I love this end-of-summer-beginning-of-fall weather. It’s still warm and sunny during the day but there’s a definite crispness to the air and it smells like leaves and wood stoves at night. And in Seattle, it’s sort of a calm before the storm, the storm being never-ending rain, clouds, and darkness. So, yay for now!
Today I’m sharing a tutorial for DIY moving announcements for my friend who is movin’ on up to a larger apartment across town. She has a sophisticated but casual style and I really wanted to reflect that in her design. All of the paper I used is from JAM Paper. They have lots of fun office supplies and a HUGE paper selection and–note to self–they offer high quality colored paper in larger sizes such as legal, 11″ x 17″, and 12.5″ x 18″, which can be really hard to find.
Overview
- Color palette: kraft, bright white, aqua
- Card/envelope size: A6
- 3 layers: bottom-aqua, middle-kraft, top-white
- Details: corners, liners, polka dots
Materials
- A6 envelopes
- White paper for design layer. I used 8.5″ x 11″ paper to run through my printer and cut down to the right card size because it works best with my printer. You may find that yours accepts pre-cut cards easily.
- Kraft paper (lighter weight) for envelope liners
- Kraft and Aqua cardstock for layers
- Paper cutter
- Corner punch
- Ink pad
- Pencil
- Glue stick or double-sided tape
Basic Idea
Announcements:
Create your design using any program you feel comfortable with: Canva, Photoshop, Word, Publisher (I used Photoshop for this project so I could practice. I think Canva would be easy and fun!). When designing, consider the measurements of your paper layers. The layer with text will be the smallest of the three layers. Plan ahead! Need inspiration? Check out my invitations Pinterest page and Minted for loads of ideas.
One of my favorite things about this design is the “we’ve moved” script font. If you’re good at hand-lettering, do it yourself! If you’re not (like me), find a pretty font. There are thousands of free fonts at Dafont or Font Squirrel. I used “Janda” and it can be found here.
Cut down the middle and top layers to create even borders, usually 1/8” or 1/4”. It’s important to make sure the border is even on all four sides—it really is the difference between mediocre handmade and professional handmade.
Before adhering together, use a corner punch to punch all edges on all three layers.
Using your adhesive, adhere the layers together. Make sure you center each layer and place adhesive near the edges.
Envelope liners:
I created envelope liners with pretty hand-stamped polka dots. It’s easy!
Open up one envelope and carefully detach the sides and bottom—this is your liner template. Using your liner paper, line it up right underneath the gummed edge. You want about 1/8″ of room on either side so it will slide into the envelope easily. Depending on the size of your paper, you can mark the sides and bottom with a pencil or else fold the paper as shown above and cut on the fold line.
Using the end of an eraser and an ink pad, create a polka dot pattern on the liners. It could be random or uniform depending on your style. Let dry. Slip the liner in the envelope and attach the top to the envelope with adhesive just underneath the gummed edge.
Envelopes:
Jazz up the envelope! I think the envelope is just as important as what’s inside. You want to get people excited!! I stamped polka dots to the front to match the liners and added a seal on the back. You could also use matching labels or a pretty gold pen!
I’m pleased with how they turned out and the kraft paper reminds me of Fall!
Want to see more DIY projects? Check out the Tutorials page!
*This post was created in collaboration with JAM Paper. All opinions are always my own and I never write about items I don’t love!
