A Simple Handmade Anniversary Card Idea

I got this handmade anniversary card idea from just looking at the paper and cardstock that I had on hand. I did have a lot of hearts, reds, and whites that I could have used, but I really liked the colors that I chose.

This anniversary card is for the 3-year anniversary that me and my fiancee just celebrated. We both have similar tastes and I knew he would really like the modern earthy colors, like polka dotted sage green paper and the brown cardstock.

For this handmade anniversary card idea, I chose to write "Baby Doll" because that is my nickname (among many) that I have for him. Not sure where the nickname started, but it stuck. I used a stamp that I had to make baby cards for the "BABY" message and some alphabet letters for the "Doll" part.

Initially I wanted to make just three yellow polka dotted hearts to symbolize the three years we have been together, but then I accidentally cut a heart too small and it looked so cute in the upper right hand corner - so I had to do it!

I have a heart stencil, but it was way too big for this card, so I just flipped over the polka dotted yellow paper and drew my own hearts to cut out.

The uneven hearts really made this handmade anniversary card idea special to me. Making cards is not about being perfect and I felt that the different sized hearts and heart shapes made this card so adorable.

I suppose this handmade anniversary card idea could also be used for Valentine's Day or other occasion, so feel free to use it how you will.

Do you have a nickname for your partner that you can use on your own handmade anniversary card idea?

Material Needed:

• Cardstock for the actual card, I chose a brown bear brown

• Rubber stamps (or a printer) for the wording

• Inkpads or Ink Brushes for the stamping out your message

• Complementary cardstock for your message, I chose a putty-like color and cream

• Two styles of complementary patterned paper, I chose polka dotted sage green and a bright yellow

• Glue or adhesive of your choice, I used rubber cement

• Paper trimmer

• Scissors

• Bone Folder

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Trim and fold your cardstock to the desired size, this card is about 5x5 in size.

2. Cut your patterned paper a tad bit smaller than the front of the card to leave a little border around it. In my case, I cut the patterned paper 4.5" x 4.5", leaving about 1/2 inch around for the brown cardstock to show through.

3. Stamp out your messages on the other complementary cardstock that you have. I stamped out "Baby" and "doll" on some scrap cardstock that I had on hand. I used an orange and brown brush marker with my rubber stamps.

4. Cut out the stamped messages. I did not cut out the messages perfectly - I gave a little bit of length on the "Baby" stamp and actually cut the "doll" stamp as a trapezoid!
   

5. Now with your other patterned paper cut random little hearts to fit on the empty spaces on your card.
   

   I didn't have a heart stencil that fit the size of the card, so I flipped over the yellow patterned paper and "measured" my own hearts to fit on the front.

6. Now for the gluing! I used a very light layer of rubber cement to glue everything together (mainly because I ran out of my glue tape) - but the rubber cement worked perfectly.

7. Glue your patterned paper to the front of the card stock. Line up the rest of your card pieces where you want them.

   TIP: To get the wording of my rubber stamped messages just right, I placed them where I wanted them on the card and with a pencil drew markers underneath the corners so that I knew where to align the pieces once I had glue on them. This was especially helpful with my trapezoid cut message.

   Now carefully glue the rest of your pieces.

   

   NOTE: Unless you have a cool metallic pen or something, it might be difficult to write on such dark cardstock.

   For this card, I used a cream piece of card stock and cut it so that it fit just inside the card, 4.5" x 4.5", and used that to write my message.

   And what's great is that you can write your message before you glue it into the card - so if you mess up when writing, just cut another cardstock square and write it again!

Creative Card Sketches

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Thank you again for visiting my website and I hope you continue to find card making a joyful and inspiring hobby for many years to come!

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Looking for another Anniversary Card Idea?
Check out these Valentine's Day Card for more inspiration.

Searching for Wedding Anniversary Cards?
Here are some different handmade wedding card ideas can you can use for your handmade anniversary card.

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