Make Cards on a Budget

The first thing you may think about when deciding to make cards is what will your designs highlight. This is something you should not get too hung up about because you may not know what that is, at first. Keep this question in mind.

I started folding paper before card making and the card production came later. If you have a drawing style, painting, lettering, crochet, collage or any look that would make your work pop and draw interest is a plus and would make your cards unique and your own statement.

Scrapbooking was a skill I had developed before card making and that is carried over into each card.

Explore your potential for a distinctive look in greeting cards.

One suggestion may be good to start with is purchase the packaged blanks and envelopes available at the craft stores. Experiment with them and see if card making is something you want to do. Or do what I did. Try your hand at a technique such as embossing or silk ribbon which may just be your catalyst.

Budget Hint: Buy just enough to try the craft out and use your coupons. Share the first buys with a friend and split the cost.

After selling cards at work lunch time craft fairs I decided that I wanted to sell cards at other venues. Early on I met a stationary store owner who was interested. There are many avenues to go down to sell. The focus of this page is keeping the hobby on a budget.

My designs incorporated color and I decided to cut and score my own cards so I could have the color backgrounds I wanted. I felt limited without color for the cards themselves.

At first buy card stock by the sheet at craft stores when it is on sale. Michaels and Joann Craft Stores are two in my area for this opportunity. Later when I knew what papers I used the most I bought by the ream paying close to 10 cents a sheet. A big savings. The choices I buy by the ream or bulk are the linen whites and ivories or vellum and column textured card stock in 80 lb weight. The 65 lb and heavier card stocks make beautiful cards.

Budget Hint: Do not buy anything you think you "might" use later. It just cuts into your extra change.

Once you decide that this is something you want to do for selling think about purchasing the envelopes by the box. 250 envelopes can be bought for less than 10 cents each. I have purchased the A2 for 6 cents each.

My source is Kelly's Paper. There are two in the area and I visit both to take advantage of the bonus bin buys. There I find premium card stock in 25 to 50 sheet packages at discount.

If you are prescient you will find the bargains in your city and take advantage of them.

I had the paper cutter and scorer purchased many years ago when I started scrapbooking. It still is working just fine. It is the type that has changeable wheels so I use it for scoring my cards and gifts tags.

Budget Hint: Stop all urges to buy that shiny newly wrapped cutter displayed at the store, and you probably do not need a new scissors. I bought a new one last year, but I still use the old one the most. It is the one in the supply picture above. It's over ten years old! That money could have been spent on something else. My mother has one like it, just as old.


This Fiskars cutter uses the round blade like the hand held cutters for quilting. I sharpen the cutting blade with a purchased sharpener picture above. I made my own sandpaper replacements for the sharpener to save money.



Savings Hint: For my cutter I need to buy new trimmer mat refills. I have discovered that the well for the mat is slightly larger than the mat. When I install it I make sure to press it to one side all the way down the length of the cutter. When the mat gets rough and needs changing I turn it around and install it on the opposite side of the well. I can get two uses out of one mat. If you look closely you can see the two rough cutting marks on the mat. I will need to put a new one in soon.

I took me a some time to hit on just the right glue techniques to make my cards more professional looking.

I still use white glue for most work. I have the little bottle I can refill when I need. I add about a quarter part water. This is so the glue will not clump and show through the papers. I like the white glue because if a little dab gets beyond an edge or oozes out I can use a clothe to dab it away. Dab in the direction of your embellishment so you do not get a glue mark on the card stock portion where it will stand out.

I have found that white glue 10 years old still works fine. I stock up when a good deal can be had. Two pack of glue for 20 cents made me happy.

You will have a better looking card if all traces of glue are not visible.

I love to add bead and button accents to the medallions. I do this with a length of fish line. I tie a double knot at the bead, glue the two ends down under the folds of the medallion or take a narrow strip of card stock or bit of ribbon to tie another knot on the wrong side of the medallion. It will never fall off or come loose.


