Thank You Cards! - DIY Tutorial

These "Thank You" cards are easy to make and add that personal touch to expressing gratitude. I just finished my student teaching and made these cards to thank my professors, supervisors, and mentor teachers for their guidance along the credential journey.

They look great and are very easy!

Materials

• Cardstock, scrapbooking, or construction paper scraps
• Scrap paper for template
• Glue Stick
• Paper trimmer or a ruler and scissors
• Edging scissors and regular scissors
• Corner punch (optional)

Steps

1. On a piece of good quality plain white computer paper write "Thank You!" in the top left corner. Practice first until you find a lettering you like. (Or, you can print "Thank You!" using your favorite font.) Leave 1/2"-1" space around the lettering for trimming. Using the paper trimmer, cut underneath the lettering across the paper. You should now have a strip of paper about 1 1/2" tall x 8 1/2" wide. Make as many of these as you plan on making cards.

2. Using the edging scissors, cut the bottom and tops of the thank you strips. 

3. Make a template. I wanted my cards to fit into a 6 1/2" x 3 5/8" envelope. I folded a piece of scrap paper and cut it until it fit neatly into the envelope.

4. Using your template, find a piece of scrap paper big enough for the main part of the card. I cut cardstock so that I would have some cards that opened up and some cards that were flat. I often used scrap pieces that ended up a bit smaller than my template. Or, you can use a new sheet of cardstock, trace, and cut.

5. Choose a piece of contrasting scrap cardstock that is wider than your thank you strip and narrower than your card. Trim it to size, place it, and glue. You can place it in the middle for a symmetrical look or lower down for an asymmetrical look.

6. Place a thank you strip on top and trim to fit. This allows you to choose where the edges will lie. Glue in place.

7. The Insides! Cut a piece of good quality plain white computer paper using the card as a template or use white cardstock. Then, trim 1/8"-1/4" from the top and one side. This will make the paper slightly smaller than the card. Write your message, fold in half if necessary, and glue in place. I often mess up writing messages and this method allows you to redo the inside before you glue it down!


Let me know if you make any of these! I'd love to see them. 

Bamboo Wind Chime Tutorial

Has it only been one day since my last post? Yes! I'm out of school right now so my blog is going to feel the love!

I decided to make some bamboo wind chimes as gifts for various people in my life. The pole cost $3.75, I made two wind chimes out of it, and the process only took a couple of hours.

I'm not an avid wood worker and I'm not a professional. I had fun making this and I hope you do too! However, don't expect perfect results. 

I did all of this at my kitchen table!

If you have questions please feel free to comment. All comments are emailed to me. I may edit this from time to time to clarify.

There are some tutorials online here and there, but nothing that I really liked, so I made up my own. Without further ado, here is the Bamboo Wind Chime Tutorial.

Materials

• Bamboo Pole
• Miter Box Saw
• Miter Saw Box
• 2 Clamps
• Drill
• 1/2, 3/8, 5/16, 5/64 and 1/16 Drill Bits
• Ruler
• Sandpaper
• Fishing Line
• Beads (optional)

 Step 1: Gather your materials.

I bought a length of bamboo from my local hardware store in the outdoor section. They have bamboo there that gardeners use for stakes. I found the pole with the largest diameter I could get, which was about 1". A pole with a larger bore would likely be easier to work with.

All of the tools I used can be found at a hardware store or in the garage of a handy person in your life (I used all of Terri's tools).

Step 2: Decide on graduated lengths that you will cut into the bamboo.

The length of the bamboo will affect the pitch that it sounds. It is best to have 1 1/2" or more of a difference between each length.

My 1/2" drill bit is a little over 4" long. Since later in the process I am going to drill out the bore of the bamboo the longest piece can't be more than 8". If you have an extension for your drill bits your longest piece can be longer.

The lengths that I used for the wind chime in the picture are 8", 6 1/2", 5", 3 1/2", and 2".

Step 3: Cut the bamboo using your measurements.

Clamp the Miter Saw Box onto the edge of a sturdy table and then clamp the bamboo to the box. I'm right handed so I used my left hand to sturdy the box and used my right to saw. If you are left handed you can reverse the setup.

BE CAREFUL AND WEAR GOGGLES.

Cut your longest piece from the widest end of the bamboo. Continue on up the bamboo so that as each piece is gradually shorter it is also gradually smaller in diameter. 

Once you start sawing don't stop! Just have at it.

Sometimes the edge of the bamboo might splinter. When this happened I would take the clamp off and rotate the bamboo so the side that is left to saw through is closer to the top. Be careful if you do this though, or you might end up with two saw marks in different spots.

After you are done sawing you should have bamboo lengths that look like this:

Step 4: Drill out the inside of the bamboo.

Hold the base of the bamboo piece against the ground and use the 1/2" drill bit to clear out the center of the bamboo. If you have trouble starting it you can use a slightly smaller bit first.

This takes some practice if you are like me and have rarely used a drill. I practiced on some scrap pieces before drilling into my project pieces. Some tips include to let the weight of the drill do most of the work. You don't need to really press into the bamboo. Make sure that you periodically take the drill out of the bamboo to empty the bit.

You must have a very firm grip on the bamboo or this will not work! If you have access to a garage full of tools there might be a vise or something like it that could hold the bamboo for you.

Step 5: Measure and cut a length of bamboo for the top.

With all your pieces ready to go you now can measure for the top piece. Lay out the bamboo on the table with a small gap in between each piece, about a quarter of an inch. This space will give the pieces room to move.

Mark the bamboo at the point where you will cut it. You want the length to have a little bit of overhang over the two edges.

Step 6: Measure and mark 1/8" from the top on opposite sides of the piece where you will drill the holes for the top of the bamboo.

Imagine you are going to drill straight through the pole. This would produce two holes on opposite sides of the piece. This is what you are going to mark, but not what you are going to do.

Step 7: Using the 5/64" bit, drill through one side of the bamboo, turn the piece over, and drill the hole in the other side. Have your cat supervise.

My Miter Saw Box had a groove in it that held the bamboo nicely. I used a clamp to hold the smaller pieces in place while drilling.

You want to turn your piece over instead of drilling straight through because the bamboo will not split as much if you do it this way.

Step 8: Lay out and mark the top where you will drill holes for the top piece.

It is important to have your chimes all laid out where they will end up in the end. Mark on top of the top piece where the middle of each chime is.

Step 9: Drill through the top piece on your marks using the 1/16" bit.

This time you are going to drill straight through the piece of bamboo. This will mean that there will probably be some light splintering in the wood, but it's on the bottom and the next step will take care of that.

Step 10: Sand any rough edges.

Any hanging pieces of bamboo or rough edges can be sanded away. This doesn't need to be perfect, just enough to get the rough edges out.

If you want to paint or stain your wind chimes you can go to town sanding and then paint or stain.

Step 11: Thread your chimes together.

Using fishing line go through the top of your top piece and come out the bottom. Thread a bead or two on the line. Thread the bamboo piece on going through one side and coming out the other. Go back up through the beads again and up the same hole in the top piece. Go down the next hole in the top piece and repeat the process.

Once you are done threading tighten everything up and straighten any of the chimes out that might be crooked. The fishing line should be coming up out the two sides of the top piece. Tie a knot at either edge flush with the top piece to prevent the line from moving around.

Step 12: Tie two knots in the top to hang the chimes by.

Holding the chimes up tie your first knot so that the chimes are not slanted one way or the other. Tie a second knot about 3/4" lower. This loop is where the chime will hang. You could also attach a key ring here instead.

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