Few things are as thoughtful as a handmade card, and few hobbies are as fun or as easy to get into! From birthdays and Christmas to ‘thank yous’ and special occasions, making your own cards is a great way to unleash your creative side. If you’re new to card making and aren’t sure where to start, we’ve got you covered with our list of essentials for card making.
For card making, paper and card thickness vary from around 160gsm to 250gsm. The higher the gsm number, the thicker the card. It’s best to use a thick card for the base as this will be nice and sturdy. If you prefer, you can buy some pre-folded card to make life a little easier. Stock up on a variety of paper with different colours and textures. Many papers come in themed collections that coordinate and work well together.
A paper trimmer is essential for precise cutting and achieving clean lines. Many paper trimmers come with rulers and a precision grid to help you get a straight and even edge to your card. The guillotine also makes cutting quick and easy.
For your decorations and embellishments, you’ll want to cut out shapes and designs with precision and ease. Craft knives are specially designed for comfort and grip, whilst a good cutting mat will protect your work surface and give you something stable to work on.
Die cutters are in the arsenal of many crafters, as they allow you to cut, stamp and emboss to your heart’s content. Whether you choose electronic or manual, they open up the opportunity to take your card making to the next level. These are especially useful at Christmas when you might have a lot of cards to make, dramatically bringing down your craft time whilst giving your work a professional look.
Paper punches are used for the manual stamping out of shapes and borders for your card and are particularly good for decorating any edges. They can stamp out really intricate patterns that would be painstaking to do by hand and are quick and easy to use.
You’ll be doing a lot of sticking when you’re card making, so it’s important to stock up on the correct glues and adhesives. Foam squares and dots are a popular choice, as they are sticky on both sides and add a 3D dimension to your card. Thin glue pens allows you to precisely apply liquid or silicon glue to sequins and card toppers, with flexible drying so they don’t suddenly pop off the card.
This is the fun part of card making! Make your card unique with decorations, card toppers and stylish embellishments. You can add stickers, mini objects such as buttons, as well as flowers, jewels and ribbon. Don’t forget different colour pens and pencils for writing your messages. The list is endless, so get crafting!
Fun, creative and a great way to show you care, making your own cards can be highly rewarding. Check out our extesive Craft Supplies collection to stock up on the essentials you need.
