Tired of the heat???   So are we!!  It seems as if global warming has become apparent in the southern states, and we hear the north is feeling the hot weather too, this summer!  Even at 100 degrees some days, our heat index has been over 110 and we’re all ready for a break!  We all know the expression…if you can’t beat ‘em – join ‘em!  There’s nothing we can do to make the sun cool down except celebrate it!

We all know the traditional summer party invitations with flip flops, pool scenes and under water adventures.  They’re all fun and definitely weather appropriate, however have you ever received an invitation in the mail that just took your breath away because it was so creative, fun and cool?  The below invitations will help you put up with the summer heat, and totally impress your guests!

The Big Kahuna Party Invitation by Checkerboard – Summer is all about having fun and this party invitation depicts that perfectly!  This amazing 5 x 5 inch invitation is die-cut in the shape of an orange Hawaiian shirt with hibiscus flowers throughout.  Open the shirt gatefold to reveal your party details on the inside of the card, which are printed on an ivory corrogated paper undershirt.   This invitation is perfect for Hawaiian luaus or tropical themed parties and also comes fully assembled so that you can mail it as soon as you receive your order.  Don’t expect to receive very many “no” RSVP’s with this adorable summer party invitation!

Nightcap Swim Party Invitation by IB Designs – Nothing helps you beat the heat more than a night swim!  This metro invitation is for strictly adults only!  The contemporary invitation features a black background with a purple and blue pool.  Four black silhouette couples swim in the pool while sipping cocktails.  A large blue and white martini adorns the right side of the card with a bright blue olive garnish.  A tall city by an island appears in the distance of this posh card.  This fun invitation is perfect for an evening summer event with friends and family.  Remember – drink responsibly!

Lime Slice Invitation by Checkerboard – Pucker up, baby!  Who’s thirsty?  This summery invitation is completely unique, fun and fantastic.  Intrigue your guests with it’s green shimmering bottom base card and a lime wedge wheel that spins on a green brad to reveal your wording which is printed upon the green base card.  Personalize up to 8 wedges with your fun party details.  This summery invitation is perfect for corporate summer parties, adult birthday parties, summer cocktail parties or end of summer soirees!

Ready to join in the fun celebrating the heat, since you know you can’t beat it?  Check out the entire summer party invitation collection at InvitationBox.com!  There’s still plenty of time to celebrate the sun before the fall is upon us!

Such a special day when your child is baptized and receives their rite of admission into the Christian Church.  It’s a day you’ll share with family and friends which marks a very spiritual and meaningful day in your baby’s life…as they begin building their relationship with Christ.

At InvitationBox.com we offer a complete line of baptism invitations and christening invitations which will help you celebrate your child’s important day.  Our baptism announcements are subtle, appropriate and delicate, just like your baby, and they also feature a religious theme with a traditional, celtic or contemporary cross.  Our baptism invitation designs also feature delicate patterns with damask, toile, scallops and floral patterns.  Colors are available in traditional blue and green for boys and girls, as well as feature more gender neutral themes in green and yellow in case you have more than one gender of a child having a baptism.  We also offer digital photo baptism invitations which will help you share a photograph of your child with your invitation recipients.

Your baptism invitation can double as an invitation to your child’s baptism, as well as an invitation to a luncheon following the religious services, as many host a lunch or dinner after the baptism to celebrate.  Send your baptism invitations out approximately 3-4 weeks prior to the event.

Below you’ll see some of our newest and most popular baptism and christening invitations.  The first card features a blue damask patterned top and bottom border with a contemporary blue and white scalloped cross inside a brown bubble at the top of the card.  The second baptism invitation shown features your baby’s digital photograph next to a large pink background which is screened with a large white cross which sits behind your text.  The third card shown is a personal favorite of mine, which features a Celtic themed four points cross and a cross patterned green top and bottom border.  The last card shown on the right is one of our newest designs, which features a bronze shimmer pocket which holds a blue paisley patterned insert card with a brown scalloped cross at the top.  A white ribbon wraps the ensemble to let your guests know the importance of your event.  All of the baptism invitations shown below are available in a variety of colors, depending on whether you need blue for a boy, pink for a girl or gender neutral.

