Make Birthday Invitations

To make birthday invitations like these is sure to delight your birthday party guests or at least give them a little surprise and "gift" of their own. The unique twist is that the gift decoration on the front of the card actually opens up to be the invitation.
The beauty of these unique birthday invitations is that you can mix and match colors and shapes to make birthday invitations like these for any party theme. Change the colors of the words on the front of the card. Change the paper you use to decorate the "gift" on the front. Even change the balloons to a different shape and you have a whole new card to match your party's theme!

Tools used to make birthday invitations:
8 1/2 by 11" card stock
20 lb. regular printer paper
decorative paper
balloon paper punch
glitter or glitter pens
ribbon
glue stick or glue runner

Step One: Getting the text onto the paper. Start with the front of the card to create the "Birthday Party" text. Use a desktop publishing application or even a word processor to create a four to a page layout. By setting up the text this way you will get the most bang for your buck. You will make four of these invitations off of one piece of card stock.
To create the text 4-up setup using a word processor select File> Document setup. A new window will open. Change the measurements for the margins of the page so that they are all half an inch. Next select Tools or a similar command depending on what program you are using.

Find the command to create columns on you page. Select to have two columns with a one inch margin in between them.Now that your page is ready just type in the "Birthday Party" Text. Make sure and align the text to the center. Mind the margins to the left of the page so you know just where to place each text to get the four up layout correct.
Play with different fonts until you get the style you want. For a great selection of fonts go to 1001 Free Fonts. There is a HUGE variety to choose from. For $9.99 you can download them all.

Now repeat the same steps to create the inside of the card. This is also a four to a page layout.
Once all of your text is setup how you want it you will want to print it all out. You can either:

A. Print everything from your computer printer. Print the front of the card onto 8 1/2" by 11" card stock in the color of your choice. Print the inside text of the invitations onto plain white printer paper.

B. Print out one copy of each page onto plain white printer paper. Head on over to your local copy shop with print outs in hand and have them copied for you onto the card stock of your choice. Copy the inside text of the invitation onto regular weight paper (not card stock).

Step Two: Cutting the papers. If you chose plan B to make birthday invitations, than you may as well get your birthday invitations cut while you are there. Most copy shops have a hydraulic paper cutter and will cut your papers for you for a very low price. It's fast and easy.
Otherwise you will want to cut these invitations by hand using a good personal paper cutter.
Both pages for these invitations need to be cut into quarters.
The next paper to be cut is the decorative paper chosen to create the "gift" decoration for the front of the card. These will be cut to be sized at 2 1/8" by 2 3/4" squares.

Step Three: Make birthday invitations with glitter and Glue . This step is optional. I chose to use a font for these invitations that is outlined so that the font itself can be decorated. If you choose to use a font similar to what I used than you may want to go ahead with this step.
What I did was use a very small artists paint brush to paint the insides of the font with glue. I then dumped some colored glitter onto the card and dusted off the left-overs.
An alternative to this would be to use a glitter pen or even a metallic ink pen. You could use colored pencils or markers or whatever but I guarantee that they will not look as good as a glitter pen!

And while the glitter and glue is drying...

Step Four: Folding the invitation paper. To create the "gift" decoration to make birthday invitations like these you must fold the inside text sheets of paper into quarters. You must take care that these folded pieces are folded correctly so they will be facing in the right direction when you open them.
Start by folding in half from the bottom up, then folding the right side over to the left. To make things easier later on you might want to draw an arow or letter onto the front of this folded piece of paper so you know which direction to attach it to the card. Otherwise you will have to open each folded piece before you glue it to the front of the invitation.

folding unique

Step Five: Creating the "gift" embellishment. Cut a bunch of 10" long lengths of ribbon for which to tie the card shut. Also cut some to attach horizontally across the front of the "gift" embellishment (about 2 1/4").
First glue the ten inch lengths of ribbon to the back of the folded pieces of invitation paper, securing them at the middle. To glue these onto the paper try applying a craft glue like Elmer's to the ribbon using an artists paint brush or a Q-tip.
Then attach the folded papers to the front of the invitation. Be very careful that the text on the inside is facing in the correct direction. I attached mine using a glue stick. A glue that is much heavier than this will warp the card unless you are working with Very thick, heavy weight papers. Attach it to the bottom right hand corner aligning it straight so that you have about a half inch margin around the paper.
Next attach the small squares of decorative paper to the front of this folded paper. This will also work very well with a glue stick. Once these are attached you will then glue on the smaller lengths of ribbon facing horizontally across the "gift".

While you wait for that to dry...

Step Six: Add balloons! Use a balloon shaped paper punch to punch out different colored balloons out of construction paper. Try to match the colors in your decorative paper for the gift embellishment's wrapping paper.
Attach the balloon shapes to the front of the invitation with a glue stick. Try to scatter them down the side of the page so that they look like they are floating away.

Once everything is dry all you must do to make birthday invitations complete is to tie the invitation text paper closed with a bow!

More tips to make birthday invitations in this unique style...

* Change it up by using a different shape than a balloon. Make birthday invitations to match the theme of your party.

* Punch shapes out of different and interesting papers. Using a balloon punch? try using metallic, shiny, or glittery paper instead of plain construction paper.

* Instead of using a paper punch to make birthday invitations make it a bit easier on yourself by using ready made scrapbooking embellishments instead!

"You're Invited" postcard invitations

go from Make Birthday Invitations with a Unique Twist back to Birthday Invitations page