We’re having a party for Eleanor’s third birthday soon. She loves trains, and while searching google images for “Little Golden Books Trains”, I came across The Train to Timbuctoo by Margaret Wise Brown, with illustrations by Art Seiden.
It was originally published in 1951 and though it is now out of print, it’s easy enough to find used copies for sale. I ordered one from eBay (a first edition copy!) with plans to use some of the illustrations inside for our party invitations. The title page had the perfect layout, so I scanned it, cleaned it up, and based our invitations off of it.
I printed them on cream colored paper and rounded the edges with a corner punch, then paired each invite with a burnt orange envelope.
I’ve created a free blank version, available for download below. You can print them four to a page (the second link has them laid out for you already), and the invitations will fit perfectly in an A2 envelope (like these).
These are for personal, non-commercial use only, falling under the Fair Use Copyright Act.
90 comments
Making it Lovely
Hi everyone, I’ve updated the links! You should be able to download these again.
Amber
Do these still work? I tried the links and nothing pulls up.
breghanmoneill
These invites are just darling!! The link no longer works and I am wondering if they are still available to download? My little boy is obsessed with trains and his 2nd birthday is coming up. This invite would be perfect!!
Deborah
Have any of the 2018 inquiries received a response? I would also love to use this printable.
Anna Bullis
The links to these files in Dropbox no longer work. Are you able to provide a new link? I would LOVE these for my son’s 5th birthday party in a few weeks. Thank you!
Melissa M
Is this link available anymore for the train birthday invitation. When I click on the link, it says “Sorry, that file doesn’t live here anymore. It might have been moved or made private.” I love this invite and would love to be able to have this image for my son’s birthday party. Is there anyway that I could have the link?
Bodil Walker
Hi! Thank you so much for this invitation it is adorable and perfect for my son’s 2nd birthday.
***To all you posting about how to edit the .jpg file…I put the image in a powerpoint (or keynote for Mac) side and did text over. It worked perfectly. I was even able to edit the font and opacity of the font to match. So it is like fill in style but at least not hand written.***
Satya
Hello! I would love to use these beautiful invitations, but I also do not have software to edit the .jpg file. Do you have a PDF to a version without text that could be hand written?
Thank you
Christina
Hi Nicole! When i try to download this adorable invitation it only saves it as a jpeg and not an adobe file. How do I edit it?
Also, what other party decor did you use for her birthday party? This is absolutely adorable!
Thank you!
Jeanette
I want to echo many other grateful moms, and tell you how adorable these invites are! I would really like to use the image for my son’s birthday party in just a couple short weeks (eek! I know I’m behind….being pregnant really wipes me out!). Anyway, I can’t seem to open or download these as anything except jpeg images making it impossible to edit :( Please help me!
Kimberly
Thanks for the free template! These are awesome! I’m using them for my little girls 2nd birthday party!!!
robyn
Greetings,
I’m in absolute love with your blog, and this adorable invitation!! It is exactly what I had in mind for my son’s birthday, and I would love to use this idea. I’m having difficulty getting it downloaded to my computer in a format which allows me to alter the necessary information. For some reason it just keeps popping up as a picture that I am unable to work with.
I’m not very savvy in this field, so I am wondering if you have any suggestions. I’m using a Mac. And I appreciate any help!
Kind thanks,
Robyn
Jessica
I too am having the same problem. Any thoughts?
Alicia
Love this! It’s exactly what I’m looking for, for my son’s 5th bday. This is the third year in a row he STILL wants trains as a theme for his birthday, so this fits perfectly. I don’t suppose you have the image available without any text in the middle…I thought of making a couple other print outs or a post for the front door. I can probably copy it blank ok by covering it up since the background appears white, but but if you happen to have that…I would be so grateful!
Stephanie
Hi There
I”m using this free pdf (thank you SO much) and love the paper you use but am having so much trouble finding construction paper for laser printers locally. I can find it online (like the link you gave), but it is always too much and shipping is crazy! Any tips? So far the print shops I’ve tried don’t stock construction paper, but say I can bring my own…if I can ever find it!
Marie
I’m so excited to use these. Thanks for setting them up! I can’t seem to be able to edit the font though. When I click on the link it opens in a new window but it won’t let me edit. Am I doing something wrong? Thanks!
