It’s my turn this year, so I’ve been researching St. Patrick’s Day party invitations online to see if I can glean inspiration from others’ designs. Here, I thought I’d share with you a few of my favorite designs from the search.

I love a festive theme for St. Patrick’s Day party invitations, and this design takes the cake with patterned shamrocks that seem to pop out of a translucent shamrock background. A unique font that seems to mimic the outer edges of four-leaf clovers and the multi-hued green wave accents add class to this incredible design.

Unique and elegant, the suede background of this St. Patrick’s Day party invitation is the perfect backdrop for a faux embossed shamrock. This is one of the best party invitations I’ve seen for any holiday.

In my St. Patrick’s Day party invitation search I stumbled across the website of Erin Condren, and if you haven’t had a chance to check her designs out you simply must. Erin’s work is absolutely amazing, and even more so when you learn that she is a stay-at-home mom with twins! Here’s one of her party invitations…

… and here’s another. What I love about Erin’s designs is that they’re quirky and fun. She knows how to turn fonts into design elements and use a minimalist layout to make a lasting impression.

Last but certainly not least is this St. Patrick’s Day party invitation design that can’t be ignored. Risqué yet classy, this reminds me of those World War II era pinups sometimes seen on the side of planes, always seen on man walls and definitely a killer party invitation idea!

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In the olden days, families used to have seals or crests to show off their lineage. Along those same lines, having a sports -themed logo bearing the family name will not only show off the family’s love of sports, but will help to take their party to the next level. Perhaps there is a group of friends that get together regularly to watch sports, maybe there is a young, new married couple who wants to bring the in-laws together for a family gathering. Perhaps a child in the family plays sports, and the family might want to make T-shirts to support them. Whatever the case may be, the group can use your sports family logo on all of their future sporting- themed promotional items.

Take the time to look at sports logos that have been created for some of your favorite teams. What do you like about them? What do you dislike? Speak to the family to see what it is about sports that excites them, and ask about their favorite color combinations. Do they have a family pet that would be a good mascot, or a favorite family story that would spark an idea? After gathering this information, figure out a way to showcase that family pride into a symbol that will represent them well.

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I did a little research on the topic to see what was available to me in the way of calendar templates and to see if using one was worth my time. I found that the No. 1 aspect of using a template was the time and cost effectiveness. I have tried to make my own calendar on my desktop, but I had limited success in that I could easily make the calendar, but getting it to jibe with a printers’ requirements was another story. The time saved using a template means more time with the family during the holidays and less time at the desktop.

Another benefit of using a calendar template is the variety of sizes and binding that is available to you. Your calendar can range from 6-inch by 6-inch to 12-inch by 12-inch, and be bound using a flip top Wire-O, as it is called in the business, or it can be saddle stitched. As I was looking around I found that you had to be careful which software the templates were compatible with. I discovered that the best were compatible with Adobe products such as Photoshop or Illustrator.

Should you use a calendar template? I think so. The ease of use and convenience offered by these downloadable templates far outweighs the struggles that you will face if you try to work it out in Word.

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An engagement party invitation can also serve as a save-the-date card, formal engagement announcement and a memento the couple can save in a wedding scrapbook or album.

To put together a successful engagement invitation, consider these three ideas:

1. Tell their story
The best wedding celebrations make the guests feel they are really sharing in the couples’ adventure. The engagement invitation is a great place to tell the story of how the couple first met. A good way to put the story together is to interview the bride and groom separately, but using the same list of questions. Then, edit down the responses to include a romantic story in the invite. You can place the story on a brochure or paper insert to save space on the invitation itself for the party details.

2. Make an announcement
For some recipients, the engagement party invitation may be the first time they’re hearing the happy couple’s news. If there are several guests who only know the bride or the groom, then its always a good idea to make a formal announcement within the invite. The announcement should tell guests a little more about the union, i.e. how the couple met, what they do for a living, where they are from and who their parents are and where they live. For more tips on engagement announcements, see this related post.

3. Share wedding plans
People’s schedules fill up fast so if the date and location of the wedding are fixed, then its always helpful to announce that in the engagement party invite. A save-the-date bookmark is a creative way to do so. Recipients can hang on to the bookmark, slip it into their calendars or put it on the fridge. Or you can include a postcard with a photo of the couple on the front and the save-the-date information on the reverse. If the couple has set up an online gift registry or wedding website for their event, then share that information in the invitation as well, as most guests will bring gifts to the engagement party and the registry is a good place to start.

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Here are some quick tips to help create effective, long-lasting logos:

1. Begin in black and white
While the final design may have color, starting with black and white helps simplify the brainstorming process. Concentrate on the shapes, ideas and combination of text and images that strikes at the essence of the company or brand. If the logo looks great in black and white, that’s a sign that it is really visually effective and does not rely on color to carry it.

2. Think about future uses
Another good test of potential logo ideas is to think about how the logo will be used in the future of the business. Will it be placed on letterhead, pens, posters, T-shirts, billboards, in e-mails, etc.? One way to know if your logo design might be too complicated is to shrink it down to a small size, say, for use on pens. Can you still see the logo or does it completely lose it’s effect? Try making it very large and ask the same kinds of questions.

3. Go for simple and recognizable
You want to create a simple logo that affects viewers immediately and is easily recognizable. Customers may only have a matter of seconds to view the logo, and the goal is to have them recall the logo the next time they see it. Stick to one or two fonts at the most and be sure all the components are legible and easy to see. Be straightforward, don’t get too hung up on metaphors and special meanings.

4. Treat text and images separately
It’s preferable to have your client indicate whether they’re interested in a typeface or text logo, such as the IBM logo, or an image or icon logo, such as the Apple Computer’s logo. If you are not sure which they prefer, create text logos, image logos and a combination of text and image for every idea you present. Don’t worry about taglines during the logo design process, it will only complicate things and its easier to combine taglines with an approved logo design later.

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If you are looking for invitations that will make a lasting impression on your guests, but not your wallet, try some of these cost-saving tips for invitation design and printing.

1. Keep it classic
To make your invitation pop without spending a ton of money on fancy foil stamping or embossing, stick to a black-and-white palette or use black, white and one other accent color. A generous use of white space around the text and images will keep the invite looking elegant and refined. Converting illustrations, graphic design elements and photographs into black and white will add to the sophisticated look and feel.

2. Pare down production
These first two ideas can lower production costs, but involve some do-it-yourself post-production work. First, you can choose to leave the inside of your invitations blank and handwrite the party details inside. If you leave the inside blank, then select a design that will look good with a handwritten interior. A craft-like or natural design will work better with handwriting than a modern, sleek design. Also, do not select a handwritten font for the outside of the invite, it will just clash with the real handwriting inside. Another idea is to have the invitations scored and shipped to you flat, then you can fold them yourself and save some extra cash. Additionally, selecting the smallest trim-size and least expensive paper stock can add up to substantial savings.

3. Focus on the font
You may want to go low budget on printing, paper or trim size, but you can still create an amazing invitation by investing in the perfect font. Purchasing a font is a low, one-time cost and not a cost-per-piece item and sometimes you can even find the perfect font as a free download. If you are hosting a baby shower, one idea would be to find an eye-catching, 1950s retro font and pair it with a classic image of a stork or even an umbrella (a little bit of a silly pun). If you are hosting a children’s party, try a futuristic font, an animal or nature-inspired font or something really playful that relates to the party’s theme.

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