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Say Hello To Spring With Handmade Greeting Cards

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This tutorial is brought to you by Latrice Murphy from Any Occasion.

Hello crafters! Spring is finally here and I’m excited to start crafting for Easter. I love sending cards to friends – it’s a great way to add a smile to their mailboxes! I’ve been die cutting lots of patterned paper into super fun flowers, which I love doing. This creates visual interest when the main image is the pattern. Here is the card set I’ve created for you today.

Materials:

  • Solid cardstock (both color and white)
  • Patterned paper
  • Die Cutting machine (I used a Silhouette)
  • Border punch
  • 3D adhesive
  • Buttons
  • Glossy Accents
  • Stamps or sentiment stickers (Mine are SRM Stickers)
  • Sewing machine (optional)

These cards are super easy to make. You pretty much create a simple base and let the die cut flower do all the talking. First, choose your cardstock and patterned paper.

Cut first piece of patterned paper down to 5” X 3.75”, border punch the bottom and adhere to card front.

Next trim down a piece white cardstock to 4.25” X 3.25”, add sentiment sticker and then add 3D adhesive to the back. Adhere this to your card front.

Next using more 3D adhesive adhere your die cut flower to the white cardstock.

Get your liquid adhesive and add a button to the flower center.

Lastly finish the card off with a single line of stitching above the scallop.

Time to Celebrate! Make Homemade Birthday Cards

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13 Homemade Birthday Cards

Birthdays are the only holidays that takes place year round. If you’re like me, you have people to shop for at least once a month. May is a particularly busy month for birthdays in my life, but did you know that the least people are born in May? NobleWorks has compiled a collection of fabulous birthday facts. Here are some highlights for you:

  • The most common day of the week for baby births is Tuesday. Sunday is the least common.
  • In America, the most common birth date is October 5.
  • The world’s largest birthday cake was created in 1989. It weighed 128,238 pounds, 8 oz. and used 16,209 pounds of icing.
  • Close to 2 billion birthday cards are sent each year in the U.S. alone, accounting for nearly 58 percent of all cards sent.

That last one should make any card maker‘s eyes widen. Not only is two billion a HUGE number, but that’s an easy majority of all cards sent. If you have yet to make a birthday card, now is the time to start. More likely than not though, you’re an avid card maker and you’ve surely made quite a few homemade birthday cards in your time. Well now you can get some new ideas! Get inspired with our collection of 13 Homemade Birthday Cards. Whether you need invitation ideas for your next birthday party or you need to create a new handmade greeting for a loved one, these ideas will certainly inspire you as you make your next birthday greeting.

Invitation Ideas

Surprise Rainbow Invitation One of the most important parts of throwing birthday parties is sending out invitations. After all, if you don’t invite people, no one will come! Invite loved ones to a party in a creative way with the Surprise Rainbow Invitations. These are a personal favorite. They fold into an envelope snugly and then they unfold in a surprise rainbow! SO clever and cute.

Surprise Rainbow Invitations
Ninja Scroll Invitations
iPhone Party Invitation

Card Making Tutorials

Embossed Birthday Card Sure, you could buy a cute birthday card at the store, but why not make something that’s one of a kind? Test your card making skills by making the Embossed Birthday Card. This gorgeous card is dimensional and desirable. Add a floral embellishment to the center and beautiful ribbon bow to give it a fresh and fun look. This card is surprisingly simple to make, and it looks so beautiful when finished!

Embossed Birthday Card
Flowers and Lace Box Card
3D Butterfly Birthday Card

 

Homemade-Birthday-Cards-350


For more beautiful birthday cards, be sure to check out our collection of 13 Homemade Birthday Cards! Find invitation ideas and card making tutorials here, and get inspired to make new and exciting birthday cards for your loved ones every year!

 

Give us an estimate! How many birthday cards do you make each year?

 

 

National Craft Month 2014: Day 5 Winner

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Day five of National Craft Month is over and I can’t wait for spring! That Blooming Butterflies and Flowers Birthday Card was just too cute. Our friends at Sizzix provided the Sizzix Big Shot Starter Kit prize. It’s the perfect prize for someone who wants to take their paper crafting to the next level. Even if you didn’t win today, keep entering to win our grand prize and stay tuned for more great prizes every week!

 

Congratulations to…

Diana M.!

