Birthday Party Invitations Part Two: Cinderella and Charlotte's Web

This month, I am writing a three-part series to share some of the birthday invitations I have made for parties we have hosted over the years.  In my last post, I provided instructions to make spider, Elmo, and Cookie Monster invitations.  In this post, I will describe how to make invitations inspired by Cinderella and Charlotte's Web.

For the two invitations described in this post, I used the following tools:

• Fiskars 12 Inch Trimmer
• Creative Memories Circle and Oval Cutting System  (You may be able to find this product online, but if not, the EK tools Scissor Pro Circle Cutter received good reviews on Amazon).
• Cricut Personal Electronic Cutting Machine

CINDERELLA'S CARRIAGE
Our daughters are between sixteen and seventeen months apart.  When my younger daughter was a baby, my older daughter was going through that phase when she didn't want to nap but really needed one.  I always seemed to feel exhausted, so when I would lay my younger daughter down for a nap, my older daughter and I would lay in my bed and watch Cinderella until we both fell asleep.  By the time her third birthday rolled around, everybody knew Cinderella would be the theme of her party.  (When we were planning her 10th birthday party, I had hoped the 2015 movie version of Cinderella would have been available on DVD.  No such luck). 

 

To make this Cinderella Carriage invitation, you need:

• light blue cardstock (4" x 6" for the card and 2" x 1.5" oval for the carriage window) like this Bazzill Bling Cardstock
• darker shade of blue cardstock (3.25" circle for the carriage) like this Bazzill Bling Cardstock 
• vellum (2, 2" circles for the wheels)
• silver glitter glue

Directions:

1. Cut the pieces as specified above.
2. Arrange the components on the 4" x 6" cardstock as desired.  
3. Use a glue stick to adhere the carriage to the cardstock and the carriage window to the carriage.
4. Adhere the wheels with vellum tape.  For other adhesive options, check out this forum came across online.
5. With a pencil, lightly draw the lines for the curtains on the carriage window, the spirals on the vellum wheels, the carriage door, the handle, and the seat.  Go over the pencil lines with silver glitter glue.   
6. Round the corners of the cardstock with a corner rounder.
7. Write or print party details on back of cardstock.

NOTES ABOUT THE PARTY:
We invited two families to this party, so we were entertaining a total of six kids.  They played "Hot Potato" with a sparkly shoe while listening to "Bippity Boppity Boo."  They also decorated foam princess tiaras with adhesive back jewels.

CHARLOTTE'S WEB
This was one of my favorite birthday parties to plan!  Our younger daughter was a HUGE fan of Charlotte's Web, the book and the movie.  We invited another family to join us for an afternoon of crafts, games, and food.  

To make this invitation, you need:

• blue cardstock (for the sky), 4" x 6"
• beige cardstock (for the frame of the barn door):  2, 1" x 4" (for the sides)                                                                                                        1, 1" x 6" (for the top)
• white cardstock, 2.25" square (for the web)
• pink cardstock:  1.5" circle (for the pig's head) and 0.75" circle (for the pig's snout), though you could use 1" or 0.05" punch as well
• brown ink pad
• cotton ball
• small googly eyes

Directions:

1. Cut the pieces as specified above.
2. Dab the cotton ball on the brown ink pad.  While holding the beige rectangles in one hand, take the inked cotton ball in the other hand and gently wipe/dab/scrape the cotton ball across all of the edges of the beige cardstock, creating a weathered look with the brown ink.
3. Use a glue stick to adhere the beige rectangles (barn door frame) to the blue cardstock.  
4. Using a pencil, lightly draw a 2.25" arc from the top edge of the square to the right edge of the square.  Gently tear the paper along this line.
5. Draw the web lines, "She's (or He's) Three," and the spider with a pencil.  Use a black marker to trace over the pencil lines.  
6. Use a glue stick to adhere the web to the top right corner of the barn door frame.
7. Glue the smaller pink circle (snout) onto the larger pink circle (head).  
8. Add triangle ears and googly eyes.  
9. Use the black marker to make two nostrils on the snout.
10. Glue the pig to the bottom of the invitation.  
11. Write or print party details on back of cardstock.

NOTES ABOUT THE PARTY:
We invited another family to join us for this party.  There were a total of five children in attendance.  I painted their faces using cornstarch-based face paint.  They played "Pin the Tail on the Pig," and they had a relay race with a plastic egg and a spoon.  They also made spider webs on a paper plate, using paint and a marble.  We ended the celebration by enjoying adorable pig cupcakes made with strawberry wafer cookies (ears), strawberry marshmallow (snout), chocolate chips (eyes), and mini chocolate chips (nostrils).  We sent the kids home with store-bought caramel apples and cotton candy as party favors.  A great time was had by all!

In my last post, I explained that we often turn to the internet for inspiration.  This is true for invitations, party games, and birthday cakes.  Oftentimes, we combine several ideas that result in an original creation.  I am not a baker, nor am I a cake decorator.  But I am a mom who enjoys spending time with my kids, and my kids like to experiment in the kitchen.  My daughters will choose a birthday party theme, and we search for different ideas online.  In the past, I have decorated their cakes as a birthday surprise, but in recent years, they have been helping me bake and decorate the birthday cakes.  For these reasons, I have established a Birthday Cake Board on Pinterest to showcase some of our creations.  Be prepared for the good, the bad, and the ugly.  Though I have provided rough descriptions of our processes below each pin, there are many more experienced bakers and decorators out there who have spent time posting detailed instructions and helpful tutorials.  I encourage you to check out their work.  

I invite you to stop back next week--I will share two more birthday party invitations.  Thank you for reading!