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Step One: Print The Bar Or Bat Mitzvah Invitation
Print the invitation card that measures 3 7/8 x 6 3/4 inches using Microsoft Word and our easy-to-use template available for download below. Simply open the template in Word, then replace the placeholder text with your own wording. When you're ready to print, you will need to specify a custom paper size for the printer. To do this on a PC, go to File, Print.. in Word and click on the Properties button. In this window there should be a tab called Paper/Quality where there is a menu of common sizes. Enter a custom size of 3.88 inches wide by 6.75 inches tall, the same dimensions that should already appear under Page Setup for the document size.
The wording we've used includes a blank space below the child's name to place one of our silver metallic brads. Alternatively you could punch a hole in the card and secure the card to the backing card using our self-adhesive bows (place the adhesive strip over the hole to fasten the two layers together). If you need help getting started with your wording, see the sample wording on our Bar Mitzvah Invitation Wording page.
Download Printing Template
Click here to download our Bar & Bat Mitzvah Invitation Template for Word
Step Two: Secure The Invitation To The Backing Card
Once you have printed your invitation, the next step is to secure it to the backing layer. You can use a brad or bow as mentioned above, or you could use our double-sided tape dots, glue marker, or ordinary glue stick. You can also choose to place the invitation at an angle to the backing card as we've done or vertically for a more traditional framed look. Experiment according to your preference.
Step Three: Print The Envelope
The final step is to print the Stardream A9 envelope measuring 5 3/4 x 8 3/4 inches.
Download Printing Template
Click here to download our A9 Envelope Template for Word
If you encounter any problems with our templates, don't hesitate to submit a support case.
From His Daughter's Bat Mitzvah Invitation To a Kit You Can Buy
You might have seen our new Stardream layered invitations and read the recent blog article, "How To Assemble Stardream Bar & Bat Mitzvah Invitations At Home." Now you'll read words directly from the Stardream layered invitations designer, LCI's own Barry Levine. The twist to this story is that when Barry was designing the invitation for his daughter, he never imagined it would be sold on our web site.
"I was working on it privately. We’re a little less than a year away from the Bat Mitzvah of my oldest daughter and I had some time on my hands. I figured I would get started with it because the plan is to create our own invitations."
Noticing the transition from Barry's personal invitation design for his daughter's up-coming Bat Mitzvah to a series of invitations to be made available to LCI's customers, and noticing Barry's occasionally squirming during the process, I had to ask him more about the experience.
"I didn’t really plan on it that way. My intent was to do a creation of my own. I was playing around with colors, with type, with design... Nobody gets the design right on the first attempt. I also wanted to give my daughter a chance to see various layouts to see what she liked because her input in all of this is important to me. I’ve been around design and printing for more years than I care to admit right now. So I want to make sure that it’s a design that not only I’m happy with, but my daughter -- it’s her event and it’s a memorable event and I want all parts of the event to be a memory for her, not just the event itself but what goes around the planning of it."
"I’m not claiming to be a premier designer, but I take a lot of pride in the stuff that I create. Especially when it’s personal to my own family, yeah, I have this little bit of reluctance to share it with the public, especially since the event hasn’t even happened yet. I don’t want someone else coming out with the design before I even send mine out."
With a smile, I pointed out that fact that unless he changes his design, that’s going to happen because the invitation is already available on our site.
"I understand that. That’s not to say that I won’t change it. I haven’t carved anything in stone yet. Do I like what I did? Sure I do. Apparently other people do too."
The entire invitation ensemble is designed with Stardream stock, a brand of specialty paper produced by Italian manufacturer Gruppo Cordenons. I asked Barry about that choice.
"I liked the color variety that some of the Stardream stocks offered. I thought that my daughter would also like the various colors that I showed her. I think Stardream has a little more of an offering to the specific designs I was working on than maybe some of the color palettes that we have in other stocks."
Barry closed with this thought regarding the inspiration he feels when he sees other invitation designs. He hopes that his designs and the other invitations at LCIPaper.com can inspire our customers. 
"Every time I see a new invitation, it inspires me a little bit in thought for how I could create my own invitation. That will always happen and that’s why we try to show printed invitations on our site so that people can give themselves a little bit of a catalyst in what they may come up with. They may use bits and pieces of a design that they see that we’ve created on our site. Even if it’s just that, then it’s served its purpose. My personal feelings are that when I see different invitations, there are different elements about them that I may like that I’ll try to remember for later use in something that I’m doing. And that happens on a daily basis."
Thanks to Barry for sharing his daughter's Bat Mitzvah invitation to a product line that all of LCI's customers can consider using.
Why does the ink smudge?
- Some common printing processes are inkjet, laser printing, offset, and letterpress. Some card stocks and papers perform better when inkjet printed while others do better with laser technology. On each of our product pages we do indicate our recommendations. The more conventional print methods such as offset or thermograpy should not have smudging issues.
- Different Inks and toners are made differently from manufacturer to manufacturer therefore some may require more drying time than others. We do suggest using the ink brands recommended by your printer manufacturer.
My PC will not print templates opened by Microsoft Office. Can I print them another way?
Should I have my invitations hand canceled?
After you spend time creating your own invitations, you want to ensure they arrive at your guests homes looking as great as they did leaving yours. So how do you guarantee your invitations will arrive in great condition? Next to hand delivery, your best bet for protecting your invitations against the potential rigors of mailing - marking, bending, and tearing - is to request that your invitations are hand canceled.
What does "hand cancel" mean?Cancellation refers to the markings that the postal service puts on stamped mail to prevent the stamps from being re-used; in current times, this marking is typically created by automated high speed machinery, and most often is a large, red, rectangular stamp. While these machines are quick and convenient, mail that goes through them run the risk of being bent, marked up, and even torn - risks you do not want to take with formal invitations.
Hand canceling, as the names implies, means that each invitation will be post marked by hand, not machinery, thus eliminating the aforementioned risk factors - and the aforementioned unattractive red stamp.
How do I get my invitations hand canceled?After completing your invitations, bring your finished ensemble into your local post office and simply request that they are hand canceled. Most (not all) post offices will have no problem with this, as it is common practice with formal mail. Depending on your local branch, be prepared to be asked to stamp your own invitations, or told that they can be hand canceled on another day.
Additional tips for safe invitation arrivalAlways check with your local post office about the cost of postage prior to mailing. Keep in mind that square invitation envelopes will cost more to send, and mail that weighs over one ounce will also have a surcharge. So check fist and eliminate the Return to Sender stamped across your invitation envelopes.
Consider sending a test invitation to yourself and/or a friend or relative who lives far away. Simply bring a finished ensemble to the post office, determine the appropriate postage, request that it is hand canceled, and see how it arrives. Of course if it arrives safely and free or markings, bends, or tears, you can feel more confident in sending the rest out to your guests.
