So, I’ve been trying to think of fun, easy crafts that can be done with things around the house. Couple that with how much I miss school and my class, and I came up with a cool collage card craft. It’s not a totally new idea, because I have been making cards this way for a while using colorful, patterned scrapbook paper. But this time I thought I’d try it with something a little more widely available…magazines!

We have lots of magazines lying around our house, as well as lots of catalogs that arrive almost daily in the mail. Either works for this and it doesn’t matter what they’re about because we’re ripping them up! We just need lots of different colors and patterns.

First, I gathered what I would need which was only paper, magazines and/or catalogs, glue stick and scissors.

I tore out some colorful pages and ripped them into 1/4″-3/4″ strips until I had a good pile to work with.

I then glued the strips onto a plain piece of white paper, overlapping them a little bit as I went.

I flipped over my finished sheets and drew shapes on the back. Any shapes work! I was feeling spring-y, so I started with flowers and a butterfly.

I cut out the shapes and flipped them back over. They seemed to need a little more detail, so I added some shapes cut out of colored construction paper. I’d probably get even fancier and use buttons for the flowers and pipe cleaner pieces for the butterfly, but I’m trying to stick with common household items that are readily available to all.

I then folded a piece of white paper (a larger sheet cut in half) to make a card and glued my collage shapes on the front. I drew some details in with a pen and my cards were done!

To get even fancier and more personal, I printed some “silhouettes” I found on the internet. I glued a soccer player, a dancer and a dress to the back of my collage sheet and then cut out around the edge of the silhouette. Little, thin areas like arms, fingers and ponytails were tricky, but I managed. I then glued my collage “silhouettes” onto folded paper and I had special cards just right for people I knew loved soccer, dancing and fashion design.

I’ve made holiday cards, birthday cards and thank you cards this way. You can make them for any occasion and any person you want. You should give it a try!