How to Design Greeting Cards

Design your Own Greeting Card

You can make a greeting card perfect for any occasion. From Halloween greeting cards to birthday cards, putting together a handmade card is quick, easy and a perfect touch to any gift or holiday.

Things You'll Need

• 8 1/2-by-11 inch sheet of light-colored card stock
• 2 or 3 sheets of scrap paper or wrapping paper
• Stickers, stamps, or other decorations
• Double-sided tape or craft glue dots

Instructions

1. Choose the colors and look you want for your greeting card. Choose card stock for the base of the greeting card, and choose the greeting card's decorations. If you're using a blue and silver robot sticker, for example, you'll want to choose white card stock as your base and find a few scraps of paper to complement the sticker.

2. Collect all of your materials. Then fold the card stock in half and crease the fold. This piece of paper is now an undecorated greeting card ready for your creative touches.

3. Take your scrap paper (wrapping paper works great for greeting cards, too) and cut a square piece of paper to fit on the top half of the front of the greeting card. If you want to go with a layered look, cut another square to fit inside the first piece of scrap paper you just cut. Depending upon what sticker or stamp you chose, you'll want to make sure that the scrap paper complements your final touch. Solid colors work best with busier patterns and vice versa. A good rule of thumb is to try a few different combinations of patterns and solids on the front of your greeting card to make sure your card is readable.

4. Decide on a final design for your card, and then affix the scrap paper to your greeting card with double-sided tape or glue dots. To reduce the appearance of tape lines and creases, tape toward the center of the square, leaving the edges free. Press firmly.

5. Add your sticker, stamp or other decoration to the center square. Now that you've completed the front of the card, you're ready to fill the inside of your greeting card with a special note, poem or saying.

Tips & Warnings

• Complementary colors are purple and yellow, red and green, blue and orange. While you don't have to stick to complementary colors when you're designing your greeting card, pulling in these colors might help you decide on a great design.

• Avoid using liquid glue such as rubber cement if possible. Liquid glues will morph your paper and will take longer to dry.