Do you ever miss the days when we didn’t have so much technology at our fingertips? I do! I really thought about it when going through my Christmas cards this year. It’s amazing how many printed Christmas cards I received this year. Although I do appreciate the thought, it seems impersonal to me to receive cards without even a written signature. Many of us are too busy to write our own cards so we hire someone to do it for us. We knock it off our list and feel great it’s been accomplished, but we lose the sense of relationship with one another during this process. I really miss the personal touch of a handwritten message. How about you? Maybe it’s the ex-English teacher in me, or my love of writing, but I assure you I’m not the only one that feels this way.I love that my neighbor still writes handwritten letters to family and friends. We had a conversation before Christmas about how difficult it was for her to find stationery in local stores. That’s when I decided to design her a personalized stationery set for Christmas. Guess what? I liked it so much I decided to make some for myself. Let’s bring back the art of letter writing and make some personalized stationery today!
It really is easy to design your own stationery. All you need is knowledge of a computer program like Microsoft Word and some nice paper that will work with your printer. I used this resume paper to print my stationery. I really liked the texture and weight of it. Linen textured paper works well, too. I actually found this set at my local Wal-Mart, but stores like Staples and Office Depot have lots to choose from.
You will want to use pretty fonts for your stationery, so if you don’t have any you like, head over to www.dafont.com for lots of free choices. Download and install the ones you like. I used A Song For Jennifer for my stationery.
You will also need clip art for your stationery. You can search what’s installed in Microsoft Word for images, but there is also plenty of free clip art on the web. Run a Google search and you will have so many choices, believe me! Just be sure you are respecting any copyrights for the images you decide to use. Many clip art images are free for personal use, but double check just to be sure. I found my watercolor images at Angie Makes. She has some awesome clip art to choose from, so be sure to head over to her site and check it out.
To get started, all you have to do is open a new document in Microsoft Word, add your text and images, and print. It really is that simple! Just insert a text box into the document, add your text and/or image into the box, then format to make it the size you’d like. You can use the cursor to drag the text box around the document until it’s placed where you like it. You can even re-size the text box by dragging the edges of the box in to make it smaller, or out to make it larger. Have fun and play with it until it’s just right for you!
You can layer text boxes, too. The image at the top of my stationery is actually two layered text boxes. I added the image of the wreath first, then added another text box with my name on top of it.
The lined portion of my stationery was made by creating a large text box, then I typed the underscore key repeatedly inside the text box to create the lines.
Once my images and lines were completed, I added a page border and then I was done.
Well, not really. I decided to print matching envelopes, so I used a template in Microsoft Word to create one. I used the same process of adding text boxes with text and images to match the stationery pages.
I really do love having my very own personalized stationery. If you’re more interested in cards than stationery pages, you can create your own personalized cards, too. Just change the page layout to match the size of your cards, and use the same process above to design them before printing.
Why not make someone’s day today and send them a handwritten letter or note? Let them know how much they mean to you in your very own words. You can show how much you care by taking the time to write your thoughts with ink and paper, not with texts and emails. A handwritten letter takes more time and effort, and I promise you the gesture will be greatly appreciated. Join me by taking time to focus on what’s really important today…relationships.
Shared with: Bloggers Brags Weekly Pinterest Link Party, Frugal Crafty Home Blog Hop, Merry Monday Link Party, Off The Hook Monday, Made By You Monday, Two Uses Tuesday, Lou Lou Girls Fabulous Party, Treasure Box Tuesday, Do Tell Tuesday, Titus 2 Tuesday, Pin Worthy Wednesday, Create & Share DIY and Recipe Party, Moonlight & Mason Jars, Retro Re-Pin Party, Whatever Goes Wednesday, Inspiration², Thursday Favorite Things, Inspire Us Thursday, Think and Make Thursday, The Creative Exchange Link Party, Your Turn To Shine
Sandy Sandmeyer says
Thank you so much for linking up with us today at the Bloggers Brags Pinterest Party. Your post has been pinned to our Bloggers Brags board.
Mary@SweetwaterStyle says
Your stationery is so beautiful. I scour the clearance aisle for wedding invitation sets or baby announcements and tailor those to be either gifts or for myself. The envelopes and other extras are very special. Check it out http://sweetwaterstyle.blogspot.com/2013/07/seven-sweet-things-saturday-at.html
Thanks for the inspiration.
Christie Selken says
Thanks so much for stopping by and taking a look at my personalized stationery. I love the idea of finding clearance invitation sets…awesome! 🙂
Kristina @ My Own Home Blog says
This will come in handy when wedding season rolls around and if I ever get married and need to write thank you notes and send invites!
I’d love it if you’d come link up with me and my 4 blogging friends at Talented Tuesday Link Party on my blog!
Christie Selken says
I’m so glad you like it! I will definitely take a stop by your link party. Enjoy the rest of your week!
Amberjane says
What a great idea I must get ink for my printer and try this – Thanks for linking up to Pin Worthy Wednesday, I have pinned your post to the Pin Worthy Wednesday Pinterest Board.
Christie Selken says
Awesome, thanks!
Lou Lou Girls says
Oh my! This looks so amazing. Pinned and tweeted. Thank you so much for being a part of our party. We really appreciate you! I hope to see you on tonight at 7 pm. Happy Monday! Lou Lou Girls
Sharon | Her Organized Chaos says
Sweet idea. I want to make some family ones now.
Christie Selken says
Awesome! It’s really easy to do, too. I bet you could design some awesome stationery!
Michelle James says
This is awesome. My favorite part is the return address. It looks so nice and I would love to see something that cheerful in my mailbox!
Christie Selken says
Thanks, Michelle. If I had your address I’d mail you a letter! 🙂
Kim says
I am super excited about this tutorial. I have seen this done but never knew where to start. Thank you! I will be pinning to do at a later date. I agree with the too much technology. I don’t live close to family and we are often not together for the holidays. We used to call on the holiday, but anymore everyone just sends a text. I’ve had friends stop doing Christmas cards all together, because they say everything is already been said and posted on Facebook. Have a great week!
Christie Selken says
I am so glad you found this tutorial helpful! Yes, it’s sad that we’ve lost touch with new technology. Don’t get me wrong, I love my iPhone, but you can have too much of a good thing. 🙂 I hope you have a great week, too!