Themed 18th birthday party invitations

Fifth of my "How to Plan a Filipino Debut" series

The first four parts of my "How to Plan a Filipino Debut" series contain the more technical (i.e. boring) steps in planning an eighteenth birthday party. Thankfully, we are all over that now and we may proceed with the more fun and creative chore of making the 18th birthday party invitations.

My experience with party planning began with making unique party invitations for friends and family for free. Luckily, my first set of clients loved my work enough to spread the word out about my little hobby turned income supplement. Next thing I know, I was not only creating unique birthday invitations but more than that, I was creating a unique birthday experience.

I personally designed, printed and assembled the 18th birthday party invitations for my two recent party planning projects. Because I choose to start off with the budget, time frame, and the party theme, and then present my ideas to the debutante, it becomes easy for me to churn out something good with just about anything without worrying about practical constraints because I already have them laid out before I start brainstorming for ideas. 

It now becomes easy for me to proceed with the design, materials and techniques to use based on the budget, time frame and the debutante's preferences. Here are my recent outputs.

Love Letter themed invitation card

This personalized invitation card was for Marielle Kate's "red romance" themed debut. The idea was to create something dreamy, nostalgic and shabby in a charming way, inspired by old letters and photos and other stuff you keep safe in a shoebox under your bed.

Paper

So I used Marielle Kate's favorite color red as the base color. I used Morocco board because they are cheap and available everywhere in the Philippines and they have the perfect scrapbook-ish texture. I had the board cut into 8" x 11" pieces which I folded in half crosswise; almost similar in size with most Hallmark greeting cards. (Remember them?)

Instead of using photo paper, I printed Marielle Kate's photos on plain white valium board because they absorb the vintage-y hues pretty well. As for the "letters" where the actual content of the invitation are printed, I used assorted pastel color linen papers, which I remember to be my favorite kind of stationery back in the 90's, so again, there's that nostalgic feels in it. 

Photos

I edited some of her photos taken from different contexts and angles to give them a dreamy, vintage appeal and make them look like old photos with torn edges using Photoshop CS5. I will try to create a tutorial some other time but what I did was based loosely on the combination of the following tutorials:

• "Old photo, vintage effect" by Alfoart Graphic & Web Design 
• "Star Diffusion" by Denny Tang of PHOTOSHOP TUTORIALS.ws
• "Breathtaking Dreamy Vintage Photoshop Tutorial" by i can be creative 
• "Retouch a Girl with Lighting Focus" by 9tuts 
• "Background Blur in Photoshop" by Digiretus 

Accents

Here's a paper rose I made using old gift wrappers

I used rose and damask patterns as the main elements for Marielle Kate's red romance themed debut. This has to reflect somehow in her invitation so I decided to print out a strip of a red damask texture I found online and craft a couple of paper roses for each invitation card which is really easy to do that I promise to make a step-by-step tutorial for it soon, too.

Content

The photos and accents were arranged in a symmetrical collage on the front cover of the invitation card. Inside are three pages of linen cut a few centimeters smaller than the surface of the folded card. The paper was watermarked with damask patterns. I use the font Champignon for its romantic drama. The font is downloadable for free. 

First page of the invitation contains the actual invitation letter which reads like this:

My dearest, 

It is a pleasure to invite you to my eighteenth birthday celebration on the twenty-fifth of August, the year two thousand and twelve at Casa de Via Resort, Calamba City, Laguna. Dinner program begins at eight o'clock. Please come in your best romantic red attire. 

Love always, 

Kate Blunt

The next two pages contain the list of entourage: Eighteen Roses, Eighteen Candles, Eighteen Thousand Bills, and Eighteen Treasures.

Dream travel themed invitation

For this "dream travel" inspired debut, the idea was to create a vintage postcard collage that contains elements of some of the debutante's 18 dream travel destinations.

Working on this one is much easier compared to the love letter themed invitation. Most of this are Photoshop jobs; the only actual crafting I did was cutting and pasting the actual postcard and the vintage stamps I made and printed on sheets of bond paper.

