Christmas Party Invites

The other day, I made invitations for a Christmas Party my mom is having.  I'm rather pleased with how they turned out.

I used all Close To My Heart products, but of course this basic design can be modified in countless ways to suit your supplies and needs.  You need 3 different colors of paper, 3 different colors of ink, sparkles if desired, glue, and brads and a punching kit of some kind, also if desired.

The card is 4''x5.5'', and I stamped on the front and back so it doesn't open.  I used Colonial White (a bit of an ivory color), Grey Flannel, and Pacifica.  For each card, you need a 4"x5.5"piece of Colonial White, a 4"x1.5"piece of Pacifica, and two pieces of Grey Flannel, one at 6"x.5", and one at 2"x3.5".  I made 20 cards.  It was a lot of cards.

You also need 3 shades of ink.  I used Grey Flannel, Pacifica, and Outdoor Denim.

You also need several stamps.  I placed them on both sides of the blocks to make things easier.  I used stamps from four different sets.  The christmas tree and the sentiment  were from the October Stamp of the Month set.  The border is from the set that comes with the Dreamin' Workshop on the Go.  The tag with the who what when where stamps is from the September Stamp of the Month set.  The snowflakes are the medium and large snowflakes from the Snow Flurries set.

First, in Pacifica, ink the edges of the blue strips using a sponge.  Then, with Grey Flannel, stamp a row of medium snowflakes across the top.

Ink the edge of the white card with Outdoor Denim.  Attach the blue strip to the top of the white card.  Stamp the tree using Pacifica, and the stump with Grey Flannel.  Stamp the Sentiment in the desired position.  Add a large snowflake in Grey Flannel.  

Ink the back of the card (I liked how it looked with a thicker border on the back than on the front).  Stamp the large snowflake, using Grey Flannel all across the back.  I like how it looks with some lighter and some darker snowflakes.  To get this look, ink your stamp, stamp once on a piece of scrap paper, then stamp on your card. This technique is called stamping in 'second generation'.

Make the tag. Stamp using Outdoor Denim, then trim the card to fit the stamp.  Edge in Outdoor Denim if desired. (I meant to, and then was so tired of edging at this point after making 20 cards that I didn't.)

Next, the ribbon!  This is the hard part.  Stamp the skinny grey piece with the border stamp using Grey Flannel ink.  Score at the following points. 1.25", 1.5",  2.25",  2.5",  3.5",  3.75",  4.5",  4.75".

Fold.  It's really hard to see in this picture, but basically, you start at the middle and make it look like a folded ribbon. The finished piece will be 4" long.  It's very helpful to use more glue than you think you will need as the ribbon has a bad habit of unsticking.

If you'd like to use a brad, now is the time to do it.  Glue the tag to the back of the card, then pierce the tag and card where you want the brad.  Add brad.

Attach the paper ribbon to the front, under the snowflakes, cleverly hiding the back of the brad. (Isn't that cool!) The ribbon might look a little wonky, but it's pretty easy to straighten it out as you glue it down to make it straight and pretty looking.  Unless wonky is your thing, in which case, totally go for it!

Add a sparkle to the snowflake on the front of the card, fill out the back, and your invitations are ready to be sent.  Let me know how yours turned out!

To purchase these products, or anything else by Close To My Heart, check out my friend Elizabeth's blog Broken Treasures.