A Fun Handmade Birthday Card Idea

This handmade birthday card idea was made for my future sister-in-law, Tricia. She has really great taste in style and I wanted to make her something that resonated with her personality - but I wanted it to be really simple.

I have had this leopard patterned paper in my craft arsenal for a long time and I thought it would look really cool on homemade birthday card.

The envelope that I was going to use was sort of small - 5" x 4". So I had to make the handmade birthday card relatively smaller.

The one problem I ran into when wanting to use this patterned leopard print paper was in finding a nice background color to "frame" it! I didn't have any metallic paper. I think silver or gold would have made a really cool background, but alas, I only had muted cardstock on hand and no time (or money) to make a run to the craft store.

So, make a note, try not to run out and buy a bunch of patterned paper without thinking through how you plan to use the paper. Although who could resist such a wild pattern of leopard print?

Okay - so obviously I settled on a very deep purple.

Reasons why I chose a deep purple:

• It looked great with the patterned print.

• It was one of the few thick textured colored cardstock that I own.

• I have a fabulous purple brush marker that I could use to stamp out the letter "T" that matches the paper.

Material Needed:

• Cardstock for the actual handmade birthday card idea and a scrap piece for a background for the shape - I chose a deep purple

• Cool patterned paper to use on the front - I chose leopard print

• Light colored cardstock (or one that matches your patterned print) for stamping the letter - I chose a cream colored piece of paper

• Stencil of a shape of your choosing - I used a star

• Pencil

• Scissors

• Glue or adhesive of your choice - I used rubber cement and a square of double-sided foam tape for the star

• Paper Trimmer (or just scissors is fine)

• Rubber stamp of the letter of your birthday gal or guy (or you can print out a cool font of a letter from your computer)

• Inkpad for your rubber stamp - I used a purple brush marker

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Trim your cardstock to the desired size.

2. Trim your patterned paper to fit just inside the front of your card.

3. Use your stencil to trace the shape with a pencil on the colored cardstock (this would be the bottom part of your shape).

   Now to make it larger, use your pencil to trace along the outside of the shape about 1/4 inch all the way around.

   See the picture below. The inner star is the original size and I used a pencil (outlined in Sharpie for the picture) to trace around the original star. This is just an example of what to do - I didn't use this for the card.

   
   

   You want to create space between the top light colored cardstock (with the stamped letter) and the bottom colored piece of cardstock - so this piece needs to be a little bigger. Cut the shape out.

4. Use your stencil to trace the shape with a pencil against the lighter colored cardstock; this is the piece where you will stamp your letter. Cut the shape out.

   Note: If you are printing out your letter from the computer, space out the letter with different font sizes so you will be able to find one that fits the shape - then proceed with the step outlined. You may need an eraser eliminate any pencil markings that are still there after cutting the shape out.

5. Take your rubber stamp and inkpad and stamp in the center of your cut-out shape.

6. Glue your patterned paper onto the front of your card.

7. Glue your stamped shape onto your larger shaped cardstock.

8. Glue your shape onto the front of your card.

   Note: For this handmade birthday card I used a double-sided foam tape to attach the shape to the front of the card, this gave the card some extra dimension.

Creative Card Sketches

Thank you for visiting my website, I hope you are able to find some great card making ideas. I also wanted to share with you an awesome resource that I've put together just for card makers: 101 Creative Card Sketches.

If you've been searching for a quick and easy way to find card layouts, then this is the perfect solution for you! This book includes 101 card sketches, over 25 card samples + instructions, tips and techniques for using card sketches, handy sketch summary sheets, and lots more, you'll never run out of card layout ideas again!

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!

This is a downloadable ebook that you can order from anywhere and have instant access to.

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