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Overview
Giving a gift that you make with your own hands can be more special to you and the person receiving it. Even something as simple as a homemade birthday card speaks volumes because it's a reflection of the sender's imagination, thoughtfulness and investment of time. Many store-bought cards get tossed after the special day has passed. It's the ones you create from scratch, though, that become the keepers.
Happy Birthday!
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Step 1
Decide on the overall tone of the birthday card you want to make, such as romantic, nostalgic or humorous. The tone will dictate the color of the card stock as well as the inside content, and is a reflection of your relationship with the recipient. A humorous card, for example, will probably utilize bright, bold colors. A romantic or nostalgic card, in contrast, would gravitate toward soft pastels. -
Step 2
Determine the card stock you'll need. If you're planning to affix 4-by-6 inch photos as your artwork, you'll want to use A7 card stock and matching A7 envelopes. Keep in mind that if you choose black, dark purple or dark green, you'll need to print out your interior message in a light color font or it will be hard to read. -
Step 3
Choose color or black-and-white photographs for the front of your card. You can use a photograph of you and the recipient together from a fun time you shared, use a landscape snapshot from your travels. Get creative and use a photo editing software to turn an ordinary picture into something antique, colorized, funky, or a collage of all the recipient's favorite things. -
Step 4
Compose a greeting inside. If you are going to print something directly on the card stock, go into "Page Layout" in your word processing program, and define the paper size as 7.17 inches by 10.12 inches prior to printing. -
Step 5
Apply a thin layer of rubber cement to the back of the photograph, and position it on the front of the card. Wait approximately 30 seconds, and then lightly press. -
Step 6
Apply three-dimensional stickers for added interest. In a picture of a sunny meadow, for example, you could add a three-dimensional sticker of a picnic basket. For a snapshot of a beach, a sandcastle sticker or a colorful beach ball would be amusing. Stickers are reasonably inexpensive and can either be ordered online from companies such as EK Success (see Resources below) or in any stationery or crafts store that sells scrapbook materials.
- Skill: Easy
- Ingredients:
- Card stock and envelopes
- Printer
- Rubber cement
- Paper cutter
- Photographs
- Dimensional stickers (optional)
- Photo editing software (optional)
- Tip: You don't have to be a Hallmark-worthy poet to pen a message for the interior of a birthday card. Your thoughtfulness will already have touched his heart so something as simple as "Thinking of You on Your Special Day," "Wishing You All the Best" or just "Many Happy Returns" will do.
- Tip: If you're not sure how to load the card stock correctly into your printer or whether your text is positioned where you want it, cut down a piece of 8 1/2-by-11 inch paper to the same size as the card stock and run that through first. When you get it perfect, save the card file on your computer.
- Tip: Experiment with different textures of card stock and special papers.
- Warning:
- Always use rubber cement instead of crafts glue or aerosol products to affix artwork and photos to your card stock. If you get too much rubber cement on the card or the photograph, it easily balls up and can be flicked off. Aerosol fixatives may seem pretty easy to use but they make the entire card feel sticky and smell funny.
- Always work in a well-ventilated room if you're using rubber cement. Otherwise you'll get a loopy buzz.
- If you're printing an interior message, run the card stock through your printer before you affix the photo; otherwise, you're going to get a very ugly paper jam.
- Dimensional stickers that are large are also likely to add weight to the postage if you're planning to mail your birthday card.
