Beginner Greeting Cards

1. Class Introduction: Hi, I'm Stephanie. A long time average crafter, illustrator, graphic designer, and podcaster. One of my favorite hobbies for decompressing and saving money is making my own greeting cards. I've created many cards for various occasions. Nothing says I care about you than with a handmade personal card. I'll be showing you how to make two greeting cards that can be used for any occasion. I will also share with you my lettering and stamping techniques that I use to make my cards unique. You can also use these techniques for journaling, gift wrapping, and so much more. In addition to stamping and lettering, I will teach how to use a heating embossing gun, watercolor blending, and I'll introduce to you the amazing world of washi tape. This class is aimed at students with a beginner skill level. If you want to start a new hobby in card making, this is the one for you. Keep watching the rest of these videos to find out how. 2. Project Description: The project you will be creating today are two greeting cards. One is a watercolor greeting card with lettering, and the second is a washit card. Then finally, to top it all off, will lie in the inside of an envelope. These cards are great for beginners who want to get into card making. These cards are very similar to the cards I made when I was first introduced to card making. No two cards are alike, but both cards will be amazing. I can make the same card five times and each will look slightly different. Imperfections are okay, and you are learning. That's what makes these cards unique. Before we begin on the project, take a look at the project description and the materials. I will share with you alternative options just in case. In the next video, I will show you a list of materials needed to create the projects. See you then. 3. Class Materials: Now you're ready to start making your very own cards. You're going to have to do a little bit of shopping, but I'll show you how much each item cost on the bottom of the screen. First you're going to need two sized A2 cards or four and one-fourth inch by five and a half inches. Normally, I buy my cards from the store called Paper Source, they have really beautiful colors and great thick cards of various materials, it's wonderful. You're also going to need a size A2 envelope that also corresponds to the size of your card. Next, you're also going to need some masking tape, whichever one works, painter's tape is perfect. You're also going to need some watercolor paints, this is not anything super fancy, just a basic tray of watercolor. You're also going to need a paintbrush and some water, because you need water for water coloring. An alternative you can use is an aqua brush, the aqua brush stores water within the top side of the container that's held on my right hand, and you can take it out, squeeze the utensil, and then you can saturate your brush in that way. Next, you're going to need some VersaMark, a VersaMark ink pad. A VersaMark is a must when doing heat embossing. It is a clear, sticky, somewhat thick ink that is used to adhere the embossing powder to the paper. I highly recommend purchasing this. Next, you're going to need to have a one and a half to two inch size stamp, this one I have is a wooden rubber block stamp. Next, you're also going to needs some embossing powder. Embossing powder comes in so many different colors. The color that we'll be using in this lesson is princess gold. Embossing powder has these fine glittery stuff in it that melts in, it makes your card looks so beautiful. Next, you're going to need a heat embossing tool. This is a requirement to use for the heat embossing technique that I'll be teaching you. Unfortunately, a hairdryer will not work. You're also going to need a tray to catch your embossing powder. You can use a piece of paper and just catch all your powder there, but I find that this way, evenness is much easier. For your next card you're going to need an ink pad. This color I've chosen was the color of gold. The next item that you're going to need is a sponge dauber, you can also use a makeup sponge that also can achieve the same effect. You're also going to need a pack of 3D foam squares. This comes in a pack of 440 from iCraft, and it comes in size small and small. You're also going to need a pair of scissors. The next item you're going to need is a handheld punch. This one I have right here is great for those who are doing [inaudible] and you don't want to press down, this is one variation that you can find at a store. Inside the space, you can slide in the paper and punch a perfect circle or whatever shape that you choose to have. Next, I have some washi tape. Washi tape comes in so many different colors and sizes and variants. Once you find some washi tape, you'll get addicted and you're going to want more. Next, you're also going to need some basic gel pens, uni-ball pens, whichever gel pens you have in hand, ballpoint pen. You're also going to need some wrapping paper or any type of scrapbooking paper or even the backside of the calendar. You're going to use this to line your envelope. You also have some double-sided tape, and if you don't have double-sided tape, you