A handmade greeting card shows you care. Start with colored or off-white stationery—the perfect paper for these cards because it comes with its own matching envelope. Use prints or illustrations cut from magazines. Add ribbons, buttons, and other trinkets to create your own unique style. Collect vintage papers, reproduction stickers, and photocopies from antique books to have on hand when making your greeting cards.

1. Cut out the image you would like to use which has been photocopied from a magazine, book, vintage paper or other source. Color copies can be made at print shops.

2. Cut three pieces of card stock in graduated sizes. Glue the image to the smallest piece and then glue this to the next larger piece.

3. Glue these layered pieces to the center of a piece of stationery which has been folded in half.

4. Use a hole punch to punch around the top and left side of the card about every 1/2 inch. This measurement may vary depending on the weave desired.

5. Thread the narrow ribbon through a large-eyed needle and stitch the ribbon through the punched holes.

6. Tie ribbon into a bow and glue to the upper left corner of the card. Glue a button over the bow.

Quick and Easy Alternatives
• Old-fashioned sealing wax adds nostalgia to this card
Cut a sheet of green stationery in half. Fold a slightly smaller piece of handmade paper in thirds. Glue this to the green piece. Glue a piece of gold mesh ribbon to the center of the flap. Start gluing the green ribbon under the flap. Wrap it around the card and glue to top of flap leaving a tail. Cut in inverted “V.” Hot-glue a loop of pearls on top of the ribbon and drip sealing wax on this. Stamp wax with an initial seal to personalize.

• Form a paper doily cone to fill with fragrance
Make a cone from a 4-inch round paper doily. Place rose petals on a small white circle of tulle. Gather up and tie with thread or ribbon and glue into the doily. Glue doily to a piece of pink corrugated paper that has been cut with fancy-edged scissors. Glue the pink corrugated piece to the ivory card stock and then onto a piece of the folded pink stationery. Tie a wire-edged ribbon into a bow and then glue to the doily cone.

• Corner-punched edges make this card unique
Create fancy edges on simple card stock using a corner punch (available at craft stores in various designs). Glue these corner-
punched pieces together. Fold the green paper in half and cut pieces of pink and ivory papers slightly smaller than the green stationery; glue these pieces together. Glue the layered, corner-punched pieces to this and top with a floral sticker, a ribbon bow and a heart charm.