I had to make my own template using low-quality clipart images, so it’s not the most professional looking, but it works.
How to Personalize Using Microsoft Word:
For the text, I used a font called “Storybook.” It can be downloaded for free from Urban Fonts -
http://www.urbanfonts.com/fonts/Storybook.htm
For my name, I used a font called “Waltograph.” It can be downloaded for free from many websites. 1001 Free Fonts is trustworthy -
http://www.1001fonts.com/font_details.html?font_id=2272
1. Go to “Page Layout” and set the orientation to landscape.
2. Insert the blank teacup image as a photo.
3. Right-click and set the “Text wrapping” to square.
4. Enlarge the image. The dimensions for a greeting card envelope are 7.57” in height and 9.13” in width. If you have MS 2007, you can set it to these exact dimensions by going to the “Picture Tools” tab and adjusting the dimensions in the “Size and Rotation” box.
5. Add your personalization using Word Art. Use the first Word Art option with the outline. I recommend entering one line at a time.
6. Arrange the Word Art into the teacup to your liking.
Printing Instructions:
For my paper, I used 8.5” x 11” Textured Cardstock by The Paper Studio that I purchased at Hobby Lobby. The color package is called “brights” – it’s 75 sheets and 25 different colors. You could also use non-textured cardstock. I chose to use textured because I thought it appeared more formal and professional. I was very pleased with how it turned out.
1. If you’re using textured cardstock, insert it into the printer so that the text will print on the back of the sheet (the less-textured side).
2. Go to “advanced printer settings” and set the paper type to “thick paper” or “cardstock.”
3. Set it to the finest printing setting, even though it’s just black ink. Since it’s textured, the ink could skim over the lower parts on a low-quality setting.
Construction Instructions:
1. Cut out along the teacup outline of your printed sheet using scissors.
2. Cut out the hole for the handle using an exacto knife.
3. Choose the coordinating color (this color will be the “top color” of the teacup) and place it textured side face-down on your workspace.
4. Place your cut-out teacup on top of the coordinating color, printed side facing up.
5. Use a pencil to trace the outline of the cut-out teacup to the top color.
6. Cut out the top color teacup as you did the base.
7. Place the top color teacup textured side facing down on your workspace.
8. Use a pencil to sketch the cutouts onto the back of the teacup. I freehanded this… it’s whimsical - don’t worry about it being perfect.
9. Use an exacto knife to cut out the sketches from the teacup. The more you use an exacto knife, the better you get at it. You might want to practice beforehand. Hold the knife as you would a pencil, with your pointer finger on the top of the blade. The first swipe on the line will not cut entirely through the cardstock. Continue to trace along the cut until it has gone all the way through. You may need to flip the teacup over to see what areas you lack when cutting out the design.
10. For a few designs, I used a hole punch to create a border along the top.
11. Cut out the handles so that the base color shows through.
12. Glue the top layer to the base layer. I just used an ordinary Elmer’s glue stick, but I think rubber cement would work well. Be sure that you put the glue along the back side of the top layer – I messed up an entire teacup by putting the glue on the wrong side! That was an hour’s worth of hard work destroyed!
For an easier version, instead of using an exacto knife to cut out the shapes, you could print your invitation onto the top color and then cut out shapes using the base color to glue onto the top.
Good luck! Please post the final product!