We asked: Have you ever made a handmade card?

Congratulations Diana, who replied, “I have made homemade cards and love to give them that unique personal touch.” I think adding a personal touch to all craft projects is what makes them special. We’re excited to send you your prize so you can keep making homemade cards!

You can find yesterday’s Blooming Butterflies and Flowers Birthday Card in our free eBook, 18 Projects Every Crafter Wants.

Happy National Craft Month!

mini_rightBlooming Butterflies and Flowers Birthday Card

Blooming Butterflies and Flowers Birthday Card: National Craft Month Project & Giveaway

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FaveCrafts Blog Celebrates National Craft Month

Today’s day five in our month long National Craft Month Giveaway. Come visit our blog every day to enter to win a different prize of the day. Find the contest rules and enter below.

Blooming Butterflies and Flowers Birthday Card

Blooming Butterflies and Flowers Birthday Card

Today’s featured project is from Sizzix. Show your friends and family how much you care about them with this Blooming Butterflies and Flowers Birthday Card. Full of texture, this card is all about the little details coming together to create something beautiful.



18 Projects Every Crafter Wants free eBook

This pattern is included in the 18 Projects Every Crafter Wants free eBook. Celebrate National Craft Month with us by crafting the great projects in this free downloadable eBook written just for you!

 

 


Enter to Win Today’s Prize

Sizzix Big Shot Starter Kit

Today’s prize is the Sizzix Big Shot Starter Kit. Included in this kit is: 1 Bigz die (Basic Shapes), 2 Medium Sizzlits dies (Butterfly, Delicate; Flowers #20), 1 Framelits die set (Basic Shapes), 1 A2 Large Textured Impressions Embossing Folder (Dotted Lattice), 10 Assorted Samples of Core’dinations Cardstock

 

In order to win today’s prize, all you need to do is:

  1. Like the AllFreeHolidayCrafts Facebook page here, AND
  2. Like the Sizzix Facebook page here, AND
  3. Leave a comment on this blog post below telling us:

Have you ever made a handmade card?


Don’t miss your chance to stock up your craft stash and win more than $2,000 in crafty prizes! There’s something for everyone in this epic craft giveaway…trust us, you don’t want to miss this one! You can enter to win this awesome assortment of prizes once a day throughout the month of March.

NCM-grandprize

OFFICIAL RULES FOR DAILY CONTEST

  • There is a maximum of one entry per person. The entry will be based upon a comment left on this blog post. Duplicate comments will be deleted and are not tallied.
  • You must “like” both the AllFreeHolidayCrafts Facebook and the Sizzix Facebook pages to be eligible.
  • Winner will be selected at random from the comments on this blog post below.
  • Winner will be announced here on the blog tomorrow as well as contacted by the email address provided.
  • You have until tonight, March 7th, 2014 at 11:59p EST to leave your comment on this post. Comments posted after that will not be counted.
  • Contest open to anyone 18+ in US and/or Canada.

 

Paper Crafts to Warm Your Heart

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Honestly, the weeks of winter that follow New Year’s Day seem like a waste. Cold winds, snow drifts, icy roads, and no presents to show for it? No, thanks! In my perfect world, we’d fast forward to spring, but unless someone invents a time machine, we’re stuck with this crummy weather for at least a few more weeks. Luckily, there’s a way to stay toasty in these frigid temperatures–in a figurative sense, anyway. These Paper Crafts to Warm Your Heart will keep your mind occupied and your fingers unfrozen. Try out some homemade card ideas and share the warm fuzzies with family and friends. Deck out your home with easy DIY paper decorations, or learn how to quill paper embellishments that you can use on jewelry and cards. So, grab your blanket and get ready to banish those winter blues with these DIY paper crafts.

 

Adorable Origami Heart CardHomemade Card Ideas

Now that most people communicate via text message and email, it’s more thrilling than ever to find a piece of mail in your mailbox. Surprise your loved ones with these homemade card ideas, and who knows? They might be inspired to return the favor. These DIY card ideas also make beautiful homemade valentine cards.

Adorable Origami Heart Card
Fancy Folds Card
Washi Tape Heart Card
3D Hearts Card

 

 

DIY Paper DecorationsHeart Flower

These DIY paper crafts will put a smile on your face as soon as you walk in your door. These projects make marvelous Valentine’s Day crafts, but don’t let that stop you from putting them out all year long! Between an inexpensive paper garland DIY and a simple tutorial on how to make a cupcake topper, you’ll soon see that hearts are appropriate for all seasons.

