How to Make a Birthday Card

Sometimes the best gift is the one that's homemade. Sure, the grocery store is filled to brimming with cards for all ages, but when the rubber meets the road, homemade always wins out. Here are three unbeatable ideas for how to make a birthday card for flower lovers.

Rubber Stamps Make Birthday Bouquets Simple

Stamping is huge! There are now specially designed stamp kits just for children and of course the tried and true grown up stamping kits that are often sold with scrap books and also by themselves. Find stamps that contain flowers and leaves.

You need: stamps in assorted shapes and sizes, stamp pad(s), designer paper or cardstock, water color, glitter

Choose a piece of cardstock or designer paper and make sure it is folded to the size you want. Write your birthday wishes inside the card and whatever witty saying you might have chosen for the outside. Next, stamp whatever flower and leaf patterns you desire on the outside and the inside.

Once the ink dries, use the water colors to paint in the various flowers. If you use heavily watered down color, you will give an airy feeling to the card, while less water will make the colors bolder. Play around a bit with the contrasts or choose to just stick with one method of color application.

If you choose to paint any water drops onto the leaves, consider mixing in a minute amount of glitter in those droplets for an added effect. Let everything dry - preferably overnight - before putting the card in an envelope.

Nothing Says "Happy Birthday" Like Dried Flowers

Once again you want to use card stock, but this time you could choose to use flowers and leaves you collected and pressed yourself, or you can purchase already pressed flowers at a craft store. For that special touch, flowers you collected yourself are always more special.

You need: dried flowers, petals or leaves, card stock, designer paper, glue

Begin once again by choosing card stock. Next, cut the designer paper to fit inside the card but leave about one inch all the way around and glue it down. Once the paper has completely dried, folding the card into the desired size; it is now time to write your birthday wishes. This is a wonderful medium to send a poem or birthday greetings that are specifically incorporate mentioning of your geographic area.

Next, assemble the leaves and flowers in the kind of bouquets or create art pieces you want them to be. Great care must be taken that all stems, petals and leaves are completely dried! Glue your creation to the inside and/or outside of the card with great care. Do not use too much glue!

Allow your creation to dry overnight and if you mail it, put it into an oversized zip lock bag first and then choose a padded envelope to protect your creation from being crushed.

Children Love To Make a Birthday Bouquet

This is a wonderful card to make with your children. The outcome will depend on your child's age and the materials she or he will want to use.

You need: Colorful paper, glue, tape, scissors, and any art supplies your child chooses

The step-by-step instructions for how to make a birthday card for that special teacher or friend vary, depending on age, but the basic setup is similar:

Use a piece of colorful paper and role it into a cone shape. The whole setup should be about six inches long. Tape it in the back so that it now looks like a bouquet holder made of paper. Write your birthday greetings on that holder. Since it is hollow inside, it will hold the stems. You might make them from green paper to which you attach flower heads made of bright paper, or you may use pipe cleaners for your stems.

Fashion flowers from whatever materials you have at hand and do not worry about these flowers actually looking like real flowers. Incorporate the favorite colors of the person to whom the card is being sent and involve your child in the completion of the card and the choice of design and colors as much as is age appropriate. Be careful when letting young children use scissors!

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Do not stop there! Read more of Sylvia Cochran's arts and crafts tips for children:

St. Patrick's Day Crafts for Kids(Make a Reptile Mobile, Trinity Shamrock, and Shamrock Headgear)
10 Books About Martin Luther King, Jr. (contains several recommendations for hands on crafts and activities)
Make Christmas Crafts and Ornaments with Webkinz