Anyone ever buy invitation 'templates' off of etsy?

clo1982

I'm throwing my sister's baby shower in late March and she is doing a Parisian theme for the baby's room, so we wanted to incorporate that into the shower. I found some Eiffel Tower invites on various sites but thought they were really expensive at roughly $2.50 each. She told me she looked on Etsy and they had templates for invitations where they sent you the paper and a file that allowed you to print your own. The cost was about $25. Has anyone done these? If so, is it easy to set up and do they print easily?

cierravictoria

We bought a customized design off etsy. For $13 the designer personalized the invitations (including changing colors, wording and formatting) and sent us a file to have printed. I think it worked great and I love how they turned out!

AriaAmante143

I've bought digital invites off Etsy. I've never had someone send me the paper, honestly, it's probably easier without. I got the finishes file in less than 2 days. If I'm in a rush I have them print and cut then at Kinkos, if I have time, I use catprint.com

I honestly would NOT recommend printing at home. I tried it for our wedding invites, and after three hours and a trash can full of wasted paper, I went the catprint route and was much happier.

clo1982

cierravictoria said:

We bought a customized design off etsy. For $13 the designer personalized the invitations (including changing colors, wording and formatting) and sent us a file to have printed. I think it worked great and I love how they turned out!

That's really cute! was it hard to print? I am just picturing getting the paper from there and messing up half of them before I get it right! My fear is that we will do this as a lower cost alternative only to have it end up costing as much as the ones that are from vistaprint or another comparable site. But geez, $2.50 per card just sounds high!!

SomersIsles

My MIL used this etsy seller (https://www.etsy.com/shop/GreenCherryFactory?ref=pr_shop_more) for a print your own invitation.  She sent her the names, dates, wording preferences, and color options and she got a PDF file to print.  I believe she used plain white cover stock paper from staples and printed them at home.  She brought them back to staples to cut the whole stack to trim the excess margins. 

P.S. Did you know that you can also buy blank unruled index cards (like a 4x6 size) and print on them and mail them like postcards?  I do that all the time for various invitations and stuff.  Super convenient and cheaper postage

AriaAmante143

Also to add, for my sisters baby shower I bought a digital file from Etsy and printed at Kinkos (they have invitation quality paper), and the whole thing came to $30 I think, and they cut them to size for me

cierravictoria

clo1982 said:

cierravictoria said:

We bought a customized design off etsy. For $13 the designer personalized the invitations (including changing colors, wording and formatting) and sent us a file to have printed. I think it worked great and I love how they turned out!

That's really cute! was it hard to print? I am just picturing getting the paper from there and messing up half of them before I get it right! My fear is that we will do this as a lower cost alternative only to have it end up costing as much as the ones that are from vistaprint or another comparable site. But geez, $2.50 per card just sounds high!!


We got them printed at Office Depot. Not sure how much they cost per print as my mom paid for them. However, another option we looked into was having them printed as photos from Walmart (at .18 cents per print) and mailing them as postcards.

kimberpoo

I've never tried etsy, but if you go to staples, office max, or wherever you can find the invite paper and then download a template off of Microsoft office (free) which is pretty easy to use. You can also add your own graphics, designs, etc.

mamamia866

I bought a personalized digital file off of etsy and then printed up 4x6 photos at Walgreens using their photo app for $0.29 each. Between the file and 35 prints, I only paid $25. For something specific like Eiffel Tower, I would go that route. But if you can download the RedStamp or Paperless Post apps, the templates are free and then you only have to pay for the prints.

babylimas

I've done it! Bought a digital file and printed for about $30.00. I have also bought and had them print for slightly more. 

farmrose

I did that for a bridal shower I hosted. Had them printed at staples. I think it cost me $30-40 once it was all done. They turned out super cute too.

amandapthompson

I use the templates and print them out at walgreens/walmart where ever as photos. Cheap and still looks nice.

nlane0723

My host bought the template off Etsy and had the invites printed at FedEx. They turned out super cute!

kelsistalker

We got a template for DD's bday last year and it was so easy and awesome! I highly recommend it

SomersIsles

I never thought about printing them as photos... that seems like a great idea!

LiFeIsAmIrAcLe

You know, I was just looking on there yesterday at these adorable birth announcement templates.  Glad you posted this!  I was wondering if it was a good purchase or not!

clo1982

Thanks so much everyone! I never thought to have them printed locally and that's a great idea!

ljward6260

I tried to do this for my wedding invites/rsvps/programs etc. but the lady who I was trying to took too long to get back to me. I actually ended up taking a couple pictures of what I kind of had in mind to the local UPS store and the lady there recreated them for me. They turned out super cute and were cheaper than ordering the template from etsy!

KariB509

I'm a cheater and copy their ideas...

karacakes98

I order templates from etsy all the time. I just ordered DS's birthday invitations last week! My fav was a circus theme I found for DD's birthday last year from a seller called Frosting & Ink. I cut up some of the invitations and used the pieces to accent some pinwheels I used as part of the decor. I've also cut up invitations and used parts to make mini bunting for on cakes and labels for goody bags!

I attached pics to give you an idea of what I'm talking about. Sample invitation, table decor, and cupcake tower (blurry bc it's the in background of the actual pic). I love the versatility that you get with templates.

Ghjinn

Yes!! We did this for our wedding and I picked one out for the baby shower. The ones we purchased were personalized and I technically purchased a PDF file which I then took to kinkos. You can then pick the paper you want. I love this idea and supporting real working artists! Aaand IMO these are usually more personal and more creative fuuun!

megmac15

I did this for my wedding shower, save the dates, and now baby shower invites for my MIL. They cost like $10 each and usually the seller works with you to customize colors. Just sent the template to my local printing place and depending on the amount of prints I needed, was anywhere from $15-$60 for the prints....which I thought was reasonable!

troublejessy

We bought these for an engagement party that we hosted and it worked out great.  For $15 the designer personalized the wording and sent me a PDF a few hours later.  I had them printed at kinkos and cut them myself.

https://www.etsy.com/transaction/97266971?ref=fb2_tnx_title

matthewmegan

I did it for DD1's birthday party invites and for our Christmas cards.  I had the files made as 4x6's so I could print photos and use standard intitation sized envelopes I bought off amazon.  I did it all without leaving the house.

zartisterica

If you have a costco card you can print them there for $15 for 50, that includes envelopes. I know it is a specific size but it may be a small additional charge from your designer to change the size. I uploaded my invite and printed it from costco and was happy with the outcome. I did this for my friends shower as well.