diy birthday card

make a spring flowers greeting card

It's been a while since I shared a handmade greeting card. Winter certainly didn't offer much inspiration for DIY craft projects. Not surprisingly, as soon as spring officially sprung, an idea for a greeting card that celebrates the fresh colors and flowers of the season popped into my mind. Daffodils, tulips and daisies are some of my favorite spring flowers, so I decided to use them for this card. 

Here's how to create your own spring flowers greeting card.

You'll need:

A variety of colored card stock - In this case, two shades of green, two shades of yellow and two shades of pink

An envelope

A cutting mat

An Xacto knife

- A metal ruler

- Paper glue and/or hot glue

- Basic scissors

-Pattern scissors

- Embellishments of your choice (I used polka dot ribbon)

- Sticker letters or markers

Start by using your mat to find the center of your card base (5.5 ” for this card). Then score it by running the knife lightly down the center once or twice. 

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Fold in half.

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To make a daffodil, cut six tear shapes and one flower shape. I suggest tracing the shapes in pencil before you start cutting. It definitely makes things easier! I made two daffodils -- one with lighter colored petals and one with darker colored petals. One was slightly bigger than the other.

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Use hot glue to put them together. I like using the hot glue to make the flowers because it gives them more of a 3D look. 

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Next we're going to make our tulip shape. I cut the center piece first, and then used it to trace two half pieces that will become the outer petals. I'm not sure what these shapes would be called, but you get the idea!

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Again, you'll use hot glue to adhere them together. The outer petals should slightly overlap, and the center piece should be visible.

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Next we're going to make some daisies. The daisies are similar to the daffodils, except their petals are oblong instead of tear-shaped. They have a round center. I made three daisies using different colors. Hot glue the flower parts together. 

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Next is the fun part. You'll take your flowers and arrange them on the front of the card. Don't glue anything to the card base yet. You'll want to cut out some stems and leaves, and then you'll want to try laying everything out until you have an arrangement that feels right. When you're ready, use your hot glue to attach the various pieces, working from the back of the card to the front. I added a strip of pink polka dot ribbon to the bottom of the card. Another alternative is grass!

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On the inside of the card, I added another piece of card stock in yellow. I scored it (using the same method as I did above), and then I used my patterned scissors to create a fun edge. I added my other two daisies (you'll notice one is a bit more like a pink daffodil) and some more of that polka dot ribbon. Finish your project by adding a personal message using markers or letter stickers. My card became a birthday card, but this card would make a lovely card for Easter, Mother's Day or any spring occasion. 

Happy Spring!

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DIY: Handmade Balloon, Cake and Ice Cream Birthday Card

Although I have a fancy (for me) new printer and scanner as of last week, I have been making handmade cards all year and don't want to stop! Here's what you'll need to join me in the card making fun!

- A variety of colored card stock

- An envelope

- A cutting mat

- An Xacto knife

- A metal ruler

- Paper glue

- Basic scissors

- Embellishments (I chose rhinestones)

- Markers (Mine are fine-tip Crayola)

- Yarn

- Hot glue and glue gun

I started by cutting out the shapes. I cut out a cake (a rectangle with one rounded side - color 1), two pieces of icing (long, skinny rectangles with wavy sides - color 2), three balls of ice cream (medium-sized circles - I cut one out, and then traced around it to create the others - color 2, 3 and 4), one ice cream cone (cone shape, of course! - color 5), three balloons (teardrops - color 1, 3 and 4), three balloon ends (tiny triangles - color 1, 3 and 4), 8 candles (tiny rectangles - color 3) and 8 flames (tiny teardrops - color 4).

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Use your mat to find the center of your card base (color 6 - 5.5 " for this card), and then score it by running the knife lightly down the center once or twice. Fold in half.

 

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Glue your cake and cone to the front of the card.

 

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Add your icing, ice cream, candles and flames to the front of the card.

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On the inside of the card, glue down your balloons and ends.

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Using your glue gun, carefully attach the yarn just below each balloon.

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Add your message and some rhinestones for sparkle. You could also add glitter glue to each balloon to make your balloons shiny.

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To finish out the card, add a few rhinestones to the center of the cake. If you have chip board or sticker letters and/or numbers, you could also add the person's name, birth date or age to the cake. Again, if you like the shiny look, you could also add some glitter glue to the flames.

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Here's a personalized version of this card that I made for my sister's birthday earlier this week.

As you can tell, I like shiny!

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If a parent cut out the shapes, scored the card and replaced the hot glue with Elmer's glue, a child could definitely assemble this card.

Happy card making!