Homemade All-Season Mini Plaques

Transform ribbon, wrapping paper, cardboard and pictures into elegant keepsakes for friends, family and business associates. Even better, you don't need artistic skill or much time to create decorative plaques that are easy to make and mail.

The concept is simple: Cover a small piece of cardboard with wrapping paper, flip it over and glue down a picture, then add trims for a one-of-a-kind gift. I made 62 plaques in a weekend, and I still had time to run errands and finish household tasks. But the feedback I got ranged from, "I've never seen anything like this before-it's so cute!" to "You actually made this? How clever!"

You might consider making plaques to slip into birthday, anniversary, seasonal holiday cards, and thank-you notes. I make wallet-size plaques that I mail to business clients on holidays when they're not likely to be inundated with greetings from my competitors, such as Halloween, Valentine's Day and July 4. Of course, I also send mini plaques to friends and relatives on special occasions to let them know they're in my thoughts and heart.

As you read through the material's list and procedure, keep in mind this project offers flexibility and is well suited to being altered to fit your needs and artistic style.

Materials:

1. Any firm, non corrugated cardboard, such as photo album sheets, product boxes, and backs of writing tablets.

2. Spray-on adhesive and your choice of tacky glue, white glue or hot glue. A roller or art brayer is suggested, but optional.

3. Wrapping paper or other colorful paper for the back of each plaque. Check out the Activity Center at HP for printable background papers, or take advantage of after-holiday sales on theme wrapping papers.

4. Pictures for the front of the plaque, such as greeting cards, extra photos, original artwork, and vintage pictures from web sites. My current favorites for old postcards and quality illustrations include Karens Whimsy and Rebas Postcards (most holidays), Ace Clip Art (patriotic), and Jeh's Christmas Sites (vintage). I print reduced-size pictures onto high-gloss 4 x 6-inch photo paper, but use what works best for your printer.

For any season and reason, homemade decorative card plaques make treasured keepsakes and gifts.

Credit: Laura Ashcroft

Copyright: J. Williver