I openly admit that I have more craft supplies than time to create with them. Handmade cards are one of my favorite things to make. I enjoy it, I can buy a whole pack of cardstock to make 50 cards for as much as one greeting card at the store, and they are special! I use a cutting tool that makes it easy to cut the paper, and I even have an envelope making board (though a pack of envelopes at the craft store isn’t very expensive, and I use those more often than not.) I also love a good tape roller for attaching the paper together, it’s not messy and can stick down even tiny doodads. All that being said about fancy supplies, for a nice greeting card, I find that you don’t need more than 6 basic items:
- paper (cardstock or scrapbook paper is best if you have it)
- ruler
- scissors
- coloring utensil (markers, crayons, paint)
- glue or tape
- envelope (or more paper to make one)
If you need to make an envelope, there are tons of tutorials on YouTube. I really like this one, though, by Vectoria Designs: it is so straightforward and simple, but looks pretty! Once your envelope is ready, measure to see what size your card must be to fit inside. Fold and cut your paper to make a card.
Let’s think about a handmade card like a stir-fry. The basic ingredients, like soy sauce and rice are your paper, scissors, and glue. When making stir-fry, you can throw in some leftover peas hanging around your refrigerator, the onion lurking in your cabinet, some chicken you found in your freezer to whip up a delicious dinner. What materials do you have that could add a little “extra” to your card? Here are some items to look for:
- markers, colored pens, crayons, paint
- old greeting cards, or old book illustrations
- the lid from something round (trace to make circles)
- buttons (don’t you have some in those tiny plastic baggies lying in a drawer waiting for you to lose a button from a shirt you don’t even own anymore?)
- artificial flowers and leaves
- real flowers and leaves
Okay, here comes the fun part. Take these items and turn them into something magnificent! Pictured below are some samples:
You can see in the first card, I simply cut the front of a small thank you card, and added my own handwritten thanks on top.
The second is one of my favorite things, cutting long strips of colored paper and attaching it in interesting patterns.
The third card has a heart cut from an old greeting card, a flower made from buttons, and artificial flowers.
What kinds of things do you like to use to make handmade cards? I think it’s so fun and personal!
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