Wedding season is officially here and events of all kinds are in full swing. And with that… of course comes thank you notes! We’ve been designing lots of personal stationery as thank you notes for our clients recently so we put together some DIY versions to show how fun it can be to craft your own personal stationery. We used the same monogram rubber stamp for all three designs and the results couldn’t be more different! – Bailey and Emma of Antiquaria

It’s always good to have some monogrammed stationery on hand for when a last minute occasion arrises. Make a bunch at one time and store them in a pretty box with pens and postage. Monogrammed stationery also makes for a really great handmade gift!

 Option One: Blue and white is such a classic color combination. We put a painterly spin on it with this gorgeous watercolor card. Adding white embossing on top of the paint really elevates the design and makes the monogram pop off of the card, literally!

Step One: On the front of the card, in the center, paint a loose oval with indigo colored watercolor paint. Add multiple layers so that parts of the circle are darker than others. After the circle is complete, splash a little extra paint around the circle for a splattered effect. To do this we simply flicked the tip of the brush with our fingertip over the card. Set aside to dry completely.

Step Two: Stamp your monogram in the center of the watercolor oval using a white ink pad. Quickly sprinkle embossing powder over the stamped image. Shift it around until the monogram is completely covered with powder. Tip the excess off onto a scrap piece of paper.

Step Three: Using a embossing heat tool, melt the powder. You can watch our video tutorial of the process here.

Option Two: Wreaths have been a popular design element in stationery for a while now. We just can’t get enough of them – especially when they’re hand painted in shades of green!

Step One: After stamping your monogram in the center of the front of your card, paint a little vine circle around it, leaving the bottom open (as shown above). Don’t try to make the oval perfect, a meandering vine will be more natural once the leaves are painted around it!

Step Two: Add your leaves to the oval. The technique is simple: just load your brush with watercolor paint, lay it down flat, and then pick it up, dragging up to the point as you lift it off. This will give you the shape of the leaf with very little effort! Practice first before starting on the final cards until you get it down. Varying the size and color of the leaves will help give a more natural look to the card. Paint the leaves starting at the bottom and finishing at the top. Where they meet, leave a little space and paint a small dot in the top center to finish it off.

Step Three: We also added little leaf adornments to each corner, using the same technique to finish off the card design.

Option Three: This stunning, black and white design is both modern and whimsical at the same time. Plus, you don’t even have to pull out the paint for this one!

Step One: Stamp your monogram in the front center of the card in black ink. Set it aside to dry.

Step Two: Find a circle on your template that is â…›” to ¼” larger than the design, and trace it using a black felt tipped pen.

Step Three: With a brush pen, add little black polka dots around the circle – but make sure not to put any inside. We didn’t make the size or pattern of the dots even for this design, so it has a lovely organic irregularity… plus it’s easier to do!

Step Four: Add little bitty dots around your polka dots to fill in the white spaces of your design by touching only the very tip of the pen to the paper.

Materials

Antique Monogram Stamp

A2 Folded Card, preferably made of Watercolor Paper (90lb hot press). We cut an art sheet down into rectangles (5.5″ x 8.5″) and scored them down the middle to make our own cards.

Envelope liner templates

Double Sided Tape or Stick Glue (to adhere liners into envelopes)

Option One:

Watercolor Paint

Paint Brushes

Frost White Stamp Pad

White Embossing Powder

Envelope Liner Watercolor Stripe Ocean Text Patterned Paper

A2 Envelope in night

Option Two:

Watercolor Paint

Paint Brushes

Stamp Pad in Olive

Envelope Liner Natalia Floral Text Patterned Paper

A2 Envelope in Sage

Option Three:

Circle Stencil Template

Black Brush Pen

Black Felt Tip Pen

Stamp Pad in Black

Envelope Liner Brushed Floral No.1  Text Patterned paper

A2 Envelope in Black

Photography by Antiquaria for Oh So Beautiful Paper