Every girl dreams of the day she turns sweet 16…the day we get our license, Mom lets us stay out until midnight and we hope and pray that the car we’ve dreamed of will be sitting in our driveway with a big red bow on it when we wake up.  It’s a time when your parents realize you’re not a little girl anymore and you take your first steps toward adulthood.

Celebrate your daughter’s sweet sixteen milestone with a party in her honor with all of her friends and family members invited.  You can go big with a huge birthday blowout like you have seen on the ever-famous MTV show Sweet 16, where your child’s party costs just as much as her wedding will cost one day, or keep things a bit more budget-friendly with a get-together at your home, a restaurant or maybe a night out on the town with the birthday girls and her best friends doing what they love the most.  The possibilities are pretty much endless, just as long as the birthday girl feels special.

Set the scene for her party with a sweet 16 invitation from our abundant collection.  Our sweet sixteen invitations feature a variety of styles, patterns, colors and themes that will help match your daughter’s unique personality and party style.  Choose from VIP pass invitations with lanyards for an exclusive party event, a red carpet themed invitation if your daughter wants to be treated like royalty or a patterned invitation with curly q’s, animal prints or grunge themes if you want to take a little walk on the wild side and show off her fun personality.  We also have themed invitations with princess crowns, pink limos, party dresses, diamonds and rhinestones, fun patterned pockets and digital photographs in case she wants to share a fun photo with her guests.

Pair your invitations with a coordinating kids thank you note so that she can send thank you notes to all of her guests after they attend her big event.  We also offer coordinating sweet 16 stickers which work great as return address labels for your invitation and stationery envelopes, envelope seals or party favor tags to send each guest home with a fun favor, which will use a sticker to tie in your party theme with your invitation ensemble.

Take a look at some of our fun sweet 16 party invitations below and start planning!  Let your daughter help you choose the perfect invitation for her big day.  It will be a party she’ll never forget!

Your wedding invitation sets the scene for your entire event.  For most guests, it’s the first indication of your big day, and it should give off a clear portrayal of the formality of your wedding, be it casual, formal or black tie.  I had an appointment this morning with a great customer and we discussed a variety of wedding questions and issues that come up with a lot of brides, and I felt compelled to share.

First question - Just how much money should I be spending on my wedding invitation?

Answer: About 5 percent of your wedding budget – which includes your invitations, response cards, reception cards, programs and directions cards.  It may seem like a small percentage, however with most weddings today topping about $20,000.00 or more, spending $1,000.00 on your wedding invitations can seem quite appropriate.  However, if your wedding budget is on the smaller scale, say about $8,000, spending $400.00 on wedding invitations may seem a bit unrealistic.  In other words, you have to do what is right for you.  If you have a low-budget wedding, but appreciate higher end invitations and want to rearrange your budget to accommodate your expensive invitations – go for it.  Just make sure you don’t send an over-the-top high-end formal invitation to a barbecue themed wedding.  Nobody wants to be wearing black tie to a casual wedding, or jeans to a black-tie affair.  Choose a wedding invitation budget before you start browsing and let your invitation consultant know the budget you’d like to stick to before you start looking.

Second question – How many invitations do I need to purchase?

Answer: About 10 percent more than you think you’ll need.  Let’s face it, invitations can be expensive.  If you need exactly 70 invitations and order that specific amount, I can guarantee you that you’ll figure out that you forgot Aunt Sue or need to resend 10 invitations that have been returned to you for an incorrect address…thus needing more invitations.  The cost to pay for an increase from one quantity to the next during your invitation ordering process is much less than what the cost will be if you reorder 10 more invitations after you’ve received the initial order.  If you think you need 70 invitations, go ahead and order 80-90 just to be safe.  This way you’ll have extras for momentos, as well as extra invitations to send to new guests if you have a lot of guests decline on their RSVP.  Also remember that you only need to send one invitation per household, not one invitation per person.  Before you purchase your wedding invitations, make an excel spreadsheet of each household to which you’ll be sending an invitation – you may be surprise on how many invitations you will need.  Nobody wants to be short invitations, or over by 25 either!

Third question – When should I order and mail my wedding invitations to my guests?

