Call it a tri-fold, two-fold, #10 fold or anything else you like, but don’t call the two-fold invitation dead in the water just because everyone else on the planet is sending out impersonal Evites for events via the Internet. Friends and families still love to find treasures in the mailbox and the tri-fold can be designed to hold a huge amount of party information when it’s splashed across six panels. No worries about finding odd-sized envelopes to fit the invite either, as this folded piece fits into any #10 envelope. Make it classic and fancy or funny and sentimental. It’s all about your clever and creative ideas, and if you do it right, your invite can become ‘fridge display worthy, even after the party is over.
Make The Invitation
1. Make a dummy. No joke. Fledgling graphic designers make these all the time; they’re invaluable guides for laying out a two-fold document and you’ll find yours invaluable: Fold an 8.5 x 11-inch piece of paper in either a Z-fold or brochure fold. Write down what goes on each panel (cover, invite details, map of party venue, etc.). Once you’re using your computer monitor to place graphics and invitation copy, you’ll know exactly what goes where.
2. Open up a standard 11- x 8.5-inch document (landscape not portrait) in any word processing or page layout software you prefer. Add two equally sized columns to produce three panels. Copy this page onto your second page and you’ll have six panels to work with for your invitation.
3. Write your invitation copy and divide it among the six panels. You may wish to save the cover panel for a clever introduction, like, “Don Turns 50. Don’t Miss This Milestone.” Turn one panel into a self-mailer so you can skip the envelope. Scan a map to the party venue and place it within one panel. Spread the party details across the entire second (interior) side if you like. You’ll even have room to drop in photos of the bride and groom, new baby, birthday girl or other images.
Ideas to Make It Special
1. To make birthday party invitations unique, put them into envelopes and add a little something extra to start the birthday long before the guest of honor bursts onto the scene: Faux snow, confetti, a $1 lottery ticket, a prayer card, bookmark or another clever drop in item that doesn’t add weight to the mailing, but it’s sure to add weight to your invitation-making reputation.
2. Send out a wedding invitation that’s more than a record of the event. Tuck a response card and return envelope into the 2-fold invitation and add a linen napkin (buy 25 per pack napkins from a party or restaurant supplier) to each. Ask guests to write something special on their napkin using a permanent Sharpie and return them to you with their RSVP. Hang a clothesline at the reception hall and line up the napkins with clothespins!
3. Make a 2-fold party invitation that’s actually a treasure map on one side. Rather than having guests show up early for the party, set a start time for guests to leave their homes and ask them to follow the treasure map, picking up clues, before they arrive for food and more fun at a given hour. You’ll have plenty of room to design the map with a 2-fold and if you’re the creative type, you can even drop in pictures as clues!