DIY designer cardboard

2024 Author: Sierra Becker | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-26 03:46

Various hand made souvenirs are becoming more and more popular. Making such things for some becomes a pleasant hobby, and for some it is a profitable business. Souvenirs made of paper and cardboard (postcards, gift envelopes, boxes, bags) are beautiful and simple in terms of technology. To create such objects, you will need designer cardboard, scrapbooking paper or other decorative paper. Colored sheets are not cheap, so if you want to find a budget option, then make the material yourself.

Buy or make your own

Buying designer cardboard is easy. You can order online if it is not available in stores in your locality. Making your own is quick, easy, and the materials you need are cheap and readily available. In addition, you can get exclusive sheets with a pattern that suits you. Postcards made from such material will look very impressive.

Materials and tools

To make a designer cardboard with your own hands, you will need the following:

• plain white cardboard for children's art or thick paper;
• a roll of cling film (or part of it, sufficient forsize);
• decorative table napkins;
• gauze, thin fabric;
• iron.

Of course, if you only need one sheet, it may cost more to buy materials than a sheet of beautiful cardboard, since you have to buy a whole pack of napkins. And if you will be making a lot of decorative items, such as cards or gift boxes for the New Year, then this method will pay off in full.

DIY design cardboard: technology

When everything you need is ready, get to work. The sequence of steps is as follows.

Take a napkin and iron it so that there are no wrinkles or unevenness.

Peel off the top patterned layer from the white backing.

Place on a flat surface (ironing board) a sheet of cardboard for children's creativity. It is better to lay a sheet or unnecessary fabric as a base so that the excess edges of the film do not stick to the surface of the board.

Spread a second layer of cling film.

The third layer - the decorative part of the napkin - is located with the bright side towards itself (not towards the cardboard).

Place gauze or thin cloth on top.

Iron the prepared design with an iron with sufficient heat. Cotton mode or maximum temperature will do.

Start ironing from the middle to the edges, which you pay special attention to.

Cut off excess napkin andfilm along the contour of the sheet.

Re-iron on both sides.

Your sheet is ready. Having mastered the technology, you can experiment not only with the colors of napkins, but also with the base material. Double-sided blank can be used.

Interesting effects are obtained with photographic paper or colored sheets. In short, there are many opportunities for creativity.

How to make cards and boxes from designer cardboard

It is clear that you will not make decorative sheets just to look at them. It is easy to make an exclusive package or a postcard from the material made. If for a box you have to draw or print a scan template on a printer, cut it out and glue a three-dimensional product, then a greeting card is easy to make by just folding the prepared sheet in half. Don't forget to guide the fold line first and it's better to make the groove with a knitting needle or a non-writing pen. This little trick will allow you to fold the sheet evenly and neatly without deformation.

In order to get a spectacular postcard, only one fold is enough, you need to correctly position the napkin with a pattern both on the front side and on the inside at the stage of preparing the material, so that each side of the future postcard looks like a finished beautiful composition.

So, making designer cardboard with a themed print and a pleasant surface texture is easy and, if you need it in large quantities, it is very profitable.