Steal my BEST Card Making Hack for Better Handmade Cards
Steal my BEST card making hack for making handmade greetings cards look perfectly finished AND super special!
If you’re like me and you struggle to stick things perfectly straight on your handmade cards, you NEED to know these hacks to get your cards looking perfect, even if you’ve stuck things on a little bit wonky.
Please note that some of the links included in this article are affiliate links, which means that if you click through and make a purchase I may receive a commission (at no additional cost to you). You can read my full disclosure at the bottom of the page.
What is my top card making tip?
Sometimes when you finish making a homemade card, you might be super happy with it but think it might need a little something “extra” to truly make it shine.
I get that too, and whenever I have that problem you know what I use?
As you can see, I’m a little bit obsessed and have LOTS to choose from.
But what are border peel-offs?
Well, quite simply, they’re stickers which you can stick along your card to create shiny pretty borders.
They are so quick and easy to use, but they TRANSFORM your card into something really special.
My second TOP CARD MAKING TIP for better cards…
My second magic weapon to finish up handmade cards is sticky-back gemstones.
These are quite similar in that they’re stick on the bottom and flat-backed, so they’re REALLY easy to add on to a card.
You can use them to “hide” the join in the corners where the two sides of peel-off sticker meet each other.
They also give some 3D-ness to your card as the pop out of the card to create a lovely sparkly effect.
Sticky-back gemstones come in all different sizes, shapes and colours.
Best of all, they are really affordable and you get LOADS on a sheet, so they last a long time too – brilliant! š
Buy sticky-back gemstones here
VIDEO: My FAVOURITE Card Making Hack (& it’s SO Easy!)
Watch the video to find out how I use border peel-off stickers and sticky gemstones to TRANSFORM my cards (and hide any bits of card that I haven’t stuck on straight!)
Want to get the teddy bear printable I used for my card? Find it here
How to use border peel-off stickers & gemstones
Here are some of my best tips for using peel-off stickers and sticky-back gemstones on your handmade cards.
Materials used:
- Teddy Bar decoupage printable
- Peel-off stickers
- Sticky gemstones
- 8×8 inch card
- Leaf patterned paper
- Yellow patterned paper
- 3D foam pads
- Tacky glue
1) Choose border peel-offs that match your card design
I’m using gold stickers for this teddy bear card to match the yellows and browns in the design.
2) Start adding the peel-offs
Peel on piece of the border from the backing paper and stick one corner of it to your card.
Allow the rest of the sticker to fall gently into position, then make sure it’s positioned correctly before pressing it down firmly to stick it to your card.
Top tip: Don’t pull or stretch the peel-off or it may warp out of shape or even snap into two pieces.
3) Keep adding peel-offs to each edge of the card
You can use as little or as many border peel-offs as you like.
For this teddy card, I put the stickers along every bit of coloured card on the page and along the edge of the printed teddy topper.
Top tip! If you’ve stuck your paper on a bit lop-sided, use the border peel-offs to “fake” them straight by placing them at a slight angle to hide the fact that your papers are a bit wonky! I use this on pretty much every card I make as I am RUBBISH at sticking things straight!
You can see how this card is already looking so much more exciting than it was at the start of this process!
4) Choose your gemstones
Next we will be adding gemstones to each of the corners where the border peel-offs meet.
Choose gemstones that match the colour of the border peel-offs, or that match the colours on the card itself.
5) Add the gemstones onto your card
Use your fingernails to carefully pick up the gemstones on-at-a-time and stick them to the corners on the card where the border peeloff stickers meet.
We are using the gemstones to sneakily hide those messy corners BUT it’s actually a GREAT thing to do visually as it brings bling, sparkly and 3D-ness to your card too!
6) Sit back and admire your work!
Isn’t this card just TRANSFORMED from how it looked before?
I LOVE adding border peel-offs and gemstones to cards as it really “uplevels” them into something spectacular.
Happy crafting,
Sarah x