Answer: For a local wedding, your wedding invitations should be mailed approximately 6-8 weeks prior to your wedding date.  This will mean that you’ll want to order your invitations approximately one month prior to when you want to send them out.  Remember to allow yourself time to stuff, seal and address your invitations, too, which will take time.  If you’re having a calligrapher address your envelopes for you, keep in mind that she may need a week or two to complete them for you, depending on how many guests you have.  Also keep in mind that the more high-end your invitations are, the longer they will take to be processed and shipped.  Printing processes like thermography, engraving or letterpress printing take much longer than a digitally printed or flat printed invitation.  If your wedding is out of town or a destination wedding, sending your wedding invitations 3-6 months prior to your event is appropriate, and we also strongly suggest sending out a detailed save the date card prior to your wedding invitation.

Thinking of more questions to ask?  Feel free to send them our way because there’s always an answer!  And if we don’t know it, we’ll find out who does!

Nothing says ‘party’ quite like a splash of vibrant color and a completely modern presentation of your party details.  One of the largest trends in the invitation world lately is pocket invitations.  They’re bold, chic, trendy and totally convenient for those who have multiple invitation ensemble pieces.

Pocket invitations are typically one to two color combinations, with a solid color pocket and a solid color insert.  The two colors may contrast quite greatly, however coordinate well and may even match your party theme or wedding colors.  As usual, our designers at InvitationBox.com have taken an industry-wide trend and completely stepped outside of the box with our latest pocket designs.  Over the weekend we just released a brand new line of over 200 pocket invitations which feature patterned pocket invitations!

These brand new patterned pocket invites are printed on matte white or ivory stock and some are even printed on our shimmering crystal or quartz stock for a little added bling.  Patterns range from preppy and stylish with argyle, houndstooth, polka dot and peacock themed patterns to contemporary with vintage garden botanicals, animal prints, damask themes or keyhole patterns.  We also have kid and baby-friendly pocket patterns with whimsical cartoon flowers, curly q patterns, jungle animals, baby prams and gingham patterns.  These pockets are appropriate for a wide range of events from pocket baby shower invitations to pocket Bat Mitzvah invitations, pocket sweet 16 party invitations, pocket bridal shower invitations, pocket birthday invitations, pocket wedding invitations  and more.

In addition to our brand new fun patterned pockets, we also have introduced a few new bow colors onto our website to add an extra chic splash of color to your patterned ensemble.  Our new bow colors feature sublime green which is great for springtime events, torrid orange which will kick-off the fall season, daffodil yellow for summertime events and light navy or dark purple for an elegant evening affair.  They’re the perfect way to coordinate your party colors into your pocket invitation ensemble.  Remember, you can always mix and match your pocket pattern, ribbon color and insert cards, too!  If you have a color combination in mind that you don’t see online, don’t hesitate to ask our customer service experts if you can change  pocket styles or ribbon colors.  We’ll be happy to accommodate your special request whenever possible.

Check out some of the brand new pocket invitations you’ll see on our website today!

Nothing is as special as the day your family of two becomes a family of three.  Share this special addition to your family with friends, relatives, neighbors and co-workers with a birth announcement that will help you spread the news.

Our birth announcement collection features boy birth announcements with blue and green hues and things that little boys love from toys to trucks, cars, tractors and trains.  We also have girl birth announcements with pink, purple, yellow and green hues that feature delicate feminine patterns and things that little girls love from dolls to bows, baby animals, baby prams, and butterflies along with elegant damask, polka dot an gingham patterns.  We also offer a complete line of photo birth announcements, which is one of our most popular birth announcement collections.  Our photo birth announcements feature anywhere from one to three photographs, in case you can’t decide on just one.  Nothing is better than sharing a photograph of your baby’s first days in your arms, and it will be a keepsake for your baby album that you’ll look at for years to come.  It’s also a nice gesture to out of town birth announcement recipients who may not have the opportunity to come see the baby in person for quite some time.

When writing your birth announcement, there’s a few important details you’ll want to include or share with your recipients.  Start your announcement introducing your little one’s first and middle name, which we will typically print larger so that it stands out.  Follow your precious baby’s name with your baby’s birth date and weight in pounds and ounces.  You can also list how long your baby was, which is typically done in inches.  If you are not comfortable, or have an extremely small or large baby, feel free to leave the weight off of the announcement.  Just do whatever makes you comfortable.  You may also want to list the city your child was born in, in case you have a lot of distant relatives or friends.   End your birth announcement with the ‘announcing family’s’ names, including any brothers or sisters the new baby has.

