Beautiful, Fun, Creative DIY Invitations for Your Next Event

Major milestones deserve to be celebrated! If you’re hosting a party, your invite sets the tone for the event well before the guests arrive – and can become a special keepsake for guests long after it’s over. But more than that, DIY invitations are a joy to create. Be inspired by the following designs for your next big event…

A Baby Celebration

These DIY invitations for a baby shower are super sweet.

Pretty pastels are the perfect base for that all-important first birthday celebration but the design of these sweet DIY invitations would work equally well for baby shower invitations. The back of the flower is the perfect place for the event details – printed or handwritten, it’s up to you. To construct the flower, start by cutting a circle from yellow paper. Then, using pink paper, cut two scalloped edge circles, larger than the yellow circle. Cut leaves from green paper. (If you feel uncertain about the shapes, try sketching them in pencil to give you a guide.) Use a hole punch to create the holes in the leaves and a butterfly-shaped puncher to make the butterfly out of the pink paper. Fold the butterfly in half to create a 3D effect. For the stem, try a bamboo skewer or craft stick.

Now use a glue gun to assemble all the pieces: glue one end of the stick to the middle part of one of the flower petal circles. Then glue the other petal circle at the back to hide the stick. Attach the yellow circle to the centre of the flower and then the butterfly. Finally add the leaves to the stem. Tie some twine or ribbon around the stick.

Hot Tip: Don’t crowd the invite with details, it’s important the key information is legible.

What You'll Need

A Milestone Birthday

Make a birthday party extra-special with these DIY invitations

Whether it’s a 21st or an 80th, it’s nice to have a design that stands out from the crowd for a special birthday party. These clever DIY invitations do just that, and have a nice confetti surprise contained within. Start by creating the delivery scroll. For the invite details, cut 10 circles from coloured card, around 3cm to 4cm in diameter. It’s a smart idea to use a stencil here, to ensure symmetrical and even circles. Use half the circles for the invite details. If you don’t feel confident about your handwriting, a stencil is also a nice way to create even text.

Once they are done, cut enough twine to hold your invitation circles together – approx 40cm. Attach the five circles at regular intervals to the twine with glue. Cover the twine by gluing the remaining five circles to the back of the ‘detail’ circles. Use a hole puncher to create confetti from coloured paper and set aside. Trim some thick A4 card to approx. 10cm to 15cm in width, then roll the sheet to form a tube. Seal with washi tape. Trace the end of the tube on the same coloured card twice, and cut out the two circles. These become the ‘ends’ of the tube. Attach one end with washi tape, then fold the invitation string inside the container, along with your confetti. Seal the tube with the other exterior circle using washi tape.

What You'll Need

Coloured board and a paper trimmer make these DIY invitations easy.

Elegant Engagement or Wedding Invitations

These DIY wedding invitations add a little extra personality to your save the dates.

For engagement and wedding invitations, it’s worth having them properly printed – but add a personal homemade touch with the delivery accoutrements. This elegant lace paper detail, ribbon, charm, wax seal and envelope combine to become a beautiful signifier of the big day to come. If the printed invite is not the right size, you can trim it first to fit the lace wallet. Attach with glue to the inside of the wallet. Next, cut the ribbon – the length should be long enough to be wrapped around the envelope once. Glue the heart charms onto the ribbon. Slip the whole package into the envelope and seal with a wax sticker.

Hot Tip: Remember the important details are the ‘when’ and ‘where’, but information about dress codes, gift registries and logistics are always useful too.

What You'll Need

Everything you need to make DIY wedding invitations

A Kitchen Tea Bouquet

DIY invitations with a difference: try a flowery bouquet.

Whether it’s to celebrate impending nuptials, a kitchen shower, or even a sophisticated spring get-together with friends, this DIY paper bouquet invitation has an impressive and charming effect. Using a paper trimmer, cut strips of green paper into roughly 10cm x 1cm rectangles. This will form the stems of the flowers. Cut about 20cm of twine and use it to bind the paper stems together. Cut out a small “note card” and punch a hole in the corner. This is where you write the invite details. Attach the note to the top of the stems and glue down on the front of the card, being careful to position the stems towards the bottom to ensure there is enough space for the flower bouquet. Use a glue gun to stick the foam daisies onto the card to create the bouquet shape.

What You'll Need

Foam daisy stickers add something special to this DIY invitation.

Simple and Fun Kids Party DIY Invitations

These DIY invitations are easy for kids to help with.

For a primary schooler’s party, it’s useful to have a design that you can make together with the birthday boy or girl. These simple folded birthday party invitations are a cinch to make – they don’t require too much precision, in fact, a bit wonky can work well. Select the paper colours you would like for your little monsters, then use a paper trimmer to cut the A4 sheets lengthways, so that the paper is roughly 10cm to 15cm wide. Make three folds, being careful to make the final fold shorter as this leaves space for those teeth. Next, cut out the teeth and glue them to the underside of the ‘face’ of the monster. Then the best bit, attach the googly eyes. Details for the birthday celebration go on the inside of the card.

Hot Tip: This quirky design would also work well for a dress-up party.