10 Little Extras to Add to a Greeting Card

When you send a birthday, anniversary, good luck or similar card, you may want to include a little extra to make the greeting card into a mini-gift.

Obviously you will need something that is quite flat, quite light and not breakable. It needs to be able to fit in the envelope, not put the postage up too much and not going to damage the card. And if you can make the little extra yourself then it is even better!

So here are some ideas for little extras that you can include with your home-made (and bought) cards to give them that little special extra.

1 Fridge magnetA fridge magnet - Tin Teddy Twittert Bird printed on magnet sheet

As well as the millions of lovely fridge magnets available to buy, you can make your own by printing an image onto magnetic printer paper. You can also stick a small piece of magnet onto the back of a chipboard cut out or similar. One big advantage of homemade magnets is they can be lighter than a shop-bought metal one. There are many Tin Teddy clip art images and digital collage sheets that work very well as fridge magnets.

2 Book mark

Even in this age of Kindles, Nooks and other digital books, a book mark is still a lovely present for a reader. You can very easily make a bookmark from card, using your usual scrapbooking and card making skills such as stamping, punching, die cuts, embellishments etc. For a longer lasting result the bookmark can be laminated. Stitched, knitted and crocheted bookmarks are also popular.

3 Button or badgeTin Teddy Sakura Fairy image on a badge

There are millions of fantastic badges (pinback buttons) available Although proper badge makers are expensive, there are cheap plastic and basic versions available in your local toy shop that will still give great results. Or for a fun budget version – buy some card badge disks from your local stationery shop, and just add a picture to the front.

You can slip the badge into the envelope, or fix it to the front of the greeting card with sticky tape.

4 Simple rosette

Rosettes are very ‘on trend’ right now and make a cute and convenient little extra to include with a card. The occasion will often help you decide what sort of rosette to make. I will soon be adding a tutorial on rosette making with lots of ideas.

5 Hair bow

A simple hair bow is easily made from ribbon and a hair-clip, there are loads of great tutorials online if you want inspiration. Remember that the overall design needs to be quite flat to fit in the envelope. If you are making the bow for a child do ensure that everything is fixed together very strongly and safely. Pop a Tin Teddy 1″ circle image to the middle, perhaps mounted in a flattened bottle cap!

6 Friendship bracelet

There are lots of tutorials online and many designs are easy to make. Slipping a little handmade friendship bracelet in with a card, especially if being sent to someone you rarely see, is a lovely touch 🙂

7 Flat jewelry such as bottle cap jewelryA Bottle Cap Necklace using Tin Teddy Graphics

Cut out a 1″ circle (there is a wide range of Tin Teddy digital collage sheets that are perfect for this!) and glue into a flattened bottle cap. Add an epoxy dome or liquid glazing/resin and pop on a chain (proper tutorial coming soon). Bottle cap jewelry is very on-trend, flat enough to pop in an envelope and cheap & easy to make.

Here on the Tin Teddy Blog I have a tutorial on how to make Scrabble Tile Pendants.

8 IOU

A handwritten or printed IOU (I owe you) for some little thing is an easy and appreciated gift. Here are a few suggestions:

  • Wash the dishes for 2 days
  • A meal out at a restaurant
  • A trip to the cinema
  • A home cooked meal
  • An evening’s babysitting
  • A car service
  • A night of passion!

9 Small framed picture

If you are sending a greeting card to someone you rarely see they may appreciate a little picture of yourself, your family or even your new dog!

Print out our picture, leaving a bit of space around it. Cut out a simple frame from sturdy cardboard and use a knife to cut a hole out in the middle. Then decorate the frame using your favourite crafting techniques.

For speed you can buy many little flat frames in your local scrapbook supplies shop.

10 Small matching card for recipient’s doll

Trust me, including a small version of the child’s card for their favourite doll or teddy will make you very popular indeed!

Just make a second card, to a suitable scale. Or for speed and ease you could scan or photograph your completed full-size card, then print it out at the smaller scale. Mount on a folded piece of card for a perfect miniature.

To make a Barbie, Blythe, Monster High or similar sized greeting card you will need to reduce your print out to 17% of the original.
For an American Doll or other 18″ child’s doll you will need to print out at about 25% of the original.
For a standard 1/12th scale dollshouse version you need to print out at about 8% of the full size.

What other things do you add to your greeting cards as a little extra?

10 Little Extras to Add to a Greeting Card
10 Little Extras to Add to a Greeting Card
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One thought on “10 Little Extras to Add to a Greeting Card

  • 26 July, 2012 at 3:28 pm
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    These are all great ideas. Sometimes a greeting card alone can seem a little bit impersonal but these added extras are sure to go down a treat. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply

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