Homemade Goodie Tags

I fell in love with these wonderful labels on a blog I follow. The design, the colors of the glitter, everything. Lately I've been making lots of goodies for neighbors and friends, and I thought it would be fun to use this inspiration to create a newer, better tag for them.

For this recipe you'll need:
• A bold decorative font. I'm showing Beffle here, (free), but I used a different (non-free) font that I own.
• Decorative border illustration. You'll see I only used a portion of it (this particular pattern is a little more expensive than what we like to share, but it's one I've had forever and use over and over again in different ways. There are lots of less expensive alternatives there that you can use in the same way).
• decorative elements: dots, diamonds, I just drew my own
• a color palette that you love. I used summer sky blue, pale green, platinum and silver grays



I started in with the scroll design. I duplicated and rotated the pieces until I liked the way it balanced out, then I drew a round-cornered rectangle in the negative space inside it. I placed the text on a curve, then filled in the rest of the white space with diamonds, dots, and pieces of my scroll design til everything was balanced. I finished by creating a framed border that reflected the shape of what I created.
Print on cardstock and trim.

Finished! Just need to add my recipient's name, attach to the plate and deliver!

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Designer. Typography geek. Entrepreneur.
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Digital Washi Tape Tags

Are you still crushing on Washi tape? I am. I came across this image via I DIY and I just love the little tags on the top left corner. So cute.  I thought it would be fun to do a little digital version for the GLCB recipe this week.

For this recipe you'll need:

• Digital Washi Tape PNG files from Pugly Pixel- FREE
• Business Card Template & Cardstock such as this one by Avery or create your own. 10 cards fit easily on an 8.5 x 11 sheet (2 x 3.5). You'll just have to do a bit more set up and trimming.
• Editing program. I used Illustrator but you could use most any of the free programs listed in the resources to the right.
• Hole reinforcement labels- optional
• Hole punch and trimmer

 

If you are using a preformatted business card template, follow the included instructions to download and set up your file or create your own. Download and unzip the Pugly Pixel file.  Then just place or copy & paste your tape into each little square on your business card template. You may have to size them down to fit the business card size. Add a few more colored lines if you want or just leave it tape only. I added a grey color to the back of my tag file so you could see them better but you could leave it white or print it out onto colored card stock too.

Print the file and trim each tag from the main sheet. Then clip each top corner, punch a hole top middle, add a reinforcement label if you like & tie on some ribbon or twine.

All done!  I think these would be fun for mini bookmarks, gift tags, luggage tags, price tags for a boutique, etc.

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Designer. Blogger. Mom. Lover of a good thriftin’ excursion, a book to devour, or a big, messy, delicious project. I’m happy to be here on Good Look Cookbook and share some yummy design recipes with you. You can also find me on Twitter and Facebook. Thanks!

DIY School Portrait Packages

As I was tidying up the kitchen counters this morning, I picked up 2 different picture packets from my kids’ schools for the official school portraits. Is it just me or do the prices on those things keep going up? Anyway, I had an idea that instead of purchasing the official school portraits this year, I could make my own school portrait packages!

For this very simple recipe, you’ll need:

• A software program that will allow you to open, re-size, copy and place your chosen photo in a number of places and positions. I use Adobe Photoshop, but Photoshop Elements, Adobe Illustrator, and many other programs would work.

• A photo that you want to use for your portrait package.

Gather all of your ingredients. Feel free to make adjustments, according to your own tastes. Choose your software. I have chosen to lay out my portrait package in Photoshop, but you can use the program you feel most comfortable with.

I opened up a new document in Photoshop that was 8 inches by 10 inches and 300 ppi (pixels per inch), since this is the standard size that most portrait packages use and an easy size to send off to my local photo center as well.

Next, I took inventory of the various sizes of photos that I wanted. I determined that I needed the following: 2 5x7s, 4 wallets, and 28 exchanges. Wallet sizes vary slightly, depending on who is doing the package, but they range from 2.25x3.25 on the small side to 2.5x3.5 on the larger side. Exchanges (or “Traders” as they are sometimes called) are 1x1.5.

Using those dimensions, I re-sized my photo, duplicated it, and arranged it to fit within the 8x10 document. I ended up needing 2 separate documents that were 8x10 to fit all the photos. When I was all done, I saved my compiled documents as flattened jpg files and sent them to the nearest photo center, using their online order site.

Now I have all the photos that I need and I can cut them apart and send them off to family and friends, as well as letting the children exchange them with all their classmates!

Have fun making your own custom School Portrait Packages!

moving announcement

A friend asked me to design a quick and simple moving announcement for her. I decided to use a photo that I saw recently for my inspiration.

For this recipe you'll need:

- A color palette inspired by the photo.
- A sans serif font. I used Aller from Font Squirrel.
- A simple pattern to add some texture (inspired by the start of school).

Since my friend wanted to print these announcements from her home printer, I decided to keep the color coverage to a minimum. I also opted for not having any colors bleed of the side of the page.

The card size is 4.5" x 5.5" which fits a standard A2 envelope. This size is also convenient because it fits four per letter-sized page.

The photograph was the inspiration for the colors and the silhouette of the house.

This is how the final announcement turned out (aside from the fake info!). I set up four per page and sent my friend a PDF for easy printing. All she'll need to do is use card stock and cut each page into four announcements.