Make Your Own Greeting Cards at Home

The good news though is that people can put their worries aside, because it's neither hard nor expensive to make their own professional looking greeting cards that will look so astonishing, they'll blow their friends away. So basically, one needs 3 things to create his own greeting cards and they are supplies, perseverance, time and this guide. It's tempting to think that expensive equipment is required for making such cards, but that’s not true at all. This guide will show everyone that it's possible to consider making card for birthday as easily by just using the simplest of tools.

Image via: http://lifestylecrafts.com

How to get started with making greeting cards

In order to get started in card making, people need a few basic crafts supplies. The following list will offer several examples in this regard, but it's not an exhaustive list and it's meant to give people a rough idea of what they need so they don't end up running to their local crafts scrapbook shop. The requirements are:

1. Craft knife (people should be careful handling this one, because it's very sharp).

2. A ruler.

3. Colorful designed papers (it's a good idea to start with purchasing a few 12 by 123 sheets from the local scrapbook store).

4. A good variety of glue, because some elements require different types of glues.

5. A cutter or a guillotine.

6. A pair of scissors.

7. A self healing mat or cutting mat.

8. Optional: ink pads, rubber stamps, coloring mediums, ribbons, brads.

It's all about positioning elements

Now that people have a base card in front of them, they might be confused of where to start. Well, sketches are a great start because they are a simplified drawing of element position on a scrapbook or card layout. What's great about them is that people can:

1. Easily find them online.

2. Adapt them for rectangular or square, bigger and smaller cards.

3. Get more productive, being one less thing to worry about when making greeting cards.

4. Reuse them, change a few elements or even swap them.

5. Add extra layers of matting.

6. Rotate them to fit your needs.

7. Use your existing supplies.

Making a handmade greeting card

Now that people have picked their favorite sketch and the papers, what's next? Well, on the printed pagemap\sketch mark, using a pencil people should mark what papers will go where. For instance, having a plain paper behind a focal point is a great idea. In order for the focal point to no "fight" with it, people should use the pattern paper behind the plain mat. 

Another suggestion is to use one of the plain papers all over the base card and then add the patterned paper cut 1\4" smaller. It will offer people a great frame-like canvas they can start from. Lastly, the element should be added as per sketch, ensuring that all papers are used equally, as this will give the project a balanced look. With that being said, these are the best tips everyone who wants to create greeting cards at home easily and without using expensive equipment should follow. Good luck with creating the most beautiful homemade greetings cards!