Weddingbee Blog

As I mentioned previously, I got a lot of my paper products from Vistaprint.

Our wedding website business card

I really love the whimsical-ness of the cards, and I really want to incorporate this design throughout the rest of the paper products that we’ll be having on the big day.

Like this sign for our wedding thumbprint guestbook I have yet to write about

However, I am also cheap and I don’t want to have to buy a printed copy of every sign I’m going to need, especially with a chance that the signs will need to change even at the last minute. Thus, I used the business cards that I got to create a blank template for the rest of my signs.

1.) Scan it in. I scanned in a blank business card with a scanner. You want the maximum pixels per inch you can get; my scanner can go up to 600 PPI, so I just scanned it in like that. You can use ones with text as well—you’ll just have to delete the text later.

2.) Create a blank file in Photoshop or another image editing software. I personally use Photoshop, which is a fairly expensive software and hard to learn. That being said, I think it is also the most powerful. If you don’t need Photoshop for very long, you can rent the software these days for $30 a month. GIMP is a great free alternative as well. Come to think of it, you can definitely do this in PowerPoint too. (I can do a tutorial with PowerPoint if there’s interest.)

Create a document the size that you want your sign. I am using 6 x 4 since it fits very well in picture frames. Three hundred PPI is also great for printing. I use CMYK color over RGB color as well since that’s the color system that printers use, and your monitor color will more likely match the actual color.

3.) Paste in your scanned in JPG. Curse Vistaprint for not using standard sizes.

4.) Color correct the image/correct blemishes. Replace color (Image -> Adjustment->Replace color) is a great way to lighten up the background if it has gotten too dark, like mine did. It’s also a way you can change the color of the item to better fit your new project. I also copied and pasted clean regions on top of the blemishes to make it less obvious that it was scanned in.

5.) Make the image fit the size required.

5a.) Free transform (Ctrl+T or Edit -> Free transform) to make the image the correct size. Drag the outlining box of the image to the outline of your file.

5b.) OR: If you’re super anal like I am, the warping might make the sides look funny and the ratios will be off. Instead of free transforming the image, I made duplicates of each side and smooshed the two sides together.

This +

This =

Gorgeous

Note: I copy and moved the petals as well, and lightened it a little.

6.) Add text on top. Now you have a blank template to make whatever sign you need. Guestbook sign? Beverages sign? Table numbers?

7.) Print. If you’re printing in Photoshop, make sure you click to not scale to the page. This will ensure you’re printing the size you think you are. I also prefer to add crop marks as well (Print-> Options -> Crop Mark). This will give you guides to make it easier to cut out.

8.) Put into the picture frame of your choosing.

9.) Admire how good it looks and how close it looks to the original, even though it cost a fraction of the price (cost of printing/frame?) and took a fraction of the time.

I originally made a 7 x 5 sign, but turns out I did not have any frames in that size at home. Go figure. That font is Lady Rene.

Above is my sign against the original. It’s definitely not perfect, but it’s good enough. It won’t have the feel of being printed on good paper, but it’s in a frame, so no one’s going to notice.

Now that I have my template, does anyone have an idea of what kinds of signs I should even make? I’m thinking guestbook, drink signs, cupcake signs, and…? Thoughts?