Sunday, May 8, 2016

DIY Mother's Day Cards



I got a Cricut Explore for Valentine's Day last year. It came in super handy for doing a lot of custom DIY things for our wedding (table numbers, menus, favors, etc.). Since the wedding, I have taken to making DIY cards for holiday's and birthdays.
 (Take a look at my Valentine's card to Ross below.) I also have quite the collection of die-cut punches, including a daisy and a butterfly, which will prove handy for these cards. Despite my tools, any of these shapes can be cut with an X-Acto blade and some patience. So with Mother's Day around the corner, I have cards to make for my mom, mother-in-law and a slew of grandparents.



I'll be using...

  • white cardstock
  • floral scrapbook paper
  • die-cut punches
  • cricut
  • glue stick
The first step is to cut a 6" x 8" rectangle from the white cardstock. Fold this in half vertically or horizontally to form your 4" x 6" card. On the Cricut, I use the "print then cut" option, which allows me to print the inside message, then cut the whole shape.





Next, cut a colorful backer for the front of your card. You don't want a plain white front, so cut a 4" x 6" rectangle of the floral scrapbook paper for the front. I choose to cut mine a 1/4" smaller 3.75" x 5.75") in each direction to leave a white border. Glue this to the front of your card and set aside, perhaps under a book or something heavy so that the glue sets. You can layer any text or decorations over this later.



Next, cut out any sort of lettering and shapes you want for the front of your card. I'm using the butterfly and flower punches and using the Cricut to cut out the lettering for "Happy Mother's Day". On Cricut, you can size your text to fit your card (up to 4" wide for a vertical card). Once you've sized your lettering and the spacing, make sure to weld the letters! (If you forget to weld, it will cut each individual letter, so if you spaced your letters together, especially in script, it will chop them apart.)

For anyone using Cricut Design Space, my Mother's Day file is public. Feel free to use the template and customize it as your own!



Here's my lettering from Cricut and die-cuts for the front.


You can cut shapes on Cricut too. It's super easy, even without Cricutaccess. I haven't had any trouble over the last year Googling the shapes that I was looking for and importing them into Cricut Design Space to cut myself. Googling silhouettes or outlines works the best for simple shapes.

Don't forget to sign it! Happy crafting!

Your final product!