Make These Tea Party Invitations
Wednesday, April 30th, 2008
We’re less than two weeks until Mother’s Day and that means less than two weeks until our Mother’s Day tea. This weekend, my number one goal was to make invitations and get them out.
I first thought I’d look for ideas on the internet but I really didn’t find anything that I liked. So I went to the drawing board and created my own design. I am pleased with how they turned out. According to my husband, the pictures don’t do them justice. But I think you can get some ideas of what you can do with the patterns yourself.
And yes, I’m going to give you the free printable patterns for the tea party invitations. And you don’t have to join anything to sign up to get them, either.
First, gather your supplies. You will need the following:
- 1 sheet of decorative paper for each pair of teapot invitations, if you want to print two per page
- scraps of decorative paper to trim the teapots (may also use glitter, buttons, lace, etc.)
- 1 sheet of color-coordinating cardstock for each invitation
- color-coordinating solid paper to print the wording on - 3 fit per page
- 1 sheet of 12 x 12 cardstock for the envelope pattern
- 1 sheet of 12 x 12 colored cardstock paper for each envelope (may also be called cover stock)
- scissors
- glue sticks
- ruler
- pencil
Cut the colored cardstock into rectangles 7-3/4 inches long and 6 inches wide. One for each invitation.
Use the teapot template and print out as many teapots as you will need for invitations. I printed mine on the back of the paper so that I didn’t have to worry about partially showing black lines. Also, I wanted them to have a more handmade look and feel rather than the look of something I just printed out.
Test print the teapot. Make sure the teapot is 5-1/8″ tall. If not, adjust the image size before printing on your fancy paper.
Carefully cut out the teapots and use the glue sticks to attach one to each card.
Cut two small rectangles from coordinating paper (or use other trimmings). The top band is 3-1/8 inches wide and 1/4 inch tall. The bottom band is also 3-1/8 inches wide, but is 1/2 inch tall. Use the glue stick to glue on the decorations.
Print the wording using this template. It is in MS Word. If you need a different format, email me. The image should be around the wording and should be 2-1/2 inches tall and 4-1/2 inches wide. If you need to adjust it, do so before you change the wording to your own. Cut out the wording, removing all traces of the black guide. Glue the wording onto the teapot.
You are not quite done. You will need to make a coordinating envelope, too.
Start with the white 12 x 12 cardboard and make a template. That will make the remaining envelopes very easy to make.
The directions may sound complicated, but if you take them one step at a time, it won’t be hard.
Near the bottom left hand corner, along the bottom, write “bottom” so that you can keep the template oriented the same way as you follow the directions.
We will start by drawing a parallelogram on the cardstock.
Starting in the bottom left-hand corner, measure 11-1/8 inches up the left side and place a dot. Repeat on the right side, measuring up from the bottom right-hand corner. Connect the dots with a line. Cut on the line.
Now measure from the bottom left-hand corner across the bottom of the paper 11-1/8 inches and place a dot. You will repeat on the top line, but you will be starting on the top right-hand corner and measure measuring to the left 11-1/8 inches.
Connect the bottom left-hand corner and the top left dot with a line. Cut off the long, tall triangle that results. Connect the bottom right dot with the top right corner with a line. Cut off the long, tall triangle that results. Your cardstock will look like a square that has been pushed over just slightly.
Starting on the bottom left-hand corner, measure to the right 4-1/2 inches and also 5-1/2 inches and place a dot at each location. From the bottom right-hand corner, measure up 5-1/2 inches and 6-1/2 inches and place a dot at each location. From the top right-hand corner, measure left 4-1/2 inches and 5-1/2 inches and place a dot at each location. From the top left-hand corner, measure down 5-1/2 inches and 6-1/2 inches and place a dot in each location.
Now here’s the hard part (not to do, for me to explain). Imagine an unbalanced tic-tac-toe board with a huge center and small outside squares. Connect the dots to make such a tic-tac-toe pattern, which will create a small triangle near the middle of each side. Snip out those triangles.
(Alternatively, you can number the dots. Starting from the bottom left and continuing to the right, 1 & 2. Then turn and go up the right-hand side and number them 3 & 4. Turn left again and go across the top, and number them 5 & 6. Turn left again and number the last two 7 & 8. Connect 1 to 4, 2 to 7, 3 to 6, and 5 to 8.)
From the top left-hand corner, measure down 1-1/4 inches and then to the right 1-1/4 inches. Connect the dots, draw a line, and cut off the corner. That corner is the bottom flap of the envelope.
Use the template to draw the pattern on the 12 x 12 cardstock paper (thinner than cardstock but heavier than typing paper), 1 per invitation. To assemble, turn the bottom flap up first (the one with the tip cut off). Fold in the right and left sides at the same times, making sure you match the tips. Use the glue stick to glue just the outside of the bottom edges of the side flaps. Dry completely.
If you want to line the envelope, you can line the entire back, but it makes it hard to fold unless you have some very thin paper. I used the top flat template (down to where the little triangle cut-outs start on each side). Then glued that triangle to the top flap, aligning the bottom of the triangle with the crease.
Fold the top over. You may a glue stick or use a seal to close the envelope once the invitation is inside.
While I don’t think that you have to knock yourself out every time you entertain, every now and then it’s nice to pull out all of the stops and attend to every little detail. For me, this tea party is going to be just that kind of event.