i’ve been assisting my former neighbor, sandor, and his fiance, svetlana, plan their wedding since around july. it seems like they just set the date… and now their wedding is just a week away!!! svetlana asked me to make them table numbers similar to what we had at our wedding, except their colors are black, white and gold instead of navy, white and gold.
they are pretty easy to make, although all the cutting and gluing is time-intensive. to make a set of 16, it took me about 2 hours.
i used 4 sheets of black and 4 sheets of white 12″ x 12″ bazill cardstock ($0.50 each at Pat Catans) and 1.5-2 sheets of gold scrapbooking paper ($0.99 each at Archivers) and rubber cement. rubber cement is a LOT easier to work with than school glue because it allows you to pick up layers (right away!) if they are misplaced and any excess cement can be rubbed right off. it also does not warp the paper you’re using when it dries like elmer’s or other white glue. (check out ross brand non-wrinkle rubber cement from your local discount drug mart.)
the making of the actual cards is pretty simple. first, i cut the black 12″ squares into four 6″ squares. then, i cut the white 12″ squares into 5.5″ squares. (might i suggest some sort of paper cutter? i use a fiskars paper trimmer that i got at office max.) see? easy. then you just rubber cement the white to the black, and voila:
next, you need figure out what sort of typeface you want for the numbers. i prefer the sloop family (see my logo. we also used this for our wedding invitations.) you can either print the numbers to size, or i just look at the numbers on the screen and draw them by hand to the size i want them. of course, make sure the numbers you print/draw are shorter than 5.5″. after that, i cut out each number with corresponding gold paper:
i wouldn’t suggest doubling up the gold paper per number more than once… three sheets or more, in addition to the number template sheet, can really put a strain on your scissors (hand) and the sheets can slip, so not all the numbers will be perfectly the same AND you’ll waste paper and have to start over (more time than less.)
*don’t forget to do a “0″ for 10, 20… and that 6′s and 9′s are usually interchangable in most typefaces. for 1 through 16 you need: 9 – 1′s, 2- 2′s, 2- 3′s, 2- 4′s, 2- 5′s, 3-6′s (9), 1- 7, 1- 8, 1- 9, 1- 0
while you’re cutting the numbers out, be sure to keep the scraps away from finished numbers. i’ve thrown away a few “1″‘s that i mistook as scraps!
take your time, and use the insides of your scissors as much as possible — it makes for straighter, more precise cuts. cutting from the tips of scissors makes choppy blunt cuts that ruin rounded edges.
and finally, rubber cement the numbers to your layered squares. i suggest laying the numbers on some clean paper (upside down…) and brushing cement over the entire number, not just the ends.
ta da! 16 lovely table numbers all ready for svetlana and sandor :)
by heidzilla
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