Button Greeting Cards: Ideas for Handmade Homemade Card Making

As I've started making greeting cards again recently, one of the possibilities that I've been exploring is buttons. One thing that I use my greeting cards for is personalized messages in my Etsy packages. I use buttons in a number of my jewelry designs so cards with button details tie right into my shop. Whether or not you make any other art with buttons, buttons are really fun. Consider them for your future card making projects. Here are just a few ideas to get you started. Once you've tried a few of them, the ideas will just keep flowing. Enjoy!

Jessica Jones at How About Orange has a great free printable template. Simply print, cut, and attach your own buttons. You can leave the front as is without any words or customize it for just about any holiday. If you're looking for a new craft blog to follow, check out How About Orange for so many more great ideas and lots of inspiration.

Lisa used a stamp set and a few green buttons to create this simple, beautiful Christmas card. If you don't want to purchase this specific stamp set and can't find any similar stamps (though you'd probably be able to), this is a relatively easy design to draw by hand. Consider customizing the color combination and message for other holidays.

Martha Stewart shares basic instructions for creating three seasonal button cards. I especially love the snowman button card. These ideas are very simple, but you can add messages and/or other embellishments to the cards as you like. Check out a variation on this idea from Christmas Your Way. Also, check out this additional Martha Stewart snowman card idea right here.

There are endless possibilities for customizing this modern cut away design. I love the little border around it. The buttons on the card pictured have been sewed on, but you can use glue dots or other scrap book adhesive if you like.

If you are like me and enjoy Valentine's Day cards and other items simply because of all of the hearts, this card is for you. Hearts are just one of the many shapes you can create with buttons. This post has a great materials list and set of instructions. The color combination pictured is classic for Valentine's Day, but feel free to change it up as you please. For another great Valentine's Day heart button card, check this out.

One of my favorite ways to include buttons in my cards is as little embellishments for a design (as opposed to a focal shape or feature). A couple buttons at the corners of a card or framing an element in it can add a really cute touch. Don't feel tied down to the specific list of materials here but take inspiration from this great idea. For another great simple button embellishment idea, check this out.

Sam shares three different ideas for button floral cards. I love the idea of using a button for the center of a flower. Consider different types of flowers and different types of material, such as fabric. Flowers are a wonderful addition to a number of greeting card themes including thank you notes, Mother's Day, Father's Day, spring birthdays, spring baby showers, and more.

The idea of using buttons on a tree is a really creative idea. I love the bright green buttons for spring, but you can easily create a fall tree, too. The artist tied the buttons in place with ribbon. You can glue or sew your button on instead. I love the simple embossed "thanks." This is not a tutorial, but the artist provides pretty detailed information about how she created the card.

If you want to add more than just a couple buttons for embellishment but don't want to make a shape with them, consider a random design with different colors and different sized buttons. Using some variation with colors and/or sizes may make the design more interesting, though there's nothing wrong with using a set of identical buttons, especially if they have some detail. This modern design can fit any number of messages or themes.

I love the idea that this artist came up with of nestling the buttons inside cut out holes. I don't endorse purchasing a lot of products for making greeting cards because that's not why I write craft hubs, but I do get a lot of use out of my circle punches. If you don't already own one, think about purchasing one, particularly in the 3/4"-1" size range. I love the way this artist paired different patterns here. The effect is very whimsical.

Attaching buttons to a greeting card is a great way to give them as a freebie or a small gift. Consider ways to attach your button cards so the recipients can easily detach them without harming the buttons. The dress form is a great pairing for this set of vintage buttons.

I love the idea of pairing buttons with coordinating ribbons. If you use ribbons for greeting cards and/or other craft projects and don't like to throw away the scraps, this is a perfect use for some of them. If you want to use lots of different colors like the pictured card, consider adding a simple message. For more complex cards, tone down the number of colors and/or number of buttons.