I JUST finished sending these DIY thank you cards for my Christmas gifts. It only took me six weeks, but late is better than never when it comes to these things. My first inclination was to go to Paper Source or similar and pick out some beautiful notecards. Not cheap, but so what? Welllll, I couldn’t bring myself to fork over $18.95 for six letterpress cards (I always pick the most expensive design, hands down). I wasn’t feeling DIY either. Until I went into Impress Cards and Crafts, an amazing local crafty store (they sell everything online!), and saw this:
I fell head over heels for this pack. The pink! The mustard! The grey! The black and white! Swoon. And it was only $6.00. So, hey. I knew I had to use the adorable paper somehow. And given that the patterns and colors already worked together with no extra brain power from me was a major score.
Materials:
- The star of the show: 6×6 Bella Rouge paper pack by Pink Paislee, Impress Cards and Crafts
- Folded cards and envelopes, Paper Source (mine are 4-bar size in superfine white, black, slate, and curry)
- Envelope liner kit, Paper Source
- 8.5×11 paper for printing message, Paper Source (mine is superfine white)
- Various solid-colored paper for layering
Additional Supplies:
- Paper cutter
- Scissors
- Adhesive, preferably a tape runner or double-sided tape, to adhere the envelope liners to the envelope
- Computer and printer for “Thank you” message
- Optional: Xyron Machine for banner on envelopes
Basic Idea:
- I picked out my favorite 6×6 patterns and cut envelope liners using my liner kit. For a 4-bar envelope, 6×6 is the perfect size. If you choose a larger card and envelope, you’ll want to upgrade to a 12×12.
- Line your envelopes. Simply trace the corresponding template that is the same size of your envelopes and then adhere it to the envelope with double-sided tape or a tape runner.
- Still unsure? Watch this tutorial!
- Design and print your “Thank You” message on your computer. I found a fun cursive font that was free on Dafont. It took me a few tries to find a size that I liked in proportion to the size of the card.
- Next up: lots of layers. I wanted to use as many designs as possible–go crazy! You can’t go wrong.
- Measure the front of the folded card and cut a patterned paper to the exact same size. Adhere to the card. Align the paper to the card carefully to make sure it matches evenly.
- For the remaining layers, use 3-4 depending on the design and your preference. Use the Thank You layer as a base, choose one or two other layers, and cut each slightly larger. This is very freeform–you can make the layers as thin or thick as you want. Your paper cutter is always a huge help in this department.
- Once you have the layers cut, adhere together with a tape runner or similar, making sure to center each layer on one another so you have an even border.
- Adhere the layered piece in the center of the card.
- Finishing touch: as you may have noticed, or soon will, I have to embellish envelopes–it’s the first thing people see in the mail, so the more colorful, the better!
- I cut small banners using leftover scraps and ran them through my Xyron. What’s a Xyron? It’s a super cool sticker machine that I’ve used a lot. And it’s only $10! Highly recommend it.
- Adhere the banners to the front of the envelope near the bottom and wrap around to the back.
- Done! Sit and admire your work! So pretty! Then get them in the mail. Now. Or soon.
For other fun paper projects, check out the DIY Paper page!