DIY Sunprint Place Cards

We’re absolutely wild about this DIY tutorial sent over by Magpie Paper Works. With just a little bit of science and creativity, you’re guaranteed to end up with handfuls of pretty on this one! Jessica’s brand new font, Vermandois looks gorgeous with this project. The truth is, this font is unbelievably perfect for any wedding stationery.

What you’ll need:

– Sunprint Kits (here)
– Your favorite font (here shown in calligraphy font Vermandois)
– 8.5″ x 11″ printable transparency film
– Inkjet or laser printer
– Sunprint Template (MS Word or PDF)
– Cardboard
– Scissors
– Water
– Sunlight

Instructions:

First, open the template in MS Word, Open Office, or another writing/publishing program. Select your favorite font and type a guest’s name in the center of each 4″ square. Print each completed page onto a sheet of transparency paper. When your prints are dry, cut along the inside of the black lines with a pair of scissors. Make sure not to leave any border behind, or it may show up on the final sunprint.

In a dim indoor room, carefully open your Sunprint packet and remove the plexiglass square that is included in each kit, along with one Sunprint sheet. Lay an unexposed Sunprint sheet and your trimmed place card on top of a piece of cardboard. You can also layer interesting objects on top of your place card – small flowers, feathers and string can make interesting shapes. When you are happy with your arrangement, place the plexiglass sheet on top to flatten and hold your items to the Sunprint paper. The blue molecules embedded in the paper are sensitive to ultra-violet light, so be sure to prepare your print in a place where the sun’s light cannot reach the paper.

Take your Sunprint outside and expose it to direct sunlight for 3 – 5 minutes. You will see the paper fading from blue to white. If no direct sunlight is available, don’t worry – just expose your print a little longer and wait for the same fading effect. Under cloud cover, you can expect the process to take approximately 5 to 20 minutes.

When your print looks “bleached”, take the paper inside and place it into a tray of cool water for 1 to 5 minutes, or rinse it completely in running water for 2 to 3 minutes. As you wash, the paper will change before your eyes – white becomes a pretty robin’s egg teal and blue becomes white! Dry your prints on a paper towel and blot as necessary to absorb any excess. If you like, you can place a few paper towels and a heavy book on top of your prints, and let the whole shebang dry overnight. When all of the water has evaporated from your prints (about 12 hours later) your place cards will be a vivid dark blue and the names will appear bright white. Pretty pretty!

Woodland Bohemian Wedding With A Crazy Cool Beer Stein Seating Chart

And if you have a large guest list, don’t fret! You can expose multiple place cards at the same time by swapping the plexiglass tile for a larger sheet size. Your local home improvement store sells them in larger sheets.