Birth announcements that combine with christening cards need to make sure all the necessary information is on the card. The birth statistics (date, time, weight, length) as well as the christening information (day, year, location) should appear without looking crowded onto the template. Try finding a template that offers a number of text boxes that you can manipulate to suit your needs. Changing the font and the text size can change the whole look of an announcement so try a few experiments before finalizing your design.

When you are trying to combine so much information on one piece of custom printing you may want to go with a larger postcard style or fold over card style. And as you intend for the finished product to be a keepsake for family and friends, consider a thicker card stock to provide more strength and durability.

I think if you are combining the birth announcement and the christening announcement more than one image of baby won’t look out of place. Consider two very similar images or two contrasting images. When my little guy was a newborn I would take five photos in ten seconds. This provided a nice series of images with the same setting and clothes but different facial expressions; great for using on a birth announcement.

To combine even more, why not turn your birth announcement/christening announcements into an invitation to attend? That will save on stamps and make a detailed cute invitation that will be treasured for a lifetime.

The best way to organize a baby shower or baby birthday party is to list the logistics. This means the ‘who, what, why, when and where’ of basic party planning. If you don’t have this information down you don’t really have a party. Always double check dates, times and venues with both the mommy to be and the venue before printing anything.

Personally I like the basic details of any party or shower invitation front and center. Meaning cutesy and creative is great but if I can’t find the start time under a multitude of pretty swirls the invite isn’t effective. There are design templates out there that offer you pretty backgrounds but clear text areas. Its important that an invitation be both decorative and practical.

Theme is solidified in the baby shower invitation; well, in most cases. If you aren’t sure of the theme or are still deciding between two choose a neutral design for your invitation. It can include colors and motifs from the two preferred themes. When you cut it down to one later on in the planning process the invite will still work, aesthetically speaking.

My new thing with custom printing is custom printed envelopes. These days custom printing is pretty ubiquitous. People print from home and some of the individual spark has gone. Let your guests know you went the extra mile and get matching envelopes. Its usually just a few dollars more and gives a polished look to your baby shower invitation.

There are all the usual shapes and sizes available for custom printed shower invites but I’m a big fan of the postcard style. Besides saving you on postage, you have enough room for your information and they are easy to stick to the fridge. When you receive a nice invite you look at it put it back in the envelope and slip it behind the clock. Do you remember what it says or what its for? Eliminate the envelope and you eliminate the forgetting problem.

When picking the color scheme and design template for your baby shower invites its okay to ignore the nursery. Everything doesn’t have to be matchy matchy. If you are like me and can’t decide between two super cute designs just use one for the shower and the other for the invites. Or you may just prefer something that doesn’t go with anything. That’s okay just be sure to mention baby’s colors on the invite.

Most online printing companies do offer direct mailing for postcards. This means you provide the information and they create the address label. I guess this is okay if you are in a real rush or your penmanship is bad. Personally I think its better to hand write addresses on invites just to show you tried to make it more personal. And if you print the labels yourself? Hand write a quick “hope you can make it!”

No matter how well you plan a baby shower you can never really be sure about the final guest count. This is mostly because once the shower word spreads family members start thinking about additional people that just have to have an invite even if they know they won’t attend. Always order extra invites. Some companies offer ten invites for free so use those as your extras.

Take a quick browse around the sites to see how much choice modern moms have when it comes to baby shower invites. And hey, you only get to do this once for your child so have at it.

Custom printing is awesome for shower invites and birth announcements and the perfect finishing touch are custom envelopes. Of course you could purchase matching envelopes when you order your invites or you could just order matching address labels and make the actual envelopes yourself. Home made envelopes give modern printing that homey feel and show you made a little personal effort with your ultra modern super speedy to create invites and announcements.

Paper is a very important component of the home made envelope and there are lots of options out there. Choose something that adds a creative touch to your invites but is also sturdy enough to hold up to the ways of the American postal service. Hit the scrap booking aisle at the craft store and have a good browse. Be sure to purchase a few extra sheets for your trial runs.

The two basic envelopes shapes are square and rectangular; anything else is going to get complicated. Even if you have die cut or unusually shaped invites stick to a basic envelope to make your life easier and keep your postage costs down. Measure the announcement and add just a few millimeters to the calculations when sizing your envelopes.