Michelle
That’s lovely!
Could you tell me what program I need for opening with? I’ve download but can’t type in. Thanks
Michelle
That’s lovely! Can I ask that what sort of program you use for open this file? I’ve download this one but have no idea how to edit on it.
Thanks
Eleni
Adorable! Thank you for sharing :)
Laura
I think I’ll be using these invites for my son’s second birthday party. Thank you.
Amy
This is a beautiful invitation!! Thank you SO much for being so generous with it. I’m using these for my 3 year old’s birthday party. :)
Amanda
LOVE LOVE this invitation! I ALSO love your blog! I saw these on pinterest. So fun!
Maureen H
Thank you SO much for providing this free, adorable template. I did an evite for my son’s train party, but needed something for people who’s email I didn’t have. These were perfect!
Mia
Thanks so much for this! I’m going to use them for my little man’s first birthday!
Beth
super cute!
Amber
Using these for my little man’s 4th birthday in June~ he LOVES trains, but has never been into the cartoon-y ones… :) This is perfect! Thank you so much!
Tyla B
What a generous gift! My near three-year old son has a birthday coming up in June. This will get put to good use, as he has a super healthy obsession with trains. What great timing!
Michele
“something” I had missed
Michele
Thanks so much for these adorable invites. I was just tooling around with my son’s 4 year old invite when these popped into my inbox. My lucky day!
One question, I’m not tech-savvy AT ALL–is there a “not-too-difficult” way to fill out my own fields? Thanks so much.
Making it Lovely
Pen. ;)
Michele
Ah, yes, it’s all so clear now :). I thought maybe there was nothing I had missed and I guess there was! Thanks again. These are adorable
Joanna
The invitations are darling and I really enjoy your blog! What kind of printer do you use for these kinds of projects?
Making it Lovely
I have an Epson R1900.
Sonali
What is the font type and size you used on each line of the invitation?
Making it Lovely
The font is Eames Century, and I used a mix of sizes, but the main two were 22 pt and 10 pt.
Ali
Those train birthday party invites are ADORABLE! You are so creative! My son, Jack turned 3 at the beginning of April! Guess what! We rode the mini train in our town for his birthday party! :) Three year olds LOVE trains! Enjoy celebrating your 3 year old!
Okay, this may be crossing the line (so please forgive me if I’m being greedy) I remember LOVING the rainbow colored invitation you made for your daughter’s 2nd birthday! Any chance you’ll offer those invites as a free download too? No worries, if you don’t want to post those invites! I’ll always come back to your LOVELY blog..its the best! :)
~ Ali
Ilene
This is genuis. Thank you for sharing. Completely inspiring. And as I understand copyright, this is fair use.
Gina
Those are so cute! Unfortunately, my little boy is into cars… so that will be the theme of our birthday party. Thanks!
paola
this is sooo pretty!!great work!!
Laura
Nicole, I am so glad that you were able to do this. I have a little girl who loves trains as well. We just had a Choo-Choo 2nd Birthday Party for her in March. It is so hard to find girl friendly train invites. Thanks so much for sharing. I am so glad that you were able to with the © issues. Thanks again!!
Shawna
WOO HOO! Just found your blog [addicted] and it must be a sign since my little man is turning 4 next month and we are having a…wait for it…TRAIN PARTY!!! He is OBSESSED!!!
So, call me a newbie or whatever, but when I go to print your invitations, they are about 2×2 inches?!?!?! Also, how do I change the text??? Please help a train-lovers mom out!!
Thanks – LOVE THE BLOG!!!!
Nita
These are really cute, the illustration works out so well as an invite.
Gretchen
These are SO cute!! Love this. Very, very creative.
trisha_cm
Perfect for my sons small birthday party which is in 3 weeks! Thanks!
Lindsey
How can she be 3 already. I can’t get over how cute those choo choo invites came out.
Kathy
I just love everything you do!
Thanks.
Leone
These are so freakin’ adorable! You’re so creative.
Shoshana
I love you for choosing a train theme over a princess theme.
amanda
does designing invitations make you want to reopen your shop?!?
