Thank you notes are one of the nicest things to receive. Many successful people swear by them, including the great Barbara Walters.

I go through stages where I’m really good about writing thank you notes and then I trail off.

Keeping a stock of professional looking stationery, blank greeting cards, and stamps makes it easy to quickly scribble out a heart-felt note and pop it into the mail (see more tips on sending professional thank you notes below).

I love sending handmade cards to friends, and every now and then I spend a rainy afternoon replenishing my stock of handmade, home-made cards (ok, it was an overcast afternoon – there is no rain in Southern California!).

The ones I made today are made entirely from stuff I had lying around my house. You’ll need card, or card stock, colorful paper (I had picked up a scrap-booking pad of different patterned papers on sale a while back), some toilet roll tubes, poster paints, a thin paintbrush, school glue, and scissors.

Then just have fun with this stuff. When gluing down papers onto the card, leave them under a book for 10 minutes to ensure good, flat adhesion. Cut the toilet roll tubes into thin slivers, paint them in different colors or just leave them in their natural state,  and glue with the school glue (which will dry clear).

When you’ve finished, you’ll have a good supply of stunning handmade cards that you can use not only for thank yous, but for birthdays, congratulations, and everything else for the next year!

*How to send a professional thank you note (source: Huffington Post)