Monday, July 11, 2011

Quick & Easy Birthday Invitations

I'm glad I made my son's third birthday invitations over the weekend because my mojo suddenly went on vacation again. I guess it's just as well. I could certainly use a vacation myself! I'm looking forward to approximately 60 days from now when I'm somewhat settled in my new house. It'll feel so good to relax on the back deck with a glass of wine. :) A year ago, we had hoped to celebrate our son's third birthday in a new house but that didn't happen. At least I'll get to celebrate my next birthday in the new house! And Halloween! And Christmas! Oh boy, am I ever excited. LOL

Okay, you came to see some cards, right? This is the first year I made invitations for my son's birthday and, for these, I inked up some fantastic Unity stamps that hadn't seen ink yet. I used two sets: Soirees and Such and Boys Will Be Boys. Everything but the tractor trailer (tanker) are from Soirees and Such.

I couldn't decide which colours I liked best so I made four each of two versions. Luckily, there was one extra because my son wanted to write his own invitation as soon as he saw them.

I told him that Mommy was going to write all the details and he said, "No, let I do that!" It's so cute how he says I instead of me. I don't know if that's typical but pronouns must be so confusing for toddlers. He then asked me what the words said and he started writing and singing, "Happy Birthday ... , Happy Birthday ... . Please come my party!" Also hilarious is how the prepositions are missing.

I wanted to figure out a new way to tie The Twinery's Cappuccino baker's twine on these cards and I let the design of the frame guide me. I punched two holes at the edge and weaved the twine in and out of the three sections until I ended up with two rows of twine in the middle section. I tied the twine in a knot at the hole on the left hand side.

Basically, I ended up with quick and easy one-layer cards with a baker's twine accent. These were really fun to make and I'm happy with the way they turned out. I will definitely make different variations of these in the future!

Sources: Gina K Designs pure luxury kraft cardstock; Unity Soirees and Such & Unity+Echo Park Boys Will Be Boys; SU Crumb Cake, Riding Hood Red, Tangerine Tango, Old Olive & Tempting Turquoise inks; Memento Rich Cocoa ink; Marvy-Uchida 1/8" long reach circle punch; The Twinery baker's twine in Cappuccino

49 comments:

Karen B. said...

These are really cute Emily! Great set of colors.

Ujjwal said...

These invites are so cute and your son is such a sweetheart :D His stories always put a smile on my face!

Lysa said...

These invitations are super cute! Going to have to remember this the next time I'm making invitations for my nieces :)

Jen Carter said...

These are so cute!! Your story is even cuter! How adorable!! I love how you tied the twine! It looks really great on the invitations!

Erin (Homemade Cards by Erin) said...

Super cute invites, you should let him write them all out :)

Anita Rex said...

Hi Emily! I love your invites! The cake inside the truck is a great idea! And I love how you tied the twine!!!! :>

kasia c. said...

These are so super adorable! I love how fabulous they look in any colour. :)

Karin Ã…kesdotter said...

These are super!!! Such perfect invites! My son is 2½ so your post put an extra big smile on my face (-:
Thanks!!!

Jennifer said...

These are super CUTE!!! LOVE the colors you used on the kraft!!! (=

Monica K. said...

These are so cute! I've been working on some baby boy shower invites so thanks for the inspiration! :) Love what you made and your story is so sweet too!

Lisa Petrella said...

ADORABLE invitations, Emily!!! Love the colors you chose and that font is super duper cute too!

cappuccino and colour said...

these are just gorgeous. love the one your son did! precious.

Saskia said...

Great invitations, so cute! :)

Wendy ten Hove said...

These are fun, Emily!!! Love the idea of the pie in the truck!! That's genius! Love the personalized one by your son as well!
Hugs & happy day to you!
Wendy

Jen W. said...

So cute and I love how you threaded and knotted the twine!

Your little guy is hilarious! And so many holidays to look forward to in the new place!

Lynn said...

Adorable Emily! I love how they mix up their words...Marcel's current saying is, "I'm going outside in my foots." It means he's going outside in his bare feet :)!

Erin said...

These are sooo cute! I love when you share stories about your son. You should enter these in All Things Unity twine challenge :)

Unknown said...

