Are you looking for the perfect printable card to top off that perfect gift? I have a fabulous FREE PRINTABLE card for you. Just in time for holiday gift wrapping, I have collaborated with Cathe Holden of Inspired Barn to give YOU a gift! Please print out these adorable folk art-inspired printable cards and use them for all your holiday occasions (and beyond). And don’t forget to download the coordinating printable for the 2018 Printable Tea Towel Calendar!

About this collaboration:

In 2010, talented graphic designer Cathe Holden and I teamed up to create a printable tea towel calendar. She designed the printables, and I made the calendar and wrote the instructions, and then we provided the free printables to you! This year, we have a new design available — our all-new 2018 printable tea towel calendar, as well as this sweet card, that you can download, print, and make yourself for a special handmade touch.

Download the Printable Card Templates:

Download the files below to print out your own cards. Each printable will make two cards (just cut the printed sheet in half, then fold the cards to make them complete). They will fit in an A2 envelope.

To download, just click on the image to be taken to the file on Google Drive, where you can download it.

Red and Blue Printable Card Template

Blue Printable Card Template

Green & Blue Printable Card Template

Card-Making Tips:

You really can just print this, cut it, fold it and go, but if you are looking to make your printed cards look nicer, I recommend a few products to get a top-of-the-line look. I used these products to make the cards you see in the photos in this post, and they are some of my favorite products that I can’t do without (disclosure: these are Amazon affiliate links):

1. HP Inkjet Brochure Paper

If you are using an inkjet printer, I hands-down recommend this HP brochure paper for gorgeous printing. It is smooth, heavy paper that can be printed on both sides, and it makes the ink shine. It’s great for paper projects like this one, or for printing anything that you want to make look extra pretty.

I should also disclose that I work with HP, and have received this product for free, but they did not ask me to promote it here. I just really love it and I highly recommend it.

2. Trimming and Scoring Board

If you make cards or paper crafts often, you should treat yourself to a Trimming and Scoring Board – it is a paper trimmer with a built-in board that has grooves in it so you can gently add a crease wherever you want to fold the paper. It also comes with a bone folder (which you use to make the score in the paper) that you can also use to make a clean, crisp fold.  The paper trimmer is so handy for creating perfectly measured and cut lines — no more wiggly scissor lines!

Thank you for joining me at Dollar Store Crafts! I truly value everyone who is part of my community, and I would love to hear your feedback about this project or the site.

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Heather recently had a chance to hang out with the folks from HP and see all of their latest photo printing technology, including an app that lets you send your Instagram photos right to your printer!  Pretty spiffy, eh?  She used her printed Instagram photos to make adorable note cards – this one has a Valentine theme, but you can change up the colors and the embellishments to make cards for any occasion!  [how to make simple Instagram notecards]

Project estimate:

• Printed Instagram photo, about $0.10 and up
• Blank card or cardstock, on hand
• Washi tape, on hand or $1 and up
• Stickers, on hand or $1 and up

Total:  about $0.10 and up

The post Make Simple Instagram Notecards appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

It’s nearly time for Father’s Day again.  Honor dear ol’ dad this year with a spiffy shirt and necktie card from Omiyage Blogs!  You can mix and match the colors and patterns of the paper and washi tape used to make these cards match dad’s personal style.  You could even substitute a bowtie in place of a necktie.  Or if dad isn’t a tie guy at all, leave that detail off and make a simple button-down or polo shirt instead!  [how to make washi tape necktie Father’s Day cards]

Project estimate:

• Paper, on hand or $1 and up
• Washi tape, on hand or $1 and up
• Waxed paper, on hand
• Marker or pen, on hand

Total:  Free and up

The post Make Washi Tape Necktie Father’s Day Cards appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Father’s Day is coming up, but don’t worry if you’re still scrambling for a gift idea.  This fun card and “pop” magnet is easy and quick to make!

As I showed you in this post, I enjoy using resin and dollar ice trays to make pendants.  I found this fun bottle shaped ice cube tray in the dollar spot at Target, and I bought it thinking I would use it with resin.  That is, until I tried Plaid’s new Mod Melts.  I love the quick drying time (it takes less than ten minutes to set!) and that it is paintable.  This is perfect for time crunched crafters like yours truly!  Read on to learn how to make a magnet gift with Mod Melts, along with a fun card idea for presenting your gift.

Project estimate:

• Mod Melts, $3 and up
• Ice tray, $1
• Hot glue gun, on hand
• Paint, on hand
• Cardstock, on hand
• Magnet, on hand
• Washer, on hand

Total: $4 and up

To make your own father’s day card and magnet gift:

Step one:  Put the Mod Melts stick in your glue gun.  Fill the bottle in the ice cube tray about half way full.

