I’m going to show you how I made 70 bridal shower invitations in less than 48 hours, entirely at home. This DIY might seem a little daunting but I promise you that it isn’t. Cross my heart! Knowing exactly what needs to be done, start to finish, is half the battle. The next step is just to follow your plan. Today you are going to learn every step I took. Starting with absolutely nothing to sending out 70 beautiful custom and original bridal shower invitations, lightning fast!
I’m sure you are curious as to what would prompt such an endeavor. You heard me right, seventy. 70 custom invitations made AND having them mailed in 2 days. It is next to impossible to get that kind of turnaround time with ordered invitations. Believe me, we tried. We tried ordering invitations, from multiple online stores, and even with the fastest rush they had available, it would still take nearly a week.
If I can be honest here, we slacked on getting these together.
I think we all assumed someone else in the bridal party would do it. But before we knew it, it was only days away from being exactly one month until the event and we needed to get the word out – immediately. Especially because it was to be held on a Friday morning. I respect the fact that people need notice. People have lives and jobs and commitments but with a month’s notice, a lot of people were actually able to make it work!
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Now, I wouldn’t say that this is a difficult DIY. It will, however, take up a good amount of your time but the outcome is so worth it! I got so many compliments on these invitations. The pride alone I felt was worth my time but I loved giving something to my friend that she couldn’t have gotten elsewhere. Something unique that was made special on her behalf. I love invitations because it gets people excited about the party to come. Invitations set the tone for the party. Whether it’ll be a fun and casual get-together or a formal and fancy soiree. So many things can be conveyed through invitations and it’s important to realize that it matters. Your invitation will set the stage for your party.
No pressure, let’s get started!
Step 1: Design Your Invitation
First, decide the theme of your party, or the feeling that you want to convey. This will be translated into the fonts, images, and layout you decide on. Don’t sweat it if you have never made an invitation before. The best thing to do is to look online for invitations that you do like and save them to a new Invitation-specific Pinterest board. When you have a small collection of invitations that you like, take a good look at why you like them so much. Is it the graphic? or do you love the fonts used? Maybe its the wording or the layout that drew your eye. Whatever it is that you love, try to pinpoint it. Write it down and then make it the focus of your own design. Feel free to let bits and pieces inspire your own design.
I designed this invitation in Canva using free fonts for personal use that I downloaded from Dafont.com and then uploaded to my Canva subscription. You could also do the exact same thing in publisher but I find it easier and more enjoyable to do it in Canva.
Tip #1: How to add any image to your design.
This image of the deer was a screenshot the bride really liked. In Preview (Mac users), I lasso outlined the image, hit Ctrl+C and then went over and pasted it into a blank Microsoft Publisher project. From there I edited the image by removing the background. Once the background is removed, right click on the image and choose to ‘save pictures as’. Give it a highly specific name and save it wherever you like. I then uploaded the image to Canva. Once it was uploaded I easily just dragged and dropped it into position on the invitation.
Step 2: Print Your Invitations
After you have made the invitation you like, duplicate the page. You want there to be 2 identical pages of the invitation in Canva. Download both pages as a PDF. Do not select crop marks and bleed.
When you open the downloaded pdf there should be both copies of the invitation. You should confirm that there are 2 pages before moving to the next step.
Select print and under ‘PageSizing & Handling‘ choose ‘Multiple‘.
‘Pages per sheet’ should be set to 2by1. There should be 2-5×7 images on the print screen.
Selecting the option of ‘Print page border‘ will allow for each invitation to be outlined in a thin black line. I find that having a border makes it easier to cut later and helps to keep all invitations a uniform size.
Most of all, the orientation of the page needs to be landscape.
When your settings match those listed and your print screen is similar to the one shown below, click the ‘Printer…’ button found in the lower area of your screen for final setting adjustments.
Get your supplies ready!
Load white cardstock into your home printer and make a mental note of which tray you put it in. I like to buy my cardstock in a 500-page ream from Walmart. I used to buy white cardstock from Michaels but I have found the color and thickness to be superior in the ream size packages.
Under ‘Media & Quality‘ specify which tray to feed from. In my case, the cardstock was loaded in tray 1, so ‘Main Tray‘ was selected.
You should also adjust your print quality if you think it’s necessary. I tend to leave mine on normal, even when printing important things like invitations.
When all settings have been adjusted it’s time to print the quantity you need!
