Card Making With Scrapbooking Kits - Teacher Appreciation Cards

Tara from Wilder Crafting here, ready to share my new paper crafting obsession; card making using collection kits. When you're a lover of all things paper, it's hard to say no to a super cute paper pack like Carta Bella and Echo Park Collection Kits. These kits are usually used for scrapbooking but when you're a card lover like me, you find a way!

The best part? No fancy die cut machine or Cricut required!

For this project I used the  Back To School Collection Kit to make some Teacher Appreciation cards, but feel free to use this basic guide as a template for any theme. I will also show you how I used the same ideas on one of my favorite new Spring collections so read to the end! 

With these collection kits you get 12 double sided papers and one sticker element sheet. First, I chose one of my favorite patterned pieces. 

Now you can obviously make whatever size of cards you like, but the most common is 5.5x4.25 inches (A2) and 5x7 inches (A7). For this card, I’ll be making an A2 size. 

Using a paper cutter, slicer, or scissors, cut your paper so it is 8 inches wide and 5.5 inches tall.  

If you have a scoring board or tool you can score in the middle of the 8 inches, or if you're like me, just fold it in half by hand. Now you have the base to your card! 

Collection Kit Card Template

This is where this basic template comes in handy!

Cut 2 1-inch-wide strips from 2 different colored patterned papers. I used one slice from the same paper since it had a teal pattern on the back, and one of the yellow patterns I liked.  

With the first strip I glued it to one side and had it extend the length of the card and just trimmed the excess. The second I made a pennant flag end by just cutting in the middle and cutting two triangles towards the middle slice. 

Once those are glued, now's the fun part. Choosing one of the adorable stickers to adorn the card. You can use a sentiment or just use fun items to keep the card open for any use. Once I chose my item, I then added foam strips to the back of the sticker for added dimension.  

You can also purchase coordinating enamel dots with a lot of their projects. By adding a dot plus another small sticker from the stickers, it really finishes the look! 

Here is another template idea for when you want to have a horizontal card. This time I'll make it an A7 size by cutting a 10 by 7-inch square, and then fold in half.

What's also great about these packs is there are a couple sheets with fun ephemera additions you can cut out.  

After deciding on these two pictures and gluing them in a position I like, I then used my 1-inch strips to create a horizontal stripe.  

I chose the bus sticker this time and love how it looks! 

Another option I use for embellishments is the mixed pearl embellishments that 12x12 cardstock shop sells. For this card I went with gold embellishments for another element of interest. 

You can leave it as is or feel free to add your own small sentiments!

Here’s a look at lots of other cards, some using the same principle of multiple 1-inch strips and an adornment or two and some a little different. Which is your favorite? 

Not needing School themed cards? Use one of the many other themed kits, like this Silly Goose Collection Kit. This was one of my favorites to play with, and with white pearl embellishments it really finishes the look! 

I was able to make so many School themed cards I decided to put a couple 5 packs together and use them as teacher gifts!

There’s no limit to the things you can create by just layering strips, embellishments, or ephemera! Card making with collection kits makes for beautiful handmade cards to use or to gift!

Supplies: 

Collection Kit of choice – Carta Bella, Echo Park, and Simple Stores have great ones!

Back to School Collection Kit

Silly Goose Collection Kit

Paper Cutter or Trimmer 

Enamel Dots 

Mixed Pearl Embellishments 

Glue 

Foam Strips 

- Tara Wilder

(@WilderCrafting)

Want more easy card template ideas? Check out this blog post for more card making ideas!