Step two:  When it’s set (in less than ten minutes), remove the “bottle” from the tray and paint it brown.

Step three:  Cut a strip of paper to wrap around the bottle.  Attach it with Mod Podge.

Step four:  Glue a magnet to the back of the bottle.

Step five:  Print the card text out.  You can find the bright version here and the vintaged version here.

Step six:  Glue a washer to the back of the card stock where you want the magnet to stick.  Mount the card stock onto the front of a card, and stick the bottle on.

Isn’t that fun?  Now your “pop” can remove the magnet from the card front easily.  Hopefully when he sees it on the fridge he’ll be reminded daily that he’s the world’s best pop!

The post Make A Father’s Day Magnet and Gift Card appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

I’ll admit it: I’m a geek. Oh, it’s not a bad thing. I wear it as a badge of pride! One of my proudest geeky achievements was teaching myself how to make webpages when I was in Junior High, back in the days when most people didn’t have Internet access. Yes, I’ve been a geek pretty much my whole life. If your Valentine has a similarly geeky background, this card ought to make them giggle! The humor comes from HTML, the programming language used to make webpages. Just print it out on cardstock, cut along the lines, and fold in half.

The post Friday Freebie: Super Geeky Printable Valentine Card appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Scratch off cards are fun.  It doesn’t matter if you’re a kid or a grown up, there’s something about revealing a hidden message that feels like a teeny treasure hunt.  I’ve always enjoyed making scratch paper with my kids, and I shared that tutorial here.  It’s been so popular that I thought I’d adapt the idea for Valentine’s Day.  What kid (or grown up) wouldn’t love to receive a handmade scratch off Valentine card?  I’m sharing my free printable with you, but you could easily make your own, too.

Project estimate:

• Valentine joke printable, free (download it here)
• Cardstock, on hand
• Clear Address Labels or tape, on hand
• Washable Paint, on hand
• Dish Soap, on hand

Total: FREE

To make your own scratch off Valentine Cards:

Step one:  Print out the Valentine Joke Printable, found here.  Cut out the cards and (optional) mat with card stock.

Step two:  Place the clear address label over the joke’s punchline.

Step three:  Mix your tempera paint with the dish soap.  I used 1/3 cup of paint and 1 teaspoon of soap.  Paint on the clear label to cover the message.

Once it’s dried you can address and sign the card on the bottom or on the back.

This would be a fun project to make with your kids.  If you don’t have kids, you could always make a more “grown up” version to give that special someone.  Have fun crafting and creating!

The post Tutorial: Scratch-Off Valentines (with free printable) appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

I have a “thing” for Valentine crafts.  I don’t usually do much that involves girliness and lacy bits, so February 14th is my annual excuse to add a little bit of extra femininity to every project.  In making these cards, I went for a retro-ish look, adding a touch of trim to make them just a wee bit girly.  (But not too much!)  I liked them so much when I got done with them that I decided to scan them into the computer so you can print them out and give them as well!  The card comes with three different sentiments; love, be mine, and kiss.  Download the designs below!

I also want to share a card making tip with you.  This time of year, Valentine’s Day craft supplies are usually full price, but Christmas supplies are on clearance!  The polka dotted paper I used for these cards is actually a Christmas print- the reverse side of the paper was very obviously Christmas-y, but the side I used was perfect for the Valentine look I wanted!  Can’t find Christmas paper left in the stores?  Baby girl papers in pink patterns are also ideal to repurpose for Valentines!

“Love” Valentine’s Day Card

“Be Mine” Valentine’s Day Card

“Kiss” Valentine’s Day Card

The post Friday Freebie: Printable Valentine’s Day Greeting Cards appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

Now that the holidays are nothing but memories and piles of recycling, there is one important thing left to do:  send thank you notes!  Nothing lets a gift-giver know that you truly appreciated their gesture like a handmade card expressing your gratitude.  You can make your own cards even of you don’t have a lot of spare crafting time with simple, creative designs.  This card uses a circle punch to make a quick and easy window in the front of the card, which you can use to express any sentiment you like, including a heartfelt “thanks.”

Project estimate:

• Card stock or paper, on hand or $1
• Large circle punch, on hand or about $5 and up
• Rubber stamp, on hand or $1 and up
• Ink pad, on hand or $1
• Colored pencil (optional), on hand
• Masking tape, on hand or $1
• Glue, on hand

Total:  Free and up

Cut and fold a piece of card stock to use as the base for your card.

Decide where you want the window to be on the front of your card and use the circle punch to make a hole there.

If desired, line the inside of the card with a different paper.

Stamp your “thanks” stamp (or whatever you want to say) and use the circle punch to punch it out.  You can use the same color as the front of the card, or use a contrasting color.  Just make sure that your stamp ink will show up on the paper you choose!

