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Friday, October 10, 2014

DIY Wedding: Escort Cards

The end of October marks my first wedding anniversary, and I'm commemorating it by sharing some of of the DIYs and projects I did leading up to the wedding. Hope you enjoy this week's project: Escort cards!

EscortCards

Ah, fall foliage is definitely the best part of the season, in my opinion. (Despite popular belief, pumpkin-flavored everything isn't.) The colors of the leaves are so rich, so beautiful. It's particularly beautiful in western Pennsylvania, where there are many lush trees and rolling hills.

I thought these cards brought something a little more unique than the typical card, and could potentially be used as a keepsake later. I became inspired when I saw escort cards that were actual leaves with a metallic calligraphy on each. I thought it was beautiful until I imagined a swift wind blowing through the room. So I decided to compromise.

The process to make them was fairly simple.

First, pick your leaves! My parents have a ton of trees in their backyard, so it's basically a gold mine for leaves. I tended to pick smaller, brighter ones.

Then, find a nice old, book you don't care about too much. Preferably hardback. Pat leaves dry, if they're wet, and place a leaf between every few pages. Then stack some heavy items on top of that book and wait! I would say wait three days to a week to get your best pressed leaves results. By the time they're done, they should be dry and flat, but not too brittle.

I used Adobe InDesign to write out names and table numbers, fitting eight names to a page. This also can be done on Word or any other text-based program, but was a little easier on InDesign because the text can be easily aligned and centered.

Once those names were printed on stock paper and cut, I glued each leaf to a card using rubber cement. I opted for the cement because I thought it would hold up better. And voila! Escort cards with flair.

Escort cards cost:

Cardstock, $10; leaves, FREE!

Total: Around $10

What kinds of projects have you used for pressed leaves?

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