Reaching your 70th birthday is certainly cause for celebration! If you are planning a 70th birthday party for yourself or a loved one, making your own invitations is an inexpensive way to get a degree of customization that would cost much more to have made up professionally. Handmade cards are also far more likely to be saved by their recipients, making this card a memento of the occasion that they can treasure for years to come.
Making your 70th birthday party invitations is easy with a few basic scrap booking skills. Even if you have never scrap booked or made cards in the past, if you can cut and paste, you can do it!
Start with a basic card base. To do this, simply cut a piece of 8 1/2″ by 11″ paper in half. You can cut it either the long way or the short way; this will depend on which direction you want your card to open. Choose subdued, antique-looking paper colors for the best effect.
Locate a fun photograph of your birthday party honoree that shows them in their younger days. Ask family and friends to help you find a good, suitable photograph to use on your invitation. (A photo from a childhood birthday would be ideal, but any good photo of your subject in their youth will work!) Take the photo to your local photography shop and have them make copies of the photo for you. You will need one copy of the photo for each invitation you intend to make. For an older, more antique look, be sure to specify that you want the photos to have a matte finish, not a glossy finish.
To attach the photo to the card base, use old-fashioned photo corners. These black, self-adhesive corners are available at most scrap booking supply stores and some photography shops. If you are unable to find any to purchase or would rather save the money, you can make your own photo corners by cutting small, uniform right triangles out of black cardstock and gluing them to the corners of your photo, which will give you the same effect.
Embellish the card with stickers or clipart that are appropriate to the tone of your card. Realistic floral designs are a good option, as are images of old objects like antique telephones or automobiles.
For the wording on the outside of your card, use a paper tag. Use a tag that is ivory in color rather than bright white for a more authentically old feel. You can also add an aged effect to the tag by adding a little bit of brown chalk smudged around the edges.
Use alphabet stickers in a script font to add a message to the tag. You can always use a standard message, like “Alice is turning 70!” or something fun like, “Still young at heart!” Make the message reflect the personality of the person for whom you are throwing the party. The possibilities are endless!
You can print the information for the interior of your card on your computer. Measure the inside of your card and set the margins on your word processing software so that the text will be contained within a properly-sized area. Print a test sheet first to make sure the information fits properly, and don’t forget to check for spelling and grammar errors before printing the final version!
The size of your card will fit an envelope that is a fairly standard size. You should be able to find these envelopes at scrap booking, rubber stamping, or office supply stores.
Have fun making your invitations, and remember that if you take your time and create an invitation that is a w0ork of art, people will appreciate it and keep it as a treasured possession forever!
