Designer Chloe Marty created the most adorable hand lettered black and white invitations for her son’s first birthday party – and I’m thrilled that she’s sharing the invitations for his 2nd birthday here today! This year’s invitations paired playful hand lettering with illustrations of some of Raffa’s favorite things and a royal blue, pool, and chartreuse color palette!

From Chloe: For my son Raffa’s 2nd birthday party invitations, I knew that I wanted to do hand lettered invitations. After sketching and doodling some lettering, the idea suddenly evolved and I decided I wanted to add some illustrations as well. I also decided that I didn’t want to do the lettering and illustration myself; I specifically wanted some one else to bring my ideas to life. So, to accomplish the lettering and illustration, I turned to Shannon Snow. I have worked with Shannon several times and I was confident that she could bring my creative vision to life.

Under my creative direction, Shannon created an invitation with lettering on the front and illustrations on the back. The party itself was a park and donut theme, which covered two of Raffa’s favorites. The illustration on the back also included: Raffa’s dump truck, his checkered Vans, his crayons, pancakes + syrup, Asher, Starbucks iced green tea, his Finkelstein kitty, donuts, “coffee” (hot chocolate) from Huckleberry Roasters, his bunny, the park, his red trike, and reading books.

Once Shannon sent me the black and white vector lettering and illustrations, I set to work adding a bright color palette to it all. I paired the digitally printed white and royal blue invitation with a small chartreuse business card-sized enclosure with a photo of Raffa and an explanation that the invitation contained his favorite things. The Paper Souce Lake colored envelopes were sealed with a custom return address sticker and some “donut sprinkle” washi tape. I hand addressed the envelopes and went with “From me to you” Forever stamps.

Thanks Chloe!

Creative Direction: Chloe Marty
Illustration: Shannon Snow

Photo Credits: Chloe Marty