Choose an envelope template that works with your measurements and overall look for the birth announcements. I think the basic rectangular base with the four fold in triangle sides is the classic and easiest way to make an envelope. Print one off and go from there. Once you get the hang of the basic birth announcement envelope template consider creating an inner lining out of glassine or wax paper.

Add a cute detail to your birth announcement envelope with a textured edge. Press a ruler flat against the flap side of the paper and tear gently removing a small strip of paper. Finish things off with stickers, stamps and ribbon; whatever works for your design. Just have fun with this. Its a nice way to bring character to custom printing.

]]> http://www.babyannouncements.net/birth-announcements/diy-birth-announcement-or-baby-shower-invitations-envelopes/feed/ 0 http://www.babyannouncements.net/birth-announcements/custom-bulk-printing-invites-announcements-mommy-cards/ http://www.babyannouncements.net/birth-announcements/custom-bulk-printing-invites-announcements-mommy-cards/#comments Fri, 21 Oct 2011 02:20:56 +0000 Trish http://www.babyannouncements.net/?p=1261

When you go to order your baby shower invites think about all the different custom printing you are going to need in the next few months and get everything in one go. And don’t forget about you. After you have designed the thank yous and the announcement make yourself some mommy business cards to use as inserts and for future play date planning.

A lot of online printers offer the package deal for baby related printing these days saving you money on shipping and getting you bulk discounts. A popular mix is the baby shower invitation and matching thank you card or the birth announcement and matching stationery. With careful template choices you can also add a mommy card to the mix. And why not custom address labels and stationery?

Try and create some sort of over arching theme when buying your custom baby printing. It could be a motif or certain piece of clip art. It could be the image of your new baby you choose. Maybe its a color scheme or pattern that reflects baby’s new room? This is like personal branding or new promotion if you will.

And be sure you do get the best discount on your custom printing. If you are five dollars away from free shipping spend five more dollars. It will be cheaper in the long run. Read all of the price list to find out where in the printing amounts you get the best price break. Working out cost per piece can be very helpful. And don’t forget to Google coupon codes before checking out.

In a few weeks or months you will be a mom and buying in bulk will quickly become second nature. Start a little earlier and save yourself some time and money while creating custom cuteness.

A black and white baby shower would be one heck of a conversation starter. There would be no reason to tell guests in advance which would give your theme the wow factor. Or you could hint at the theme by requesting guests wear black and white to the shower. Just think how much cheaper and fun this baby shower would be.

When it comes to buying baby shower supplies the more colorful and intricate the more it costs so black and white is a major bargain. You can buy black and white table decorations and other party supplies at a party supply store, the wedding aisle of the craft store or online. They are sure to be cheaper than anything else.

When it comes to baby shower invites, even later on birth announcements, black and white will be striking and affordable. If you aren’t doing colors you can print out some nice looking invites on a home computer. I just designed a postcard invite on my laptop and printed it at the library. White card stock in the photocopier and two sided mode and I have some pretty cute invites.

The more I think about it the more a black and white baby shower sounds like a lot of economical fun. You could even browse the net for some black and white food and cookie ideas.

Mid century means late fifties early sixties and a time when the country and world were undergoing major changes. Space travel was taking off (literally), the women’s revolution was in full swing and folks were dealing with the fall out of World War Two and the Korean War. What a time. All this was reflected in the designs, color schemes and popular patterns of the time. Okay so how does space travel go with baby birth announcements I hear you ask.

When I think mid century I think industrial chic, iced glass, white stars against a turquoise background and a pastel palette with a modern futuristic touch. So instead of the turquoise and brown combo we see everywhere go with turquoise and white. Or yellow and gold. Or red and silver or any combination of pastel and metallic. Metallic foiling on your announcement isn’t out of the question but use it sparingly.

When you use retro background designs for your baby’s birth announcements you have to really think about the composition of your baby’s portrait. I picked out my announcement design before my baby boy was born and thus kept the blanket that matched the frame always close at hand waiting for that perfect photo op. It worked and I totally recommend this. White blankets make the most sense with a mid century style as babies were always in white back in the day.

Finish off your mid century style birth announcement with appropriate text and fonts. I recommend browsing vintage advertising and looking at the style of lettering. Going with plain black or white lettering is perfect for the retro thing. Its all about not clashing loudly at the same time you are clashing softly if that makes any sense.

So browse a few retro templates and see if they would work for you. Retro baby may be your theme. Be sure to reflect your chosen nursery colors in your birth announcement to avoid that whole loud clashing mid century thing.