Line the circle up with the hole in the front of the card, making sure the text is straight.  Use a piece of masking tape on the front of the card to keep the circle in place.

Apply glue to the back of the circle, then press the card closed.  Carefully remove the masking tape and open up the card; the circle should stay put on the inside of the card.  I also added some colored pencil to give it a little extra oomph!

Finish the card by adding a personal greeting inside.  (If the interior of your card is patterned or dark colored paper, you may want to add a lighter colored journaling block to make sure your message is easy to read.)

The post Make a Circle-Punched Holiday Thank You Card appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

After the craft supply store and the dollar store, the most dangerous place for me to set foot is the office supply store.  I could spend a small fortune on piles and piles of paper, folders, stickers, envelopes, paper clips…  Not to mention the incredible things you can do with the self-serve copy machines, but that’s a whole ‘nother blog post!  I was digging around in the office supply portion of my stash and I found a couple of packages of stickers.  Just plain ol’ dot stickers: a set of color coding labels and a stack of hole reinforcements.  I’m still in the process of restocking my selection of handmade greeting cards, so I used them to make up a few super-easy cards.

Project estimate:

• Paper, on hand or $1
• Color coding label stickers, on hand or $1
• Hole reinforcement stickers, on hand or $1
• Additional stickers (optional), on hand or $1 and up

Total:  Free and up

For this project, all you need are a couple of different kinds of dot stickers and some heavy paper.  That’s it!   I used some Avery color coding labels in primary colors and plain white hole reinforcements because I happened to have them on hand.   I also have a huge excess of black card stock left over from another project, which I like for card  making because it gives me an excuse to break out the gel pen collection!

To make the cards,  fold a piece of paper in the desired size (I used an 8 1/2 by 11 inch piece of paper cut in half, then folded), then place the stickers in a design on the front of the card.  For these two cards, I used all one kind of dot sticker.  Experiment with different placements (in straight lines, completely random, or somewhere in between) to get completely different looks.

I really like the look of combining the hole reinforcements over the top of the colored dots.  Keep playing around with different combinations and placements to get dozens of looks out of the same few materials!

If you like, you can also add other stickers or embellishments as well.  I used an adorable little owl sticker to give the front of this card, which was rather busy with just dots, a clear focal point.  There are so, so many possible designs, and these cards are so quick and easy that they’re great for making in large numbers or at the last minute!

The post Make Easy Polka Dot Greeting Cards appeared first on Dollar Store Crafts.

I like to keep a stash of handmade greeting cards on hand at all times so that I’m always prepared for last-minute events.  (Or for when I wasn’t prepared!)  My stack of general purpose cards has nearly depleted, so I’ve been on a kick to whip out some new ones.  I wanted to use up some odds and ends of paper left over from other projects, up some pretty colors from the scrap pile and came up with this easy geometric design based on fish scales.  Here’s how it’s done!

Project estimate:

• Paper, on hand
• Circle punch or template, on hand
• Glue stick, on hand
• Paper cutter or scissors, on hand
• Rubber stamps, on hand

Total:  Free

Cut a piece of paper to 8 1/2″ by 5 1/2″ to use as the base of the card.  (I used black.)  Cut a second piece that is 5 1/2″ by 4 1/4″.  The color of this piece doesn’t matter because it will be completely covered when you’re done.

Punch or cut circles of paper in various colors.  I used a 2 inch circle punch and ended up needing 20 circles.

Glue a row of circles to one of the short edges of the 5 1/2″ by 4 1/4″ piece of paper.  Place them so that they hang over about halfway off the sheet.

Add a second row of circles, offsetting them so that they are between the circles in the previous row.

Continue adding rows of circles until the entire piece of paper is covered.

Flip the sheet upside-down and trim the excess from the overhanging circles to that the piece is rectangular again.

Glue the sheet of overlapping circles to the front of the card base.

I decided to put the word “hi” on the front of my card, but you can use any images or words you want.   (Yes, you are reading the price tag correctly on those alphabet stamps.  $1.25 for the whole set!  I got 2 different fonts, plus a large acrylic block ($2.50 versus the usual $10) and a few sheets of different flowers and flourishy embellishments.  Best. Score. Ever!  If you’re ever in Traverse City, Michigan, Dollar Zone is incredible!)

Make sure you press firmly and evenly when you stamp since you’re working on an uneven surface.  I always use clear stamps because I can really see what’s going on, and it helps a ton on projects like this!  If you’ve never tried them, I highly recommend them!

Try making variations on this card by using larger or smaller circles, different shapes (perhaps diamonds or snowflakes), adding patterned papers to the mix, or using various ways to embellish the card instead of rubber stamping.  Really, the circles are a jumping-off-point for a zillion different designs!

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