Seasonal baby showers are a wonderful way to give a shower for your special Mom-to-be a unique touch. When you take the time to make those initiations, you add a level of personalization that shows the love and care you have for this special new family. Don’t worry, you don’t need a degree in art and a crafty She Shed to produce lovely DIY invitation. Scissors, glue and other things you can pick up at your local craft store are all you need.

Crafty Notes

A few words before we get into specific projects. First of all, get enough supplies to make four or five more invitations than you need. It is unreasonable to think that you won’t make a mistake and replace the invitation or two. In addition, you may want to make one to keep. You can also make an extra and put it in a frame along with pictures from the party and give it to the Mom as a memento of the day.

Secondly, don’t get to upset if your invitations aren’t all exactly alike. Only mass-produced invitations are identical. Unless you have a computerized die cutting machine, there will be differences in any piece you cut. There will be slight variations in any piece you glue in place. Instead, think of each invitation as a unique piece of art that you are sharing with people you care about.

Santa Baby

These invitations are the perfect project for a first-time crafter. You will need a computer and printer, a straight edge cutter, or a ruler and scissors, and glue. You will also need red card stock, black card stock, glittery paper or gold foil and 5 by 7 envelopes.

You will be making invitations that look like the front of Santa’s coat.

Set your paper layout to landscape and two columns. You will be able to get two flat invitations out of each sheet of card stock. Center the script in each column. Type the words “Welcome our Santa Baby!” But make sure that the words “Santa” and “Baby” are a large enough font that they are the only words on that line. Then leave a two-inch space and type the information about the time and place for the shower. You can also add where the parents are registered. Print out a sheet on plain paper before committing to the card stock.

After you have printed all the invitations and the extras, start to work on the belt. Using a straight paper cutter or a ruler and a pencil, cut 1.5 inch strips of the black card stock on the long side. You will have strips of card stock that are 1.5 by 8.5 inches. Cut each strip in half so that it is 1.5 by 4.25 inches. Center a strip in the blank spot of the invitation. Cut two inch squares out of the glittery or gold paper for the buckle. Cut a 1.5-inch square out of the center of each square to create a 1/4-inch outline of a square. Center the glittery square over the black strip to create a buckle for the belt.

You can also do the Mom-to-be a favor by creating simple, coordinating thank you notes. Simply purchase coordinating card stock. Set up your page in Word to landscape with two columns. Print the words “Thank You” at the bottom of each column. Cut the paper in half and fold it, so that you can get two thank you notes out of each sheet of paper. Be sure to use a solid item, like a metal ruler, to create a clean crease at the fold. Then address and stamp the envelopes to the guests as you mail out your works of art. That leaves them ready for the Mother-to-be to add her own note and mail them off.

Winter Ornament

Why limit yourself to a card when it comes to invitations? You can make these keepsake invitations easily. These are great invitations to hand-deliver in small boxes, although you can certainly put them in sturdier small boxes for mailing. You will need glass or plastic ornaments, indelible markers, glue pen, glitter, a soft paint brush, a hole punch, and coordinating ribbon. It is also a good idea to have a garbage bag and a couple of egg cartons handy.

When choosing the ornaments, choose whatever color works best with the color scheme of the shower. The only color that doesn’t work is clear. If you try to write the information on clear ornaments, it will be hard to read the words as they will become jumbled with the words on the other side. Start by writing the shower information on the “back” of the ornament. Be sure to include date time and place. Make sure that the words are totally dry before picking the ornament up and writing on the front.

Cut the garbage bag open and lay it on the table to create a large workspace that is easy to clean up. Cut the top off the egg cartons so that you just have the egg cups. With the glue pen, write the word “Baby” on the front in large letters. Immediately sprinkle the wet glue with the glitter. Sprinkle it liberally to make sure that all the glue is covered. Lay the ornament in egg crate to keep it from rolling away while the glue dries. Make sure that none of the ornaments touch each other to keep each one clean. When the glue is dry, shake off any excess glitter. To create a clean look, use the soft paint brush to remove any random glitter from clean areas.

Type up small slips of paper that have information for any places the parents might be registered. Punch a hole in one corner and tie the information to the top of the ornament. Place each ornament in a box, ready to give to each guest.

Create matching thank you notes by printing on card stock that matches the base color of the ornaments. So, for example, if you have chosen gold ornaments, choose matching gold paper.

These simple handmade invitations can set the tone for your shower. Give them a try.

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