Justine
Love love LOVE this! I’m such a sucker for vintage book illustrations.
April
Thank you so much for sharing this. I’m a freight train conductor and plan to tuck this away for when I have my first baby. It’s so delicate and sweet.
Jillian@TheHumbleGourmet
So adorable! I’m feeling inspired!
Erika
Those are adorable! Eleanor is lucky to have such a creative mom!
jenni o
Copyright law is indeed ambiguous, and I wouldn’t necessarily advocate offering up a free diy Disney invitation on the internet, but since these are illustrations made before 1963 AND have not been republished, they are technically in the public domain, which means Nicole could feasibly sell these if she wanted to, without repercussions.
This is a great site if you have more questions: http://www.publicdomainsherpa.com/
jenni o
Actually, Karen, no. Only if these were offered for SALE, would this be an infringement. As long as the download is used for personal use only, it is perfectly acceptable. You can even scan current Disney characters and make an invitation out of it (or print them out and make a quilt with them, then give it to your nephew), as long as it is JUST FOR YOU or offered freely as a gift (i.e. personal, non-commercial use).
my honest answer
But if Nicole makes money from her blog, isn’t posting it here commerical use? Not trying to start an argument, I’m genuinely curious.
Making it Lovely
There is a lot of ambiguity in copyright law, but in the simplest terms, commercial use pertains to selling something directly.
KarenF
I’m sorry, but this does not constitute fair use under the Copyright Act. The use would have to be in some way for the greater good: in teaching, in research, for a documentary, etc.
If nothing else, you’re distributing the derivative work. This is expressly forbidden.
Justine
Aren’t birthday parties really for the greater good? ;)
Making it Lovely
The way that I understood it was that it applied in this case much the same way that mash-up artists use and sample songs and then distribute the derivative works for free.
ryan
I love printed invitations and wish I hosted more events so I cold make more invitations! When I did the paper products for my wedding I did something similar with a vintage book from ebay. I scanned the illustrations and used them on the invitations, website and cards.
I have got to get me one of those corner punches though. I love rounded corners.
I Heart Motherhood
what a gorgeous invite! So clever ;)
Molly the Waffler
Oh, Little Golden Books — brings me back to my childhood!
Shosh
Hi – I also had the same question a previous commenter had about infringing on the copyright of the illustration…maybe append the comment to the post? You are super talented and the invitation’s gorgeous…
Making it Lovely
There is a line directly below the links to download stating that “these are for personal, non-commercial use only, falling under the Fair Use act.” I will amend that to “Fair Use Copyright Act” to make it more clear.
Carolyn
Those are SO CUTE. How clever.
NK @ Style-ING w/ Children
gorgeous. I love your design esthetic.
Christine
Can you share where you purchased the paper and it’s weight?
Making it Lovely
I used Whitewash Construction Paper from French Paper, cover weight, 80#. It’s recycled and has just the slightest bit of flecking to it and a nice creamy color.
Rebecca
So cute! But I ask this out of professional curiosity. How does this not infringe on copyright for the illustrations?
Making it Lovely
I looked into it before sharing it as a download. These would fall under the Fair Use act. The illustrations are still protected by copyright, but this is a derivative work that does not impede on the market value on the book (especially since it is out of print), and is being distributed for free.
Tiffany
Great job Nicole!!! I can’t wait to see the party and thanks for sharing the invites. Thats really nice of you.
liz
These are darling!
Martina
Thank you!! Sounds like it will be a fun party! Happy birthday, Eleanor!
brittney
You are so dang creative Nicole. I love seeing what you come up with. The invites are adorable. Happy 3rd Birthday Eleanor!
Emma Assin
so beautiful. i will be using these for my train-loving 2 year old’s 3rd birthday party for sure! thank you so much for sharing and happy birthday to lovely eleanor!
Corinne
I can’t figure out how to edit the writing in them once I download them…. Sorry, not overly computer literate
Making it Lovely
The ones to download are just fill-in-the-blank style.
Claribel Flores-Gonzalez
Hello Nicole,
The link to your train invite no longer works. I’m assuming because it’s from a while ago. Is it still available? This invite is perfect for my two-year-old’s vintage train birthday party.
Comments are closed.