Valentine Hearts Tabletop Tree
Heart Flower
Easy Hearts Garland

 

 

Quilled Hearts JewelryPaper Quilling Tutorials

Learn how to quill paper hearts and flowers that are intricate, adorable, and totally versatile. You can use these embellishments for a variety of projects, from cards and home decor to wearable paper crafts. With a little bit of creativity, you can look fabulous without spending a lot of time or money.

Quilled Hearts Jewelry
Lovely Quilled Heart Flower Card

 

 

 
Ideas for Valentine's Day: 12 Free Printable Valentine's Day Cards and Other Valentine's Day Crafts Free eBook
For more heart paper crafts, check out our free eBook, Ideas for Valentine’s Day: 12 Free Printable Valentine’s Day Cards and Other Valentine’s Day Crafts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

What’s your favorite way to beat the winter blues?

 

 

 

 

 

12 Handmade Card Ideas: How to Make Your Own Greeting Cards

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The holiday season has come to a close, but there are plenty of occasions to celebrate in the coming months. Give the gift of a handmade card that fits any season. At AllFreePaperCrafts, we have tons of great handmade card ideas for those times you want to send birthday greetings to friends, notes of thanks to helpful neighbors, or well wishes to family members who live far away. Whether you’ve been making your own cards for years or you’re new to paper crafting, our collection of 12 Handmade Card Ideas: How to Make Your Own Greeting Cards has something for everyone. Ranging in difficulty from beginner to advanced, this round-up of DIY card ideas is sure to challenge and entertain.

 

Make Your Own Greeting Card

It’s nice to be reminded that someone is thinking of you. Create a message that is as sentimental, funny, or quirky as you like to send to a loved one. You can plan ahead and craft a handful of these homemade card ideas in advance. That way, you can send well wishes to your friends and family at a moment’s notice. You’ll feel good knowing that you brought a smile to someone’s face.

All Purpose Quilled Greeting Card

 

Birthday Card Ideas

Instead of showing up to a birthday bash with a card that anyone could buy, try one of these handmade birthday cards. When it’s time to open gifts, these clever and cute birthday card ideas will keep the atmosphere fun and festive. You can even learn how to make a paper airplane that doubles as a birthday greeting!

Paper Airplane Birthday Card

 

Thank You Note Ideas

Show your loved ones how much their help means to you with some DIY thank you cards. Our collection of handmade card ideas includes elaborate cards as well as simple ones. The thing that makes them all special is the heartfelt message you write inside them. You can’t put a price on gratitude, and these thank you note ideas are absolutely priceless.

Clean and Simple Thank You Card

 

For even more gorgeous handmade card ideas, be sure to check out 12 Handmade Card Ideas: How to Make Your Own Greeting Cards. Your loved ones will cherish these beautiful handmade creations.

 

After you read your greeting cards, do you throw them away or keep them?

 

 

Pep Up Your Paper Crafting: Polymer Clay Ideas

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To celebrate the beginning of another year, make a resolution to master a new crafting technique. For some easy ways to jazz up your paper crafting, check out the polymer clay ideas on AllFreePaperCrafts. No matter what your skill level, you might be surprised to learn how many polymer clay craft ideas are out there. Clay comes in a ton of different colors and styles, so it can be used for almost anything, like borders for homemade cards, frames for photos, embellishments for gifts, and more. Here’s a small sample of polymer clay ideas that I’m especially psyched about this year.

 

Homemade Card Ideas

Polymer clay embellishments make homemade cards pop. The only limit on these 3D accents is your imagination. Geometric shapes, flowers, and animals are just a few examples of polymer clay craft ideas. Take a look at this gorgeous Crinkle Cutter Clay Tile Card. You’ll have fun marbling the clay and cutting out tiles for this handmade card.

Crinkle Cutter Clay Tile Card

 

Polymer Clay Craft Ideas

Clay is a great imitator. Because it comes in so many colors and styles, you can mimic almost any material using clay. Take these Rustic Numbered Tags, for instance. They may look like they’re made out of metal, but they’re really a combination of clay, paper, and Mod Podge. You can also keep those family treasures safe with one of our fun and functional polymer clay projects. Add paper and clay embellishments to this Family Secrets Recipe Box and Cards. It’s the perfect gift for the cook in your family.

