The Invitations

We are busy over here preparing for our next big birthday party.

The Short Chic is turning four and she wants a Princess party.

I love Princesses. They make me smile. I even love the Disney Princesses. But I do think they are a bit overdone (sorry Disney!) So, in planning our Princess party, I have tried to capture the essence of a Princess without it becoming an ode to Disney.

An invitation is the first introduction your guest will have to the party. And I found and created the most perfect invitation!  Redheaded Crafter posted a super cute card a few months ago and I knew right then and there I was going to have to try and make them for The Short Chic's invitation. (If you are ever in the mood for homemade cards, Redheaded Crafter makes the absolute best ones!) I have been scrapbooking for many years now and I am able to say...I learned a few new tricks. I learned how to dry emboss and wet emboss and I learned the proper terminology!

 So, here is the invitation! The Short Chic's favorite princess {at this moment anyway} is Princess Jasmine. So, I wanted to use her colors in our party. {Besides not using Disney Princess, try not using pink as your color!}

 I did a little wet embossing on the star, the castle peaks, and the flag. I also dry embossed a few places on the cards using my newest tool, the Sizzix Texture Boutique Embosser.

The pieces were cut out with a Cricut using the "Wrap It Up" cartridge to cut out the castle. I used the "Once Upon a Princess" cartridge to make the wand.

I used Tim Holtz ink on the clouds, after they went through the Sizzix Texture Boutique Embosser. I put the entire castle and wand on a light pink background. {I did try a shade of teal but it just did not look good.}

The Short Chic did help me as much as a soon-to-be 4 year old cool. She played Princess all over the bed "trying" hard not to step on the pieces. After they were put together, she had the largest gasp of breath and declared them "beautiful, Mom!"  It melted my heart. {And gave me another reason why I would spend nearly ten hours putting a dozen of these cards together.}

I added some cute wording to the inside and The Royal Invitations are ready for the mailbox.

Too bad tomorrow is a state holiday and there is not mail service.