Thursday, February 18

artful thursdays #7......post it note mailing labels tutorial


today is actually going to be the ultimate artful thursday for me. i am taking the whole day off! first candice and i are meeting up in salt lake to plan our summer art nest retreat, so excited about that! we will shop at a few of our favorite antique stores, go out to lunch, and then in the evening head to our art group for our monthly meeting making sewn bird collages on book covers. what a great day right...


so my artful thursday tutorial today is all about quick and easy using what is sitting on my desk. i love, love mailing packages (almost as much as getting them). to make them extra special i make my own mailing labels. it is great to have a few on hand when dashing to the post office.

i have quite a few vintage paper scraps on my desk since i have been packaging up the tiny book swap bundles. (i am waiting to post about the swap until everyone gets their packages..) all you need is some paper scraps, scissors, a glue stick and some post it notes or small bird images. i found these sweet bird post it notes at a little gift shop nearby. they are made by cavallini paper and can be found here.


step 1. cut out rectangles of your scrap ledger papers. 4 1/2 X 3 inches is an average size, they can be a bit bigger or smaller to use up your scraps.

step 2. stick the post it note images on your label papers. i like how the ledger paper already has lines to write in. when you like the placement glue them in place.


step 3. print off a page of text that says to: from: i downloaded a free font called 'coffee tin' from 1001 free fonts. they have mac and pc downloads. just be sure to restart your computer to see the font in your font book after you install it. i printed my page using dark brown ink and 24 point text. print off a test sheet on printer paper and then double stick tape the first blank page in an old book to your paper. run the paper through your printer again to get the text on your cool old paper.


step 4. cut out your to and from labels and glue in place. thats it, you are done!
you can make them a bit more fancy if you want by stitching or doodling borders. have fun and make a whole pile of labels as there are 480 post it notes in every tin....
until next time, julie



31 comments:

Teresa said...

adorable tutorial julie! xoxo

Julie said...

Thank you! They're very pretty and I love quick projects like this!

Tina said...

wow Julie - you can make almost anything pretty.

Sounds like a fun day with a pal. Have fun.

xo
tina

Rebecca said...

Great tutorial! I always look forward to them.

Thanks~
Rebecca

gretchen said...

gorgeous! i love this project, and cavallini products, and the words "summer art nest retreat" - and to think i found them all here in one post :) - gretchen

SongBird said...

This is a great idea! I think I'll make some of these early next week (I'll probably use cats or stars...). I have several packages that should go out in the next week or so and it'll be so much fun to have fancy labels!

SongBird

reimaginedtreasures.blogspot.com said...

THIS is awesome. I like creative packaging and I am always about recycling. I AM doing this idea...I have some worn and torn children's book pages that I have been saving for some great project!....Thank you!
Kathi

Nicole Austin said...

these labels are so lovely and so simple! i have this tin of post-its, i think i will try it out! :)
thanks!

Susan Z said...

Summer Art Nest??? Fabulous!!!

Jenn said...

Love it!

cathyb said...

Hi Julie,
This is so funny - I just was on your flickr site looking around and was so inspired!!! You'll see I faved a few ; ) Anyways I saw your 2008 stuff from artnest and one of my goals this year is to go to an art retreat. I have heard so much about artnest and it is one of my dreams to go. So then it was so funny to come over to your blog (originally just with the idea to thank you for my inspiration tonite) and see you talking about ARTNEST - I want to come!!!! Also I wanted to see if you saw me in this months' Artful Blogging - I have a 5 page spread!!!! so exciting - oh yeah the other funny things is I saw your valentine post just below the one above and recognized it as the picture in my february somerset poster!! Way too many coincidences Julie - and I don't believe in conincidences!!!!

Stephanie O. said...

Thanks for sharing...Love this idea!

Maija said...

Just the whisper of ArtNest makes me quiver in my boots....

Jennifer said...

Julie, just got the package with the books....one word...beautiful. I don't think I've ever opened such a wonderful package. Thank-you. Also I am very excited about Art Nest, would love to go. I'd also love to know your fav antique stores in SLC. :) Have a great weekend.

paperbird said...

Julie I love your mailing labels- I especially like getting packages from you with your cute mailing labels!

Anonymous said...

Your blog keeps getting better and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones you have a lot more creativity and originality now. Keep it up!
And according to this article, I totally agree with your opinion, but only this time! :)

Lisa Russell said...

Very sweet! I love these. I used some birds in my design as well. I posted my Artful Thursday also - I hope you can stop by and take a look.

Sherry said...

I love all of your projects. I've put your 'Artful Thursdays' badge in the sidebar of my blog - so I can find you again easily. Hope that is ok with you. Thanks.

campsusie said...

AS a recipient of one of your packages (from your Etsy shop), I can truly say how delightful it was to receive! I even salvaged the beautiful label and it's hanging on my inspiration board...so lovely.

Michelle in Saskatoon said...

I really like these, I get in a bit of a rush on everyday things, and this is a reminder that you can make those chores beautiful too, for oneself and the recipient, and the mailman too.

Lisa said...

So funny...I just bought these and the post its that look like ledger paper too. So glad to see you blogging again and can't wait to see what you and Candice are cooking up for summer.

Becky Shander said...

What a quick and cute idea! And easy on the wallet too I see. You're very generous to share these tips, thank you.

Kika said...

Love this sweet and simple idea. Thanks for sharing and the free font site too. Can't wait to make my own labels. Funny several of us used birds this time around for Artful Thursday.

Kika said...

Oops! accidently hit publish on previous message ahead of time. Wanted to thank for your wonderful inspiration. It's really motivating me to finally dig into my supplies after a long hiatus. With a 5 yr old and 3 yr old twins, I'd lost myself in motherhood and havent been as creative as I'd like to be. I'm now realizing how much I've missed it.

Jamie said...

These are very cool, Julie! I love the idea of using the first page of an old book - I have many and never once thought to use them to run through the printer.

Roxanne said...

Artful Thursday! What a wonderful idea. I think I'd love to join you. May I?

tamdoll said...

Nice & quick! And I love the idea of printing on that first page of an old book - thanks for that tip!

Catherine said...

These are very sweet, I just love everything that Cavallini prints, don't you?

Jessi Nagy said...

hey doll,
darling, i always try to make my packages feel like gifts.
these are adorable.
thanks
oxoxo,
jessi

Anonymous said...

love this and YES your mailing labels are always so adorable.
xoxo

Aisyah Helga said...

I love these kind of projects! And I love your artful thursday,too! I've linked this tutorial to my blog to share with my readers. Thanks!

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