You’ll want to send out your birth announcements shortly after your baby is born, however if you want to wait a few months to send out the announcements, feel free…there is no rush!  We understand that you want to share the amazing and life-changing news with your family members and friends, however nobody expects you to be writing addresses on your birth announcement envelopes in the hospital!  Take time to bond with your baby and then share the amazing news with the world!  If you’re sending out photo birth announcements, this will also give you ample time to take your photographs before sending them out.  Your recipients will be happy to receive your good news, whether it’s a week or three months after the baby is born.

Below are some of our most popular birth announcements.  Be sure to choose one that best matches your baby’s personality and feelings of excitement as new parents…

Pitch a tent and lay out the sleeping bags.  Build a tall campfire and just sit and listen as the crickets chirp and the fire crackles.  Take turns telling ghost stories and roast marshmallows to make s’mores…

Spending a night out under the stars can sometimes seem like a thing of the past with today’s technology-obsessed world.  We can’t go anywhere without our iPhones, Blackberrys or laptops.  When was the last time you left your phone or computer for a few hours during the day?  Wouldn’t it be nice to take a night off from technology and spend it with your friends or family to celebrate this amazing world of nature that we live in?  Or, perhaps plan a camping party for your son or daughter’s upcoming birthday party?  Camping parties are very low-key and can be a bonding experience for any family or group of friends.

Camping parties for kids are most popular for kids ages 8 – 13.  You want to do it at an age where everyone is old enough to be comfortable being away from home for a night without Mom and Dad, but young enough to still get scared by a ghost story.  Or, if the kids are a lot younger, create a mock-camping party where parents can pick their kids up at night to go home and sleep.  When planning your camping themed party, set the scene with an array of tents and sleeping bags, or ask the kids to bring their own.  Be sure to have plenty of snacks on-hand from popcorn and trail mix to hamburgers, hot dogs, chips and of course s’mores!  Have the kids gather sticks from the woods to roast their own marshmallows for the s’mores.  Once everyone has their grub, sit down by the bonfire and tell ghost stories or secrets.  Need a fun activity to do?  Play an old fashioned game of flashlight tag when it gets dark outside.

Set the scene for your camping themed party with a camping party invitation to match!  We offer a variety of camping invitations and thank you notes for your son or daughter’s special day.  Choose from fun camping patterns with camouflage prints and antique lanterns.  We also have whimsical cartoon designs with kids at a camp sight looking up at the stars or roasting marshmallows, kids in sleeping bags or tents under the starry night sky.  Need it quick?  We also offer packs of camping fill-in invitations and thank you notes which feature coordinating double-sided designs with colored envelopes.

Check out some of our fun kids camping party invitations below…

This year we’re handing out treats…not tricks!  Keep in touch with loved ones this upcoming fall season with a Halloween photo greeting card.  I know what you’re thinking…aren’t greeting cards just for Christmas, Hanukkah and New Years?!  Not anymore.

One of the newest trends in the invitation and stationery world is sending greeting cards for all of the big holidays throughout the year, from Valentine’s Day to St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, Halloween and Thanksgiving.  It’s a great way to keep in touch with your family, friends, co-workers and neighbors throughout the year and send them good wishes all year long.  You will also be able to show how your children are growing or changing throughout the year…as we all know they grow so much!  Halloween photo greeting cards also make for great personal keepsakes, whether it’s an addition to a picture frame, scrapbook or placed under a magnet on Grandma’s fridge.  Send one out every year so that you can look back on them from year to year to see just how much everyone has changed over the years.

Our digital photo Halloween greeting cards feature anywhere from one to three photographs, depending on how many photos you’d like to share…or maybe you just have too many great photos of the kids to just decide on just one!  Each Halloween photo card features a Halloween themed design depending on your Halloween style, be it spooky or friendly, like the one in the top left corner of the blog featuring an array of candy corn under a preppy bookplate frame.  You’ll be able to choose from cards with pumpkin themes, candy themes, famous Halloween characters, black cats or skeleton designs.  Each card has a fun compilation of Halloween hues from black and orange to grey, lime green, orange and yellow.  Choose a card with a grosgrain or satin ribbon for elegant presentation or a card with a gingham, plaid or skull paisley pattern in a fun Halloween color.  Send your Halloween photo greeting cards out a few weeks before Halloween or maybe even a few weeks after, if you want to share photographs from your child’s trick-or-treating night of fun.  It’s a great transition from summer into the Halloween and fall season.