Rustic Numbered Tags

 

Mixed Media Art

Don’t let the phrase “mixed media” scare you. After all, you’ve been playing with clay since kindergarten. Channel your inner grade school student with DIY wall décor projects that use paper and clay. House guests will be eager to know which brilliant artist created this Mixed Media Clay Canvas accent piece in your living room.

Mixed Media Clay Canvas

 

Still Not Sold? Enter to Win Free Polymer Clay and Craft Supplies!

Check out our review of the Spectacular Polyform Embellishment Collection, which includes clay, texture wheels, molds, cutters, and much more. Enter our giveaway for the chance to win this fabulous product.

Spectacular Polyform Embellishment Collection

 

When was the last time you crafted with clay?

 

 

 

Our First Free eBook! Gorgeous Paper Crafts: 18 Card Making Ideas, Scrapbook Layouts, and DIY Paper Flowers

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Gorgeous Paper Crafts: 18 Card Making Ideas, Scrapbook Layouts, and DIY Paper Flowers

AllFreePaperCrafts.com is excited to introduce our very first eBook! Gorgeous Paper Crafts: 18 Card Making Ideas, Scrapbook Layouts, and DIY Paper Flowers is a beautiful compilation of some of our most popular paper craft projects. From card making ideas to scrapbook layouts to DIY paper flowers, these gorgeous paper crafts are excellent ways to treasure memories, send greetings, and embellish your projects.

Included in this free eBook: Card Making Ideas

Handmade cards are the best way to send greetings to your loved ones. Anyone can purchase a simple card at the store, but if you make your own cards, the sentiment carry a greater weight. No one will want to throw away these cards when they receive them in the mail or at a family gathering! Create cards for literally any occasion with any of these beautiful card making tutorials.

   
   

  1. Elegant Tiled Greeting Card
  2. Air Brushed Silhouette Card
  3. Fancy Folds Card
  4. Sunset Over the Lake Card
  5. Get Well Colorful Maple Card
  6. Doily Embellishment
  7. Ribbon Embellishment
  8. 3D Butterfly Birthday Card

Included in this free eBook: Scrapbook Layouts

Treasure your memories with gorgeous scrapbooking ideas! These scrapbook layouts are perfect for preserving cherished events in a detailed and beautiful way. Use flowers, butterflies, and feathers to make inspiring and unique layouts. These beautiful scrapbooking ideas will impress everyone who views your latest albums!

  1. Floral Scrapbook Layout
  2. Butterfly Scrapbook Layout
  3. Light As a Feather Scrapbook Layout
  4. Full of Flowers Scrapbook Layout

 

Included in this free eBook: DIY Paper Flowers

Flowers are one of the most popular paper craft embellishments. You can add DIY paper flowers to literally any of your paper craft projects. Make dimensional flowers to embellish your cards, scrapbook layouts, and even home decor projects. You will be amazed at the many ways you can make various paper flowers.


 

  1. Blushing Folded Paper Rose
  2. Quilled Paper Flowers
  3. Impressive Tissue Paper Flowers
  4. Popping Red Poppy Flower
  5. 3D Sunny Sunflower
  6. Really Whimsical Paper Flowers

 

Gorgeous Paper Crafts: 18 Card Making Ideas, Scrapbook Layouts, and DIY Paper Flowers

Download your copy of Gorgeous Paper Crafts: 18 Card Making Ideas, Scrapbook Layouts, and DIY Paper Flowers today!

 

 

 

 

 

When do you do most of your paper crafting?

 

 

 

Paper Crafting at CKC-Chicago!

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Hey Paper Crafters! On October 4, 2013, I was fortunate enough to attend Creating Keepsakes’ Scrapbooking Convention in Chicago! I took four classes, and I learned so much about mixed media, stamping, scrapbooking, and card making!

