3 Ways to Make Homemade Cards Look Great

With the booming success of do-it-yourself workshops and homemade crafts from online stores such as Etsy, it is definitely "in style" now to be giving handmade gifts. While whether you decide to give these gifts that you yourself make or that you purchase from others through places such as Etsy or hometown crafts bazaars, the common factor for all of these gifts is the handmade quality of them. In fact, even store bought gifts are often trying to mimic the handmade appearance of some of these fun trinkets. One industry that took off in the direction of handmade gifts earlier than others was the greeting/birthday card industry. Perhaps due to the influence of the many available paper craft supplies that support hobbies like scrapbooking, homemade cards have continued to be a popular and well-received gift item. Here are three easy ways to spruce up your own homemade cards, at very little additional cost to you.

1) Use unique papers. While regular, plain construction paper will certainly suffice for card projects, I have found that uniquely patterned papers or tissues will add a more interest feel to your cards. Old maps work great as uniquely patterned papers that add that special and interesting element to your artwork. Patterned tissue paper can also be carefully layered over plainly colored paper to add a delicate and more subtle print; if you choose to do this, be sure to use a glue stick (as opposed to liquid glues) as it will not leave lumps between the plain paper and the tissue paper when dried.

2) Use creative fonts. You don't have to be a very artistic person to do this well. Simply try writing your greeting words with a calligraphy pen to add a more interesting appearance to all of your card covers. While there is considered a correct angle at which a calligraphy pen should be held, the style and appearance of your calligraphy print is really up to you. There are many different letter styles, and your card will still be great if you simply decide to create your own font. However, I have found that it is often easier for beginning calligraphers to write in all capital letters (than to try lower case letters). Practice your letters on a piece of scrap paper before printing them onto your cards.

3) Use three dimensional objects. For example, consider gluing a ribbon bow or lace to your card to add a more three dimensional feel to your work. Fake pearl beads also look great, and you can easily create a raised look to your card by using a piece of thin craft foam to create a raised portion of your card. The whole idea with this part is that you add a little something to your card to make it "pop out" more than a simple flat greeting card.