A few years ago, my daughter started trying to make cards for people. She would take construction paper, stickers, markers, crayons, and anything else she had available to create a birthday card for members of our family. I decided I wanted to help this creative side of hers by getting her actual supplies for making cards. I hit up my favorite craft store and bought her things I thought could get her started and a cute little tote to put the stuff in.

Several years later now, she still uses it to make cards for people. There have been additions to her kit but she still uses some of the first items I had purchased for her because they were just simple, basic pieces. Here are some recommendations for creating your own basic card-making starter kit:

Target Age for Handicraft

When I purchased the items for making cards, my daughter was turning 7 years old. She has great fine motor skills and I knew I could trust her with sharp scissors and punches. You will have to judge what age to go for how young, but it also depends on what you put into the kit. If you’re using blunt-tip scissors and no sharp punches that little fingers could get into, it could be for the very young, such as five or six years old. I do think aiming for about 9 at a minimum allows for you to purchase some great useful items without risking too much. Make your decision for your own children based on what they can handle and how trustworthy of the tools they can be.

***Do note: Keep an eye on smaller children in the house for getting into it. It can be dangerous with sharp scissors and punches.***

Ideal age: I would say you could do as young as 5 years old, but the older the better. Ideally for 9-18 years old.

Amount of materials needed: minimal for basic supplies, but can continue adding based on what supplies are wanted.

Basic of Basics

• Paper for card itself – colored paper you can fold or pre-folded blank cards with envelopes
• Stickers for different seasons or holidays, including birthdays
• Stamps and ink pads of different colors
• Markers to hand write messages

A Few Other Extras to Begin

• Scissors with a sharp tip for cutting fine corners, but small enough for the child’s hands
• Stamp cleaning supplies such as spray and stamp cleaning pad
• Punches, especially one to round the corners to give it a nice professional look
• Washi tape of different colors (think borders or frames) such as this set
• Alphabet stamps to create own phrases
• Colored paper with solids or patterns
• Glue pen with a fine tip such as this one
• Glue stick
• Ribbon of different sizes and patterns
• Foam adhesive squares and dots
• Personalized stamp for the back of the card
• Bag, container, or tote to put supplies in (we have one like this but it’s not quite large enough now)

Tips

• You can save old Christmas cards or other cards to reuse the pictures.
• Look for scrapbooking supplies for different ideas on tools to use.
• It does NOT need to look perfect to be perfect. Family and friends love getting a personally made card, imperfections and all.
• Use your imagination and have fun!