Card making is a fun and easy way to let those you care about know you are not only thinking of them, but taking the time to make something special for them. You can send cards for any reason or for no reason at all, which can be the most special of cards received, “just because”. What a wonderful way to brighten someone’s day.

The basic card size is 4.25” x 5.5”. These cards fit into standard invitation envelopes you can find in any office supply section of the store. Card stock is the best weight of paper to use as it is not too lightweight to withstand your methods of decoration (and there are many) and not too thick to fold and manipulate as needed. You can buy card stock at an office supply store in larger quantities, or at any paper craft store in literally hundreds of colors and patterns.

Now that you have your basic card cut out it is time to pick your theme and colors. You should start with two or three complimentary colors and build your design from these. Some themes are easy. Christmas, for example, is traditionally reds and greens; Valentine’s Day is usually reds, whites, and pinks. What do you do for a Birthday though? There are a few different ways you could approach this. First, you could use the colors of the season such as oranges, golds, olive greens, and dark reds for fall. You could use the recipient’s favorite colors, such as red, black and white for one person I know. What about using colors that represent something significant to them, such as their school or their favorite sports team. You could also use colors that coordinate with the theme you have in mind for the card.

How are you going to decorate the card you ask? You could use rubber stamps, which give you a quick and easy design. You could then color your design in any manner you choose, chalks, water color, markers, inks, you name it. Another quick and easy way for beginners is to use stickers. I am not talking about the stickers we all loved as children. Stickers these days are quite sophisticated and have wonderful designs on them, they are made out of various materials, and are as often as not, textured and 3-D in nature. If you are not new to paper crafting you could use various techniques such as tea bag folding, iris folding, origami, quilling, etc.

However you decide to decorate your card, it is not nearly as important as the meaning behind it. Handmade cards carry a far deeper meaning than one picked up at the grocery store, and show how much you think of the recipient. Whether a beginner or advanced paper crafter, the thought behind the card is what counts.