Lastly, I employ the photo splits for scrapbooking. This is when the final embellishment with backgrounds are glued together and ready to be attached to the card stock. The wavy glue blotch when the card is opened is not desirable for a finished card. Double stick tape or the splits keep everything smooth.

I never find the double stick scotch tape on sale, but the photos splits can to found at Big Lots!, the Dollar Store and on sale at Michael's. Per inch you can work the best price out in your area.

After about a year of low volume selling I bought a Dome record keeping journal to keep track of where money was going and what was bringing it in.

In California if you sell in any craft fair, bizarre or farmer's market you will be asked for your seller's permit and you need it with you at the selling sight. This permit is the record the state uses to collect the state sales taxes you will owe for the sales you make. It is broke down into city or county depending on each area's tax rate.

Depending on your sales you pay by the quarter or by the year. This figure is total sales and should not be confused with an income tax which is profit. If you sell to a store owner, that is considered wholesale, and they will buy the tax. Your permit also allows you a no sales tax break on supplies at wholesale stores that keep records on that.

The Dome record keeper pictured here has an easy reading section on keeping simple records and all the basic rules that you may need for a small scale crafting business.

When it is time to pay the sales taxes you collected the entries you made in the Dome will make it easy to retrieve your figures. The state franchise board has people that can help you over the phone with the official forms.

I keep records on expenses and each month I can see if I came out in the red or in the black. I gauge success by the year. If in the end I actually made more than I spent I am happy. Savings Hint: If I spent too much on paper for folding one month I watch my shopping and not buy anything the next month.

The whole process is the hobby for me. I like keeping the records and paying my share of the taxes. I have a shopping outlet when I need supplies or that new table display item. My favorite part of card making is buying paper and display items and I can do this shopping with the little I make and still be a bit ahead. It's free shopping!

My customers are interested and enjoy my items, a plus in any undertaking. Through this small occupation I have improved online skills and have found new outlets for writing and expressing myself beyond just folding paper and making the cards. It is a fun hobby.

Because of this small business undertaking I discovered Squidoo.

If you want to pursue tea bag folding for card making to sell printing the tiles for folding may become expensive. Because ink is pricey to buy I started at the very beginning to fold paper that is already printed. The sources I use are listed below.

Notepads, grocery lists and sticky notes. These I find in the $1.00 bins at Michael's, Joann fabrics, Target and Dollar Tree. I explore every type 99cent store for these pads of paper.

Laser printer stationary. The 8.5X11 inch printed stationary at dollar stores and when on sale at FedEX stores, Office Depots and stationary stores.

Wrapping paper. Marshall's, Ross and other discount stores. I look for the printed wrapping paper that is not a fuzzy design. Crisp clear printed rolls. The rolls will need to be matched and cut where the pattern repeats.

Fancy wrapping paper. Sometimes I just splurge and buy fancy wrapping paper sheets at gift stores. Look for the repeat pattern because you may need more than one sheet.

Boxed drawer paper sheets. These usually come in the long narrow boxes at Ross, tJmax and Marshall's from the toiletries dept.

Paper doilies.

Origami paper. Also washi paper by the sheets

Scrapbooking paper. Avoid the new extra sturdy sheets that cost more.

Wallpaper and smaller trim rolls. Chose the type that is not washable. Glue will not stick on washable.

After exploring the craft of Tea Bag Folding you will see folding possibilities in lots of papers already on the market. 90% of the time I only purchase what is on sale.

This approach also involves cutting your own tiles and positioning the print where it will pop to the right side of your folded medallion. At first, I used the paper cutter but I found that using a tile guide works okay, cutting two or three tiles at a time with scissors.

Positioning the print requires templates which I explain how to make in Tea Bag Folding and Pattern Instructions.

If you have found some paper sources that I have not mentioned please share it with us in the commit section.

Have fun making cards.