Ready to jump into the cool weather, falling leaves and spooky nature of the fall season?  Start browsing now for the perfect Halloween photo greeting card to show off your kids during this spooky season.  Dress them up in their favorite Halloween costume and spread a little joy this fall season to those that you care about the most!

The movers are hired, the boxes are packed!  Soon you’ll be off to a fresh start and you’ll want to share it with all of your family and friends.  Whether you’re moving to a new house a few miles away or jumping across the country, a move can be a stressful time but also a very exciting time for you as well.  From a change of scenery to a brand new house with new appliances or a new job for someone in the family – there’s lots of things to celebrate.

As you close the door to one chapter and open the door to another, you’ll want to share the good news of your move with family and friends, as well as provide them with your new contact information.  At InvitationBox.com we offer chic moving announcements to help you announce your move to your family, friends, co-workers, neighbors and clients.  Our moving announcements come in a variety of designs, colors and patterns, depending on your personality and moving-style.  Our cards feature modern designs with skeleton keys, nests, moving boxes, ‘change of a dress’ themes, moving trucks or whimsical cartoon scenes, (like the one above from Doc Milo).  We also offer moving announcements that feature some of the United States most popular states and cities from Georgia to Florida to Texas or California.  If you’re moving to a new state, these are some of our most popular moving announcement designs.

Send your moving announcements out anywhere from the day of your move to a few months after.  There’s no right or wrong, however the sooner your friends and family have your new contact info, the better.  Be sure to include your new address, new phone numbers and maybe even your email address if that will also be changing.  The thought behind a moving announcement is that the recipient will now have all of your current information on one convenient card to keep everything together and handy the next time they want to stop by for a visit or contact you.

Ready to celebrate your big move?  You can also double-up by turning your moving announcement into a housewarming party invitation as well!  Announce your move in the beginning of your announcement, and then at the bottom of the card ask friends and family to join you to celebrate and to come and your new pad!  Treat it like an open house with all of your best friends and serve up some cocktails and appetizers as guests visit with you.  You can also try out your brand new patio or hang out on that new deck you have.

Below are some of our most popular and unique moving announcements and housewarming party invitations…

There’s about to be another heat wave in North Carolina…which means you’re likely sharing the same hot weather we’ve become accustomed to these past few months.  Our typical days are reaching a scorching 105 degrees, and anything below 95 sadly feels cold now!  I felt it only appropriate to look forward today to the cool fall months that we hopefully will have ahead!  With our newly released Halloween party invitations, we are very excited about some of our brand new fall party invitations and fall wedding invitations.  If you’re planning a late fall wedding, now is the perfect time to choose your fall invitations.

Fall parties give you one of the most beautiful color palettes to coordinate your party decor and theme.  Vibrant hues of orange, red, yellow and brown blend together to create a stunning party setting…and give you the opportunity to find a variety of party decorations that will all easily coordinate together.  Decorate your party tables with colorful maple leaf swags, ivory candles and dark chandeliers to create a gorgeous ambiance.

One of my favorite autumn party invitations for the 2011 fall season is the Woody Leaves invitation in the top left corner of the blog, which is designed by Noteworthy Collections.  This invitation is extremely unique with a brown wood-grain background which gives a slightly rustic feel on this highly contemporary invitation.  A delicate border of falling leaves adorns the top of the card, which falls lightly to the bottom of the card with taupe, white and orange pastel leaves.  This fall invitation would be perfect for a fall rehearsal dinner, fall wedding or a thanksgiving gathering with family and friends.  It’s warm, inviting and quite stunning.

If you’re hosting a fall corporate event or a Thanksgiving gathering, we also have seasonal party invitations that will reflect the importance of your event with a delicate fall theme.  Some of our newest invitations feature fall patterned layered cards with vellum overlays and ribbons.  We also have more formal invitations with fall place settings, autumn wreaths, fall foliage, pumpkins and floral damask designs in autumn hues.

Below are some of our newest fall party invitations below.  Whether you’re planning a fall corporate outing, a Thanksgiving dinner, a fall wedding or a fall themed birthday party, the perfect cool-weathered invitation awaits you…