CUTEEEEE!!!

Karin said...

No one can make a one layer stampy card look as good as you can make them look! LOVE the cake in the truck :)

Emily Keaton said...

Adorable invitations, Emily! Clean and simple and perfect for a boy's party. :) Love that new way to tie baker's twine!

BabyBokChoy said...

I thought that he wrote out the details quite well!!! so cute, lol

Meg said...

What perfect third birthday party invitations! I love the textured look of the truck paired with that gorgeous soiree font!

I also think it's cute that your son talks lolspeak. :)

Virginia L. said...

How cute and adorable! Love your stamping, Emily! And I wish you success in hosting party and moving!!

Dr Sonia S V said...

Oh that's so adorable that your little one wants to join in the fun with you. Your invitations are super duper.
I am glad I landed on your blog

Cheers from Bangalore ,India
Dr Sonia S V
http://cardsandschoolprojects.blogspot.com

farmhouse-story said...

i love using that set! these are so cute, emily--love your twine design:)

Jessica Diedrich said...

These are DARLING! I love the colored ink on kraft!

Shauna K said...

yay, again, for the new house :D hehe... loving the cake in the truck- so cute! and love your son's version ;) hehe!

Angela said...

If you could send a tanker full of cake to my house, I'd be your best friend forever.
The invites are super-cute! Love the twine trick (always a new twine trick from you!). Be sure to scrap the invite your little man "filled out." I mean, when you get around to scrapping, of course!

Savannah O'Gwynn said...

OH OH OH! That little truck with the cake inside is tooooo cute! SO CLEVER:) You rock! I hope your mojo comes back--although I don't think it really left (it couldn't! You are way too amazing!!) :)

Jenny said...

I love these one layer invitations, just perfect for the job. Love how your son has written his own too :)
Jenny x

Annette Allen said...

very cute... Love how your little one personalized it..

Marianne B in AZ said...

I love the story about your son! It is great to see a parent analyze the child's developmental progress so carefully...I can tell you love your son so much! I'm sure the invitation he wrote will go in scrapbook! Thank you so much for sharing in the hop!

Beth said...

fantastic card. i love the toddler printing:)

Mandy said...

super cute! love the colors!

Kim B said...

These are so cute!

Sunghee said...

Ummm... are you sending me the invitation, too? I'll come. Hehe. How I wish!
REally cute cards. No wonder he wanted to write on it. Can't believe he will be 3 soon! So cute!!!

Lindsey said...

This invitation just suits your little guy perfectly! Love the idea of the cake inside the tractor-trailer. Like the new twine tying, too.

Lorraine said...

Emily, these are just adorable - love them. And I love your son's one, too, lol.

Jocelyn Olson said...

Super-duper cute, Emily! I love how you added the Baker's twine...it looks really cool how you wove it. Your stories about Damian are so cute--wish him a happy birthday when the day comes!

Cheryl Leong said...

Woots~ these are super nice.... lovely :D
thanks for dropping by

Vicky Hayes said...

These are fabulous - and made when you're so busy too! Your son's handwritten invite made me smile. My youngest used to say firmly "I want to do it all my my OWN!" Write all your son's funny things down Emily - you'll blink and he'll be a grown up! Vx

donna mikasa said...

such a great set of invites! love them on kraft and the clever way you attached the twine!

Kary said...

Hi Emily! Awesome invitations!!! Almost wished I'm little again...love kids birthday parties. Happy Birthday to your little guy!! It's going to be an awesome one!

Lisa said...

Cute, cute, cute! I love that he wanted to write them himself :) around age 3 was definitely a favorite for me. Now mine are 10 & 12.....*sigh* Where does the time go?

G Peplow said...

An excellent set of invites, beautifully done, I'm imagining you and hubby now sitting on the back deck, supping a nice glass of red, all relaxed mmmm how lovely:0) It will happen, hugs Gay xxx

Lauren said...

Your invitations are adorable, as are your stories of your son! :o)

arlsmom aka Lynda said...

Adorable invites!!!

Anonymous said...

Oooh, can I come just so I can have one of these A.DoR.aBLe invites!!! :)

lisa a.

Angie Blom said...

love this Emily.. Amazing.. and so love your son's invite.