By Elizabeth Zachry

I was thinking about what to get my friend for her bridal shower gift and thought to myself “what is something a bride will need, but may not think of for herself?”  Then it hit me: Thank You cards!  My sister and I decided that to make it even more special we would make them ourselves.  It was a little time consuming, but definitely worth it.  Here are a few instructions to help you get started making your own cards too!

One of my favorite techniques is dry embossing.  It is very simple, but always looks great.  Here is what you need to get started:

Items you need:

• Blank cards and envelopes
• Colored paper that matches the wedding colors
• Stencil
• Embossing tool (round tool that fits within the stencil lines)
• Ribbon
• Stamp pad (any color)
• Thank You stamp

Instructions:

Step 1:  I recommend cutting your colored paper to the appropriate sizes.  Measure one color to match the size of your stencil, with another piece slightly larger.  Then, cut your third color to be slightly wider (approximately 1”) than your stencil and a few inches longer so there is room to tie the ribbon.

Step 2: Place your stencil on a clear surface that is lit from the bottom.  (I used my glass coffee table with a flashlight underneath.)  Place your smallest piece of paper over the stencil. Wiith the light shining through, you should be able to see the design.  Trace the design using the round tool from the list above.  If you do not own an embossing tool and do not want to buy one you can try using a small nail head, ballpoint pen, or anything you can think of that will not go through the paper.  When you are finished and you flip over the paper, you should see a copy of the stencil imprinted in it.  That was the hardest part, you are almost done!

Step 3:  Glue your embossed paper to the other two pieces you cut in step 1 (as shown on my card). Tie a piece of ribbon around the bottom and affix the entire thing to the card.

Step 4:  use the stamp to put “thank you” on the card.  I chose the bottom, but you could also put it on the top or running down the side.

Everyone will be super impressed when they find out you made these cards yourself!