Simple Card

Making and giving a handmade card gives lot of satisfaction. It tells the person, we have taken time to think about him/her. Because of easy phone and email access, it got easier to get in touch with friends and family; but next time try giving them a handmade card to surprise them or just renew the tradition of giving cards. This is a simple and basic way to make a card – from here there are endless possibilities; some of them need specialized machines, tools, inks etc… Even if all those items are not in our budget right now, we can make use of simple things to make a basic card.

As I was making cards for kids’ teachers since many years, I invested in a scoreboard and a cutter, but these are not necessary. A good old ruler and a pair of scissors will the work just fine. Let’s get to work!

Things needed:

Card stock 8 ½ ‘’ x 11’’

Decorative paper for layers…two contrasting papers or papers which complement each other work well.

Glue

A pair of scissors, decorative scissors if you have one

Decorative ribbon or a lace

Making the Card:

Take a 8 ½ ‘’ x 11’’ card stock

We need to cut the card stock into 5 ½ ‘’ x 8 ½’’. I made the score at 5 ½’’ on the card stock using my scoreboard, as this makes it easier to cut here.

You can just mark 5 ½ ‘’ mark on the card stock on the 11’’ side.

Place the ruler like this, and fold the card stock over the ruler; this way we can be sure our cut is straight.

Cut along the fold.

Now take 8 ½’’ x 5 ½’’ piece, fold it into half. Using a scoreboard and pressing it with a bone folder makes a crisp fold. Use a ruler if scoreboard is not available.

     

As our base card is 4 ¼’’ x 5 ½’’, first layer should be 4’’ x 5 ¼’’.

Second layer should be 3 ¾’’ x 5 ‘’.

I took a 3 ½’’ x 2’’ small piece of light coloured paper to write a sentiment like ‘Happy Birthday’. (It can be smaller in size than this)

I trimmed these three sides with a decorative scissors.

Glue the first layer using glue.

Stick the second layer on the top of the first layer with the help of glue.

Glue the small paper on the bottom side (it can be anywhere on the card) and attach a trim or lace of your choice.  Write the main sentiment here, and the complete message inside the card.

Your card is ready!