How to Make Your Own Birthday Cards

Birthdays are probably the one holiday, aside from Christmas, that will cost you the most money in terms of greeting cards. However, unlike Christmas, there is never a sale on birthday cards, because birthdays are always "in season". Why not make your own birthday cards, then, and save yourself some cash in the process? It's easy, it's fun, and for a small initial investment of about $35, you can make 75 birthday cards- or more. That works out to less than fifty cents a card!

Here's the breakdown on the supplies that you will need:

8.5 in. x 11 in. multicolored textured construction paper pad (containing 100 sheets), $7.99
3 stamping pads of different colors (3-pack, $4.99)
3 birthday stamps ($5-$7/piece)
Envelopes ($2/box, and no bigger than 8 x 5 ¼ in.)
Ruler, scissors and glue ($1-$2)

The first thing you will need to do is to determine your card's height and width. Since you want your card to fit into your envelope, measure the dimensions of the envelope first. Then, double the width measurement, since you will need a card twice as wide as the envelope in order to fold it over (unless you choose to make a one-sided card or postcard). Finally, subtract a quarter inch from both the height and width measurements, allowing the final card to be a bit smaller than the envelope (so it will fit inside).

Use these height and width measurements to outline and, if need be, cut out your card from an 8.5 in. x 11 in. white (or other color) textured sheet of construction paper. Take the cut sheet and fold the longer side over, using a ruler (or even your finger nail) to brush over the fold and create a straight and even edge.

Take the new measurements of your folded-over card, using them as guidelines for cutting out the yellow rectangle that will be affixed to the front of the card. In my example, my card front is 7 in. x 4 ¾ in., so I cut out a yellow rectangle of 4 ¼ in. x 3 ½ in. Basically, you want to end up with a yellow rectangle that is half the height of the card, and ½ in. less than its width.