DIY: Birthday Card

    Okay let me apologize in advance, I started this card around 3:30 or 4:00am early Wednesday morning! There are a few pictures missing but I will hopefully provide enough detail that you can figure it out on your own. It's just a diy birthday card nothing needs to be absolutely perfect anyways. And this is just a little post to give you ideas for making your own cards! This lovely is a card for my mommy's 41st ...ehem...I mean 29th Birthday! I know she's sleeping so I can post this without her seeing it before tomorrow morning!


 For this project you will need:

• 2 or more colors of paper 
• I used brown craft paper for both of mine. But I printed a pattern on my second sheet of paper for contrast
• Ruler
• Double sided tape or glue
• Xacto Knife or any cutting tool
• Needle and thread of matching color
• Small seed bead for flower middle
• Pens, Markers, Pencils or Stamps and Ind pad

Start out by cutting your first color of paper into the size card you would like. From there you will need your ruler and a pencil to draw lines for your weaving slots.

    Pictured on the left, you can see that my slots are 2cm wide. You can make your slots how ever thick you feel fit. A smaller width would produce more columns going across your card, which could create some really intricate weaving. So just play with it and see what works best for you. 

     Make sure you dont cut clear to the top of your paper, so your weaved pieces will have a nice border to hold them in place.

    Then you are going to want to get out your second  color of paper. Cut a section that is about the same size of your slotted section on the front of your card.

    After you have cut a piece of paper from your second color you will then next cut this into strips to be used as your weave. These can be varied sizes depending on the look you want. You could also use
multiple pieces of paper for this part as well. I just kept mine a simple 2cm wide to make sure everything was consistant and I ended up with a nice clean square looking weave for the front of my card.

    Next you will use your double sided tape or glue to make sure the edges are secure while you're "weaving" your paper.

    After weaving all of your paper strips and you have secured them to your card. You are ready to decorate! The skies the limit with this simple card. I added a paper flower, twine and a simple tag to the front of my card. Kept the feel natural and cozy.

     I hand drew a couple of various sized flowers and cut them out with an xacto knife. I then bent each flower petal together as if to fold them in half to give the flowers dimension. Using my needle and thread I sewed the the flowers together using a seed bead to form the middle of my flower. And then I just attached it to the front of my card by a couple simple stitches.

    The above pictures are of a handcut tag I used for the front of my card. The stamp set and ink pad I picked for only $1 each. The alphabet stamps were a find at my local Walmart in the craft section and the ink pad, which is a rather good sized pad, was purchased at a Dollar Tree. I dont have the best hand writing so I opted to go for a stamped front, instead of hand labeling. 

As you see, theres so many possibilities with this basic card style. Depending on your paper color choice, personal preference and unique style, this could be used for any occasion. Get crafty and make a loved one something special whether it be for a birthday, thanks or even just to tell them how much they mean!


Everyone loves a homemade gift!