Our upcoming Halloween party prompted me to try and think of a unique invitation to send to our guests.  I love trying to find something a little bit different to set the tone for the party to come.  Last year, I made a book themed Halloween invitation for my daughter’s party.  This year, I decided to try and make something based on the childhood game, Ouija.  I scoured Google images looking for just the right board image to use.  Once I found it, I used Adobe Photoshop to doctor the image up! I removed the traditional letters and replaced them with my party text.  I included my image for you to use: click here to download it to your computer.

My image was ready, so I needed something to put it on.  I remembered reading about a transfer technique over at Lil Blue Boo that used clear Con-Tact paper.    Since I am such a fan of Con-Tact paper, I decided this was the method for me!  The most important step in this process is the method you use to print the picture.  The transfer only works with toner, so you must either use a laser printer or have a color copy made of it at the copy shop.  It will not work if you print it on your inkjet printer.

Once you have your image printed or copied, cut it out and then cut a piece of clear Con-Tact paper that’s slightly larger.  Remove the backing from the paper and adhere it to the front of your image.  Then use a blunt edge or a bone folder to smooth out any air bubbles and ensure firm contact.

Trim the edges of the clear Con-Tact paper to match your image size and plop the whole thing in a bowl of water. Let it soak for quite a while. The first one I did, I didn’t let it soak enough and ended up scratching off some of my image. You should be able to rub your thumb over the paper and have it come off. Your image will be miraculously left behind! How fun!

While my paper was soaking, I worked on what I would adhere it to. I immediately thought of wood since the original boards were wood and the grain would show through my transferred image. I found some inexpensive thin plywood and cut it to the size of my image. Then I took a foam brush and applied a thin coat of Mod Podge to one side.

I placed my transfer image (with all the paper removed) onto the glued wood and used my bone folder to smooth it down.  Just like that, I was finished with the front! 

For the back, I used the exact same steps but a different image.  You will notice that the back image in downloadable template I provided has a postcard layout.  This is so you will not have to find envelopes for your invites. You can just drop them in the mailbox!  Make sure you use a permanent marker to write out your invitation details since you will be writing on the slick surface of the Con-Tact paper.

I can’t get over how great the finished invites look!

I am using my invitations for a Halloween party but I think they would work just as well for a traditional slumber party!

UPDATE: There’s now a thank you note template to match: