Homemade Cards

Winter is a season of cards. Holiday cards, thank you cards, birthdays (at our house!), and Valentine’s Day are all occasions when you need cards. At our home, we favor the homemade card. It’s simple and sweet card making!

Using homemade cards will save lots of money, in comparison to purchasing new. Kids can participate in this project as well.  Kids need birthday and thank you cards for friends and family.

Homemade cards – the details

• Use A2 or 5 1/2 bar envelopes (this is 4 3/8” X 5 3/4”)
• Use an 8 1/2” X 11” piece of paper, cut in half, on the 11” side
• Fold each of the cut pieces in half.  This gives you 2 “cards” from 1 piece of paper (no waste!)
• These “cards” fit into the A2 envelopes

I purchased the envelopes and 8 1/2” X 11” thick paper from a local store called the Paper Zone but it went out of business. I need to find a new source.

Cutting, paper punching, folding, and gluing are the only skills needed.

Buttons and scrap paper can be saved and collected for homemade card making.

Lots of these supplies have been found at garage sales and estate sales.

A simple heart punch can go a long way in card making!

This one is for my husband.  He gets a gingham heart, of course!

Sort of manly, for a teenage boy.

This was a birthday card I made for my daughter.

For my Mom or my Mother-in-law.

New baby, anyone?

I print a lot of words on one sheet of paper and then cut the “phrases” out individually.  This is easier than stamping.  Stamping leaves lots of smudges.  I like simple cards.  Simple is better.  {Happy Birthday and Thank You for cutting}

My husband stamped this one.  He is a really good stamp-er.  No smudges.  Plus, I love this stamp.  This is an anniversary or wedding card.

This is my husband’s birthday card.  His birthday was yesterday so I’m not spoiling the surprise!

Okay, I did stamp this “T” on here and didn’t smudge it.  Miracles do happen.

These are my sister’s hands in action!  My sister, Mary, always joins us for “Card Making Day” and I love it.  I think this is our 12th (or 11th?) year.

I see that I was really on a heart-gingham-kick here!

Making cards is more personal than an e-card or an e-mail.  Mailing (or hand delivering) a card is such a sweet, old-fashioned gesture.  Especially when it’s a card you’ve made.

Do you mail cards?  Do you like receiving them?  Is Facebook going to make sending cards obsolete?

Go Gingham related links:

A dining room table table-cloth for Flag Day – or another summer holiday
How to tutorial on the dining room table ping-pong
Thanksgiving table-cloth made for our dining room table
Matching napkins for the table-cloth – made from an old skirt
How to sew a Harry Potter cape complete with wand pocket
Homemade Halloween decorations – sewing tablecloths for Halloween transforms a room quickly