Monday, October 14, 2013

DIY Halloween Party Invitations


My little girl's birthday falls within the month of October, opening up some fun possibilities for linking her birthday party with Halloween. This year, she wants her friends to come in costume and she also asked to create her own party invitations.

Her dad (who has worked at art galleries and museums in the past) suggested creating invitations using relief printing. The most common form of relief printing is woodcut, where you cut an image in a wood block, apply ink to the wood and print the inked image on paper. The carved areas remain free of ink and thus create white lines on the printed surface.



This "woodcut" effect can be created inexpensively (and safely for children) using a styrofoam food tray and a pencil or stylus. First, find a desired image online and print it in the appropriate size. To create wording for your card, write backwards on a piece of paper.


Place the printed image on top of a cut piece of styrofoam food tray. Using a pencil, etch through the lines of the image, creating an impression on the food tray. Do the same with the words.


Use a palette knife to apply printmaking ink to a piece of glass or plexiglass. Use a brayer to roll out the ink.

Roll ink onto the styrofoam "block" using the brayer.


Position a paper or card carefully over the inked block. Press a spoon over the entire surface to transfer the ink to paper.


Peel back the paper.


Allow cards to dry overnight. Some of our cards did not print evenly, but I actually like the "ghostly" effect, given that we are going with a Halloween theme.

My daughter chose to hand write all of the invitations, but you could definitely get creative on the computer, printing your party details and pasting them inside each card.

Have you created your own invitations in the past? What method did you use?


Linking up to Our Delightful Home and DIY Vintage Chic and Multi-Testing Mommy

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16 comments:

  1. These are so cute and a nice lesson in print-making for children! (And adults like me :) Thanks for sharing, I love this idea! xo

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    1. Thanks Karen. Yes, it's great for adults too. My husband sometimes makes our Christmas cards using printmaking methods. :)

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  2. They're lovely :) But OMG ARE THOSE AVOCADOS 69 CENTS EACH???! I passed on buying avocados here this week, they were about $3 each!

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    1. You are so funny! Yes, they are 69 cents. I wouldn't pay $3 either! :)

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  3. These are great-looking invitations. Your daughter's friends will think they're so cool! And now you've got a craft all ready to do with the girls when they come to your house for the party ;) Wendy

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    1. Thanks Wendy!

      You are right. It would make a good craft for the party. Except for all that ink! I don't know that I trust them with it. ;)

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  4. Such cute invites! So nice to have the personal touch. I made my sons Birthday invites this past year and it was a lot of fun. It was a movie theme so I made them like a movie reel. They were a big hit.

    Pia
    pjmscloset.blogspot.ca

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    1. That sounds so cute Pia! We love movies and we have had a few movie parties. I wish I had done that! :)

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  5. Beats the stamp pads you had as a child! You are both great parents.

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    1. Thanks Mom. You might not be the most objective observer but I appreciate the compliment. ;)

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  6. This is SO COOL!!! Brilliant idea!

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