savvy stationary.

I mentioned the other day how I went craft crazy for a Secret Santa present for my friend Emily and shared with you how I made the magnets I gave her. I also made her some stationary which was, like the magnets, so simple to make, but with that additional flare of a personalized touch.

I got a notebook of acrylic 8 x 10 paper from Michael's Crafts and busted out some watercolor paints that I bought over a year ago but had never used. If you're like me, you can't paint a garden or an animal or anything realistic for that matter. When realism isn't an option, abstractionism is! I did one color at a time and just made random designs on different parts of the paper.

After I felt like I had enough material to work with, I used a business card to trace parts of the paintings that I thought would be cool (because clearly, the paintings as a whole were absolutely hideous).

I cut sheets of the acrylic paper into four, and folded each piece. Then I glued my artistic glory onto each folded sheet to complete the stationary. This method is great for efficient artistry without the trial-and-error that could happen if I had painted right onto the stationary (I would have been unhappy with 9 out of 10 things I painted, for sure).

If I had more time, I might have tried to make my own envelopes as well but alas, I had to dig through my mom's big stationary box for envelopes that were the right size. I only found three, but I wrapped them up nonetheless. Hopefully, Emily will figure out a way to get envelopes for the rest of her cards...

So, there you have it! And the best part about making someone stationary? Encouraging that person to get the snail mail back in action.