Make Photo Wedding Thank You Cards

Tools used to make photo wedding thank you cards:

8 1/2" by 11" card stock
decorative paper
ribbon
large paper punch
photo corners (optional)
adhesive (glue stick, craft glue, or glue runner)

Materials I used:
81/2 by 11" card stock in off white color
scrapbooking background paper with rose pattern
cream colored ribbon
large oval shaped paper punch

Making these photo wedding thank you cards is a great way to say thanks to your guests for their presence on your important day as well as their gift giving, all the while leaving them with a gift of their own. Your wedding picture! It is also another memento fit for their mantles and scrapbooks.
There are several ways to incorporate a picture to the photo wedding thank you cards. You can choose which fits best to your budget as well as the amount of time you are willing to invest in making them.

* Attach a small or wallet sized print to the inside using an adhesive. It will be permanent to the card but will make a thank you card worth keeping.

* Print out your favorite wedding or honeymoon pictures onto plain paper using your computer printer and either print straight onto the inside or outside of the card.

* For those more closely acquainted to their computers and desktop publishing, transfer your favorite picture to Photoshop and crop it down to size to create a picture perfectly sized for the inside of the card.

For these photo wedding thank you cards I chose to go the route of manipulating the photo using Photoshop. For those who don't know about Photoshop, this is a software specifically used to enhance pictures and graphics. Another great free alternative is called Paint.net
I took a much larger picture and cropped it down and took out most of the background "noise" so that the picture only shows my husband and I having our first kiss as Man and Wife. I then set it up to print several times to one page. I cut them out individually to attach to each card.

STEP 1: Laying out your text. creating the text on the photo wedding thank you cards should be quite simple since you will only be printing the words "thank you" on it alone. Make sure the text is aligned to the center of the card. It is best to place the text at the top of the inside of the card but you can choose to put it wherever you want it most. I set this card up as a 2-up layout to make cards sized at 5 1/2" by 4 1/4". I used desktop publishing software to create this layout but you can easily get the job done with a manual layout. Using desktop publishing software, you can also choose to create this layout as a page sized at 5 1/2" by 8 1/2" (half page layout). This way you can print directly onto paper that is already cut. This would be a good choice if you are planning on buying cards from a paper or office supply store. They sell these cards already cut and scored ready to print onto, sometimes with pretty patterns already applied or on fancy paper.

STEP 2: Printing it! You can choose to print them straight off of your computer with you printer, or print out your text layout onto plain white paper and bring it on over to your local copy shop. Choosing to bring it to a copy shop can make things quite a bit easier. Most shops have a large supply of different paper weights sizes and colors to choose from. You can also choose to have your cards cut, scored or even folded while you're at it!

STEP 3:Cutting and folding. You can omit or add these steps depending on what kind of paper or layout you choose for your card.
Photo wedding thank you cards created as a 2-up layout will need to be cut in half. You can choose to do this by hand to save money. The easiest and most eye pleasing option would be to bring them to a local copy shop to have them cut for you on a machine.
The photo wedding thank you cards will need to be folded in half as well. To fold them yourself just make sure and run a straignt edge (such as the side of a ruler) along the fold to make a clean looking fold. Otherwise you can choose to add an extra step and score every card before folding. This will ensure you not to get a wrinkled fold.

STEP 4: Cutting your scrapbook paper. This step is pretty simple too. If you have a paper that is sized at 8 1/2" by 11" then your golden. Just cut them into quarters and your done. If it is any other size the dimensions will you will cut them into are 5 1/2" by 4 1/4".

STEP 5: Apply the embellishment paper. Using a glue runner or glue stick (craft or elmers will give the paper a wrinkled messy appearance, even glue stick will if you apply it too liberally) adhere your scrapbook paper squares to the front of the card and wait for them to dry.

STEP 6: Cut out your photo window. Using a large paper punch (in any shape you choose) simple align the back edge of the punch to the side of the card and punch your hole. Try to center it as much as possible to the top and bottom of the card while still being aware of the text inside of the card. You wouldn't want it to peek through. You wouldn't want your picture to end up overlapping the text either. Keep in mind that where this little window lies is just where you will place your picture on the inside of the card.

STEP 7: Attach your photos. Once you have your photo window punched out you will know just where to place your picture by lining it up on the inside and shutting the card. Once you find the correct position hold one side down with your finger and apply a small amount of adhesive to the underside of the picture while holding it in place.

STEP 8: Attach ribbon embellishments. I used two different types of ribbon here. Actually two different widths. I first used a thinner width of ribbon to tie a very loose knot around a thicker width of the same color ribbon. I then glued down a wider ribbon to adhere vertically down the front of the card. Once the glue dried I tied the thinner ribbon into a small bow and then trimmed of the edges. I applied a very small amount of craft glue to the ribbon's knot to make sure it would stay tied.

Other tips and ideas for making photo wedding thank you cards...

* Switch it up by changing the theme with different colored paper, different patterns, and different colored ribbon.
* Use a paper punch with an unusual or fancy kind of shape to it.
* Try using fabric for the front of the card instead of scrapbook paper. This will give it great texture and a touch of class.

See also...

Writing wedding thank you card wording

Which kinds of glue to use for making cards and invitations

choosing decorative papers

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