I love paper. Like… a lot. It’s no secret that my favorite store is Paper Source. I could get lost for hours and spend thousands of dollars there on nothing but paper. It’s appropriate, then, that  my love affair with paper (and pretty much anything handmade) was what cemented the fate of my client stationery; they were destined to be meticulously crafted.

While I was growing up, my mom went through different phases of craft-obsessions. The first phase I remember is smocking. I liked that phase- I have many-a-handmade Easter dress from that period. Then she moved on to knitting. PSA: hand-knit dish rags don’t last very long. Then came the rubber stamps. Ho. Ly. Cow. We had SO MANY rubber stamps, my mom had several of those little plastic multi-drawer carts to store them all.

The rubber stamp era gave way to a new dawn: card making. This was a pretty cool phase- she made all the  Christmas, birthday and last-day-of-school gifts for our teachers- always a set of handmade thank-you cards. It was this, watching my mother craft her little heart out, only to then turn around and give away her creations, that inspired me to put so much effort into my own client stationery.

This DIY post is easily applicable to cards for any sort of occasion!

Supplies:

• Size A2 folded and flat cards and A2 envelopes- PaperSource
• Logo stamp- RubberStamps.net
• Key stamp- PaperSource
• Pigment pad (different than an ink pad- make sure it specifically says PIGMENT)- Michael’s Craft Store
• Embossing powder- PaperSource
• Embossing gun -Michael’s

Step one: Get the stamp good and inked up, then stamp it! be sure not to rock the stamp- keep it as stationary (haha, pun) as possible while pressing down firmly.

Step two: Immediately sprinkle an ample amount of embossing powder over the pigment. Be sure to have a large piece of paper under your project- after making sure the pigment is covered with embossing powder, tap off the excess powder and return it to the powder jar.

Step three: Switch the embossing gun to “on” and hold it at an angle over the image. It’ll take a few seconds, but the powder will turn glossy. Move the embossing gun around until the entire stamped image is free of  grain from the powder, and the whole thing is shiny.

I pair the envelopes with key-stamped folded cards and logo-stamped flat cards (done in the same fashion as the envelopes) It makes for a cohesive stationery suite that leaves an impression!

Taking the time to make personal stationery says a lot to whomever you’re writing. These are cards that won’t get thrown away. Well, at least not as quickly as the rest of the mail.

Happy Thursday!