Card Making Embellishments

Card making embellishments are stuff that you can use to add sparkle or 3D effect to your handmade greeting cards. Colourful tassels, Beads, color stones, stickers, eyelets, glitters, tassels - these are some of the many embellishments that you can glue or sew to your cards.

Card making can be more than just Fun. Making Cards allows you to express yourself adding that personal touch to Greeting cards for Birthdays, Anniversaries, Weddings and a host of special occasions.

Embellishments are so important to card making, so choose and plan before buying what type of card you want to make and the occassion, then look at the colours required for that particular card for example Christmas Cards are always attractive with tassels as toppers in Yellow, Red and Green colours. Also add some colourful beads to them.

1. Use any color cardstock for the base. Leave plain or cover with patterned paper. (Example uses heavy white cardstock from office supply store covered with patterned paper.)
 
2.Adhesives – Don’t use glue sticks, eventually the glue dries and the pieces fall off. I suggest prefer herma (dotto) dot runner for thinner paper, xyron for ribbon, glue dots for embellishments, the new transparent glue dots sheets for vellum and double stick tape for heavier paper and textured cardstock although I often interchange said adhesives.  People tend to have different favorites, so experiment and see which adhesives work best for you. Keep in mind it usually isn’t necessary to completely cover the back of your paper.
 
3. Score for a crisp, clean fold. I lay the paper over the trough of my paper cutter and run the small end of an embossing tool down it then fold and smooth with the edge of a bone folder (one comes in the Cricut tool kit). You can use the tip of a bone folder and a straight edge (also comes in the tool kit) to score as well. When I’ve been without a bone folder, the plastic handle of scissors (gee, there’s a pair in the tool kit too, lol!) did okay to smooth the fold. In a pinch I once used a lacquered chopstick to score and fold. (sorry, no chopsticks in the tool kit.) Some paper cutters have a scoring blade.
 
4. Print or stamp sentiment directly inside or on separate vellum or paper for a different look. If using vellum or paper on just one side, adhere as usual. If doing a double page as shown in example, adhere only on far left ( about ½ inch strip straight down left side only) so the card will close flat. (Example shows a separate cardstock insert for sentiment. BTW, since I got the sentiment off the internet (credited to ‘unknown’) and personalized it, I faded it out but it was actually typed in black ink.) 

Tassels always make good toppers if the correct colours are used for the right occassion!
 
5. It’s fun to add finishing touches to the inside and back of a card. In the example, the plaid paper was folded to the back and a heart and a rhinestone bring elements from the front to the inside.(btw - the heart is adhered only to the pink cardstock so the page is free from the back and will fold flat.) A fun or personalized stamp makes a great finishing touch on the back of the card. The one in the example says “Handmade” a la Hallmark.
 
5. Common card & envelope sizes:
    4 ¼ x 5 ½” – half sheet of 8 ½ x 11” cardstock folded in half.
           envelope = A2  4 3/8 x 5 ¾
     5 ½ x 8 ½ - full sheet of cardstock folded in half
           envelope = A9  5 ¾ x 8 ¾
     5 x 7 - envelope =  A7  5 ¼ x 7 ¼
     4 x 6 – envelope = A6  4 ¾ x 6 ½ 

e =  A7  5 ¼ x 7 ¼
     4 x 6 – envelope = A6  4 ¾ x 6 ½ 

Always remember

There are so many occasions in the year when you need greeting cards. Before you go out and buy another card, consider crafting your own personal cards. Whether it be just to say “hi”, a birthday, an anniversary, a religious event, a holiday like Christmas or even for the birth of a baby, the reasons are many. Making hand made greeting cards can be so rewarding - not only for yourself, but for the recipient of the card. Think of your cards as miniature works of art. Not only are you giving that special someone a moment of your time by creating that special card for him or her, but a hand made card will often be kept and cherished as a reminder of you.