A baby shower heralds the arrival of a child into the family. Either the mother-to-be throws a party to celebrate the event or friends or family members gather a few together to spring a surprise on the expectant mother or let her know they wish to share in her excitement and joy by hosting the party for her.

Creating a good impression

Hosting a baby shower involves a lot of planning. Send out baby shower invitations at least four to six week before the date fixed for the event, requesting guests to acknowledge and let the host know how many will attend the party. Creating baby shower invitations at home is definitely not as expensive as buying cards and is a great fun craft where you let your creativity flow, adding a personal touch to the baby shower.

Handcraft your own baby shower invitations and let your guests catch a glimpse of your excitement, joy and anticipation of the approaching bundle of joy.

Materials required for making invitations

Decide whether you wish to use the free printable templates available on line or if you wish to make the baby shower invitations by yourself from scratch. You need to have a good printer with good quality regular paper for printing out the templates. There are several sites, which offer systematic guidelines to printing or using a PDF format to store on your desktop and print out from there. An easier option would be to go to a supply store, buy the paper of your choice, and have them cut it for you quickly, neatly and in the size, you require. If you are using handmade paper, scrap booking paper or gift-wrapping paper with baby pictures or cuddly toys on it, work on these at home, using the materials purchased from a hobby or craft shop.

To make Good Baby Shower Invitations

Use 8.5” x 11’ regular letter or postcard paper and decide if you want to make one, two or four cards out of one sheet. Use a good sliding paper cutter to cut the cards to the required size. Use patterned colored paper to enhance the look of the card. Cut some translucent paper like vellum about ½” smaller than the base card and use decorative scissors to make scallops or any design to emphasize the border. Use punch-outs, stick embellishments, glitter, sticker tape or ribbons on this to create a beautiful design. Stick this all around using a glue runner, to the base card. Use the inside folded page to write the content. Fill in the content either by hand or print them making sure there are no mistakes. Include all details of when, where, what and how on the baby shower invitations. Even the slightest mistake or omission defeats the purpose of a good baby shower invitation. Ensure you ask for a RSVP and mention the shop where the mother to be is registered to enable guests choose their presents.

The rapid advancement of technology and the internet has made life so much easier. Information and techniques are available online. There is no need to trudge from shop to shop for your requirements. Resource contents, ordering online saves commuting time, and expenses. While baby shower invitations are available with different supply stores, the challenge and fun of making your own helps fill in the anxious moments when one is expecting a baby and save considerable expenses at the same time.

Decide to make your own invitations

There are many ways to make your own baby shower invitations. A creative person may pick up a theme or idea and work around it. . Ideally, send baby shower invitations to guests at least three to six weeks before the decided date to give ample time to prepare for the party. Hold the baby shower four to six weeks before the due date or shortly after the baby is born. This decision lies with the person or persons throwing the baby shower.

Getting started in the right direction

Use the printer at home to print out the baby shower invitations. Buy good quality paper if you wish to use the printable version available online. Most of them are free though it is possible to invest in some good imaging software. You can save several trips to the store if you decide on the theme or a particular idea that you want to put on paper, as it is possible to get confused at the choice and array of materials available. Make a list of requirements before entering the shop.

Time saving methods

If you have a supply store close to you, use their help to cut the paper for the baby shower invitations to the size required with their professional machines. An 8.5” x 11” paper can make a single, two or four cards per page. You could also cut these at home. Use the free printable services available or have the store print them out for you in the style you wish. Make sure you have the “To whom, when, where and what” format drawn up so that there is no mistake.

Insert the RSVP line with your address, email or telephone number to give you an idea of how many guests will turn up for the baby shower.

Let your imagination flow

Capture your theme or idea with the templates available. Use card stock or blank card if you are getting them printed outside. Regular paper is fine if you are working on them from home. Handwriting the details give the cards a personal touch. Make unique cards with the many embellishments available giving that extra touch. Glitter and highlighters can be used or simple satin ribbons, a few buttons, or a rubber baby sandal. Use whatever works best for you and let your excitement and eager anticipation of the baby’s arrival be your motivation to making your own special baby shower invitations.