Relief Society Birthday Party Invitation

I was asked by the Relief Society president of our ward to create 125 invitations to announce the Relief Society's birthday celebration. She prefaced the favor with, "I'm so sorry Aimee, but we have no budget for invitations." That always presents a "fun" challenge and an expectation to rely more on the labor end rather than compensating with expensive materials. My 8 year old daughter and I hand stamped 16 separate images on to the 125 invites. Hmmmm, do the math...that's 2000 stampings. I got out my trusty Bernina sewing machine and stitched the top and bottom of the text to the cardstock. I wanted it to look like the old time cut ornaments from the newspaper presses. It didn't quite have that exact look, but it was cheap and fun. I figured out they cost $12.00, we won't talk about the labor though.

Note: The Relief Society is one of the oldest and largest women's organizations in the world. All women 18 years of age and older, as well as women younger than 18 who are married or are single mothers, are welcomed into the sisterhood of Relief Society. There are approximately 6 million sisters in Relief Society. Since its organization on March 17, 1842, by the Prophet Joseph Smith, Relief Society has spread throughout the world into nearly 170 countries. Joseph Smith was quoted regarding the organization's purpose, "Relief Society, whose object is the relief of the poor, the destitute, the widow and the orphan, and for the exercise of all benevolent purposes. . . .[W]e feel convinced that with their concentrated efforts, the condition of the suffering poor, of the stranger and the fatherless will be ameliorated."