST birthday party and Tuesday is her birthday! Oh my, so many emotions. Yesterday, no lie, I cried when I heard Good Life by One Republic.

(It's okay. You can laugh. I'm fully aware of the laughability.)

But, I won't digress into tales of how becoming her mother changed my life in all the best ways possible. Or, go on and on about how my baby girl is sweetness and light and joy, all packaged in the cutest bundle. I've.ever.seen. Nor, will I wax poetic about her smile. Her laughter. Her curiosity. Her frequent hugs and sweet kisses. Her purity and innocence and pure, untouched-by-the-world faith.

No, I won't tell you all that. Instead, I'll share with you a fun idea for inexpensive invitations that can be adapted for just about any party you plan! You'd like that, right?


I started when I found the above box of faux bois notecards at Targ. 24 for $5.99...my kind of price. 

Then, I grabbed a few sheets of scrapbook paper (6 total at Hobby Lobby for 50% off) in assorted patterns. Because, I can never pick just one pattern of anything.

I paired these purchased items with stamps, ink and the printable business cards I had in my stash...and, ta-da...an invitation was born. All for under $8, which brings us to about $0.33/invitation. Impressive, no?


I printed the party info onto the business cards because this was quick and easy. Seriously, you go to the website listed on the box, enter the style number, download a template, open the template in Word and begin typing. Easy-breasy. I'm not sure how much I originally paid for my business cards, but I've gotten lots of use out of them.

I cut the scrapbook paper into pieces that fit the inside of my card, leaving a 1/4 inch (ish) border of note card showing so I didn't have to worry about unattractive, scrapbook paper spillover.

I attached the scrapbook paper and the business cards to the inside of the notecards with glue dots (love glue dots!).

On the front of each card, I stamped a cute bird and my sweet baby's name and then glued down a 1, cut from my paper scraps.




That was it. So cute. So cheap. And, so set the tone for my daughter's bird-themed bash. 

And, now, I'm going to give you the tiniest sneak peak at tomorrow's party decor. With the help of insta.gram. But, don't worry you'll be getting the full details eventually.

After I let them unfold and after I get a chance to savor every minute. 



**UPDATE: Full party details here

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35 comments:

  1. Your cards are lovely! You are just experiencing little motherhood moments. I hope you have a lovely party! Happy Birthday!

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  2. I love the birds theme. I just posted today about these birds I found on pinterest and made. If you sew, you may want to check them out. They were pretty quick to make. http://www.lovebugliving.com/2012/02/three-little-love-birds-for-my-love.html
    Happy 1st Birthday!

    Melissa @ Love Bug Living

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  3. Your invitations turned out beautifully. I am sure the party will be the same. I love your daughter's name by the way. I love interesting names. My kids are Bryn, Afton and Camden!

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  4. SO cute!! I can't wait to see the rest of the party :) Enjoy every second of it. And don't be embarrassed about being emotional... Pretty sure I've already had tears about my baby turning one... only she's not even 8 months yet. THAT'S embarrassing!

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  5. Love the invitations! Those cards are adorable... you're giving me an excuse to hit Target today (thanks!) Oh my goodness, I remember Jack's 1st birthday - and now he is a huge 1st grader and growing up so fast. The time just keeps going faster now that I have 3. Have a wonderful weekend being with your daughter and celebrating her! Can't wait to see her birthday mantel :)

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  6. OMG these are too cute!! I have that bird scrapbook paper that I am using for a project right now (assuming I ever finish it) I guess that means we have good taste ;) I so want to start buying some stamps, but that would just be a whole new way for me to spend more money... I'll hold off as long as possible, but those bird stamps are tempting! I love little birdies! : )

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  7. Adorable invites, of course! Can't wait to see EVERYTHING.... u are such a tease!! hahaha! So sad I have to miss it.... darn work :(

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  8. Time does fly - can't believe my girls are 12! Love those invites!! (and thanks for loving my kitchen reno too - you rock)!
    Kelly

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  9. Love the invitations Emily! I hope tomorrow's party is lovely and Tuesday is lovely too!

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  10. You've been tagged. Come find the 11 questions on my blog if you wanna play!

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  11. Ah I love these! So adorable! Such a cute theme :-)

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  12. These are so sweet!! I love the theme!

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  13. What a cute idea. For the most part I am a creative person. But when it comes down to cards I am always stumped. I love these!

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  14. These are super cute! I hope she had a great party!

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  15. Recently found your blog and am excited to be a new follower;) Would love for you to stop by sometime. Stay Fashionable! Love,Candy www.candysclothescloset.blogspot.com
    I am also excited to join your link parties.

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  16. happy 1st birthday to your daughter!! My daughters 23rd birthday is tomorrow (feb 20)...
    The invitations came out great!! I hope the party did too!
    I am your newest follower..pls follow back if you can.

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  17. Those are just fabulous, Emily!

    Love the bird and the colors...everything really!

    Hope the party was great (I'll bet it was : )).

    Thanks for sharing at Feature Friday FREE-FOR-ALL!

    ~Abbie

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  18. Hi there! I met your mom through the Linky Follower blog hop and she suggested your blog to me. I'm excited to be a new Linky Follower of 52 mantels. Great blog! The invitations are really cute. I'm going to need to find a reason to use glue dots...I keep hearing about them in blog land.

    Sharon @ mrs. hines class

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  19. These are super cute. I am sitting going, why didn't I think of that. lol

    Thanks for sharing,

    Pam

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  20. Hi! Thanks for following back. Just wanted you to know that I put your party on the party list on my blog. I plan to join in the fun.

    Sharon @ mrs. hines class

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  21. Aw..those are so adorable! I LOVE them! I bought the same bird stamp with no specific plans for it...just loved it:D Can't wait to see the decor!

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  22. Those are seriously some of the cutest invitations I have ever seen! Great job on them! That's a card I would want to frame it's so cute :-) I would love it if you would come by our Naturally-Nifty Linky Party and link this and anything else up!

    -Your newest follower!

    http://natural-nester.blogspot.com/2012/02/naturally-nifty-linky-party-3-features.html

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  23. Thanks so much!! I really appreciate all the sweet comments!!

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  24. Ooooh, how adorable. I love those little birds and the price tag is awesome as well, lol. Thanks for sharing at our party.

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  25. Those turned out so cute!! I love the bird stamp! Thanks for sharing this as well at Thursday's Temptation.
    Jill

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  26. I just featured your lovely invitations : ) So adorable!!

    http://www.cherishedbliss.com/2012/02/craft-and-tell-features-and-winner.html

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    ReplyDelete

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