Cards Archives - A Side of Sweet

Gold Leaf Thank You Notes DIY

DIY gold foil notes will make your message so much sweeter! The gold leaf words can easily be customized with your message.

Hooray for handmade cards! They are something I enjoy doing and even more enjoy sending. It seems like everything is digital and online these days, which makes receiving a snail mail note that more special. There are obvious reasons to send a thank you card, like a bridal shower or a birthday, but I think the best ones are complete unexpected. “Thanks for the ride home the other night.” or “Thanks for letting me borrow a dress for that wedding!”

I’ve shared many versions of DIY Thank You Notes and Greeting Cards on the blog, but these are probably one of my favorite. I mean gold leaf, come on! The gold foil look is classy and elegant and I’m definitely proud to put one in the mail. I also love that you can customize them with any message, like the “Let’s Do Brunch” ones I made along with the thank you notes…. Read More »

Our Holiday Cards + Minted

Now that we’re halfway across the country from some of our closest family and friends, holiday cards this season are more important that ever. What better excuse than the holidays to write a hand written letter and send it to our loved ones via snail mail? I wanted to have something special to send out to our nearest and dearest. The obvious choice was a photo card of Pat and I featuring one of our amazing wedding photos by the wonderful Kinsey and Josh Mhire. With literally hundreds to choose from, it was so hard to narrow it down to one! We eventually went with one of us with the swing that Pat made.

Our Holiday Cards + Minted Foil Cards!

Minted is an online company based out of San Francisco, and I’m such a fan of all of their pretty paper products. When they reached out to me about providing our holiday cards (and a discount for you!), it felt like the perfect opportunity. We chose one of their new foil-pressed holiday card designs. It was so easy to upload our photo, click through the options and submit. Really, the hardest part of the process was picking just one design! We eventually narrowed it down to this festive Cheerflake design.

Opening the box was such a treat. The cards were wrapped in ribbon and the package was signed by the designer. The cards are perfect. The photos are matte, so they don’t show fingerprints and look so professional! I am so happy with the quality and with how great our photo looks. There were so many options to choose from. Here are a few more of my faves:

Minted Foil Cards + a promo code!

Foil Holiday Cards + a Minted promo code!

I chose to leave the back of our cards blank and my intent is to fill the space with a hand-written note. One of the benefits of being so on the ball with holiday cards this year is that I’ll actually have time to do it! I love sending and receiving hand-written notes – it’s one of those small thoughtful things that is so meaningful.

Our Holiday Photo Cards + A Minted Promo Code! For postage, I’m thinking about using vintage postage stamps. There are so many available on Etsy and Ebay and I think it would such a nice touch.

Minted is offering A Side of Sweet readers a $25 off + free shipping on their holiday card order! Just enter the code Joy25FS at checkout!

Gilded Greeting Cards DIY

So I have a new favorite product. The wedding is only three weeks away, and now that I’m back from India, I am DIY-ing the heck out of things. I love gold leaf and gold foil, but sometimes it’s just not worth the hassle or the mess. I’ve been searching for a good paint alternative and thanks to a recommendation from Elsie, I found it in Martha Stewart Liquid Gilding Paint. It is so easy to use and produces absolutely stunning results! I need a little self restraint to keep myself from turning everything around me gold (Midas anyone?).

My first project with the liquid gilding paint was these easy DIY gilded greeting cards. If you’ve been reading for a while, you’ll know that I love making handmade invites and thank you cards (see here and here and here). This was a nice little project to tank up my notecard stash, but I actually had an occasion in mind when I made them…. Read More »

Easy Fall Watercolor Cards

I’m back with another easy greeting card idea. I had some girlfriends over for Ladies Who Brunch and I used these cards as an invite for the fall-themed gathering. I wanted to do something special and nothing makes someone feel special like a handmade card in the mail!

To make these fall leaf watercolor cards, I used a white crayon to outline a leaf shape. For stencils, I used fallen leaves that I collected. I then brushed watercolors over the front of the card. That’s it!

I slipped a separate paper into the card with all the invite info on it and intentionally left the card blank. I encouraged all of the girls to re-use the card and pass it on. That way two people get the warm fuzzies of receiving real mail.

These watercolor cards can be adapted for any occasion with any shapes or messages. I’m already planning to write “Thank You” and “Just a Note” in fancy handwriting – I just need to develop some fancy handwriting first, of course! It would also be fun to a Christmas tree or a turkey. This is also a great project to do with kids.

P.S.: Check out some more of my greeting card ideas here, here and here.

Easy Punch Dot DIY Card Idea DIY

Today I want to share with you a DIY card idea that you can do in minutes. It’s almost ridiculous how quick and easy it is. All you need for the project is a circle punch and some cardstock.

Punch out circles in various colors that complement your cardstock. I used paint chips that I had swiped from our local hardware store. I chose some fall-themed colors this time but I have made them in almost every color combination you can think of! Glue them on your cardstock in any pattern you choose.

For a finishing touch, I embossed “Thank You” on the card.

These got sent off to the doctors who wrote me letters of recommendation for residency. I also made each of them a bag of pumpkin pie granola, which I will share pictures and a recipe for soon!

It was so great to have a weekend off of studying. I can’t believe it’s only 9 days until I take my licensing exam! To procrastinate, I’ve been cooking and baking up a storm and I can’t wait to share what I’ve been up to! Do you anything special planned for Halloween?

P.S.: Check out some more of my greeting card ideas here and here.