Once upon a time, I wanted to work for Hallmark. I love greeting cards, yet few on the market ever “wow” me. To give something personable, I want to send greeting cards of my own making. I have used my artwork for years to create birthday cards, thank you cards, and “thinking of you” cards.
These are elementary greeting cards. My artwork goes on the front. On the back is a detail from the artwork from the front. Below that is the artwork title and my contact information. On this inside is an insert with the artwork detail and an inspiring (that I like) quote.
Greeting Card Materials
GREETING CARD PAPER
Office Depot® brand Professional Photo Paper Matte, double-sided, heavyweight inkjet 61 lb. paper. I have found this to be the best. Epson’s professional photo matte double-sided, heavyweight inkjet paper is only 48 lb., too flimsy for my taste. I sometimes have a hard time acquiring this paper at Office Depot, so when it’s available, I stock up.
For a card’s inside greeting, I create an insert that I print on Southworth® Resume white wove finish 32 lb. 100% cotton paper. I sourced this paper from my local Office Depot as well.
ENVELOPES
Recollections brand Value Pack Envelopes (Quantity 50) in Kraft heavy-weight stock. I have two envelope sizes on hand, small (4.3 x 5.75 inches) and standard A7 (5.25 x 7.25). I find these at my local Michael’s.
Scanning the Artwork
I have three that I use. My Epson WorkForce WF-7820 printer’s flatbed scanner works well for scanning small pieces, 8.5 x 11 inches and smaller.
I have two other Epson scanners that work best for scanning larger artwork: the Epson Perfection V19 (purchased via Amazon for $89) and the Epson Perfection V600 Photo Scanner (on sale at Best Buy for $325). I like these for their spot-on color quality, especially the V600. It makes funky cute little tech noises that tell me it’s working.
I scan my artwork at high resolutions, typically 800 to 600 dpi in RGB mode, but really for print purposes, 300 dpi is the standard and good enough.
Designing a Greeting Card
This part assumes you have Adobe Creative Suite or at least Adobe Photoshop, and you have a basic working knowledge of how to use them. (There are tons of YouTube tutorials on how to use Adobe Software programs, and YouTube is the first place I search when I am trying to learn something new in any of these programs. If you have Adobe Illustrator and/or InDesign, so much the better. Your options for designing your card have increased expeditiously.
Since I started making my greeting cards, I have been using a rough template model I set up in Photoshop with no crop marks and no bleeds. Don’t do this! Frankly, I should know better after 25 years as a graphic designer. This artist can be lazy at times and hasn’t bothered to set up greeting card templates in either Illustrator or InDesign.
Greeting Card Templates
There are tons of greeting card templates out there that you can download. For the sake of convenience, I have the two greeting card sizes I use for you to download as PDFs. Open the PDF in Adobe Illustrator and save it as a .ai file. Delete the template guide text before adding your art and content.
5 x 7-inch Greeting Card Template
4.25 x 5.5-inch Greeting Card Template
Insert Template for 5 x 7-inch Greeting Card
Insert Template for 4.25 x 5.5-inch Greeting Card
Place the artwork into the template and scale it to fit the front side to your liking in any of the software programs — Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, or InDesign.
For the greeting card insert, I size it to be .125 inches smaller than the card. A 5 x 7-inch card will have a 4. 75 x 6.75-inch insert. A 4.25 x 5.5-inch card will have a 4 x 5.125-inch insert.
Next Steps
Before you print your card, remove the red and blue lines by selecting and deleting or erasing them.
Leave the crop marks. Crop marks are your guide for trimming out your greeting card.
After you print your greeting card and insert it, trim using the crop marks as your guide. I recommend using an X-Acto knife and a straight edge for trimming out your greeting cards for a clean edge. Gently fold the card in half. With the Professional Photo Matte paper, I can get a clean crease.
To adhere the greeting insert inside the card, I use permanent double-sided Scotch tape. For a long time, I used glue or a glue stick. The glue method always left a bit of a buckle in the paper. Using tape instead gives a clean, smooth look to the adhered card insert.