When deciding which design best suits your little one for their shower invites, announcements and thank yous consider a template that offers photograph upload options regardless of stationery choice. You may want to go with a template that offers both a photo and a no photo option. That way you can add little updated pictures if you want or, if you are out of time, you can skip that step without skipping out on your theme.

If you do go with a number of no photo option announcement cards that allow you to insert a photo at a later date, order everything at one time to save on shipping. You may even get a price break for buying a larger quantity. If that’s not possible be sure to save your choices at your online printer’s website by creating an account that you can check from time to time. Sign up for e-mail alerts and buy additions to your stationery set when you get coupon codes or special offers in the mail.

It’s all about finding the perfect theme or background design and going with it. The birth announcement then becomes just a part of a uniform stationery choice that can help spread the news about your little one for the first two years of their life. Take the time to really browse the templates of online retailers so you have a good idea of all the possibilities out there before making your final decision. You’ll live with the choice for a long time, forever if you think about your acid free baby albums.

A new life in your home will eat up all your time and it will be hard to distract yourself from your new baby to work on such things as choosing templates for thank you cards. When your child arrives you want to enjoy every moment of sleep, every minute of quiet and every second free from stress that you can. Do yourself a favor and order everything in bulk in advance and relax.

The big day will be here sooner than you think.

]]> http://www.babyannouncements.net/birth-announcements/birth-announcement-sets-save-time-and-brain-power/feed/ 0 http://www.babyannouncements.net/birth-announcements/choosing-baby-shower-themes-for-baby-boys/ http://www.babyannouncements.net/birth-announcements/choosing-baby-shower-themes-for-baby-boys/#comments Thu, 07 Jul 2011 05:28:34 +0000 Trish http://www.babyannouncements.net/?p=1039 Well the owl idea was a bust with my friend (if you read yesterday’s post you know what I’m talking about) and so its back to square one in choosing a baby shower theme for a baby boy using the colors brown, green and blue. And of course my friend doesn’t want anything too predictable like cars or sports motifs. Well I started brainstorming…again and came up with a few more themes for the organic colored baby shower.

Circus. How cute is the circus them for baby’s theme? The colors can be as bright and contrasting as you want or toned down into one or two base colors to accent a room. Lions, sea lions, jugglers, clowns, gymnasts, ring master and the big top tent. Yep I think there is tons you could do with a circus theme.

Bugs. I think bugs fascinate all little children and makes for a great boy baby shower theme. The phrase “cute as a bug” is a given. Fondant ladybugs on top of cupcakes, small ant images crossing the corner of the shower cake. Caterpillar cookie arrangements and flowers, grass and mushrooms for the bugs to sit on or in. This could be a really fun one if you think outside of the box (hmmm… bug catcher shower gifts?).

Dinosaurs. I’m no fan of dinosaurs (terrifying, ancient and fans of eating humans) but they would make for an inexpensive baby shower theme for a boy. Plastic dinosaurs are so cheap and great for decorating food or party favors for the littlest guests. There is so much dinosaur themed stuff out there it would be easy to saturate a baby shower with spikes and big teeth; you know, if that’s your thing.

That’s all I have come up with right now. I am continually brainstorming ideas for baby showers, invitations and birth announcements. You may have several ideas yourself. Here’s a tip: don’t dismiss a shower theme because you went in another direction. There’s always another baby shower on the horizon.

Okay so I sound a bit dire but I’m trying to make sure you get my point. Whether its pregnancy announcements, birth announcements, shower invites or first holiday cards capturing your baby’s life is not only essential but fun. Sometimes it is okay to follow the herd especially when the herd has gorgeous little printed cards potentially featuring your child.

Its not too late. Whether you are in your late pregnancy or cradling your new born while you surf the web, there is still time to make a record of this period. Just determine what stage of the process you are in and get creating. If there are no photos of your pregnancy have a friend sketch you. If there are no pregnancy stats, look at your doctor’s notes and make your own. If there are no pictures from the hospital….well you are on your own there.

Look I’m no follower of the crowd (hence why my blog isn’t always cutesy and bright) but I do know as a parent what an opportunity we have in the modern world. We can document our children’s lives like no other time in history and to not do it is, well, plain old silly. Trust me, once baby is born you won’t be able to put the camera down, so fascinated you will be with the life you have created. So cool trendy mommies who think they don’t need this? Get over yourself. Your child will thank you for it later.