Make Your Own Beach Party Invitations

Here's a quick and easy design to make beach party invitations that will look great! This invitation is intended to be put together super fast which is why the basic decoration will be made from ready made embellishment stickers. For a more toned down version of this invitation you can certainly make the card without the stickers as well.

Tools needed to make these beach party invitations:
8 1/2 by 11" cardstock (pink)
8 1/2 by 11" cardstock (tan)
decorative paper
embellishment stickers (optional)
decorative scissors
glue runner or adhesive

Step One: Start by creating the words for the front and inside of this invitation using desktop publishing software. To get the

most out of your money use a 2-up layout designed to print onto a standard 8 1/2" by 11" paper. Print the words onto pink cardstock paper. When these are cut in half it will create two invitations from one sheet of cardstock.

* To skip this step click here to download and print these invitations from a ready made template.

Step Two: Cutting the papers. Once you have printed the beach party invitations text onto cardstock you will be ready to cut this paper in half. Cutting these in half will create two invitations out of one sheet of cardstock. But that's not all the paper that needs to be cut.
Next you will cut the decorative paper you have chosen for the invitation. I reccomend choosing a beach themed paper. The paper I chose is called "Surf & snorkel" and is created by Masterpiece Studios. For more about decorative papers and where to find them go here.
Cut the decorative paper into rectangles measuring 4 1/4" by 1 1/2". Once you have the rectangles cut go over one of the long edges with decorative scissors. I chose a pair with a wave pattern.
To create the "sand" at the bottom of the beach party invitations we will need to cut some tan colored paper or cardstock. Start by cutting the 8 1/2 by 11" sheet in half to create two pieces measuring 8 1/2" by 5 1/2". To help create the sand effect tear off a piece of paper from the bottom of the page about one inch up. You should have a piece measuring about 5 1/2" by 1" which will be torn at the top. Don't try to be neat about the tearing. The more messy the tearing the better. The more it will resemble sand.
Take the piece of tan paper in which you tore this piece of of and cut straight across the bottom of paper using a guillotine or sliding hand paper cutter. Repeat the tearing and cutting until you have enough pices to create all of your invitations.

Step Three: Glue the papers together. Start by using a gluestick to adhere the decorative paper rectangles to the invitations. Apply a thin layer of glue to the back of the paper and attatch it to the left side of the card. Using gluestick ensures a clean looking card. If the glue is too thick it will warp the card and look messy.
Once the decorative paper is attatched to the card next glue on the tan paper that was torn to look like sand. It should be placed across the bottom of the card with the torn piece facing up.

* You could stop here for a somewhat plain invitation. You could add a die cut or sea shell. Use stencils to create a decoration... Or continue on to...

Step Four: add decorative beach themed embellishments. I used some scrapbooking embellishments made by Jolee's Boutique which were in a sunbathing theme. Anything beach related will do but if you want the exact decoration I used go here.
Place whichever decorations onto the beach party invitations so that they overlap the paper "sand" and over some of the edges where the different papers meet. This will look the most pleasing to the eye. If you choose to use the embellishments I used for this card then you can simply look at the picture and place them accordingly.
Here's a good trick for making sure you place the embellishments in the right spot. They usually come with adhesive already applied to the back. It is very sticky. If you make a mistake you will not be able to peel it up again without ruining the paper underneath. The embellishments come packaged so that they are stuck to a clear paper backing. What I do is use an exacto knife or small pair of scissors to cut them apart without taking the backing off. This way you can place them onto the invitation without actually sticking them on so you can figure out where they will look best. Once you have figured out the correct position just peel off the backing and stick them down.

More tips and ideas for making beach party invitations...

* If you live anywhere near a beach you can collect some sand to help decorate the tan paper I used to look like sand. Put a layer of gluestick across the paper and dust it with beach sand. It will look great! You can even get some tan colored sand from some arts and crafts supply stores in the sand art section of the store.

* Using embellishments really makes a card look great. For more about where to see a good selection of embellishments and stickers go here

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