You can make your own handmade, decorative cards for birthdays, Christmas, special occasions, or just because.
This lens covers the basics including making your own paper, some basic decorating tips, and ideas, and more.
Make Your Own Paper
What you'll need:3 or 4 sheets of your favorite color of card stock (use different shades for more interesting color in the final product)
A package of herb or flower seeds, dried flower pieces (optional to add interesting textures)
A hole punch
Fine twine or ribbon
1 teaspoon of cornstarch
An inkpad in your favorite color(s)
Rubber stamps
A blender
A mesh screen
How to make the paper:
Tear the colored card stock into 1 x 1 strips, and place them in your blender. Add enough water to cover the strips.
Add the cornstarch to the mixture and blend on high until it's well mixed. When your done mixing you can add some extras if you'd like to add some interest to the card, you can add some dried leaves, seeds, or pressed flowers to the mixture.
Pour the pulp into a strainer, and very gently squeeze the mixture to get out the excess water. Then pat the mixture onto a screen in the desired shape. Pat the top with a paper towel to get more moisture out, and place in front of a fan, or heat duct to dry. Setting the screen up on a cooling rack will help circulate the air under the card, and speed the drying process even more.
You can decorate your card with the rubber stamp, write a personal message, or add some pressed flowers. When you're finished punch a hole in the top of the card to add a decorative ribbon tie and add it to your packages.
Paper Making Kits
Arnold Grummer's Papermaking Kit and Video
Amazon Price: $24.99 (as of 12/26/2009) 
All About Paper Making
Amazon Price: (as of 12/26/2009)
Paper Craft Kit: Materials and Instructions for Beautiful Handmade Paper Creations
Amazon Price: $11.22 (as of 12/26/2009)
Other Specialty Papers and Cards
- Make a Seed Card
- These little cards make great get well, Christmas, just friends, or any occasion cards. They also make great gift package decorations.
Papercraft at Wikipedia
Paper models, also called card models or papercraft, are models constructed mainly from sheets of heavy paper, paperboard, or card stock as a hobby.
Hand Made Card Books
Quick & Clever Handmade Cards (Quick and Clever)
Amazon Price: $13.59 (as of 12/26/2009)
Creative Card Making for Scrapbookers (Memory Makers)
Amazon Price: $15.63 (as of 12/26/2009)
Making Greeting Cards With Creative Materials
Amazon Price: (as of 12/26/2009)
Cards that Pop Up, Flip & Slide
Amazon Price: (as of 12/26/2009)
The Art of Card Making
Amazon Price: (as of 12/26/2009)
Papercraft Handmade Butterflies
Papercrafting Instruction Books
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand by
Do You Enjoy Creating Your Own Cards?
-
Reply
- paperfacets paperfacets Jun 18, 2008 @ 2:00 am
- I have been making cards for five years. I am my Moms only card supplier. All the cousins receive my cards from her every year. My speciality is the tea bag folded embellishment. The medallion becomes the whole card. The focal point. The paper making info I will refer back to soon. Good lens. Sherry
Featured Lenses
-
Stuff Your Own Bear
-
Make any occasion a Create-A-Friend occasion! Adults and children alike will delight in choosing their own friend to create and personalize. Create-A-Friend was created by two mothers with children who love creating their own friends. They have...
-
Birthday Party Central
-
Planning a children's birthday party doesn't have to be difficult. Start with a plan, and build from there. A couple months before the party plan a theme and the party location. Purchase your party supplies about a month ahead of time to make sure y...
-
Plan A Dog Themed Birthday Party
-
Are you planning a Dog, or Pink Poodle themed birthday party? If you need to find all the supplies, get game ideas, plan some fun birthday activities, you've come to the right place. This lens has everything you need to plan a great Dog Themed Birth...
-
Plan A Cat Themed Birthday Party
-
Are you planning a cat, or kitten themed birthday party? If you need to find all the supplies, get game ideas, plan some fun birthday activities, you've come to the right place. I love the new Glamour Cats party theme, it's soooooo cute! This lens...
-
Natural Garden Tips and Tricks
-
Do you get spring fever as soon as the seed catalogs arrive in early January? I do. Gardening is a very therapeutic and relaxing hobby. What a great feeling when you are connected to the earth. It is so calming to watch all the beautiful plants emerg...
by Barkely
Barkely (Linette) enjoys sharing the things she loves with the world through Squidoo! Check out Lensography here at Squidoo for more information.
(more) 
