Handmade Dinosaur Birthday Party Invitations

My son is a huge dinosaur fan, so for his birthday I just had to throw him a themed dinosaur birthday party.  I wanted the invitations to be fun and unique, so I made some salt dough bones, buried them in a box with sand, and then gave them to friends and family along with an invitation that had all of the dinosaur birthday party details on it.

If you have a dinosaur lover on your hands, he or she will love these invitations, or even just making the bones with you!

DIY Dinosaur Birthday Party Invitation Supplies:

• Salt dough bones (recipe and instructions below)
• Square Paper mache boxes
• Sand or soil (I bought bagged playground sand)
• Jute cord
• Kraft cards and envelopes

Salt Dough Recipe:

• 2 c flour
• 1 c salt
• 1 c water

Combine the salt and flour, then slowly add the water and mix.  You might not need all the water, so add a little at a time, then stir until the dough is firm, and not sticky.

Step 1.   Create small bone shapes out of the dough.  I did this by rolling a small piece like a snake, and then creating the rounded bone shape at the end.  These don’t have to be perfect!  I wanted mine to look rough and rugged, like they’ve been underground for millions of years. 😉

Step 2.  Bake the dough bones in a 325 degree oven for an hour.  Let cool.

Step 3.  Fill each paper mache box 3/4 up with sand.  Bury the dino bones down in the dirt, and put the lid back on the box. Tie the lid onto the box with jute.

Step 4.  Write or print the party details on the blank kraft cards, fold, and put in the matching envelopes.  Pass the box and cards out to friends and family, who get to dig down into the dirt to find the dino bones.

This unique dinosaur birthday party invitation is so much fun for kids to open!

Happy crafting!