can also use some glue stick. Either one is fine. Finally, you're going to need some envelope liner templates. These are the ones I normally pick up from Paper source. I will also be showing you an alternative in the event that you don't have these. I like these liner templates because they're durable, they're all cut to the size of various envelopes and they're really going to last for a very long time. So there you have it. Those are all the materials you're going to need to make these two cards in this class. If you do not have a chance to get all the materials, don't worry I will be showing you alternatives in the event that you don't have exactly everything. If you do find another material that works perfectly for you, I would love to hear about it. Please let me know by sharing it on the discussion board. 4. Watercolor Card Painting: In this lesson, we're going to make your first card. As you can see here, I have nice clean edges, and the color has this beautiful ombre gradient effect, so you're going to need your A2 card, and you can orient it vertical or horizontal. In this case, I'm going to stick with horizontal. Next you're going to pull out your masking tape so you can create the edges around the sides of the card. Masking tape is great because it's not super sticky. I'm going to tape my card about halfway on, so half of it is on the table and the other half's on the card, and you can see where the separation is and I'll crease it to make it even more visible for you. Do that same thing on all sides of the card. Next we're going to pull out our watercolor, and make sure you also have your water cup with brush or your accur brush. Try not to accidentally drink your paint water. I've done that so many times. So the colors I'm to use is this light blue, this dark green, and this kelly green. I like to use colors that are analogous on the color wheel to make an ombre effect. Next you're going to saturate your brush and saturate the color palette that you're going to use. Make sure you get that nice and wet. I'd like to start in the middle and work my way out so I don't have two new lines, paint strokes going back and forth, and there's no perfect way to do it. It's okay if it's not completely perfect, but you just want to have fun with it. Keep in mind that you don't want to make your paper too wet because that will cause the colors to bleed. But if there's a little bit of bleeding and imperfections, that's okay. That's what makes your card unique. I'm moving on to my dark green, and I'm starting to slowly blend those in. When moving onto the next color I wet the edge of the last and previous color with water, and then I add the pigment of the following color. That way they blend together in a seamless line. I go back one more time and make sure all the colors are blended so there's no hard lines. I just love painting with watercolor. It's so relaxing and calming. I go through my colors one more time to make sure that the colors are nice and bright. We're finished with that and we let our paper dry. I'll move my watercolors and my cup of water aside, and here's my favorite part, removing the tape. Just seeing those clean edges is so satisfying. Like I said, if there's little imperfections or a little bit of bleeding, that's okay. That's what makes this card special. Make sure you slowly peel off the tape so you don't rip the paper and there you have it. Your watercolor ombre card with your clean edges. In the next lesson, we're going to learn how to get your shine on with heat and bossing. 5. Embossing Your Card: In this lesson, we're going to get our shine on with some heat embossing. From the previous lesson, you have already watercolor painted your card. Now we're going to add some fancy embellishments to it. In this project, I'm going to be using the princess gold color for my embossing. Embossing powder is a fine particle, fast melting powder, often used in heat embossing. You can use heat embossing to create an elegant look to any card that you make. In addition to your embossing powder, you're also going to need your VersaMark ink pad, your rubber stamp, and your glitter catch tray. I like to use this one because it has a funnel at the bottom and a nice hole where any excess glitter can spill back into its jar. Now we're going to take my VersaMark ink pad and my rubber stamp, and I'm going to dab the entire surface area of the stamp. You know that your stamp is ready when it's completely shiny on the rubber side. I'm going to take my rubber stamp and I'm going to orient it on either the right or left side. In this case, I'm going to orient it on this side. When I stamp, I make sure that I press down. Do not rock your stamp or you're going to end up getting some weird ghost edges. Remember, don't rock, just press. If you look closely, you'll see a ghosted image of the stamp mark that I just made. Next, I'm going to put my card inside my glitter tray, and I'm going to use my embossing powder and sprinkle the embossing powder on top of this surface area which I stamped on. Once you have dumped the embossing powder, shake off the excess by gently tapping it into the glitter tray. Be very careful when putting your embossing powder