Front

On the front side of the postcard, I used two photos of the debutante as the focal point of the collage. I edited the photos to make them look vintage and warm. Then I placed stocked photos of travel related objects such as a vintage luggage with travel patches, a Pilipinas passport, and a compass. Other elements are landmarks and icons that represent the debutante's dream travel destinations.

I simply placed the elements around the debutante's photos and on top of each other in a scrapbook-ish fashion. The background was a curious blend of old world maps, water color floral paintings and space photos. It really was a Photoshop experiment and I am not sure if I could still make a tutorial out of it. I finished it up with a cutout typography that says "around the world in one night".

Back 
The back of the vintage postcard looks like the back of an actual vintage postcard. It contains the invitation on the left panel and the names of the invited guests on the bottom right panel where you usually put the address of the recipient of the postcard. I pasted one of the assorted stamps I created using Photoshop on the top right corner. 

Here's how it looks:

Simple isn't it? I bet you can design the 18th birthday party invitations for the Filipino debut you are planning but if you are not confident with your skills yet, you can always outsource the job to someone else.

There are those that offer custom invitations online but I personally advice you to oversee the creative process as some of these guys simply use ready-made invitation templates. Explain to them the theme of the party and some of the ideas you have in mind. You are, after all, merely looking for someone to execute your creative ideas. You should not compromise your vision.

If you are from the Philippines, I can make themed 18th birthday party invitations for you! Just leave a comment or fill out the contact form.

Setting a timeframe for a Filipino debut

Third part of my "How to Plan a Debut" series

The amount of time you have organizing a Filipino debut matters. Some great ideas are ruined because there is not enough time to execute them. But it is hard to determine how much time you need to plan a successful eighteenth birthday party because it would all depend on your vision of how the party should be like. 

As a baseline, one month should be enough to prepare a simple event that a Filipino debutante would appreciate while two months would be the perfect timeframe. Of course, having more time for preparation is always better but having less is not a reason to back out either. Like I said, it would all depend on the kind of party you came up with so it would be wise to consider the amount of time you have during the brainstorming stage of preparation.

Here is a weekly checklist of what should be accomplished in a 4-week timeframe to prepare a Filipino debut.

WEEK 1

- Brainstorm theme and motif
- Set the date
- Make the guest list and invitation
- Book venue and guest accommodations (if needed), cake, gown, and catering

WEEK 2

- Distribute invitation- Make the programme
- Book logistics (souvenirs, flowers, sound system, projectors, etc) and entertainment

WEEK 3

- Cotillion and program rehearsals (if any) 
- Shop for other materials
- Follow up on bookings

WEEK 4

- Set up the venue
- Settle payments
- Troubleshoot

Shabby chic envelope laptop sleeve

I made this shabby chic envelope laptop sleeve for my 16" Toshiba Satellite because it's difficult to find a nice backpack or sling bag that has an adequately spacious laptop compartment. 

For some reason, I also found it difficult to find a cheap laptop sleeve for a 16 inches so I've decided to do a quick sketch of an envelope laptop sleeve in my notebook. Motivated by the need to protect my bread and butter during my travels, I dropped by a fabric store near UP Los Baños one fine midday and bought two yards each of muslin cloth (katsa) and one with something like a tropical version of damask print in shades of green, brown and yellowish. (Oh well, just look at the pictures.)

Here's a list of the materials I used:

2 yards of muslin cloth (for the outer)
2 yards of patterned fabric (for the inner)
2 layers of felt, 2 yards each (for the filling)
brown dye
a button
an elastic band
embroidery thread
fabric glue
pencil
meter stick
shears

This particular envelope laptop sleeve is really easy to make. I used fabric glue so I didn't need to sew to assemble the envelope. Cross-stitching the border and affixing the elastic band are both really easy to accomplish too.

It always feels good to make something unique out of accessible materials. Muslin cloth is really cheap here in the Philippines, you can even ask the neighborhood bakery to give them to you for free because these cloths are usually used to make flour sacks. You just have to dye them with a color that complements your patterned fabric. I'm planning to make another soon, probably, one in blue.

If you noticed, this project is a pastiche of various elements or objects that are not often seen together. I'm glad it ended with the vibe I wanted—something shabby and hinting an I-don't-care attitude.

Indeed, the best laptop sleeve is the one you made by yourself. My shabby chic envelope laptop sleeve is just me on my most impulsive moment.

