When I was a little girl my mom told me that whenever you receive a gift, you must write a thank you note. Neglecting a thank you note was like saying, “I didn’t like your gift or the time you spent choosing it for me so next time, please don’t bother.” I can’t but help teach my boys the same thing. In my eyes the important ingredients to a thank you note are mentioning the gift and why you like or appreciate it. I created these simple fill in the blank thank you cards for my sons to acknowledge their Christmas gifts and givers. I started with Celeste Knight’s Merry and Bright Digital Kit and her happy tape brushes (*swoon) and added Robyn Meierotto’s Bright Stitches (*double swoon)!
I planned for the thank you notes to be printed side by side on an 8.5×11″ sheet of cardstock so I could cut them in half and use up the envelopes I had left over from my Christmas cards. Create a blank 8.5 x 11″ 300 dpi file in Photoshop. I use the guide lines to visualize the space I had to work in.
- Use the marquee tool to create a fixed size box (4.5in x 7.5in) and place it on the guide lines.
- Bucket fill and use as a clipping mask for white background paper.
- add background paper on bottom layer
- use alphas to create thanks sentiment
- use tape brush on a new layer
- clip patterned paper to tape layer, set opacity as desired
- use tape brush on a new layer
- clip patterned paper to tape layer, set opacity as desired
- add zig zag stitches, use marquee tool to erase uneeded portion of stitches
- add straight stitches, use marquee tool to erase uneeded portion of stitches
- add text with blanks for kids to fill in
- add frame
- use marquee tool to create a square inside frame, fill with bucket tool.
- use square as a clipping mask for a photo of the child
- select all layers above the background, ctrl J to duplicate
- drag to the right and replace picture layer with another picture (as needed)
- print and trim in half
- set those kids to work!
I printed our thank you notes on textured cardstock and the boys had a little trouble writing on it so in the future I will use plain cardstock. Also, the boys wrote thank you notes to Santa and Mom and Dad too.
I hope this will help you make saying Thank You easier for the little ones in your life! Thanks for stopping by!
Love Love and Blog you Later,
Joscie, rhymes with bossy
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Tags: Celeste Knight, Christmas Hybrid Projects, Hybrid Holiday Projects, Joscelyne Cutchens, Robyn Meierotto
We were raised on the same thinking about thank you notes! I have to admit, sometimes it’s hard to not let the kids slack off, since it seems so many don’t write them now. I usually try to buy the premade thank you notes with fill-in the blank, but sometimes it’s hard to find the right (not too cutsy) one. LOVE yours. LOVE the project. Thanks for sharing.
I loved receiving these beautifully designed handwritten thank you cards from the boys. Definitely a keepsake.
Thank you so much for this tutorial. My little one isn’t old enough to write, but I made some of these myself for Christmas thank you cards. Great!
Cute! I like how you used the tape masks!