It’s her party, so we decided to make the invitations ourselves. If you’re DIY-inclined, you’d probably do the same. After all, we made our own wedding invites, so why not the first birthday invites for our daughter?
We could have accepted help from a generous invitation designer, but we were determined to give it a go ourselves — armed with a camera, a computer, and an irresistibly cute subject.
We started with the same setup we use for Clara’s weekly photos: a simple white onesie and a plain white sheet as a backdrop. The consistent look of those weekly portraits inspired the invite’s overall aesthetic and set the tone for the party, which will feature colorful fabrics and numbers reflecting those images.
For the invite photo we simply placed Clara in her white onesie on the white sheet and photographed her in our usual style.
Because Clara’s weekly photos had become a visual theme for her first year, we turned that idea into the invitation itself: the party details appear printed on the fabric around her. That required more Photoshop work than a typical weekly image since we essentially created a custom fabric pattern with the event information and small decorative asterisks.
I won’t go into all the Photoshop steps, but in summary: we added the type, lowered its opacity so it looked like it was printed on the cloth, rasterized layers so we could erase portions that fell under Clara, and sprinkled in colored asterisks to make the background feel lively. Here’s the final image with a few private details blurred:
Originally we tried just text as the pattern, but it felt a little sparse, so we added the colored asterisks. PS: it’s awesome that her actual birthday is on a Saturday — perfectly timed!
Next came printing. We didn’t want glossy photo paper or a home inkjet job: we wanted a matte, stationery-like finish that felt more like a real invitation. Many popular online card services don’t let you upload fully custom designs, but we found a site that did. We chose a 4.25 x 6″ postcard option so we could have a flat invite with room on the back for a personal note written “from Clara.”
We ordered 20 postcards so we’d have extras for keepsakes like the baby book and a hallway frame, even though we were only mailing about a dozen. By searching for a coupon before checkout, we scored a big discount and ended up paying around $10.11 including shipping — roughly 50 cents per invite.
After we received the postcards we realized flat cards can get scuffed when mailed, especially on a white background. To protect them we bought a set of envelopes that fit the postcard size so the invites would arrive clean and crease-free. Finding the right envelopes took a little hunting, but we found an affordable pack at Target.
Even with envelopes, we kept the postcard format because it allowed us to write short, personal notes on the back in Clara’s “voice.” Sherry added a few scribbly messages that give each invite a sweet, handmade feel.
The invitations went out just over a week ago and have already been well received. We’re thrilled with the result: custom, photo-based invites that set the tone for the party, all for under $20 including printing, envelopes, and postage. It turned out to be a satisfying blend of DIY creativity and smart shopping.