There are some simple silhouettes that you can make from vintage materials to make great handmade cards. Strong shapes that are easily recognisable seem to work best. Use a blank plain card or carefully cut and fold your own. Buy envelopes or make them. Decide on a style of image you want on the card: hearts, butterflies, crosses, wedding bells or even straightforward squares of interestingly patterned wallpaper, maps of fabric look really effective, and numbers and initials make your card personal too.
Button cards are so elegant and beautiful. The combination of paper and sewing always looks fantastic. You can play with different sizes and colours of buttons, as well as various threads, ribbons and fabric.
Materials you need
- coloured or patterned paper or fabric
- pencil, scissors or craft knife
- PVA glue
- blank cards
- embroidery thread, needle
- old buttons
Silhouette card
1 Draw the design in pencil on the back of whatever material you choose, remembering to reverse letters and numbers where required. If you need some extra help, try finding an image online or in the papers that you can follow the outline of or trace; you can try drawing around biscuit cutters, as there is one of those for nearly every occasion.
2 Using sharp scissors or a craft knife, carefully cut around the pencil line.
3 Apply a thin layer of PVA glue to the back of the motif and stick it firmly in place on the front of the card. Allow to dry completely.
Button cards
1 Collect some pretty buttons that go well together and suit your design. Arrange them in the pattern or motif as they will appear on the front of the card. Once again, initials and numbers work well, as do easily recognisable shapes such as Christmas trees and flowers. You can draw onto the card, to add detail.
2 Once decided on your design, sew the buttons onto the card in just the way you would if you were using fabric. Fasten off the thread by trying a knot on the back of the card. When you are finished, stick a single piece of a card onto the inside to cover up the back of the stitching or line the whole card with wallpaper. If you like is better, you may glue the buttons on the paper and then skip the covering procedure, because the back of the card will be tidy.