Cardmaking For Beginners
Take the Make Me A Cardmaker challenge!
Here at CraftWorld, we believe that crafting is for everyone, and we're always excited to spread our love for each and every craft. We also know that it can be hard to know where to start, and that's where the Make Me A Cardmaker challenge comes in! If you've ever been curious about papercraft but unsure where to start, we're challenging you to try our FREE beginner's cardmaking course and discover a new creative hobby. It's as easy as 1, 2, 3!
- Gather your supplies (we've made a handy list below)
- Make a card following our easy tutorials
- Share a photo - and that's it! You've done it!
The best thing about CraftWorld is meeting other crafters, so join the Make Me A Cardmaker group and share your pictures! If you're already a keen papercrafter, please join the group too and cheer on the beginners.
If you're already a passionate papercrafter, share this with a friend who you think would love to give it a go!
What do I need in my kit to start making cards?
Here's our pick of the best basics to get you started. We know the options can be overwhelming for beginners, so for each item we've done our best to link you directly to our top pick for beginners from our friends at CraftStash. If you want some more detailed advice on each item, check out our complete guide to the basic supplies for cardmaking.
Your absolute basic beginner kit only needs a few things:
- White card - this is your number one key building block.
- Coloured card. We love Adorable Scorable from Hunkydory - it's not the absolute cheapest, but it's brilliant value for the quality and good quality supplies will make your life easier when you're just starting out.
- Glue and adhesives. Check out this adhesive bundle - you can play with all the different types of adhesive options and work out what your favourite is before investing in bigger quantities.
- Cutting board and scoreboard. You can probably live without a scoreboard to start with but it will make your life much easier, and this bundle is a great deal.
- Ruler. You probably have one knocking around the house that you could use to start with but it you will be using this constantly so for the sake of a few pennies, it's worth picking up a metal ruler.
- Craft knife for cutting out neatly and precisely.
When you start stamping, you will need:
- Stamps! The most versatile stamps you can buy are sentiment stamps - you will probably find yourself using these with every card! Try this set from CardMaking Magic.
- Black ink for stamping. This is definitely one supply not to cheap out on! Good quality stamping ink is going to make all the difference, and it's only a pound or two more than the cheap stuff. Our designers and experts almost all use either Versafine Clair or Ranger Archival ink.
- Stamp blocks - your stamps won't work without these!
- Inks. We recommend picking up a pack of mixed coloured inks - this will be a great place to start adding colour to your stamps.
- Blending tools. Pick up a cheap pack of blending tools - this will open up hundreds of new creative options with your inks, not just for stamping but also for making your own unique backgrounds.
- Coloured pens - perfect for adding detail and colour to your stamps. There are lots of ways to add colour to stamped designs, but starting out with simple coloured pens is a good bet.
Basic supplies for die-cutting
Want to take the next step and start die-cutting?
- You'll need a die-cutting machine! These don't need to be expensive - check out our manual die-cutting machine reviews as a starting point.
- Our top tip is to invest in some nestable dies - you'll use these all the time!
Top tip! The cheapest way to boost your stash...
Papercraft magazines are not only a wonderful source of inspiration and advice - they're also one of the cheapest ways to get your hands on dies, stamps, embossing folders, papers and more. Every issue comes with unique gifts and sometimes these can be worth three or four times the cost of the magazine itself.
Treat yourself to a magazine from CraftStash
Free Online Cardmaking For Beginner's Course!
Learn to make cards in easy steps, with video tutorials from expert papercrafter Lou Collins. In each instalment, you'll make a beautiful card and learn key techniques along the way.
- Week 1: Make a simple card with pre-cut elements. We show you how to select your materials and give you an overview of the basics, including how to matt and layer your cards. WATCH NOW
- Week 2: Master the basics of stamping, including colouring tips, masking and fussy-cutting. You'll also learn how to make your own card blank.
- Week 3: Discover how to use a die-cutting machine for dies and embossing folders. We'll also step up our colouring skills with this card.
- Week 4: Take it to the next level with heat embossing, shaped cards and top tips for designing your own unique cards from scratch.
Intermediate Cardmaking Techniques
Develop your skills further with our complete papercraft glossary.
When you get more into the craft, you might want to expand your collection of craft supplies, so here are our detailed guides to the essential cardmaking supplies:
- Complete guide to glues and adhesives for papercraft
- Video comparing different paper and card stock
- Beginner's guide to die-cutting