DIY Stationary

Greetings, Fanatics!

Recently, I've become obsessed with sending mail and collecting cute stationary. Stationary can get kind of expensive though, personalized or unique stationary even more so ($8 for 5 sheets of paper!?); so I've been experimenting with making my own. It's really easy to make your own as well!

Here's what you'll need:
- Paper or card stock in your choice of color or pattern
- a ruler
- scissors or paper trimmer
- pencil
- pen in a color that compliments the color of your paper
- (optional) stamps and ink pad
- (optional) deco or paper tape
- (optional) stickers



Step 1: Most stationary letter paper is small. When I do buy stationary, it usually comes in 18.5cm x 14cm sheets and that's what I used as a template for my letter sheets. I got a pack of 8" x 8" paper sheets from Target for $1 and clipped a sheet of stationary onto 3-4 sheets using paper clips.

8" x 8" sheet of paper from Target, before cutting.

If you're using the clip method, make sure to use enough paper clips so the paper won't slip around while you are cutting.

 You don't have to use the paperclip method; tracing or drawing on your measurements is fine too. I prefer the clip method so there are no pencil lines to worry about.

Step 2: Cut your paper down to whatever measurements you've drawn/clipped. It's quicker to cut 3 or 4 sheets at a time with scissors or more, if you have a table top paper trimmer.

Time to cut!

Done!

 Step 3: Decorate!
Using stamps, washi tape, deco tape, stickers, or your own drawings, embellish the paper to make it pretty and eye catching. You don't have to do this to every page or even at all, but I like to do it to add a little bit of fun to my letters. If you plan on decorating it, it is important to decorate the paper before you line it. This is so that the decorations are not spoiled by lining, and vise versa.

I used stamps.

Decorated with washi tape, stickers, and a stamp! Unlined as of yet.

 Step 4: Line the paper! Using your ruler, make small marks going down the side of the paper about a centimeter apart. If your handwriting is very large, you can go up to a centimeter and a half. Use the same measurement on each side: if you mark the page on the left side with the bottom measurement being 18 cm, use the 18 cm mark at the bottom of the left side too. Do your lines with a pen that compliments your paper color.

I used darker pink ink for this paper.

 If you have a paper with an even pattern, like polka dots or stripes, it will be even easier to make straight lines. Make sure to leave space around your decorations!

Done! The ice cream scoop on the polka dot page is done with puff paint.

 And we're done! Now you have your own personalized stationary! Once you get the hang of it, it's lots of fun to play around with it and experiment with different colors and styles.