Should you want to have your greeting cards professionally printed, the PDF card templates will work for this purpose as long as your artwork is at least a 300 dpi resolution. If you are using digital artwork, such as an Adobe Illustrator file, just place it into the template and scale it to fit.
And there you have it. A simple way to create and send something of yourself that is meaningful.
If making your own isn’t for you, a fine art print makes a pretty thoughtful gift too — just a framed one instead of a folded one.
P.S. It is likely I left out things I felt were obvious, and you need more information. Please give me a shout, and I will answer any questions you have on making your own greeting cards.
If this how-to post resonated with you, you might also enjoy these, too:
Paper Houses. What do I do when a watercolor painting has gone wrong? See how I transform a botched painting into a delightful paper house.
Making Buckthorn Berry Ink. Buckthorn is incredibly invasive here in Minnesota. I turn the tables and make a beautiful, natural ink from its berries. See how I did it so you can, too.
Hi Kristin,
Thank you so much for sharing this information. I have been selling greeting cards off and on over the years using my art, but now that I’ve turned 60 for some reason they seem like a fun little side business to have that’s not too stressful.
I have an Epson scanner and a Cannon printer, but every time I’ve tried to use Adobe or even think of purchasing it for that matter – something makes me walk away from it all. However, finding a good online printer is so daunting. This time I really want to push through it and print my own really nice greeting cards for people who ask me for them.
You’ve inspired me. If you have any ideas on an easy peasy way to learn Adobe – please let me know. I’ll search on YouTube to see what I can find as well.
Blessings – Your art and cards are beautiful
Constance
Hello Constance,
You are most welcome. I’m glad you found my post useful.
I know how you feel. Learning something new like Adobe software feels daunting. To ease the overwhelm, take baby steps. One little thing at a time each day and you’ll get there.
I was lucky in that I had to learn Adobe software for my job and took to it like fish to water. The programs are really quite intuitive.
Here’s a link to tutorials that Abobe has available: https://www.adobe.com/learn/illustrator
Lessons all in one place, from the basics to more advance. The quality should be top notch. With YouTube, the content can be iffy.
I hope you push through and start making your own greeting cards. I’m sure they are lovely and people will enjoy receiving them. Spread your art and joy!
Warmly,
Kristin
Thank you! I’ve been making cards for friends and family for decades and I’ve been invited to join a friend at a craft show where she will sell her own crafts. This is exactly what I needed to make a shopping list. The only thing I’m going to go cheap on is my printer. As a first go I’m just going to use my HP Envy 7855 for scanning and printing before investing in the Epsom you recommend.
You are most welcome, Alexandra. So glad this post has been helpful to you. Best of luck at the craft show! Given you have been making cards for friends and family for decades, you are a pro at this. Epson printers (and scanners) are an investment, for sure. But once you have them, they are trusty workhorses. Warmly, Kristin
What printer do you use ? Sorry if you said and I missed it
Hello Audra,
No worries! The post has a lot of information so printer details can get overlooked. I currently use an Epson Workforce WF-7820. Epson printers are a top choice for artists making small prints of their work or in this case, making greeting cards. While I have never used one, the print quality of Cannon printers is quite good, too. No matter what printer you use, it’s the paper that can make all the difference. I use the heaviest premium photo matte paper available (61 lb) for inkjet printers (Epson is an inkjet printer). Usually these papers are marketed for printing double-sided. Epson used to make such a paper but it was discontinued or now longer carried. Office Depot has their own brand of premium photo matte paper which works great for greeting cards.
This is such an inspiring and practical guide to making handmade greeting cards! I love how you’ve combined original artwork, thoughtful quotes, quality paper, and personal details to create something truly meaningful. The step-by-step tips on scanning, designing, printing, and finishing are especially helpful for anyone wanting to make their own cards.
I am delighted you found “how I make greeting cards” useful. When you have been doing something for so long, it can be tough translating the process for someone who has never done it before. Thank you for letting me know this was helpful and inspiring. I hope this is enough information for you to create your own lovely greeting cards and send them out into the world. Warmly, Kristin