CRAFT TIME: Halloween Party Invitations

I've got a lot of stuff going on right now.  Some of the biggest news is that I'm getting my very own spa room at a friends' salon.  Allison and Chaunah own Salon Trisse in St. John, IN and have been great friends and now great bosses.

One of the things they wanted to accomplish is to re-launch their salon which a short six months ago was owned by other people.  I tossed out the idea of having a month of Halloween activities leading up to a big Halloween/Fall Open House.  To get out the word to their customers I decided to create some Halloween party invitations.

If you're thinking, "Are you actually tackling another hobby, crazy person!"  Don't worry - while these might look a little complex, they were incredibly easy to make.  First, assemble some materials:
8 sheets of 8-1/2 x 11-inch White Card Stock
2 sheets of 8-1/2 x 11-inch Orange Card Stock
2 sheets of 8-1/2 x 11-inch Black Card Stock
Paper Cutter / Trimmer
Bats Punch
Black Dye Ink Pad
Invitation Stamps (time/place/date)
"You're Invited" Stamp
Black with White Dot Tape or Ribbon
Double Sided Tape
(18) Envelopes 4-1/4 x 5-1/2

You're going to start with the cardstock and the paper trimmer.

The white card stock is going to be the actual card.  Cut each piece in half so that you'll end up with 16 pieces.  Then fold each in half to form the card itself.

Next, cut the orange card stock in half.  Then cut each half in half again.  Finally cut each of the quarters in half.  You should end up with 8 pieces of orange card stock per sheet.

You're going to do the same to the black card stock, but then trim an extra1/8-inch off all sides of each piece of black.  It should be slightly smaller than the orange pieces you have left over.

So you should be looking at 16 sets of cardstock.

In each piece of black card stock, punch a bat design.

Flip it over and put two strips of double-sided adhesive on the other side.  (Don't use a liquid glue.  It will come through the card stock).

Center the black card stock over the orange card stock and attach.

Now, attach both pieces with the same double-sided adhesive to the card.

To give the front of the card a little more pizazz, add a border of black and white dot tape or ribbon along the bottom edge leaving a slight amount of white underneath.  Obviously, the tape is a lot easier since you can cut and stick, but if you can't find any, ribbon works just as well and you'll attach it with the double-sided adhesive.

Now stamp "You're Invited" between the bat design and the black and white border.  Before stamping, practice on another piece of paper.  You want to know the right amount of pressure and ink to make a perfectly stamped card.

Finally, use the Invitation Stamp to imprint the inside of the card.  Again, practice on a piece of paper first.

Once everything is dried, you can fill in the information for the party and send!  It took me about an hour to make 32 invitations, so if you're interested in starting crafting, this is a great first project!

Have fun!