Party-Time Tuesday - A Unique Invitation

"funky monkey" baby announcements, by Elum

Welcome to Week 2 of Party-Time Tuesdays, my series running through the month of May (and possibly beyond, if I'm long-winded...which, of course, that hardly ever happens) that explores my own mental checklist as I'm planning an event. Week 1 I talked about finding inspiration for a theme...week 2, an absolute essential, in my opinion: A Unique Invitation.

As you read this post, you may think I sound a little snobby. But there's a good heart behind all my snobby ideals: People feel really special when they realize that you've put a lot of time and effort into inviting them to an event. They are more likely to come. Plus, I want people to start anticipating the event with excitement, long before they ever arrive at the party. When I get invited to an event, I usually place the invitation on the fridge for weeks beforehand...and I love it when the invitation is beautiful or creative or memorable (or all of the above).

Usually, you'll decide on a theme first, then come up with the invitation to match. I did this with...

...my dishes...the inspiration for a brunch I'm having this weekend with a few girlfriends...

...and here's the invitation I designed to match them. I didn't obsess over matching the pattern exactly; but I did choose similar colors and a simple, modern design, just like the plates. By the way, I love colored envelopes...any time you can do an invite with a colored envelope...love that! It makes your invitation stand out from all the junk mail and bills.

Occasionally, however, you may find an invitation that's just so cool, you let it determine the theme for your event (rather than the other way around). Case in point: these Funky Monkey invites from Elum. Hello! I would totally create a whole baby-shower theme around these invites. They are so cute.

my Elmo party invitations; inspired by, well - Elmo...and this fabric:

inspiration fabric for Elmo party

I do prefer custom invitations whenever possible; either creating one yourself on your computer, or hiring someone to do it for you...or asking a talented friend...these are all ideal. For all you scrapbooking gals - create an invitation with the same creativity and attention to detail that you use in your scrapbooking. Or, go to your local specialty stationery store - you'd be surprised what they can do for you. You can often pick out a package of invitations and then have them print your text for you - the best of both worlds for those lacking a little in the creativity department. The end product is one of a kind, but you didn't have to make it yourself.

print-your-own invitations from Target (everything's included); I used these once for a garden party - easy, affordable, and makes you look good

I realize that custom-designed invitations are often out of reach for a lot of people, for a variety of reasons, so your next best bet is to go with a "print your own" invitation, like this one above. Believe it or not, I actually recommend Target for fasionable, reasonably-priced invitations in this category. They have tons of invitations that you can create yourself on your computer. There are also a fair amount of true fill-in-the-blank invites for...gasp...handwriting, like the bachelorette invitation pictured below. (If you must do a handwritten invitation, please, please use nice handwriting, or ask someone who does to do them for you).

fill-in-the-blank bachelorette party invitation from Target; I would let this dictate a party scheme of pink and black

Party on! And invite your friends...in style!