Mixed Medium Mash-Up with Creating Keepsakes

Mixed Medium Mash-Up

This class was easily one of my favorites. Our instructor explained that mixed media art is any paper craft using materials other than paper and stickers. I absolutely loved working with a variety of media in order to create an incredibly dynamic scrapbook layout. The materials we used included Faber-Castelle Gelatos, water color pencils, spray mist (which terrifies many paper crafters but it’s actually quite fun to use!), molding paste, stencils, water, dress patterns, canvas, marker, paper tags, string, and more! My favorite embellishment to add was the molding paste. We spread a layer over an intricate stencil, and this gave the scrapbook layout a great texture and unique embellishment!

Stamp It 3 Ways with Paper Crafts Magazine

Stamp it 3 Ways

This class was a great introduction to stamping. We received a great little collection of fall cling stamps to play with, and with this set we learned three different stamping techniques. For example, have you ever used the BACK of a cling stamp instead of the front? We took different leaves and used the back of the stamp to fill in the color. Then we used brown ink on the correct side of the stamp to give it the leafy outline. I love how mine turned out.

Amazing 12×12 Album Class with S.E.I.

Amazing 12x12 Album

In this class, all of the students were given a full album kit and embellishment pack to create an entire scrapbook album. We learned many innovative ways to arrange our layouts to maximize space. A technique we practiced on many of the pages was scrapbooking outside of the liner. We would adhere photo pockets, envelopes, mini books, and more to the outside of our scrapbook pages to create dynamic layouts that were aesthetically pleasing. There really are endless possibilities when it comes to scrapbooking and scrapbook layouts!

Dynamic Dimensional Cards with Stamplistic

Dynamic Dimensional Cards

This class was easily one of the most popular. It was hosted by Stamplistic, and their booth at the vendor fair was by far the most crowded! Stamplistic specializes in 3D embellishments, and their techniques are unique and eye-catching! They take a regular stamped image and transform it into a 3D embellishment perfect for any card or scrapbook page. We turned a flat image of a pink flower into a dimensional, colorful, and sparkling DIY card.

 

Which of these paper crafting classes would you like best?

 

 

23 Homemade Christmas Cards

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Old-FashionedIt may not feel like it, but Christmas is right around the corner!  Get a jump start on your holiday card making with this awesome collection of 23 Homemade Christmas Cards.  From cards that are great for kids to cards that are appropriate for co-workers, this collection has everything you need to get a great head start on your holiday cards!

 

Popular Homemade Christmas Card Ideas

Majestic-Embossed-Tree-CardThese adorable handmade Christmas cards are great for anyone on your list.  Decorated with the colors and symbols of the season, these greeting card designs are easy to customize to suit your needs.  This adorable Majestic Embossed Trees Card, for example, is a lovely way to share some holiday cheer with a loved one.

 

Christmas Card Designs for Kids

Copic-Penguin-CardWhether you’re making a card for a kid or teen or you’re a teen looking for cards to make for your friends, these cute and simple Christmas card designs are sure to please.  Great for handing out to fellow classmates, friends, neighbors, or students, these handmade greeting cards make it easy to spread holiday cheer with all your friends and loved ones.  This adorable Copic Penguins Christmas Card is a great one to make for a friend.  It’s cute and whimsical and will put a smile on anyone’s face!

 

Work Appropriate Christmas Cards

JOYcardThese simple winter-themed cards are great for sending to co-workers and business associates.  While these particular cards don’t showcase Christmas, you can easily alter them to make them more Christmas friendly, should you choose.  This Joy of the Season Card is a great way to wish someone a happy holiday season without mentioning Christmas in any way.  You can even change the color pattern to be lighter and darker blues and greens to give it more of a winter look.

 

Religious Christmas Cards

firstchristmasshepardcardIf you’re looking for a card that really expresses the reason for the season, then you’ll love this beautiful collection of religious-inspired Christmas cards.  From angels to shepherds, these classic card designs are perfect for expressing sentimental and meaningful Christmas wishes.  This First Christmas Shepherd Card is perfect for reminding friends and family just what we’re celebrating this holiday season.

 

 

You can find these and many more handmade card designs in our awesome collection of 23 Homemade Christmas Cards!

 

BONUS!

Some-Odd-GirlYou can enter to win an adorable collection of Some Odd Girl Stamps to help with all your holiday card making.  These stamps come in a variety of styles and shapes and include cute sentiments that are great for all kinds of paper craft projects.  You have until October 1st to enter!  Enter to win today so you can get started on all your holiday card making with these cute and whimsical designs!

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