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How To: Cards with Glitz & Glitter

Three homemade greeting cards with personalized greetings on them.

It’s easy to step up our homemade cards a notch when we add a little glitz & glitter to them. In this article I show you how to make three beautiful, sparkly cards.

l don’t know about you, but I love anything sparkly or shiny so I was excited to take the next course for me in the Altenew Educator Certification Program called Let it Shine.

In this article, we’re going to learn how to make three different types of cards that have a little bling.

Achieve Some Sparkle on Cards with Glitz & Glitter

A handmade greeting card featuring a watercolor pink rose and the word "Rosey Smile" written in glittery pink letters on a transparent overlay. The card has gold and pink glitter borders on the left edge.
Rosey Smile handmade greeting card with a pink rose and hot pink glittery smile sentiment.

The saying goes that a little bit goes a long way. I am not so sure that I agree when it comes to glitter. However, I do tend to go overboard when it comes to all things sparkly. So we’re going to tone it down a bit to make lovely homemade cards that will make you smile.

We start by stamping a pretty rose on an A2 size piece of vellum with watermark ink and then we’ll heat emboss it with gold embossing powder. This results in a beautiful gold sheen. We then do some simple blending on the backside of the vellum with Copic Markers.

The next step is to select glitter cardstock that matches the inks used in the rose. I chose a bright pink piece that I have been dying to use on a card. A die that cuts out the word smile is used on the glitter cardstock. And, I cut three more out of 80lb white cardstock. The card would appear kind of flat with just the single layer of glitter cardstock however the sentiment really pops when you glue two or three extra cardstock copies cut with the same die.

Just a couple of straight cuts are left to make. First I cut out a tiny, slightly tapered piece of the glitter cardstock and a slightly wider tapered piece of mirror card that matches the gold embossing. Lastly, I trim the vellum to leave a 3/8″ border on the top and the bottom of an A2 size card but leave the width to fasten the vellum to the backside of the card, allowing for a 3/8″ border on the right side of the card.

How to Assemble the Card

Assembly is quick. I apply liquid glue to the backside of the two strips and add them to the left side of the card making sure to alter the tapers. I then fasten the vellum with double-sided adhesive tape but before doing so I score it two times very close to each other to help it wrap around the edge of the card. After I have the vellum on I can decide where the sentiment will go. Once I’m happy with where it will go then I add a couple of glue dots, one behind the center of the rose and another behind where the sentiment will be to hold the vellum flat on the front of the card. Then I just use runner tape to set the sentiment in place.

And now we have an elegant homemade card that was quick and easy to make.


Supplies for a Cards With Glitz & Glitter:

The following list may contain affiliate links. If you purchase something by following a link on this page, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my blog.

Cardstock: card base – Neenah Classic Crest 110lb Solar White; Michaels Glitter; Mirror Tonic Studios Polished Gold; Layering Vellum – Hero Arts

Stamp: Altenew Botanical Garden Stamp Set

Die: Altenew Halftone Smile

Ink: Versamark Watermark Ink

Alcohol Markers: Copic

Embossing Powder: Hero Arts Gold Embossing Powder

Adhesives: Liquid – Bearly Art Glue, Gina K Connect; Runner – E-Z Runner Grand; Glue Dots – 1/16″

Embellishments

A homemade card with a pink flower on it.

This card is a little more subtle however, it is every bit as appealing.

To create homemade cards like this I started by using a second-generation imprint of the wood pallet stamp on white cardstock with black ink. I created a medallion that looked just like the one that is used in the class by using pearl mirror cardstock, an embossing folder by the same name, Baroque Frame, and fussy cut it out. To land the focal point I cut a banner out of a strip of vellum, scored it at the top, and fastened it to the backside of the card panel.

Next, I stamped several of the flower and greenery images onto 80 lb white cardstock and then fussy cut them out. I then did a test run moving the frame, the flowers, the greenery, and the sentiments around until I was satisfied with how they should be arranged and then I attached them all with foam tape.


Supplies:

The following list may contain affiliate links. If you purchase something by following a link on this page, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my blog.

Cardstock: Card base – Neenah Classic Crest 110lb Solar White: Card Panel – Paper Studio; Tonic Studios Gold Pearl:

Vellum: Hero Arts Classic Vellum

Stamp: Altenew Wood Pallet (no longer available); Altenew Watercolor Wonders (no longer available); Altenew Best Sentiments

Embossing Folder: Altenew Baroque Frame 3D Embossing Folder (only available in this bundle of embossing folders)

Ink: Altnew Crisp Dye Ink – Frosty Pink, Cotton Candy, Mango Smoothie, Frayed Leaf, Jet Black; Altenew pigment ink – Obsidian

Adhesives: E-Z Runner Grand; Foam Tape

Homemade Cards that Shimmer and Shine

A homemade card with the word celebrate on it.

For more formal, elegant yet quick homemade cards we can add some accents that have a little bit of shimmer and shine.

We use a die-cut word to provide the focal point and then use it again with a shimmering or mirror cardstock to shadow the sentiment. The set I use for this card is a stamp/die combination so I started by stamping out the sentiment then cut it out with the die and then cut another one out of the holographic cardstock.

Next, I found a cardstock that matched the ink I used on the sentiment and cut a sliver out to use as an accent. I cut the same size sliver out of the mirror card and then a piece of patterned paper to ground the sentiment.

Then the assembly is quick, I started by attaching the two slivers with liquid glue and then used my runner to attach the paper. The sentiment already has dimension with the shadow so I just glued the sentiment to the shadow and then attached it directly to the paper.


Supplies:

The following list may contain affiliate links. If you purchase something by following a link on this page, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my blog.

Cardstock: Neenah 110lb; Spellbinders Teal Topaz; Tonic Studios Holo Waves

Patterned Paper: Altenew Black and White

Stamp: Altenew Super Script (no longer available)

Adhesive; E-Z Runner Grand

For More Ideas for Sparkly Homemade Cards

Check out Card Making the Boutique Way

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2 thoughts on “How To: Cards with Glitz & Glitter”

  1. These are some fantastic-looking cards!! You did a fab job and added the right amount of sparkle to make the cards stand out!
    Thank you for submitting your work to the AECP assignment gallery.

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ABOUT AUTHOR
Teri Duncan - Author
Teri Duncan

Teri has over 30 years of experience as a cardmaker.  Her work has appeared in Spellbinders Paper Arts’ blog as well as with some of their products and on Altenew’s blog. Outside of work, she enjoys gardening, stained glass, and teaching. She and her husband live in Crystal River, Florida with their three dogs and a cat.

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