back into its container. Now we're ready to apply some heat to get this card to shine. Here I have my heat embossing tool, the on-off switch, and here's the nozzle where the heat's going to be coming out. There's an easel stand to keep the nozzle off the surface of your desk or working area. Keep in mind that when using a heat embossing tool, that the nozzle does get very, very hot. To keep my fingers from being burned, I like to use a pen to hold my paper down. Once I turn on the heat embossing tool, I like to have the air blow onto my hand where it's hot enough where I can stand it. When the heat tool is that hot, that's when I know that it's ready to melt the embossing powder. You're going to want to sweep the tool over the image about three inches or so away from the paper, taking care not to direct it in one area for too long. You'll see the change as the embossing powder melts and becomes smooth and dimensional, careful not to overheat it, otherwise, the powder could bubble and the paper could burn. There you have it. A beautifully embossed design on your watercolor card. This will add an extra level of dimension and texture to your card that makes it even more unique. In the next lesson, we're going to complete this card with some faux hand lettering. 6. Faux Letting: In this lesson, we're going to finish your first card with some Faux Hand Lettering. I've decided to use Procreate, so I can clearly illustrate and describe to you how to do Faux hand lettering. Write your word in cursive, paying attention to where your pen is moving downward. I'll explain what I'm doing in further detail using another color. Anytime your pen moves down, it's called a downstroke. Now we're going to make our downstrokes thicker. You can make your downstrokes as thin or as thick as you want. Finally, fill them in. You can fill them in using the same color for a simple look, or get snazzy and use a different color or a pattern. You can also use the same method for printed lettering. In this example, I'm using a Serif font. Serif fonts have little tails at the ends of the strokes in the letter. For example, Times New Roman is considered as a Serif font. Once again, you want to add the weight to your downstrokes. Now on our greeting card, we're going to do the same thing. I used a combination of print and curves on my card. You can keep it all plain, or you can make it all cursive, it's your choice. I'll start some of my lettering in pencil just in case I make mistakes. I'm going to write the word succ like in succulent. This card is very funny. On my card. Now we're going to go back over the word with my gel pen, and adding some weight to each downstroke of the letter. Then I fill it in with the same color. Finally, since this card is for a work colleague, I'm going to write the word, work would and without you. Congratulations, you've just completed your first watercolor card using heat embossing and Faux lettering. What does your card look like? I will love to see your projects. In the next lesson, we'll design a balloon card with Washi tape. 7. Design Cards With Washi Tape: In this lesson, we're going to make our second card using washi tape. Washi tape is a Japanese decorative paper masking tape. It is easy to stick on many surfaces and easy to remove without causing damage. I like to use washi tape on all crafting things that I make from gift tags, journaling, and greeting cards. For this card, in addition to using the washi tape, we're going to doodle some lines for the balloons and create a distressed effect using the sponge dauber. Grab your second A2 card, you can [inaudible] into horizontal or vertical. For this lesson, I'm going to stick with vertical. Next, you're going to pull out your selected three washi tape designs. Once again, I'd like to stay within the analogous color family using colors that compliment each other. You're also going to need your 3D foam squares. Next, you're going to need a gel pen to create the lines of the balloons. You're also going to need your die cut punch. I like to use the one that has a squeeze grip. You're also going to need an extra sheet of blank paper, I chose to use card stock. Using your scissors, cut a portion off so it can fit easily onto your die cut punch. I'd like to utilize as much as the paper as possible. Before I punch anything out, I always like to test and experiment to make sure that my die cut will fit perfectly on the paper, and that my shape will come out clear. Next we're going to use the washi tape, use three or four strips and line them up either horizontally or vertically depending on your choice. You'll want to line up your washi tapes pretty close to each other to create a seamless like pattern. Once I have all my strips together, I'll use my punch to cut out the shape. There you have it, a beautiful, seamless looking, perfect circle. I'll speed up the process for the next view. In the event that you don't have a die cut for the shape that you want, you can easily use a pencil and paper and do the exact same process. On one side, draw your shape with a pencil. Flip your image over, and cover your area with the washi tape. Now using a similar process as before, flip your paper over, and there