Greeting Cards for All Occasions, From South Africa

A homemade card says "I like you enough to make you something, instead of taking the easy way and buying it already made."

With home made cards, you are only limited by your imagination. You can draw on it, or paste different things on it, or go mad, and filigree (quilling).

This is an ideal activity for children, or for the entire family. Children will make cards that will be bright and different, because they have no preconceived notions of what cards should be, their imagination will run wild, and you will be impressed with the end results.

You can make leather pouches for your cards if you like, or alternatively, make envelopes.

Step 1: What You Will Need.

THE PAPER AND ADDITIONS TO THE CARDS.

1. A good quality board in any colour. 250 - 300gsm, scored in the middle. Paper 115gsm to tip in.

2. Hessian, cut to size.

3. Cork cut to size.

4. Leather off cuts in any colour, cut to size.

5. Feathers. Cut and shaped.

6. Beads.

7. A piece of coconut shell, cut to any shape.

8. A piece of porcupine quill, cut to size.

Just remember, you can add or omit what you want to. It is up to you how simple or elaborate your cards will be. You can use pieces of bark with a little moss or lichen, wood, small pebbles, and even leaves of different shapes and hues. The more you find things to paste onto your cards, the more exciting it becomes.

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Step 2: Tools You Will Need.

TOOLS REQUIRED.

1, A good sharp NT cutter.

2. Wood Glue.

3. A porcupine quill with the sharp edge intact.

4. A paper weight.

5. A cutting board.

6. A bone or plastic scorer.

7. A pair of scissors.

8. A pair of tweezers.

Step 3: Making Your Card.

Take the tip in and light glue along the folded edge, and place into your card. Put a paper weight on for few minutes, while you prepare the rest of you requirements.

Step 4: Adding the Corners, the Hessian, the Cork, and the Leather.

Cut two squares of cork. Cut diagonally to make triangles.

Glue the entire triangle. Paste to the corner of the cards.

Cut the hessian, the pull three strands off of each side.

Glue the hessian with a thin line of glue on all four sides, then diagonally from corner to corner, paste onto card.

Glue the cork as above. Paste onto hessian.

Glue the leather as per above, then paste onto the cork.

Put a paper weight on for a few moments to dry.

Step 5: Finishing Touches.

Add your feather/s to the leather, using the coconut piece to keep it in place.

This is where the quill comes in handy. Use the sharp side to brush your feather into the position you like.

Also use it to pick up small beads to be glued onto the coconut pieces.

The glue will dry clear, however if you have used too much, again the quill comes in handy to pick up the excess.

Glue beads in the corners, you can use the tweezers to position them.

Now it is up to you to put beads, seeds, seed pods, or whatever you fancy onto the rest of the card.

You do not have to use the hessian or cork, you can use only leather, or only cork, or any other substrate you wish to use.

Step 6: Your Finished Product.

There you go, the card is finished and you are now able to make someone's day by giving it to them. You can always write on the back of your card something like, "Made with love, by ................." or you can get a stamp and some wax and emboss your initial at the back.

Have fun by making and giving your homemade card!