However, I wouldn’t suggest printing more than 10 copies at a time. I have found when I do more than ten, it is more likely that my printer will goof up somehow. Things like the ink bleeding or a piece of cardstock getting jammed are not uncommon when printing a large quantity at home.
For this project, I needed 70 invitations made. I determined that I would need 35 sheets of cardstock to be printed (with 2 Invitations per sheet). I printed a quantity of 10 copies, 3 separate times. After 30 sheets had been printed, the last round of printing was set for a single set of 5 copies.
Step 3: Cut out Your Invitations
Now that you have all your invites printed, it is time to cut them out. I have a swing arm paper cutter that I seriously love. 😍 I invested in it for my daughter’s 1st birthday party.
I used to go to Staples and just use their paper cutter for free. But standing in a store cutting a bunch of invitations when you didn’t actually buy anything can get pretty freaking awkward. Especially when you are standing there cutting for upwards of 45 minutes. 😬😂 I decided to finally end my embarrassment and get myself a paper cutter to have at home. And I am SO glad that I did. It was worth every stinking penny. Now every time I make invitations, the process is painless. And since it is now so easy, I get to enjoy making invitations a couple of times a year!
I like to cut out my invitations in batches. There is no right or wrong way to do this but I feel like I am way more efficient and accurate when I have a sort of assembly line going on. For example, instead of taking a sheet and cutting out 2 invitations entirely, I take a sheet and make a single cut. Then I take the next sheet and make the same single cut. Until every sheet has gotten that same single cut. Then I neatly stack them up again, put them back to the left side of the cutter and repeat the process on a different cut line. I find my cuts are way better this way since I’ve had the opportunity of doing the same line over and over again. After the 4th or 5th sheet, you are usually able to pick up speed while still maintaining accuracy.
Tip #2: Quality Over Quantity
You may be tempted to cut more than 1 at a time. You may think this will save time. But don’t be fooled, I tried this and was more likely to make uneven cuts which didn’t save any time at all since I had to reprint the ones I messed up. Cut one at a time. Cut them effectively and you’ll be done in no time. Promise.
I like to have my cut line be just slightly on the inside of the line I’m following. I prefer to err on the side of cutting in a little too much rather than have the black line showing. Trying to remove a sliver of black line later is probably comparable to trying to ‘even out’ eyeliner – every adjustment just makes it worse.
Continue until all invitations are cut out! Do a little happy dance when this step is complete, I know it felt like it would never end, but it did! So Yay!
Step 4: Attach Invitations to colored cardstock
Supplies needed:
8.5×11″ Complimentary Colored Cardstock
Double-Sided Crafters Tape
Printed and Cut Invitations
Invitation #1
Using double-sided crafters tape make a small line of tape in each corner of the back of a printed invitation. and then one in the center of the top and the bottom.
After applying the double-sided craft tape on the back, very carefully line up the invitation on the leftside. You want to line it up so that there is about a ¼ inch of a border of cardstock showing on the top and left side. Be careful not to allow the invitation and cardstock to touch until you’ve chosen the right spot. Unless you specifically get a moveable tape, once the invitation touches down it won’t budge. Once you have decided on the location you like best, press down firmly. Make sure to smooth it down. Paying special attention to the edges will help to fully adhere to the tape.
Invitation #2
After the first invitation has adhered to the left, the next is to tape a second invitation to the right side of the cardstock.
Using the second invitation repeat the previous process. Apply a small tape line in the 4 corners and centers then carefully line up the invitation so that there is a 1/4 inch of cardstock showing on the top and right side.
This isn’t an exact science, some will be wider, some will be thinner, and that’s totally okay. No one will ever know the difference.
After both invitations have been adhered to the 8.5 x 11″ sheet of cardstock, flip them face down in a stack on a clean surface. Set something weighted on top to help secure the bond. You could use a book or a magazine, I happen to be using an extra package of cardstock.
Continue this process until all invitations have been taped to a sheet of cardstock.
Step 5: Quality Control
If while taping you notice some invitations that aren’t cut very well, set them to the side in a pile. Continue taping ones that look good. Once all pretty ones have been taped I like to circle back and make the necessary adjustments to fix the irregular ones.
I feel like cutting paper straight is way easier said than done.
I’ve tried almost nearly tactic for cutting straight with a paper cutter. Let me just tell you that I’ve had a lot of experience using paper cutters! I’ve tried lining the paper up on the gridlines. I’ve tried pressing the sheet up against the top and pressing against the bottom. I have even tried eyeballing it and still, my cuts weren’t perfectly straight.
