Handmade Cards for all Occasions

I think it's sad that because of advanced technology, the handwritten word, has pretty much gone by the wayside. Because of email it is rare to receive a handwritten letter in the mail anymore. You can even send greeting cards by email now.

There is something sentimental about receiving a letter or card that has the personal touch of being handwritten. One of my favorite things to do with my scrapbooking supplies is to make handmade cards. I suppose, because it's something creative I can do without having to take a lot of time.

I've included a few simple instructions and ideas below (along with lots of sample pictures) to get you started creating cards of your own:

1) Choose your paper. I love to use double-sided cardstock that has a different pattern on each side. When you fold the paper to make a card, there is a different pattern inside the card. If you don't have double-sided cardstock, gluing on other pieces of coordinating paper creates a nice layering effect.

2) Fold your paper in half, making a deep crease. You can run a pencil or other hard object along the fold to crease it, but be careful, some paper will crack. There are also other fun, unique ways to fold your paper other than in half. A gate-fold is one of my favorite. You can also fold up the bottom half of the paper and fasten the sides, creating a pocket to put a note in.

3) If you plan on using an envelope, make sure the paper is cut slightly smaller, so the finished product will fit inside. A fun effect is to use scraps of paper, or stickers that match the card and create an embellishment for the outside of the envelope as well.

4) Decide how much text you want to use. Often a title of some sort looks nice on the outside. You can handwrite it, use alphabet stickers, stamps, or print it on your computer and glue it on or fasten with brads, staples, or ribbon. There are also tons of fun rub-on titles available with common sayings such as Thank You, Happy Birthday, and You're Invited.

5) Be creative. There are tons of fun things you can use to embellish your card: ribbon, brads, paper flowers, staples, stickers, etc.

6) After you have created the outside of your card, don't forget the most important part--the message inside.

Nothing quite says I love you like receiving something that has been handmade. I love receiving cards and always add them to my scrapbook pages. I've got entire birthday pages designed around cards my children have received. And besides that, creating cards is a great way to get your feet wet if you are new to scrapbooking and a good way to use up all those leftover scraps.

**All the cards pictured here were made using Pebbles, Inc. products.

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