11 Creative Ways to DIY a Thank You Card

A good thank you card should have a personal touch — something that conveys your gratitude to a specific person for a specific reason. DIY cards follow the same principle, but they take it to the next level. Not only are you offering words of thanks, but you’re also expressing them through fun, creative craftsmanship that comes from the heart rather than the store!

Are you ready to show appreciation to someone special? There are many ways to personalize your thank you cards, and you can often get started with nothing but basic craft tools. Here are a few ideas for unique and inspirational thank-you cards.

1. Pop-Up Cards

Also known as 3D cards, these crafts use cut and folded paper to create “springs” that pop up when the card is opened. Basic models might have simple, jack-in-the-box style fly-ups, while more elaborate ones have entire scenes that unfold like magic. They’re similar to origami, and for this reason, they make great projects for kids. Origami encourages the development of many skills, including hand-eye coordination and a broader understanding of geometry.

2. Wrapping Paper Cards

Perfect for using up the scraps of leftover wrapping paper, these cards are basically collages. You can cut, paste and layer them as you please. You can even recycle the gift wrap of your present to create an ultra-personalized thank you card for the individual who gave it to you!

3. Banner Cards

Banner cards are made with small, carefully cut triangles strung up like a party banner on the front of your card. Making them can be a wonderful exercise in creativity since you can create triangles with any colors or patterns that you desire. You can also use any number of materials for your banner, including paper, fabric, foam, cardboard and painted wood. Just make sure to buy a good hobby knife that can cut through anything!

4. Fingerpainted Cards

These aren’t just for children. While you’re probably most familiar with things like Thanksgiving turkeys formed from kids’ handprints, there are many other ways to create fingerpaint cards. A fun one in a school or work setting is a thumbprint balloon card. Everyone lays down a single thumbprint clustered together in a circle, and afterward, they’re joined together by strings like a bouquet of balloons. This could be an inventive way for a large group of people to say thank you.

5. Tape Cards

Tape cards come in many different varieties, but they all have one thing in common: They incorporate tape. Some might use decorative washi tape to spell out words or create borders and banners. Others might use tape as a kind of reverse stencil. By laying down tape before you paint, you can create patterns in the negative space that remains clean. To reveal it, just use stainless steel tweezers to pry off the tape once the paint is dry.

6. Paint Scrape Cards

You don’t have to be Michelangelo to create a paint scrape card. Named for the “scraping” technique that you’ll use to create them, it’s as simple as laying down a line of paint dots and using a flat, smooth tool to stretch them into vertical lines. The final product can mimic anything from a sunset to a rainbow, depending on the color palette that you choose.

7. Cut-Out Cards

These require a steady hand, but the end results will be beautiful. You make them by cutting out words or shapes from the front of the card to reveal something colorful, glittery, textured or otherwise memorable on the layer below. The sky’s the limit when it comes to craftsmanship. As long as there’s a contrast between the front and back layers, the silhouette will make a standout impression.

8. Letterboard Cards

Letterboards have become trendy in home decor, and you can bring their aesthetic to gratitude cards, too. You’ll just need a scoring tool of some kind to help you imitate the appearance of a letterboard. You can buy it individually or find it incorporated into a tool like a self-healing cutting mat. Either way, as long as it’s precisely cut, it should look just like the real thing with only a fraction of the usual weight.

9. Needlework Cards

Needlework cards are exactly what they sound like: cards that have been stitched or embroidered with words, shapes or patterns. You’ll need to use heavy cardstock to support the weight of the yarn, but otherwise, you’ll have tons of creative freedom for what you create. You can stitch an entire message or just a pretty cover that gives weight to the words within. It’ll be a labor of love that really communicates your thanks.

10. Plant or Nature Cards

Bring in the outdoors with a nature-based thank you card. For a simple look, just glue on shells, seeds, acorns or flower petals. For something more elaborate, turn plants into art supplies by creating things like leaf rubbings. You can even use potatoes as paint stamps. Now that’s something truly creative!

11. Watercolor Cards

This is another type of artwork that’s surprisingly simple to make. You can mimic all kinds of professional watercolor techniques using simple household tools like cotton swabs and Epsom salts. You might want to study the basics of color mixing first, but once you have the fundamentals down, you’ll be able to create gorgeous gratitude cards with hand-painted designs from the heart.

Say It All With a Homemade Thank You Card

DIY thank you cards are a way to show that you’re truly appreciative. They’ll repay a person’s efforts with efforts of your own, and they’ll give you a chance to personalize whatever mood, message or memory you’re trying to create. These ideas aren’t the only ones that you can use to put something special in the mail, but they’re a start.