Nautical Baby Shower Invitations

Hello! I hope you're reading this from someplace warm and cozy because we've got sub-zero temperatures outside. It is bitterly cold but I'm at least thankful for the clear sky and sunshine, rarities this time of year.

My sister-in-law came to me and asked me to make some invitations for a family baby shower she was hosting. She knew she wanted aqua colors paired with kraft paper but in a unisex kind of way. Knowing that the family has lots of love for boating and all things water related, I thought a nautical theme would be perfect for this shower. Nautical is easy enough, but try doing it in a non-traditional, non-gender way! With a little help from trusty ole Martha and Papertrey Ink, I decided to pair the aqua and kraft colors with raspberry for a new twist on nautical.

I started the invitation with Papertry Ink's Aqua Mist cardstock and layered it with Kraft cardstock. I wanted to keep the outside simple in order to emphasize the inside contents so I printed a catchy opening line in raspberry ink and set it off with a coordinating border:

The guest is met by a nautical greeting, 'Ahoy there!' and encouraged to sail on over for a baby shower. The invitation's final size is a standard A2 but I used the paper's full 11 inches in order to create a pocket on the inside. The pocket's contents were then secured by wrapping Raspberry Fizz Saddle Stitch Ribbon around to the front. The seam is disguised with a layered circle featuring a nautical anchor, courtesy of a Martha Stewart craft punch.

The pocket created additional space for directions and registry information without scrunching all of the wording into one area. I love this concept! Its an easy way to include an ample amount of information while keeping the invitation organized and easy to read without sacrificing its appearance.These invitations were so much fun! I look forward to sharing a few other concepts I came up with for this non-traditional nautical baby shower so stay tuned.