Well Hello there! I am so happy you found me. Are you thinking about cardmaking as a hobby? Then you have come to the right place! I highly recommend it. I love, love, love cardmaking and have been making them for more than 17 years. That’s a lot of cards!! Below I put together a Cardmaking 101 post that will explain what cardmaking is, list the benefits of cardmaking, provide a cardmaking 101 supply list and instructions to get started making your very first card. Let’s dive right in.
What is Cardmaking?
Cardmaking is a hobby (for some it is also a business) that uses paper (ie: cardstock), inks and stamps (rubber, cling, photopolymer) to create a handcrafted greeting card to give to another person. Handmade greeting cards can be made for any occasion such as birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, get well, sympathy, thinking of you, thank you or just saying hello. Making and giving cards is a joy for the giver as well as the receiver. Many of my friends tell me they can’t throw my cards away because they are just too pretty.
According to Wikipedia, cardmaking dates back to the ancient Chinese, who exchanged messages of good will to celebrate the New Year, and to the early Egyptians, who conveyed their greetings on papyrus scrolls. By the early 15th century, handmade paper greeting cards were being exchanged in Europe. The Germans are known to have printed New Year’s greetings from woodcuts as early as 1400, and handmade paper Valentines were being exchanged in various parts of Europe in the early to mid-15th century. However, by the 1850s, the greeting card had been transformed from a relatively expensive, handmade and hand-delivered gift to a popular and affordable means of personal communication, due largely to advances in printing and mechanization.
Benefits of Cardmaking
- Cardmaking is relaxing, enjoyable and FUN!
- It lowers stress.
- It is easy to learn (tons of tutorials available)
- Cardmaking is a great creative outlet (even if you don’t consider yourself very creative)
- It gives you a great sense of accomplishment and pride upon finishing a card.
- It helps you learn a new skill.
- Helps with dexterity
- It helps with mindfulness.
- It calms your brain so you sleep better.
- It is a great social activity you can do with others.
- It builds confidence as you learn new techniques.
- You join a community of caring crafters.
- Learning new techniques improves your imagination.
- You can earn money and get a discount on your own supplies (more about that later)
Benefits to the Recipient
- Happy Mail! Receiving a handmade card in the mail spreads joy and positivity
- They will know that you care about them because you took time to make a card just for them.
- They now have a treasure to hold, display and cherish.
- They will feel loved because you remembered them on their special day.
- Creates an emotional connection between the sender and the receiver.
- They feel more socially connected and less alone.
- Creates an immediate feeling of excitement, anticipation and surprise to see a card in the mail.
- They feel more worthwhile and valued.
Basic Cardmaking 101 Supply List
- Cardstock in various colors (ie: white, black, red, green, yellow, blue, purple, brown, etc.)
- Inks in various colors (ie: black, red, green, yellow, blue, etc.)
- Stamps (rubber stamps, photopolymer stamps, cling stamps, or wood mounted stamps)
- Acrylic block(s) to hold your stamps (if they are not wood mounted stamps)
- Paper Trimmer/Scorer to cut and score your cardstock
- Snips/Scissors
- Adhesive/liquid glue
- Bone Folder to enhance your creases made when scoring your cardstock (optional)
- Ruler
- Envelopes
- Shammy or stampin’ scrub and stampin’ mist to clean the ink off the stamps when done
- Embellishments/gems/ribbon (optional but crucial if you want to add bling and create a WOW factor!)
Over time, you will want to expand your supply list to include more embellishments, dies, paper punches, designer series paper (dsp), ribbon, markers, colored pencils, embossing folders, embossing powder, heat tool, embossing and die cutting machine, stampin’ dimensionals, blending brushes, daubers, ink refills, etc. But you don’t have to get it all at once. With just the basics above you can create a clean and simple 3 layer card like the one below.
How to Make Your Very First Card
Cut
- Cardstock comes in a couple different sizes, 12″ x 12″ and 8 1/2 ” x 11″. The 12″ x 12″ is used mainly for scrapbooking or other paper crafting projects. If you use the 8 1/2″ x 11″ cardstock, you can cut it in half and make two cards from one piece. Using your paper trimmer/scorer, cut in half vertically along the 11″ side at 5 1/2 inches. Then along the 8 1/2″ side you would score it in half at 4 1/4 inches and fold it on the score line. That is called your card base and it measures 4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″ once folded shut. You can repeat the score on the second piece or you can cut it smaller and use it as another layer on top of your card base.
