DIY Graduation Announcements

It’s that time of year again….time to take our hats off to the grads! This year, I am one of those grads….FINALLY. I have been nothing but a student my whole life and now I’m moving on to be a real pharmacist, yay! No more moochin off the hubby, time for this wifey to bring in that bacon 🙂 Well, what better way to start the celebration than announcing your graduation to friends and family!?

Graduation announcements are traditional reminders of commencement. There is a range of options from a fancy embossed announcement from the university or photo announcement with the basic info and a grad pic. These announcements can range from $2-7 each, some being more expensive than wedding invitations!! I’m not rollin in the dough yet, so I’m makin my own announcements, and you can too…..

Here’s what you need:

• White/Cream Cardstock
• Computer Printer and Ink
• Colored Cardstock
• Ribbon
• Hot Glue
• Border Stamp
• Ink Pad
• Embossing Powder
• Envelopes

Step 1: Start by drafting your announcement on word or publisher. There are lots of different formats you can use, here’s the format I used:

The Dean, Faculty, and Graduating Class of 2011

Announce the Graduation of:

GRADUATE NAME, DEGREE

GRADUATION DATE

From GRADUATE UNIVERSITY

Step 2: Print off the announcements on cardstock. Print extra because between the cutting and stamping you are bound to make some mistakes 🙂

Step 3: Cutting! Now for the fun part….I suggest you set up in your favorite lounger with a good show and bottle of wine because the cutting is the hardest part! Be sure to leave about 1.5-2″ on the margin of the side you plan to stamp the border on. Here are the dimensions I used:

• Announcement: 4.5″x6.5″
• Colored Cardstock: 5″x7″
• Envelopes: 5.5″x7″

Step 4: Stamp your border! You can choose a fancy border like this or something more classic like a dotted or bold line. If you are not into stamping you could easily just run a ribbon along the border!

Step 4b (optional): Embossing! After stamping, spread embossing powder over the ink. I used a clear glitter embossing powder because I love sparkles 🙂 After shaking off the extra powder, heat and watch the stamped image turn begin to glisten!

Step 5: Add backing colored cardstock to announcement using double stick tape. I used about 3-4 strips per card, covering the border sides.

Step 6: Time for ribbon! You can tie bows, or simply tie a knot as I did here. I love adding ribbon to invites and announcements…just gives it a little more personality 🙂 Fasten each ribbon with a dab of hot glue.

NOTE: You will burn your fingers…..but thats life!

 Here’s my final product! This took me the daytime portions of my weekend, but I was not very focused and there was a lot of socializing involved 🙂 I’m sure you could bang these out in a night if need-be.

Alright, now you have all the info you need to make your own graduation announcements! What do you think, gonna give it a go?? Would love to see your final product…..send me a pic 🙂 

Hats off to the grads of 2011…..WE DID IT!!