Vintage Circus birthday party invitation

Our baby girl is turning four very soon and we are gearing up for a circus-themed birthday party.  When she told us she wanted a circus party, I of course leaned more towards a vintage circus party to avoid the primary colors associated with modern day circuses.  I wanted a true circus feeling, but wanted it to still be a party fitting to a little girl.

One of my super-talented friends, Carolyn, designed this invitation for Isabella.  It is exactly what I wanted - a classic circus font with a faded red, butter yellow and a light robin's egg blue making up the color palette.  Still circus colors with a feminine twist. (Visit Carolyn's Etsy shop if you would like these invitations for your little one ).

Once I printed up Carolyn's design, I wanted to make the invitation have the feeling of a circus ticket, so I decided to make a "ticket holder" for the invitation.  I chose a kraft paper card stock and a distressed red scrapbook paper which I printed the word "ticket" on.

 I then cut a horizontal line about 1/3 inch from each edge of the paper...

 ...forming a pocket

I then glued the red paper down onto the kraft paper- make sure to glue the portion above the pocket completely down and glue only the perimeter of the lower portion so you still have a pocket to put the invitation into.

 Make sure to let the glue completely dry before putting the ticket into the pocket. 

I wanted to keep the invitation fairly simple, but I took a little leeway with the envelope.  I found this vintage circus animal paper and decided to use it to line the envelopes.  I deconstructed an envelope and used the flap to create a template. 

After cutting out the liner, I slipped the lining into the envelope and glued down the flap. 

And that's it.  A perfect circus invitation for my little clown : ) 

Who wouldn't love a ticket to the circus?  

Two weeks and counting.  I have many more tricks up my sleeve for this party.  A real circus demands it : )  and hopefully...Isabella will love it!

***Update***
Check out Isabella's vintage circus party here.