After much trial and error, I found the best way to make the most accurate cuts.
Tip #1: Get a better angle
Bend down and get eye level with the cutter. You want to line up the black line just slightly over the edge. Make certain that both the top of the line and the bottom of the line are slightly over the edge.
Tip #2: Cut towards yourself
When pulling down the arm, make sure to pull towards your body as you pull down. If your right-handed, of course. Although I’ve tried pulling down towards the cutter, that also seems to cut uneven. Cutting towards your body ensures an even cut.
These 2 tips combined have given me the best results for making straight cuts of cardstock using a paper cutter.
Step 6: Cutting – Round 2
After all the invitations have been taped to the sheets of cardstock, bring the stack to the paper cutter. Using the same idea of cutting in batches, I like to make the first cut on the long open edge.
Line the paper up to the edge so that there is about ¼ inch left.
Repeat this cut until all sheets of cardstock have received the same first cut.
Step 7: The Final Cut(s)
Once all they have been cut down to size it’s time to divide them into 2 invitations! This cut is my favorite. I love it because once you finish you have 2 invitations. First, make the cut that will become the left edge of the right invitation.
Then slide the invitation to the right and make the cut that will become the right edge of the left invitation. And voila, 2 invitations just like that! Continue until all are cut to size.
Some of the cardstock mats will have thinner borders and some will have thicker ones. Don’t worry too much about it. As a recovering perfectionist, believe me when I say that done is truly better than perfect. For real.
Step 8: Envelopes
Now that you have finished making all your invitations, it’s time to make my most favorite part, the envelopes!
I think there could be an entire post on the ins and outs of designing envelopes for mailing but I’m just going to give you the abridged version today.
I like to have my printer do the legwork on envelopes for a couple of reasons. The first and minor reason is that I can always find something I don’t like about my penmanship. That alone drives me bananas. But more importantly, I love the way a great typeface combination can give an envelope the ability to introduce its contents. An elegant brush lettering for a bridal shower, for example, can really bump up the fancy factor! Mixing fonts is a great modern way to make it easy on the postman. Keep the address nice and easy to read, you want to make sure it actually arrives at its intended destination.
Envelope Design
When designing both the front and back of the envelope, I prefer to work in Microsoft Publisher. The front of the envelope gets designed first. When you have an address layout that appears pleasing I then duplicate the page. Using the duplicate page, change the name and the mailing address to match the next person on the guest list. Continue until a mailing envelope has been made for every invited guest.
Designing the back of the envelope is much easier. I like to put the return address in the center of the back flap. You can easily make add a text box in Publisher to match the location on your envelope. You only need a single page design for the return address, just print however many you need!
Envelope Printing
When actually printing the envelopes, I like to print the return address first, they print much faster than the actual addresses so I like to get that part done first. For my printer, an Epson Workforce WF-3640, I load the envelopes face up with the flap on the right side to print the return address. To print the mailing address on the front I load the envelopes face down with the flap on the right.
Tip #3: Put your tongue away
When it comes time to seal these envelopes, DEFINITELY get ‘yoself an envelope moistener. It is so amazing to have handy. You just fill it up with water and the little sponge on the top wets the envelopes as you swipe. If you are still licking envelopes, STOP. You are going to run out of saliva pretty quick, and no one wants a paper cut on their tongue! 😬 Gross.
Tip #3: Put your tongue away
When it comes time to seal these envelopes, DEFINITELY get ‘yoself an envelope moistener. It is so amazing to have handy. You just fill it up with water and the little sponge on the top wets the envelopes as you swipe. If you are still licking envelopes, STOP. You are going to run out of saliva pretty quick, and no one wants a paper cut on their tongue! 😬 Gross
It’s as easy as it looks!
Now that you have seen how I was able to create 70 beautiful and custom bridal shower invitations in less than 48 hours, I hope you feel more confident. You absolutely have the ability to make incredible invitations at home. Parties happen so rarely in our everyday lives and I love taking the opportunity to create something special!
Staying organized is the key to efficiently making bridal shower invitations at home without stressing out! If you need any advice or have any questions, please reach out to me using the comments below and I’ll be sure to get back to you quickly!
So now it’s your turn! If you try this, tag me at @goldengluegun
Golden Gluegun is a DIY lifestyle blog featuring incredible DIY flips, sewing tutorials, crafts, and creative inspiration. Join me as we plan and create!
