Eisley is turning 4!

I know, right?! I can hardly believe it myself. 

A couple years back my mom said to me, "Boy, you've really set yourself up now, every party is going to have to out-do the last!" ...or something like that...anyway. She was right. I sort of have set the bar high for myself when it comes to party standards {sometimes I'm sincerely jealous of those moms who simply hand their credit cards over to Chuck E. Cheese and don't have to worry about hand-stamping napkins...they're smart. Seriously, they are.}

This year we find ourselves in an interesting situation. 

1. I'm honestly a little burned out on party planning. Still love it, still is fun, but I'm ready to tone it down.

2. This is actually a good thing, because Eisley is now to the age where she gets a say in her party planning, and also it's becoming more "kid oriented". Our guest list this year centered around the kids she knows, not adult friends & family. It's her party, after all...

3. Justin is paid commission. Which means our budgets vary month to month, so while we've been lucky so far {party months matching up well to higher paychecks} the time has come where an extravagant budget is not part of the picture this time.
It was bound to happen some time.

Honestly, don't take that "burnt out" comment the wrong way. Once I picked a theme, I actually got REALLY excited about this party and have lots of ideas churning in my head. I'm back in the game, it's just different, this time.

We didn't think it'd be in the budget to construct a 20 foot high Rapunzel tower {Eisley first asked for a Tangled party} or a home-made Pride Rock {then she moved onto the Lion King} so we picked a theme a little more basic...

This year's theme is...

Eisley's "Eis" Cream Parlor!!!

We're planning homemade ice cream, games, all sorts of pink goodness with the cherry on top. It's a fun, yet simple, theme!

But this post was supposed to be about the invites and I've gotten way off...

The supplies I picked up for the invites this year came from Donahue Paper Emporium. Love that store. We used it when we planned our wedding programs, but it's gotten even better since back then. I picked up cute brown paper cardstock, brown paper bag envelopes, pink & turquoise labels, and then I printed my own 5x7 invites at home. The design was a custom purchase from Lemonade Moments on Etsy. 

As you can see, I had a little trouble with these and getting the right colors to print...but once I got it just right, it was perfect. 

{Tip: one time I used Costco's printing service--and it was horrible! I've found that printing your own 5x7's is the best way to go.}

To assemble our own invites, I trimmed the edges off...

Then trimmed by 8.5 x 11 card stock down to 7 x 10.

I printed on the front of the cards, "Eis Scream, You Scream"

and the inside flap says, "We all scream for ice cream!"

Using a bone folder, I folded them in half...

And double stick tape finished the job.

Viola! I think they're so cute, yet simple, and sweet!

An up-close view:

Printed my address labels, and they were ready to go.

So there you have it.

I've always said, invites are the most important part of party planning! They set the tone and expectations for the party. They get guests excited to come. If you want to do a casual Chuck E. Cheese party, by all means--handwrite those generic form invites! You know what, we over-the-top moms actually really love those laid-back parties. No joke. 

NO judgment here!

But party planning, it happens to be a hobby...so I have to cute it up.

It's just my thing. 

Not that this party will be elaborate.

Remember?...budget.