Top Graduation Announcements & Invitations from Etsy Shops for 2011

Graduation 2011 is just around the corner and it's already time to start thinking about ordering Graduation announcements and graduation party invitations for those proud high school and college graduates of 2011. They've completed their education and now it's time for a lesson on ordering graduation announcements and invitations.

Ordering graduation party invitations and graduation announcements online is often the most convenient and affordable option. The Etsy shops are a great place to look.

What are Etsy shops?

Etsy calls itself the "world's most vibrant handmade marketplace." Etsy is an online place to buy or sell handmade and vintage items and art and supplies.

What should I look for when choosing an Etsy seller for my graduation invitations or announcements?

Each seller will have a feedback rating that tells you two things. The first number is the number of feedback ratings a seller has received and the second number is a percentage of positive feedback. Although we all know that it's hard to make everybody happy all the time, for something as important as your graduation party invitations or announcements, you'll want to shoot for an Etsy shop with a 100% positive feedback score. Also look at the number of responses. Etsy shops with over 100 ratings have obviously been around the block successfully. Everybody has to start somewhere, but be careful leaving your graduation announcements in the hands of an Etsy shop with just a few sales.

Ordering checklist:

Here are a few things to look for when choosing graduation orders.

What size are the invitations?

What quality is the paper stock?

Do the invitations include envelopes?

Is there a discount for quantity?

Will you get proofs by e-mail or mail?

What is the turn around time for delivery?

Be sure to know whether you are buying a "file" you can have printed, a template, or the actual printed graduation announcements.

Now let's look at some top picks for graduation 2011 from Etsy shops.

Are you looking for printed invitations or announcements that are customizable and delivered with envelopes?

Graduation Modern Announcement Invitation from SpillingBeans in Portland, Oregon

What I like about it:

Attractive fonts and layout

Willing to change colors

Printed on card stock

Comes with envelopes

Discount for quantities over 50

Seller feedback: 292, 100% positive

These attractive custom announcements are $1.50 each with discounts for more than 50 and would be appropriate for either high school graduations or college graduations.

Are you looking for printed graduation announcements that can include a photo and will be delivered with envelopes?

Graduation Announcement/ Invitation with Birds by westwillow in Lehi, Utah

What I like about it:

2 sided
Photo and graduation year on one side and the announcement on the other side

Turn around time is approximately one week

Choice of linen, watercolor or glossy cardstock paper

Seller feedback: 1111, 100% positive

These elegant graduation announcements come in a set of 25 including envelopes for $37.50 for 5x7. Smaller options are available and there are discounts for larger quantities. These photo graduation announcements are perfect for either high school or college graduates.

Is there a doctor in the house?

You can even find invitations to announce the graduation of a male nurse or doctor with a male medical professional silhouette here from rocketliv.

Sorry female nurses and doctors. I couldn't find an Etsy shop with a medical school graduation announcement with a female silhouette of a medical professional.

Have your own photo printer?

There are lots of great options on Etsy for buying templates to create your own or proofs to print your own photo invitations and announcements like these from KMThomasDesigns. Of course you can also e-mail them to your favorite photo lab to be printed as well.