How to Make Really Good Homemade Cards
- 1). Collect ideas for card designs. Keep a notebook and camera for recording inspirations you have while on day trips. Look at card-making websites for additional ideas.
- 2). Assemble homemade card materials. Collect material from around the house, such as paper, tissue paper, ribbons, used wrapping paper, and stickers. Visit craft shops and scrap-booking stores to find stencils, card stock, embossing tools, ink pads, and stamps on sale.
- 3). Select which piece of card stock to use to create the card. Its color and the theme of the card will dictate which items and colors you will use to decorate the handmade card. Use a second piece of card stock, paper, or tissue paper of a complimentary color, to create a mat for the card's cover. Alternatively, create a border with stencils or stamps.
- 4). Apply images and/or text to the card stock or mat using stamps. Emboss a portion or all of the graphics to create a shiny, raised appearance. Trace desired items with an embossing pen and sprinkle embossing powder over them. Hold the embossing heat tool approximately one inch above images until all of the powder is melted. Allow the images to cool off and dry. If you use embossing ink pads, you do not need to use an embossing pen. If you only embossed the outlines of images, color in their interiors.
- 5). Trace stencils or draw your own pictures if you do not want to use stamps.Color in these designs and emboss if desired.
- 6). Apply additional features if you wish. Add ribbon, stickers, and scraps of paper as long as they fit the color scheme and style and they do not cause a cluttered look.
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