We've been raiding our inspiration archives again, and today we'd love to share a bumper book of tutorials for beautiful handmade birthday cards, all with step-by-step tutorials for all skill levels.

Read on to find out what's inside and then click the link to read the whole thing!

Easy Cardmaking Tutorials for Complete Beginners

Before you read any further, if you're new to cardmaking, you can learn the basics with our free online cardmaking course - click here to watch the four fabulous video tutorials.

Milestone Birthday Card Ideas

If your loved one has a big birthday coming up, there’s nothing quite like a handmade card to show your love! Whether they’re turning 13, toasting their 21st birthday, planning a party for their 40th or celebrating their 70th, we have ideas you’ll love! Follow our step by step tutorials and you’ll be able to make beautiful cards in no time.

Easy Last-minute Cardmaking Ideas for Birthdays

Even if you don't have a lot of time, you can still make a quick and simple DIY greetings card following our free tutorials in this book. Here are some of our favourites!

Pretty DIY Card Ideas for Girls

Follow this tutorial to make a wide range of cards for all skill levels using a die-cutting machine to create cut-out shapes with no fuss in under 30 minutes.

Birthday Card Ideas for Men

Masculine makes don’t have to be dull! Get creative with these stunning designs for the men you love. These quick and simple cards can be made in under 30 minutes!

Designer Jo Kill gives her top tips for making perfect cards for men:

For some reason male-themed cards always seem to be a bit trickier to make than to female ones. They always seem to take a lot longer to make than other cards too.
There is a plethora of techniques, themes and embellishments that can be quickly applied and added. From flowers to fashion, girly cards appear to be a lot easier to make, but you can create the perfect card for men or boys just as easily.
Most men don’t tend to go for fussy or over-embellished designs – a clean and simple style with lots of background space is probably a safe bet. However, you can still add embellishments without going ‘over the top’. Swap butterflies and flowers for stars and tags to create cards with cleaner lines and you’re nearly there!

Read the full article inside your Quick Cards for Birthdays magazine.

Make your own easy cards for kids using acrylic paint and salt

Designer Karen Baker says:

As crafters we’re always looking to learn new techniques and expand our existing skills.
However this can come with a great deal of expense, so luckily this technique uses household items that you probably already have in your cupboard.
When you want to experiment with this technique, sea salt or salt crystals are the best to use. They tend to soak up more water and paint and create a stylised pattern.
The technique is simple; start with creating your colour using acrylic paints – I used paints that I’d bought for my kids. When you’ve got the right shade, thin it down with water but not too much so you’ll still have a vibrant colour.
Some colours work better than others. I find that adding white makes it harder to create the salt pattern and using primary colours worked the best.

TREAT YOURSELF TO BIRTHDAY GOODIES FROM CRAFTSTASH

Border Punch Birthday Cards

Follow our step by step guides to make brilliant birthday cards using your border punches. Lou Collins shows you how to make a range of pretty greetings cards for women with this easy technique.

Modern Summer Birthday Cardmaking Ideas for Girls

Use bright colours and bold designs to create stand-out unique greetings cards. These modern designs are perfect for summer birthday celebrations, and they’re so quick and easy to make!

Birthday Cards with Bunting

Nothing says celebration quite like a bit of bunting, and it’s such a great way to make a simple handmade card look fancy. Our designers share different ways to incorporate bunting into your DIY makes, including ideas for birthday cards for all the family.

Wow with Wire!

We show you how to use simple wire to create completely unique handmade cards.

Have you ever considered trying your hand at bending wire to make decorations for your cards? If you enjoy jewellery making as well as cardmaking, you’ll probably already have everything you need at hand. If not, it isn’t difficult to get started – all you’ll need is some wire and your fingers, although a pair of pliers and wire cutters will come in handy too.