Baby shower invitation art with an API: watercolor, details in code

To make baby shower invitation art with an API, generate a soft watercolor border with an empty center on Sume, and add the date, place and host names in code. Details change when the venue or time does, and a re-render in code is free, while a regeneration is billed.

Ideogram 4.5 is a good first model to try for this; fal's page describes it as strong at posters and logos with accurate text rendering (read 2026-10-06, fal), and the same page lists $0.03, $0.06 and $0.22 per image for low, medium and high. Sume bills the list price times 1.25, so medium is $0.075. If you want text drawn by the model as well, quote it; for the details of an event, code is safer.

Choosing the pieces

An invitation has a decorative part and a factual part. The art can be generated once and shared; the facts come from the host and may change twice before the day.

The request

The call asks for a 3:4 border with an empty center at medium quality. Add your own facts afterwards with Pillow, as in the certificate background example.

import os
import requests

body = {
    "model": "ideogram/ideogram-v4.5",
    "prompt": (
        "A soft watercolor invitation border of sage leaves and small white "
        "flowers on a cream background. The center is empty. No text."
    ),
    "aspect_ratio": "3:4",
    "quality": "medium",
}
r = requests.post(
    "https://api.sume.com/v1/images",
    headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['SUME_API_KEY']}"},
    json=body,
    timeout=60,
)
print(r.status_code)
print(r.json()["data"][0]["url"] if r.status_code == 200 else r.text[:300])

A short prompt library

Use one line per theme, and keep each to a single motif. Each prompt below is a starting point to test, not a guaranteed result.

• Soft watercolor border of sage leaves and small white flowers, empty center.
• Pastel balloons in a loose cluster in one corner, cream background, empty center.
• Gentle clouds and tiny stars in pale blue, empty center.
• Woodland animals peeking from the border, muted greens and browns, empty center.
• Simple gold line frame on blush pink, empty center.

Cost of a theme test

Try each theme at low quality first, pick the one the family likes, and only then run a medium pass for the final. At Ideogram 4.5 low the billed cost is $0.0375 per image, so five themes cost about 19 cents (5 x $0.0375). Ask the host which of the five they prefer before spending on the final.

Matching extras

Hosts usually want more than the invitation: a thank-you card, a welcome sign and a small tag for favors. Reuse the same prompt wording with a different ratio for each, such as 3:4 for the card and 2:3 for a sign, and the set will share a look. Text for each piece is again drawn in code, so a change of venue does not mean regenerating anything.

Ask the host to pick the palette before you generate, because pastel colors vary in how they print. A test print shows whether the pale tints survive the paper.

Sharing the invitation

For a digital invitation, export a PNG at a size that loads quickly on a phone, and keep the original for printing. Add the text in a font large enough to read without zooming. If guests need a map or a registry link, put that in the message you send with the image, not in the image, so the link can be tapped.

Send the host a low-quality draft first and wait for a yes before paying for the final. Drafts are cheap and a change of mind is common, particularly about colors. Once approved, save the prompt, the model, the quality and the seed-free result URL's downloaded file together so you can reproduce the look for the thank-you cards later.

Keep to two fonts, one for the headline and one for the facts. Center the text block inside the empty area, and leave a margin so a printer will not trim a word. Send the invitation as a PNG for phones, and as a PDF made from the same image if you print.