Articles: DIY

Invitations made yourself have one advantage over ready designs: they look exactly as you wanted and nobody else will have the same. The work is also simpler than it seems, as long as you split it into stages and do not start by hunting for decorative flourishes.

Where to start

Before you open any software, settle a few things on paper.

• How many invitations - the guest list decides everything, including how long any handwork will take.
• What the wording must include - names, date, time, place, a request to confirm, extra notes.
• Format and fold - a flat card, a concertina, a square or a set of several inserts.
• The mood - calm and classic, modern, or something closer to rustic.
• What you do yourself and what we print - a printed base with handmade extras works nicely together.

Before you send the file

A few things come back with almost every home-made design. The lettering should be big enough for older relatives to read comfortably. Leave a little spare space at every edge, because sheets can shift by a hair when trimmed, and a line sitting right against the border ends up looking off centre. Take photographs with a camera or phone at good quality rather than pulling them off the internet. Most important of all, have somebody else read the dates, times and names out loud - that is where a typo hides until the whole batch has already arrived.

If you want to combine your own design with a finished product, check the available formats and papers in the calculator, then fit the layout around them.