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Showing posts with label stationery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stationery. Show all posts



This is one of those "wow, I can't believe that actually worked" DIYs. The steps to creating beautiful DIY marbled paper are insanely easy. My favorite part of this DIY, of course, is that it's inexpensive (and you may even be able to find most of these materials from around your house). It's too easy to find DIY projects that end up being more expensive than just going out and buying a similar product. This simple technique is a fun way to spruce up snail mail, or any handmade card, and gives expensive-looking results for next to nothing in cost.


I used washi tape on the backs of my envelopes/cards that I would be dipping into the shaving cream/food coloring mixture. The tape prevents the food coloring from bleeding onto areas of the paper that you don't want color, resulting in a clean product. The washi tape provides that protective barrier, and is easily removes from the paper without ripping it. For cards and envelopes, I used my favorite Strathmore blank cards and envelopes. For bigger sized paper, I used watercolor paper out of my Montval watercolor pad, as used in this DIY watercolor galaxy project.


My first set of cards involved purple and red swirls, and then I very quickly got carried away and used every color I had. I used Neon gel food coloring, which was a fun change from the usual red, orange, green, and blue.




Once the shaving cream + food coloring mix is prepared, just dip, remove, let sit for 30 seconds, and scrape off the shaving cream. That's it! Use your newly marbled cards and envelopes as greeting cards, invitation cards, place settings, or bookmarks. You could also gather a few different sized marbled papers and unique frames, and create a collection of 3 or 4 frames to hang in your home for some wall decor.


DIY marbled paper

Sunday, July 23, 2017


While in New Orleans for a quick New Years trip back in December, H and I stumbled upon a writing supplies store while walking around the French Quarter, Papier Plume. Seeing different calligraphy inks in the window display obviously sucked me in immediately, and while perusing the store, I found an array of sealing wax and stamps. After seeing the sealing wax and stamp used in action during a demo at the store, I purchased them. Excited to finally use it, I sealed a wedding card envelope I recently sent to a friend.

The composition of sealing wax has changed over time. In the Middle Ages, it was largely composed of either beeswax or extract of the European Larch tree. Later, resin and shellac became more common. Unfortunately, by the mid-nineteenth century, pre-gummed envelopes made their debut and thus wax seals lost their appeal. Nonetheless, wax seals remain a timeless extra to personalized snail mail. I've put together a quick how-to if you want to try using your own wax and stamp to seal envelopes, letters, or ribbons.



Step 1: Light a candle. Dip the end of your sealing wax stick into the fire to melt some wax. When it looks like the surface of the tip has melted (should take less than 5 seconds), you're ready to place the wax on your paper. Be careful- leaving the wax in the fire too long will cause the wax to start dripping everywhere. 


Step 2: Place and very gently press the melted wax tip onto your desired stamp location. Hold it there for just as long as it takes to get a puddle of wax onto the paper.


Step 3: After removing the stick of wax, let the wax puddle sit for about 2-3 seconds and then press the stamp onto the wax. Hold the stamp firmly there for about 5 seconds. Remove stamp and you're done!

wax seal for snail mail

Monday, March 13, 2017

I need to take a break from the scrapbook posts to commemorate this past weekend.

I, and some of my friends, graduated from college this weekend. With four crazy years behind me, it was really hard to not give my closest friends some sort of parting gift. Unfortunately, my bank account wouldn't be able to handle that, but handmade cards really do add a special touch!

I made this one for two of my closest friends, Lauren and Jeff. We met at a freshman retreat the summer before I started college. This card accompanied fun college paraphernalia gifts (an oven mitt and argyle socks).




goodbye cards

Monday, May 14, 2012

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