DIY Archives | Page 3 of 3 | Alexandra Adams

For our second DIY card this week, we're making personalized scratch off cards. These are perfect for anyone who you might not know what to get as a gift, but still want to give something personal. You'll be surprised how easy it is and how often you'll find a way to use it. The scratch off technique is useful for projects outside of birthday cards as well—you can make coupons or promotional materials for your business, a scratch-off map to mark places you've visited, gender reveal postcards, a lottery game for showers or other parties, and the list goes on!

You will need:

Happy Birthday printable cards (click to download)
Clear packing tape or contact paper
Dish Soap
Acrylic Paint (Any color will work, but use silver if you want it to look like a traditional scratch off)
Mixing container
Paintbrush
Pen
Scissors/X-acto knife

Print and cut out the printables and write your gift in the space.

Cut the tape/contact paper to fit the space for the scratch off. Don't worry if it's not precise, as long as it covers the writing it'll work.

Mix 2 parts acrylic paint to 1 part dish soap in a small container. Don't stir too forcefully or you'll get a ton of little bubbles and it can be hard to pop them all while painting.

Paint the mixture over the writing and let dry. It can take up to 3-4 layers for the writing to be completely covered, so be patient.

And that's it; you have your very own scratch off card!

Feel free to make an extra to try out–it's really fun; you'll want to scratch them all off yourself!

Published by Alexandra Adams in DIY, Printable

I've always loved making greeting cards for my friends and family (ask my mom—she's been the recipient of quite a few), because I love the personal touch a handmade card can have. But not all of us are impeccable handletterers or incredible illustrators, and sometimes making a card seems unnecessarily difficult. So this week, I'm going to show you three different greeting cards you can make yourself, without the need for any extravagant skills. I've left the cards relatively simple so you can add your own spin on things and give it even more of a personal touch.

Today's card is a dimensional banner birthday card, inspired by the bunting and banners that seem to rule over Pinterest these days.

You will need:

Cardstock
String
Pens and/or Markers
An X-acto knife and ruler (scissors would probably work just as well)
A bone folder (not necessary, but nice to have)
Some kind of adhesive–I used both a glue stick and double sided tape for this card
Colored construction paper

The first thing you'll want to do is trim your cardstock to the size you want your card to be, and use the bone folder to make sure the crease is nice and crisp.

Open the card, and approximately measure two pieces of string to the length it will stretch when the card is opened—be sure to leave enough slack for the banner to hang without being stretched straight across. Your two strings might be slightly different sizes, depending on the word length.

Cut a piece of construction paper the same length as the string and as wide as you want the banners to hang down. Mark with a pencil the width of each pennant, measuring to make sure you have room for all of the letters to fit across, then go back and measure the halfway point between each one. Do the same on the other side.

Using your X-acto and ruler, make diagonal cuts back and forth between the lines to cut triangular shaped pennants from the construction paper.

Repeat the steps for cutting the pennants with a different color, making them slightly larger than the ones you just cut. Cut twice as many triangles as you need for the letters.

Go ahead and just use a gluestick to attach the two sets together and write out Happy Birthday on the pennants (or whatever your greeting might be).

Flip over the lettered pennants, and use a small piece of double sided tape on the back. Try and keep it as close to the top as you can.

Use the other half of your pennants to lay out what the banner will look like, and stretch the string across them. This will be the back of your banner.

Attach the letter pennants to their matching backs, using the double sided tape to trap the string in between the layers of construction paper. Adding a back layer makes the banner more sturdy and ensures the string won't fall.

Tape the strings to the inside of your card.

You can hide the tape holding the strings by adding additional decorative elements. I cut out some petal shapes and used them as balloons for my birthday card, using the same construction paper I used for the banners.

Use your pens to add additional designs, like strings for the balloons.

I left the front of this card blank so the options are endless, whether you want to write the recipient's name really large, hint at the banner within, use some extra construction paper to just put a few balloons in the corner, or anything else you like. Don't forget to add a personal note on the inside!

Published by Alexandra Adams in DIY

DIY: Birthday Scratch Off Card + Free Printable

DIY: Banner Birthday Card