P.S. I accept made to order requests if you're from the Philippines! Just leave a comment or send me a message via the contact form.

Brainstorming ideas for a themed debut

Second part of my "How to Plan a Debut" series

Now that we have settled the difference between the Western notion of the debut and the Filipino debut, we are now safe to proceed to the first, and arguably, the most important part of planning any event—brainstorming.

The first—and trust me when I say that the least asked—question to keep in mind when planning a birthday celebration is… “Is this my party?” Oh, I could feel you shrugging and exclaiming, “that’s ridiculous, of course, I know that!” over here. But really, some people need to be constantly reminded.

Not your party, honey

Photo credit: The Frisky

If you really want the debut to achieve its goal of making the debutante the happiest person of the night, this question should bug you every step of the way. Why? Simply because people who plan party for other people, wittingly or unwittingly, tend to organize an event that they want and not what the celebrant wants.

But hey, I’m not trying to dampen your confidence and excitement about your very important task. You were entrusted with the honor of masterminding a significant event, one that the debutante would remember for as long as she lives, and that could only mean that she and her family believe in your creativity, taste and sensibilities. But that still doesn’t make the party yours. You might be oozing with bold and edgy ideas for the programme that would surely pump it up on the dance floor, but maybe—just maybe—the debutante likes a more laidback, all warm and fuzzy kind of stuff.

I bet you’re thinking, “What about the guests? Don’t they have a say about these?” Well, if you could ask how each of them feels about your burlesque-inspired party this early, then by all means, do it. But that seems a little futile, isn’t it? So who else should have a fairly accurate, general assessment of the kind of party that the debutante’s guest would enjoy as much as she would? Hint: It is the birthday celebrant. She knows these people best and she has stuck with them for, at most, 18 years of her life so chances are, they might have similar interests and personality.

Aha! Magic words appearing as I type—“personality” and “interests”. Those are your best friends, if not, your muse, or the wells from which your creative juices flow. And there’s also the debutante’s basic information such as where she lives, what her religion is, or what her college major is. 

Chum the debutante

That tiny creature on the left is me with the debutante and two common friends. 
I look tired, I know. But, heck, that was fun.

The last debut I organized was for a classy teenager who is taking up a degree in tourism, and also wanting to become a travel journalist. She likes the color pink and she likes to go to Paris more than any place in the world. I trust that after reading those, I only need to count to ten before I say that you have already come up with a party theme, or at least, have envisioned what the cake should look like. That’s your germinal idea.

If you are good buddies with the debutante then figuring out who we’re celebrating for won’t be a difficult task. However, I would still advise that you chat her up over a cup of coffee just to capture, firsthand, what excites her the most. If you want, you can make things a little more convenient by asking her to fill out a short questionnaire form before you meet. That gives you time to research for initial inputs and tangible ideas before you meet face to face. Here are some questions to consider:

-        Is this a big party? How many guests are we expecting?

-          Do you have a particular concept, idea or theme in mind? (Who knows if she    already has it all figured out?)

-          What are your current hobbies?

-          What is your favorite book, movie, TV show, music, food, color, __________?

-          What do you like to talk about the most?

-          Who inspires you?

-          How would you describe yourself?

 

If you feel like you already know the celebrant that you could actually imagine yourself strutting in her shoes, then you are ready to embark on an intricate process of sifting through all these information and coming up with a single, all-encompassing theme for the night. And when we say “single”, that means, “only one”.

One party, one theme

Again, this is a common issue with most of the debuts I have been to. The event has no driving concept other than celebrating a birthday. Everybody celebrates one every year in whatever manner or form. But this, this is a debut. It only happens to this young woman once in her life and if she thinks something like this should happen then it should be the best she could ever have because it is about her, not her birthday, but her.

At first, you will find yourself bombarded with a lot of theme ideas but eventually, and also with constant coordination with the debutante, four will boil down to three and then to one. Try to find that one germinal idea with utmost consideration of the following: timeframe, budget, human resources, supplies and logistics, and last but not the least, nature.

The latter are the topics I would discuss on the third part of my “How to Plan a Debut” series so keep yourselves posted, lovelies!