Mustache Birthday Party {the invitations}

In our family we only have "parties" certain years{we do celebrate as a family every year}. These are special years that coincide with milestones...1, 5 {school age}, 8 {baptism}, 12 {advancement from Primary into the Aaronic Priesthood or Young Women}, 16 and 18.  They get to invite 10-12 friends and I get to have fun planning a party...which I LOVE to do.  I like to do as much as possible handmade, not only to make it more affordable, but to make their parties extra special. {see some of my past parties here} 

This year my daughter is turning 12, and she is all about mustaches. Seriously loves them. 

We'll start with the invitations...

You will need:

at least two colors of colorful card stock {any colors your heart desires}

white card stock

mustache stickers {I found these at Target, made by Sticko}

extra fine black felt tip pen {like a Sharpie}

scissors

glue stick or glue dot runner {which I prefer}

Start by printing out  "I....You  A Question" onto white card stock.  I used the font Tiza in a size 66 .  Center the text leaving a space between "I" and "You A", mine is 96 pt. {see picture} When I do this, I make it fit a full page then copy and paste 3 more times {so you have 4 pages total}.  Then when you go to print choose to print "4 per page".  This way you don't have to worry about spacing as much. 

After printing, trim each, leaving about an 1/8-inch border around the outermost letters, then round the corners.   Next add the mustache sticker between "I" and "You A".  I like to use the stickers instead of just printing off mustaches with the words, because the stickers have a bit of sheen, and it gives it a little more dimension.

For the speech bubble, first make a template.  Cut a strip of paper 4-inches wide.  Place the mustache paper {don't affix} so that there is a 1/4-inch {or so} border on 3 sides.  Sketch the bottom line with the speech bubble "tail", and cut out, this is your template. 

Using the same technique arrange the mustache paper, this time gluing it down.  Trace your template then cut out.  I found it easiest to trim the remaining background paper straight before making the next speech bubble. Repeat and round all the corners.

Next you want to print off your party information on the inside of your card.  I just printed right onto the colored card stock.  If you need to, cut the card stock down to 8.5 x 11-inches.  

To get the spacing right, change all your margins to .25 {in page set up}.  Then you will want to create two columns and widen the center margin just a bit. Leave the left column blank and use the right column for all the party information. I used the font Tiza, size 22  for "Are you ready to party?!?" and Mathlete Bulky, also size 22 for the party information.  You will be able to fit two cards per sheet of paper, mine has 5- size 12 lines in-between {hit 'enter' 5 times...does that make sense?}.  You are going to want to print out a few practice runs before printing on the colored card stock, fold the cards to make sure everything looks good and centered.  Print off your final draft and cut in half, at 5.5-inches.

Now for the speech bubble on the inside, you can play around with word art, or whatever program you have...or you can make another template & draw it on.  I drew mine, because I like the look.  

To make the template I used one of my trial run print-offs.  Trim around 3 sides (leaving the bottom) of "are you ready to party?!?" leaving about and 1/8-inch border past the outermost letters.  Sketch the bottom of the speech bubble with the 'tail' and cut out.  

Use this to trace around the words.  I then added a second layer of ink, free handed, so it looked sketched. You will want to use a very fine marker or pen for this.

Lastly, assemble your cards.  Fold in half so that you have a finished 4.25 x 5.5- inch card.  Center your speech bubble along the top of the card, centered left to right, and glue down.  And that's it.

***

The Decorations {coming soon}

The Cake {coming soon}

The Favors {coming soon}

Party Activities {coming soon}