- Create a cardstock layer that measure 1/4″ less on both sides than the front of the card base. So, cut a piece of cardstock 4 inches by 5 1/4 inches. Then use your adhesive or glue to attach it to the front of the card base leaving a border around the edges for the card base to show through.
- Next cut the top layer using white cardstock. Reduce the size of the white cardstock another 1/4″ on both sides (3 3/4″ x 5″) so that the layer below will display once you attach the white layer.
Ink
- Then you will ink up your stamp by dipping it several times into your inkpad. Check to make sure it is fully inked up before pressing it straight down onto your white cardstock. Be careful you don’t rock your stamp or move it. Secondly, after pressing down firmly, lift the stamp straight up and off the cardstock. This will help avoid getting excess ink in places where you didn’t want it. Lastly, if the stamped image didn’t turn out quite right the first time, flip your cardstock over and try again! You want to stamp your image and your sentiment BEFORE you attach it to your cardbase for that very reason. You may need a do-over.
- Clean the ink off your stamps once done and close up your inkpad.
Attach
- Attach your white cardstock containing your stamped image and sentiment leaving a border equal distance on all sides to the layer below shows all the way around.
- Add any embellishments to spice it up! Tip: you want to add your gems or embellishments in odd numbers (3, 5, 7) and you want to place them on your card in a triangular shape which has been found to be more pleasing to the eye.
- It is always fun to decorate your envelope to match your card. You can stamp an image on it or if you have any designer series paper you can cover the flap with it.
- Write a note, sign your name and mail your card to someone you care about.
CardMaking Kits
If you want to try cardmaking first before investing in lots of supplies, an alternative would be to purchase an all-inclusive card kit. Stampin’ Up! sells stamping and non-stamping card kits that you can purchase. They also offer a monthly subscription called Paper Pumpkin that typically includes all the supplies needed to create multiple cards but sometimes the kit contains a paper project like making treat bags. The difference with the kits is you know exactly what you are getting but with Paper Pumpkin it is a surprise each month. However, they do give you a little hint about what will be in the next month’s kit and you can always pause your subscription for a month if you want. The kits and the Paper Pumpkin kits come with instructions and everything necessary to create cards for a nominal amount. Here is the link for Paper Pumpkin. Here is the link to go to the online store and see all the many Kit selections.
Cardmaking 101 Techniques
As you delve into cardmaking you will come across lots of different techniques. My favorites are shaker cards and fun folds. YouTube has lots of video tutorials that walk you through just about anything you can think of to do with cards. Below are just a few of the various techniques you can try. There are many more for example, the starburst or sunburst technique which I have a link to my video here.
- Watercoloring
- Markers
- Watercolor Pencils
- Fun Folds
- Pastels
- Punch Art
- Slimline cards
- Heat Embossing
- Dry Embossing
- Spotlighting
- Bleaching Technique
- Emboss Resist
- Masking technique
- Triple Stamping technique
- Two Step Stamping
- Baby Wipe technique
Starter Kit Offer
So what do you think? Do you want to invest in a new paper crafting hobby? What if you could buy your supplies at a discount? What if you could get $155 worth of supplies and only pay $99 and have free shipping? Are you intrigued? During the month of June 2023, Stampin’ Up! is offering Starter Kits for only $99 but you can order $155 worth of supplies and once you join Stampin’ Up! you will get a 20% discount on any future orders. You can even make money by selling Stampin’ Up! products to others. There is no contract, no obligation. If you want to remain a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator you just need to meet your minimum quarterly sales amount but if you don’t, there is no penalty (other than you lose your discount on future orders). So, it really is a no brainer and a great way to save money while beginning this fun and enjoyable cardmaking hobby. For more information just click here. Feel free to contact me by email or phone with any questions.
Please share this post with anyone you think might be interested in learning more about cardmaking.
Happy Stamping and God Bless,
Tammy
Tammy Loves Stamping
