The finished product!

My son’s first birthday is one week away! It really is amazing that he’s come so far in this past year. It’s been a loooong year for our family, that’s for sure, from the disheartening diagnosis to the hospital stays. JT has really fought hard and we want this celebration to signify all that he’s been through.

In order to set the tone for the magnitude of this event, I felt it necessary to focus a portion of my budget on couture, handcrafted invitations. After researching online from several different sites specializing in children’s party invitations and announcements, I found none to my liking as they were not personalized enough. None of the invitations portrayed my son’s uniqueness. So, I set out to create my own.

Because my child was born in the month of the Leo, I wanted the main logo to be a lion. From that, I conjured up the theme of King of the Jungle Safari.

I did further research online to decide what I wanted the general design to be including the size of the card, colors, and possible layers. I visited some wedding invitation sites for ideas as well. Then, I headed to a local specialty paper shop, Paper Source, for the purchase of my materials.

It was crucial that I researched ahead of time to gain a better understanding of how I wanted my invitation to look like before entering the shop. I knew that once I got there, I would easily be distracted by the infinite options.

However, my plan to get in and get out was delayed, nonetheless. I couldn’t help it! There was a myriad of colored papers, textures, stamps, inspirations…I couldn’t turn away!

After about 2 hours in the store, I ended up purchasing the materials necessary to create the invitation I had originally come in for. However, I also found inspiration for the lion that would don the card in one of their stamps. I found this on their online website, copied it, and cleaned it up in Adobe Photoshop.

By chance we ended up with a chartreuse green to compliment the poppy orange cardstock that I had originally come in for. Originally, I was interested in pairing the orange with a pool blue. The combination was beautiful, but there was just not enough cardstock in that color. The green worked out much better as it resonated with the jungle, safari theme better. I love last minute improvising!

To keep the invitation formal, but still kid party-like, I purchased sheets of polka dot paper to line the half of the 5×7 card. Then, the ivory cardstock (that matched the ivory polka dots) that would contain all the text would overlay in the center.

The wording of the invitation was also very important to me. I made sure that it would reflect Justin and his journey and the fact that we wanted everyone in our lives to join in the celebration. I also wanted to make it clear that this was a BIG party. As words are one of my favorite things in this world, I played around of a few of them to produce the following:

“My little dear, it’s been a year/A year we never knew could be./You have given us the gift of YOU/Now, this celebration is for thee.
Family and friends, we would be honored to have you and yours join us in celebrating JT’s first year of life with a party fit for a king!

I am quite proud of my creation as it is not only ultra-personalized, but it was also handmade by me, his Mama, and his aunties. Even more special!

One of the best perks of making your own invitations? Keeping things within budget. I ended up spending only $.80 per invitation plus an additional $.42 for stamp. Online companies were selling me invitations for at least $1.30 each without postage.

Stay tuned for the party details!