A lesson that my grandmother has always instilled in me, is that sending thank you cards is of the utmost importance. When I was younger, after each Birthday and every Christmas season, she would hand me a stack of blank cards and sit with me until each of my generous gift-givers were properly thanked. At the time, I thought the task was tedious and out-dated. I remember arguing, “but, I thanked them in person…” more times than I’m proud of.

Over the past few years, I have come to cherish the act of sending thank you cards. It makes the gift-giver feel truly appreciated. In a digital age, taking the time to send a piece of mail rather than its electronic counterpart is special, and it shows the person on the receiving end that you cherish their efforts. It is a tactile representation of good character and good manners; a tradition that was passed down to me and that I will pass down to the next generations.

While I always keep an assortment of blank cards at my disposal to send personal thank you’s, I was inspired by this post to try something a bit more hands on for some special thanks that I am sending out.

First, I picked up some plain white heavy card-stock cards and envelopes as well as a watercolour set and some multi-purpose brushes. I slowly painted the front and back of the card, giving it a paint-streaked appearance. After they were dry, I placed them within a heavy book to flatten them out for 3 days, as the watercolour had warped their shape.

Next, I outlined the heavy text greeting that I wanted on the front of the card with a Sharpie. Using Martha Stewart’s fine-tip glue pen, I traced over the text and covered it with fine glitter.

I shook off the excess glitter and was left with a sparkly greeting. I then wrote my smaller text with the glue pen (I didn’t pre-trace it because it wasn’t a bold text) and repeated the process.

The hand-written greeting is a simple touch that shows the recipient just how much you appreciate them, without taking hours upon hours to create. Word to the wise, be prepared to be covered in sparkles. I have a feeling I’ll be glittering for the next week!