How to Create a Lovely Handmade Card in Less than 10 Minutes

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Dazzle your friends with this thoughtful gesture

Co-authored by Renee Day and Amber Crain

Last Updated: November 19, 2024 Approved

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Preperation

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Gathering Materials

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Making The Card

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Completing The Card

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Expert Interview

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Expert Q&A

You can definitely make a handmade card in as little as ten minutes that is both great to look at and easy to create! Handmade cards are always lovely to receive, and much more personal than a store bought card. Creating the card will require eight very common items: A nice writing utensil, cardstock or heavy construction paper, a piece of ribbon, a pair of scissors, a glue stick, a small ruler, a pencil and a dull butter knife.

Things You Should Know

Choose a base card and fold the paper horizontally or vertically.
Using your favorite writing utensil, write a phrase such as “Wishing You Well” or “Missing You” on the front of the card. Then write out your greeting on the inside.
Embellish the card with ribbons, stickers, or sequins to make it pop. This is your opportunity to get creative and put your unique spin on it.

Part 1

Part 1 of 4:

Prepping Your Base Card

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1
Choose a base card.^{[1]
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Research source} This is the card that will be the foundation of your project. The color you choose will be featured prominently in your finished product, so keep that in mind when choosing your base card.
- Craft stores sell blank, plain cards for this purpose.^{[2]
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  Research source} These are already folded and creased, making them easiest and fastest to use. The blank cards come in boundless varieties. If you really love making handmade cards, definitely pick up a pack of blank cards (or cardstock) next time you’re at the craft store. That way it’s on hand and ready for you at a moment’s notice!
- You can use any kind of paper you want, but the best choice is a durable paper that has some weight to it.
- The most popular choice is cardstock, which is a nice heavy paper made specifically for card making. All craft stores carry cardstock and the variety is usually vast.
- Your base card choice can be as simple as plain white paper! Paper that is any color of the rainbow and patterned paper are both great options as well.
- If applicable, consider upcycling your child's artwork for the base card, or even your own artwork! This is an even better idea if you need to make the card at the last minute and don't have a lot of craft supplies on hand at the time.
2
Prep the paper for folding. If you’re using a full piece of paper rather than a pre-folded card, you’ll need to go ahead and fold the paper so that it will be in card form. The best looking cards have a nice, crisp crease. This is something you can do very easily with items you already have at home.
- With your paper horizontal in front of you, take a ruler and measure the horizontal center of the card in two places – near the top and near the bottom.
- Mark the center lightly with a pencil dot in both places, and then use the ruler to connect those dots with a straight line, from the bottom to the top of the page. Use the pencil with a very light touch.
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3
Score the card. If you are crafty and already have a bone folder, this is the tool you will use to score the card. However, you can use a dull butter knife and get the same results. Scoring the card will ensure a nice, crisp fold.^{[3]
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- Line your ruler up next to the center line you’ve just drawn and take the butter knife to score the card along that line. Scoring means to push firmly into the paper so that a visible indention occurs. Be sure not to push too hard!
- Once scored along the drawn line, lightly erase your pencil marks.
4
Fold the card. Do this by carefully folding the paper along the scored line. Once folded, use the bone folder or some other flat tool to flatten the fold very crisply.
- Using the spine of a book would be a simple solution if you don’t have a bone folder.
- You should now have a crisply folded piece of paper that looks almost exactly like a store bought card!

Part 2

Part 2 of 4:

Gathering Your Materials

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1
Choose a writing utensil. A calligraphy pen or nice writing utensil are the best choices. However, any tool you have that will look official and special when written with will do.
- Calligraphy pens work best for this, but in a pinch you could use a Sharpie or even a regular marker.
You need less than a yard of ribbon for this. Any ribbon will do, but if you are working with a particular color palette in mind, choose according to that.
3
Grab a glue stick. These are widely available on any school supply aisle in almost every grocery store. Craft stores also carry them.
- You could also use double sided tape, but a glue stick is much more preferable.
If there are any additional embellishments you want to use, pick those out now.^{[4]
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Research source} Some fun choices are glitter, stamps, cut out paper shapes, stickers, stick-on rhinestones, additional ribbon and fake flowers. Get creative!
Children love this card making project and since you're trying to complete the card in 10 minutes or less, a helping hand can be very useful. Ask your child to gather some embellishments and collaborate with you!

