
Betsy Veldman
It’s October once again and around our house that means we’ve got a birthday right around the corner. This Sunday, my oldest son will turn nine! I can hardly believe it!
Well, each year I try to come up with something clever for his birthday invitations. I feel lots of pressure because my family members now expect something fun and clever! Last year I made secret decoders, which was super fun and you can read about in this blog post. See? I’m feeling lots of pressure to top that one!
Well, I’m not sure I topped it, but I did come up with a fun and easy way to create an invitation that’s actually a personalized crossword puzzle. Do you know a kid that doesn’t like puzzles?
All of the clues have to do with the date, time and location of the party. By the time the recipient finishes the puzzle, they will have all the details they need to get themselves to the party!
There are many sites on the web that let you make your own crossword puzzles. I used Crosswordpuzzlegames.com to create mine. It allows you to type in your words and the clues that go with them, then just click on a button and it creates the puzzle for you. So easy! After printing out my crossword, I added just a few simple stamped elements to dress it up.
On the backside of the card are the party details, clearly spelled out, just in case! This was super fast and inexpensive, and I think his buddies will love it!
Did you know there are lots of other sites out there to make all sorts of different puzzles? You can make your own word searches at www.armoredpenguin.com, mazes and more at www.kidcrosswords.com and a plethora of puzzles at www.edhelper.com. I’m thinking of all sorts of possibilities, including Valentine treats with hidden love notes, children’s birthday cards, get well cards and so much more!
I’d love to see your ideas for creating something “puzzling”!
Betsy Veldman,
Paper Crafts Go-to Gal
P.S. Make sure you check back with us tomorrow when Jennifer spotlights the five winning cards from the World Card Making Day gallery! To see Cath’s five winners, head on over to Moxie Fab World!
27 comments
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October 7, 2009 at 5:39 am
kary sol
WOW!!!
Great project!!!!!
Thanks for Crosswordpuzzlegames.com
Just love this site!!!!!
Thanks!!
October 7, 2009 at 5:59 am
Kelly
cute, cute, cute! thanks for the heads-up on the puzzle websites–i can use them for my sunday school extras! too much fun! ~k
October 7, 2009 at 6:14 am
Carol (ScrapMomOf2)
Well, how cute is this! I love it! Thanks for the links to puzzle web sites! I love this idea very much!!
October 7, 2009 at 6:17 am
Ellie Augustin
OH MY GOSH I LOVE THIS!!! hmmm my Bday is next mth and I wanted to have a party how awesome would it be to have invites like this! TFS!! 🙂
October 7, 2009 at 7:15 am
Winter
What a cute idea! I love it! This would be a great Valentine idea! Thanks! I hope the party goes great! 🙂
October 7, 2009 at 7:23 am
Julie Campbell
This is SUCH a great idea! I love it!!!
October 7, 2009 at 7:31 am
Thespoena McLaughlin
These are too cute! There is always the old print the invite on a small puzzle, take it apart and mail the pieces, they have to put it together to find out where the party is. Fun and easily personalized.
Thanks for the fun post!
October 7, 2009 at 7:34 am
Samantha T.
Very cool idea, Betsy!
October 7, 2009 at 7:38 am
Kim Hughes
SO clever Betsy…I love this idea!
October 7, 2009 at 7:58 am
sweetpapertreats
Brilliant! What kid wouldn’t love this!
October 7, 2009 at 8:02 am
Veronica B.
so cool! i have two boys 9 and 11 and i’m always looking for neat and interesting party ideas. last year we had a secret agent party and i made little file folder invites and the wording inside was flipped so that you had to read it using a mirror! that was fun!
October 7, 2009 at 8:41 am
Alicia
Those are stellar invitations. Brilliant idea!
October 7, 2009 at 9:17 am
Dee Dee Roe
Those are so clever, and cute to boot!
October 7, 2009 at 9:42 am
denali
You definitely topped it! But then I think crossword puzzles top ALL other ideas 😀 Cute, cute, CUTE invitations. I am thoroughly impressed 🙂
October 7, 2009 at 10:04 am
Tami Mayberry
You rock, Ms. Betsy! Awesome idea 🙂
October 7, 2009 at 11:12 am
Vanessa Menhorn
Amazing and clever idea! Love this! So cool, Betsy!
October 7, 2009 at 11:32 am
Heather Garl
That is so amazingly clever! I have 4 young girls and we love to create inspiring party invitations, I think we may have to put a spin on this one.
October 7, 2009 at 12:13 pm
lynn
this is so clever, betsy!
October 7, 2009 at 1:58 pm
April Z
What an awesome idea! Thanks for sharing.
October 7, 2009 at 2:46 pm
Jennifer Scull
how cute! we did word searches one year and that was a big hit! there are several sites where you can make your own using whatever words you want to add to the puzzle. it’s super fun!
October 7, 2009 at 4:32 pm
Erika M
I think it would be cool to make your own little puzzles to put together.
October 7, 2009 at 5:25 pm
charlene
super cute–tfs!
October 7, 2009 at 5:51 pm
Cynthia B.
These invites are AWEsome! Thanks for the link to the crossword site!!
October 7, 2009 at 8:01 pm
SueB
SO STINKIN’ CUTE – TFS!
October 7, 2009 at 8:15 pm
Jaquelyn
I love that idea! It’s so very clever, and crossword puzzles are my very favorite. =)
October 8, 2009 at 10:22 am
Melissa Phillips
These are the cutest things ever Betsy! How I love your creativity!
Melissa
October 8, 2009 at 11:47 pm
JessicaK
Oh wow, I’ve seen the customized puzzles and never could figure out how people did them. I’ve got to try it out! Thanks!