you have an easily visible shape. Now you can cut it out, I highly recommend using this method when you don't have the exact shapes that you need or you don't have all the punches and they look just as good. Now, let's get started on our card. I like to layer my balloons in various patterns. You can have them centered, you can arrange them in the top corner, choose what feels comfortable for you. In this case, I'm going to keep mine somewhat aligned to the center. Now that I aligned where I want my balloons to go, I'm going to use a pencil and mark with an X for each place where I'm going to put my balloon. These markers are going to be used for placing my foam squares so I don't forget. I love these 3D foam squares because they're double-sided and sticky on both sides. With my gel pen, I'm going to create three lines for the strings of the balloons. To tie my balloons together, I'm going to make a figure eight, so it looks like it's tied in a nice, cute, little bow. Now, I'm ready to adhere my balloons onto the sticky side of the foam squares. Carefully peel off the backing of the square, you'll see that it's sticky. Did you remember how you placed your balloons before hand? Anything that you want to go on the background, place it on the first. In this case, I want my gold balloon to be furthest back and my blue and my tree balloons to be coming closer to the front. The foam squares create illusion of depth whenever you're making greeting cards. It's like they're floating right off the page. Let's add one more thing to our card and give it a distressed effect. I'm going to take my ink pad and this color is gold. I'm going to use my sponge dauber, my sponge dauber has a spongy end, so it can pick up any pigment that's on the ink pad. I'm going to daub all over my ink pad so I can pick up some color. Then I'm going to brush along the edges. If you look closely, you can see the gold starting to come through. I like to start from the corners and work my way through the sides. Using the sponging technique is great if you want something to look aged or old or even just to give it a beautiful gradation on the sides of your papers. Now we're done. That's your second card. In the next lesson, we're going to get fancy and line the inside of our envelopes. 8. Envelope Lining: In this lesson, we're going to line the inside of your envelope. One way to jazz up your envelope is to fill it with a beautiful lining on the inside. I like to either you scrap of paper, wrapping paper, or any kind of design paper that I have on hand. You're going to need your A2 envelope, a pair of scissors, double-sided tape, or glue stick. You're also going to need a pencil, and a wrapping paper, scrap of paper, magazine insert of your choice. I just love the beautiful colors on the succulent one. Last but not least, you're going to need the envelope liner templates. If you don't have envelope liner templates, I will also show you how to do it with using your basic envelope. Grab your piece of wrapping paper, clipping on the reverse side so the design is facing down. This will make it easier for you to trace and cut. I'll grab my envelope template and I'll make sure that I place it on the paper so that I can get a nice outline of the shape of the envelope. If you don't have your template envelope, then you can also use the envelope as well. Make sure that your envelope is positioned high enough so that the paper can be inserted fully into the bottom of the envelope. With my pencil, I trace the edges. Then as best as I can, hook the paper curling. We're going to cut out your tracing. Take your time with this, especially if your paper is very curly. Now you have the inside lining of your envelope. [inaudible] you're going to slide it into the envelope. Have a little bit of the top of the envelope peeping up just enough so that you can close the envelope with the adhesive. I may have cut it a little bit too big, so I have to trim it down some. Next, I'm going to fold down the flap of my envelope, and then where the paper is, I'm going to use my double-sided tape or glue, so I can adhere to the envelope. Lining your envelope is another fancy way to just dress up any letter that you're sending. You can even do this for your wedding invitations. I peel back the adhesive backing on the double-sided tape, and then I'll close my envelope one more time. This time when I open it, the paper will be stuck together and now your envelope is lined. 9. Closing Remarks: Thank you so much for taking my class. I cannot wait to see the cards that you've created. Share your creations with your fellow classmates for more inspiration. Remember, these skills and techniques can be used on many personal items such as journaling, scrapbooking, and planners. Starting out with card making can seem daunting at first, but don't worry, the more cards you make, the more your creativity will grow. Imperfections are okay, and that's what makes your cards super unique and special. If you have any questions, send me a message. I'm planning on teaching more classes with crafting and illustration. If you enjoyed this class, feel free to follow me on social media through Instagram @amusedsteph. Thanks again. See you.