time to celebrate | invitation designs

As a freelance graphic designer I have always loved designing invitations. The feel of real paper versus an email invitation is so special. I also love to combine different elements like ribbons, grommets, charms, textured papers and then hand assemble these little “packages”. I went through and picked some of my favorite designs to share them with you. I also did a post on wedding invitations that I’ve designed. Check those out here. Some of the invitations featured here are old – a baby shower from over 11 years ago – and some are from more recent designs I did for friends or family I just couldn’t say no to. And then there’s a bunch of invitations I did for my kids’ birthdays or our holiday cards through the years. It’s always fun to look through these and remember the sweet moments and see how styles and trends have changed.

Have a look at a few favorite designs:

Our daughter’s First Communion. The cross charms were so sweet and delicate and could be kept as a necklace charm by the recipients. I love the different papers – I don’t think they translate well here but the plum-purple backing paper has a silver metallic finish to it. So pretty.

Our oldest’s first birthday – boy did we go all out! We got a pony for pony rides and did the whole cowboy-themed thing {he was only turning one!} Oh well, I’m sure he had fun as did we! And the sheriff badges were a huge hit with his cousins!

 A fun baby shower invite for my sister-in-law that uses FIVE different types of paper all assembled and tied with raffia and a sweet plastic baby charm. The decorations for the shower picked up these fun colors too and made for a very cheerful day!

One of our many holiday cards that I love to make. This was a tri-fold that I tied with tan string and paired with a kraft envelope. I know there’s so many beautiful options for holiday cards out there but I do love making ours – as long as I leave enough time!

A girls pajama party – what’s better than that? I included hot pink feathers in the invitation envelope for a little fun!

Another baby shower invite with three different papers. I love polka dots and this is a great design treatment for any gender that can be used for the party decorations too.

We hosted a luau pool party and had so much fun with this theme. The invitation was two pieces held together with a hollow grommet {love grommets!}. And again, nice textured paper and a fun colored envelope.

I know there are so many options out there for printed invitations. My favorite is Minted when I can’t get my act together to do my own. And of course there’s tons of email options for invitations too. But I feel like receiving an invitation you can hold and feel is special. And hand-made invitations make them more unique and memorable. Feel free to contact me if you need invitations for your special event – as you can tell, I love creating these unique “packages” that will help set the tone for your special event. Enjoy!