DIY Baby Shower Invitations

Paper turns me on. I think it all started when I was about 10 years old and my parents sent my brother and me to Colonial Camp at the Peter Wentz Farmstead. The farmstead was built and established in the mid- to late- eighteenth century outside of Philadelphia. It served as headquarters to George Washington in the fall of 1777 and now the site (farmstead and 90 surrounding acres) has been restored and furnished to reflect its appearance at the time of the Revolutionary War. Every summer they have a camp where campers learn trades and activities of the Colonial Period. During camp my brother and I made 3 legged milking stools, dipped candle sticks, pressed flowers, weaved ticking tape, painted theorems (that are now framed and hanging in my kitchen!) AND made paper from cotton pulp among other activities.

In my childhood diary I still have pieces of the paper that I made at camp. It's highly texturized and blended with lavender from the Peter Wentz kitchen garden. I'm pretty sure I was hooked right away.

I spend stupid amounts of money on paper, unique letterpress cards (especially anything from Saturn Press in Swan's Island, Maine), and nice pens. My own stationary is navy blue with a white monogram and the envelopes are lined in kelly green. It makes me happy to think of people receiving my thank you notes...navy blue envelopes must be eye catching amongst the bills and catalogs, right?

So when it came time to create baby shower invitations for my dear friend Ruth...I couldn't just go out and buy pre-made or printable invitations. Here's the catch...I'm temporarily unemployed...and not exactly flush with cash at the moment. So, I needed a DIY invitation on the cheap.

First, the theme: We don't know if Ruth is having a boy or a girl so I needed a color/theme that was gender neutral. Ruth's favorite color is green and before she was even pregnant, had a fascination with peapods. Perfect...that was easy!

Second, card stock: I went down to my favorite store in Northampton, essentials, and found bundles of 4" x 6" white card stock. The paper is texturized, which makes it feel more expensive than it was. I got 4 bundles of 10 cards for $12.00, because I needed to make 36 invitations. I figured I would need at least one test invitation and a few mess-ups in my printer.

Third, design: Recently, I watched "The September Issue," in which Vogue-chief Anna Wintour says, "Less is more." I agree! I wanted a simple, straight-forward design that wasn't too cutesy. Ruth has fabulous taste...and doesn't buy into consumerism one bit, so I figured she would appreciate a simple design as well. Here's what I came up with (personal info has been deleted/altered). All 36 invitations were printed on my cheapo HP printer that came free with my MacBook 4 years ago:

Fourth, envelopes: I like to make my own envelopes. I figure it's eco-friendly and unique. Several years ago Santa brought me these awesome envelope templates from Paper Source and ever since I've been making envelopes out of old maps, old Patagonia catalogs, used wrapping paper, old New Yorkers, and anything else flat that I can find. I wanted an envelope that would grab attention, reflect Ruth's eco-friendly interests, and be beautiful. I stopped in at an art supply store and found some gorgeous paper (you'll notice it from my header) that matched the green I used on her invitations. I also used the same peapod design for my address labels. Here's the end result (with personal info altered):

And that, my friends, is one of the ways I have kept busy during funemployment. I love projects.