10 cent party invitations

Isn't it always the truth, that even if you can make damn near anything, what your child wants is the licensed character stuff you have to buy? This year it's Littlest Pet Shop toys, and they aren't only on the birthday list, they are to be the theme for the party.

Wouldn't you know that in my fairly large city, the largest party store carried absolutely NONE of the Littlest Pet Shop party supplies? I hate buying party supplies online because once shipping is added it's pretty atrocious, so after I searched a few of the smaller stores for good measure, I sat down to figure out a new way to get this done.

I bring you part one: the invitation.

I turned this...



Into this...



With some scrapbook paper bits and the help of Picnik, I was able to take and edit a photo that can be printed at any drug store for $0.10! Completely within my budget while also completely complying with the insisted on theme!

First I cut scrapbook paper circles, then I glued them to a sturdier card stock circle and cut them in a Pacman shape. I folded the ends together (cutting more off if necessary to get the right size) and glued along the edge to make the cone shape. Then I glued on a miniature pom-pom (a bag with way more than I needed was $0.99 at Hobby Lobby). The cake was a lot more complex, and I'm glad it's blurry in all of the photos because it looks way better that way. HA!

My initial idea was to create a whole little diorama of a Littlest Pet Shop party, but I quickly realized, after one photo, that if I wanted room for text I had to really, really scale back on my plans. So I limited the photos to two characters or one character and the cake. I am very pleased with how they turned out.

I'm offering you the idea for your own cheap party invitations by slapping a little hat on any old toy out of your kid's stash. Or, if you're like me with a Pet Shop obsessed little girl, you can doctor one of mine to fit your situation. Accounts at Picnik are free and the tools to do all of the edits you see here are free too, save the jpeg file to your computer and print them off anywhere, cheap!