Part 3

Part 3 of 4:

Making The Card

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1
Plan out what you want to write. Once you know, lightly pencil the words onto the card so that you can trace the lines with your pen.
- You can write on the inside only, or on the inside and outside front cover, it’s entirely up to you.
- Relax so that your hands won’t shake while lettering the card. Imagine you are writing a simple note to yourself (except make sure it’s legible!) if you feel yourself starting to get nervous.
2
Write over the penciled lines using your calligraphy pen. Do this slowly and carefully, taking care not to smear the ink.
- If you’re lettering on both the front and inside of the card, you’ll want to letter the front first and allow it to dry completely before moving on to the inside lettering.
You’ll want to make sure the ink has dried completely before moving on. Blow lightly on the ink to help it along. Most inks take 60 seconds or less to dry.
4
Decide on ribbon placement. Try out different places on the card to put your ribbon. Experiment with horizontal and vertical placements, as well as using multiple pieces of ribbon. Be as creative as you like!
- Make sure your final ribbon placement won't conceal any of your writing before gluing it down.
- Cut your ribbon (if necessary) to fit the dimensions of your card before gluing it down.
Once you decide on the position and placement of your ribbon, you’re ready to affix it permanently. Lightly spread glue on the underside of the ribbon and press it down into place firmly.

Part 4

Part 4 of 4:

Completing The Card

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This should only take about 60 seconds or so. You can check by lightly nudging an element, such as the ribbon, to see if it moves at all. Be careful doing this, however!
2
Add any additional elements you’d like. This is optional, but if you do have other elements ready that you want to add, such as cut out paper shapes, stickers or fake flowers, this is the time to add them. It's best to add them last, so that you can truly size up what your card looks like and choose the best embellishment possible!
- Decide on placement and glue them down carefully. Allow these elements to dry completely, as well.
3
Choose an envelope. This is also optional, but it can be a nice touch. Many craft stores will sell envelopes in a variety of colors and sizes for this purpose. These are generally located right next to the cardstock items in the store.
- Carefully slip the card into the envelope and seal it as you normally would. Write the recipient’s name on the front of the envelope, if desired.
Your card is now complete and ready to be given to the recipient. Handmade cards are always lovely to receive, and much more personal than a store bought card. It will be a hit!

Expert Q&A

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Question

How do you embellish a card?

Amy Guerrero
Arts & Crafts Specialist
Amy Guerrero is an Arts and Crafts Specialist and the Owner of Sunshine Craft Co., a crafting studio based in Phoenix, Arizona. Amy specializes in macrame, DIY crafting, and teaching fiber arts. She offers monthly in-person and online workshops along with having developed a range of DIY craft kits for at-home projects. Amy holds a BS in Industrial Design from Philadelphia University. She worked as a graphic designer before starting her own business. Sunshine Craft Co. is a creative hub that offers a wide range of workshops, tools, and resources for any craft project to inspire creativity and community engagement.

Amy Guerrero

Arts & Crafts Specialist

Expert Answer

If you have a store-bought card, make sure to fill it out with a thoughtful message or personal doodle, and don’t forget to decorate the envelope! Adding stickers, washi tape, or hand lettering the name of the person onto the envelope is a way to make the card look great!

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Question

What else can I use to decorate the card?

Renee Day
Crafting Expert
Renee Day is a Crafting Expert and Content Creator based in Michigan. She is a master of paper crafts, and also specializes in brush lettering, journaling, embossing, stamping, stenciling, doodling, and crocheting. Her Instagram account, thediyday, has over 300K followers. She published a book called Creative Journaling: A Guide to Over 100 Techniques and Ideas for Amazing Dot Grid, Junk, Mixed-Media, and Travel Pages. The book contains 52 projects, from crafting colorful pages to creating dot grid, junk, mixed-media, and travel journals. She also created Chunky Letter Calligraphy, a 30+ page (PDF) all about lettering. She runs a thriving Amazon Storefront, where she curates craft supply collections for her followers. She previously worked as a photographer, capturing engagement sessions, weddings, boudoir, and landscapes. She received a Master’s Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy.

Renee Day

Crafting Expert

Expert Answer

If you want a more artsy vibe, try the watercolor trick where you add color to a plastic bag with markers, spritz it with water, and press the card into it for a cool, splotchy effect. If you’re feeling fancy, sprinkle some glitter between laminating sheets, laminate them, and cut out shapes to glue onto your card. Even items from the crafts or dollar store, like stickers or alphabet letters, can help you personalize it.

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Question

How can I try different fonts?

Community Answer

The best way to try writing in different fonts is to just do it. Go on to Pinterest or another similar platform and find some fonts you would like to try. Start with the alphabet in both capitals and lower case and then move on to sentences. "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" is a good sentence because it will allow you to practice every letter. If you need different writing utensils, then try it without them until YOU think you are ready to progress.

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