How to make a handmade card even if you cannot draw

Till I moved to the U.K I had no idea that card making is actually a hobby for hundreds (perhaps thousands) of people. There are many magazines here entirely devoted to this craft. There are many books too on the same. I was fascinated to discover them.

I have always enjoyed creating things. Some times I have given away cards on my blog, as a thank you to all of you who read me. (Remember my pop up cards  and the post where I had asked about the make of the car )
 Shru and  Amit have patiently waited for their cards and I finally got down to making them. Here they are! They will be in your hands soon!

Somehow I love handmade things! Getting a real card instead of an electronic one (which is also rare these days. Most people are happy just writing a hurried message on Facebook wall or sending scraps on Orkut ) truly brightens the day of the recipient. At least it does that to me. I love it when someone has taken the trouble to make that phone call or send a real card.

I had decided that I'd be giving away a handmade card to the 300th follower of this blog. I kept watching as the numbers went up, wondering who the 300th would be. When it reached the magic figure I went to the blog and left a comment asking for his postal address. He was delighted. The 300th follower was Addy.
 Addy, here is your card! It is in the mail and will reach you soon!

The first card was entirely painted by me. It is a water colour where I have used wet on wet technique. The second card, I painted the fish, then cut it out and mounted it on thick card. I then stuck crumpled blue handmade paper as a background and stuck the fish on it. For those of you who cannot paint, you can still make cards for your loved ones,  if you want to.(Use a printed picture instead of the fish I used)

The third card that I made for Addy requires no drawing skill at all.  Here are the things you will need and here is how to make it.

 Things needed:
1.A very sharp craft knife, (I used a Derwent Craft knife).Take extreme care while using this , else you could end up in surgery :P :)


2.Foam sheets of different colours which you can get in any craft store or stores that sell Art supplies in India.

3. A craft  punch  You get them now in India too. They cost about Rs.50 -70/- if I remember . Choose a punch whose shape you like

4. Hand made paper of different kinds. Keep looking for scraps of paper around you.(wedding invites, gift wraps, event invites) You will be surprised what different textures and what different kinds you can find. Even the smallest bit can be used for something. Collect them!

5. Fancy buttons: Again you can keep looking. Perhaps that Kurti which you have worn till it is threadbare has buttons that can be salvaged? Visit any craft store or a place where they sell embroidery threads and they are sure to have them.

6. A good glue. Fevicol is great :) I missed my fevicol while making this! I used something called Gel glue instead.

Now--the most important step: Use your imagination!!

What I did  to make the above card was
1. I cut out light blue handmade paper and stuck it as a background

2. Next I measured the base of the light blue back ground and cut a sheet of green foam with the same length and one third its height. Then I used the craft knife to cut the 'bumps' on it. I stuck this right at the bottom.

3.I punched out various flowers using the flower punch. You can use pictures from magazines if you like. Or you can cut them by hand if you don't want to buy a punch. You can also vary the shapes of the flowers and use your own imagination. Perhaps you want to stick a car? Or a bike? Or a tree? I stuck the punched out flowers. I also stuck a cloud.

4.I cut out thin strips from yellow foam to make the rays of the sun and stuck them.

5. I used corrugated sheet and cut out a small piece. I  wrote the word 'smile' on a cream paper which would contrast the corrugated piece. I stuck this on the corrugated sheet. Then I stitched a little tag with some embroidery thread. (you could stick this too)

6. I stuck the buttons and made the tag hang from the button. I also used a little glue while making it hang so it wouldn't come off.

Voila!! A handmade card is ready!!

Isn't it pretty?

Guys--make this for your girlfriend (Imagine the surprise on her face) and watch her MELT! :-)


All you single people : Make this for that great  friend  and make them feel on top of the world :-)


Moms and Dads:  You can make this as a special project with your kids

Oh--and don't forget to thank me  for showing you how to do this :-)