Paper Crafts: Crafting a Vellum Poem Note Card for National Poetry Month or Other Occasions

April is National Poetry Month. Celebrate by crafting a super-easy, elegant Vellum Poem Note Card to share your favorite poem with friends and family.

Vellum Poem Note Cards are great for any time of the year and every occasion.

Simply flip through your favorite poetry books or search the internet to find a suitable poem for birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, or for those "just because" times you want to send a note.

There are so many poetry subjects, you'll be certain to find one that expresses your sentiment in style.

Supplies Needed:

Printer (Ink Jet or Laser)
8 ½ x 11 Sheet of Light-colored (translucent) Vellum Paper (modern "imitation" vellum stock)
Card Stock
Envelope
Mini-Brads (or other sizes, in any shape depending upon your preference)
Scissors
Optional: Stickers, cardboard cutouts, tags, or other embellishments

Instructions:

Select a poem. For inspiration, visit websites such as Poets.org http://www.poets.org/ where you will find a wide variety of poems by subject, or browse your local library collection of poetry books and anthologies.

Select a card size. The 8 x 5 size (approximately a half sheet fold) card size folded on the vertical edge work the best as you will have plenty of room to fit lengthy poems. If the poem you chose is a very short poem, then you may want to work with a 3 x 5 (approximately a quarter fold) card size.

Select a card stock color. Lighter color, pale card stock and dark ink colors work best with vellum. Light ink colors do not print as well on vellum due to its opaque nature, so it is best to plan to print in black or other dark color inks such as deep burgundy, navy blue, or forest green.

Select a complementary vellum paper color. Or not. Feel free to use your creativity and pick out contrasting colors, or match the vellum paper identically to the card stock color. Each route will offer a different effect. Decide what is suitable for your poem or the sentiment you are trying to convey. White vellum paper is perfectly acceptable, too.

Note: If you use white vellum paper, you can go a little darker on the shade of cardstock you choose and still be able to read the print clearly.

Cut cardstock to desired card shape and size if you are not using pre-cut cardstock.

Using your preferred computer software, type and format your poem to fit the front of your card. Size the poem to leave a ½ inch margin from all sides of the card front. If you do not have software that has easy guides to do this, print a draft page to help you position and size the poem correctly.

Insert the vellum paper into your printer paper feed. Print the poem directly onto the vellum paper. Allow dry time (varies by printer, 1-2 minutes average.)

Using scissors (special design cuts work well for this craft) cut out the poem in a slightly smaller rectangle (or square) than your card front.

Apply vellum cut out to card, using four (4) mini-brads to secure the corners.

Viola! You now have a beautiful Vellum Poem Note Card. Write your sentiments inside, place card in envelope, address, and send or hand card to your recipient. They will be delighted to receive your special card!

Idea: Use simple embellishments to enhance the card design, such as well-placed stickers, luggage tags, buttons, or other embellishments of your choice. (See pictures for inspiration.)