I am always looking for gifts for weddings that are inexpensive but very personal. I have so many sweet friends getting married, but just can’t afford expensive gifts! While looking through Pinterest, I saw some adorable customized wedding framed art and I thought – I could make that! And I did. And I will. I will be making these for many years to come because this is the perfect gift idea! Check it out!
This is the perfect wedding gift idea, but what about for an anniversary gift, too? I love everything about this DIY project and it really wasn’t too tricky. All you need is a computer with Microsoft Word (or similar software), a printer & a frame. Yep! That is it! Layer #1: The Background For this project you will want to start with your background. You have two options: you can customize your own personalized background OR use one our beautiful ready-made ones.
To personalize my framed art, I made my own background!
- I opened up my basic Microsoft Word and copied the text of a love letter my husband sent me during a key moment in our relationship. {You can do the same or use the lyrics of a love song.}
- I shortened the margins to my document to 0.2. My computer kept warning me that it wasn’t within the print margin, but it still worked! 3. Then, I changed the text to something a little fancier. I went with Janda Elegant Handwriting because it looks like someone actually wrote it. Next project I do I think I want to actually scan in a love letter from my husband so that it is his OWN handwriting. Wouldn’t that be cool?
- Finally, I choose “justify text” so that the letter will fill up the entire page. The idea is to get as close to the edge as possible. Sound too tricky? No worries! Leah Aldous, one of our fabulous designers, has created 3 unique backgrounds for you! Make sure to stop by her site and say “Thank You” for creating all of these! Check them out:
- This design has the lyrics to the love song “Lucky” by Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat.
- This design has the phrase “I Love You” in several different languages.
- This design has the definition of love Aren’t these fun? Leah always does such a great job turning my ideas into a reality! Whichever background you choose, go ahead and print it out. I recommend printing onto card stock paper. Once your background is printed, you are ready to add the next layer! Layer #2 Overlay Now for the main focus – the overlay! For this one, Leah has designed 4 amazingly beautiful phrases. You can choose from:
To print the overlay, place your recently printed background into the printer. Then, print the overlay! Warning: make sure you know which direction the design will print. I may or may not have accidentally printed upside down a few times!
Now, you already have an adorable work of art and can frame it right now! OR you can personalize it even more. Here is how: Layer #3 Personalize It Even More! This is where I think this project would be fabulous for a wedding gift. After you make one and have a template, you can just personalize it with the couple’s name and wedding date. Here is what you can do:
Open up Microsoft Word (or similar software) and choose “Insert” and then“Text Box”. Click on your document and a text box will appear.
Type in text you want. This is a great place to put the couples first or last name, their wedding date etc. I ended up doing two text boxes: 1 for the names and 1 for the wedding date. 3. Choose a font. For my project I used Frebooter Script for the names and The Blue Cabin for the wedding date but there are thousands of free fonts to choose from!
Now you want to position your text box to just the right place. On this step, it is somewhat of a guessing game. Place the text box about where you think it should go on the page and then print on a separate piece of paper NOT your final product with your background and overlay. Once that paper is printed, place it on top of your final background/overlay paper and hold it up to the light. You should be able to see if it matches up where it should go or not. Continue to adjust your text box and print like this until you have it in just the right spot! Hint: Also take into consideration the frame you will be using. Most likely you will place this in an 8×10 frame and your paper is 8.5 x 11. Remember that you will likely be trimming! Now you are ready to print! Place your final product with your background and overlay into your printer (make sure it is facing the correct way!) and print. You now have your final product!
Find a cute frame and insert your work of art into the frame. Most likely you will need to trim your layered art work if you are going to use an 8×10 frame. This actually makes the product even better because it will put your background right to the edge!
Although the steps seem lengthy, it really is super fast especially after you have made one! I couldn’t just make one so I ended up making some for friends too!
There are so many possibilities for this type of project! This would be a beautiful wedding or anniversary gift for any couple. I love that it can be done at home and is very inexpensive, but most of all, that it is personal! You can get all of Leah’s beautiful printables right here to get started on your own project:
