Easy Crafting for a Semi-homemade Birthday Card

So I'm sharing this little bit of creativity because I think many of us have a large supply of blank greeting cards. Sometimes, we want the cards to look a bit more special, or we want to tailor them to a specific occasion. 

We receive a lot of these blank cards for free from charitable organizations. So my price point going in is zero. 

I needed a birthday card this month but wanted something that wasn't just a blank card. I wanted a card that would have the look and feel of a birthday card. Using just a couple of materials from my craft and sewing supplies, I embellished one of the blank greeting cards and made it into a lovely birthday card.

I chose this nice, but plain, "sunflower" card from my stack because it looked sunny, and the person I'm sending this to is a "sunny" person. 

To embellish the card, I smeared a small amount of gold glitter glue on the front in spots where the sunlight might normally reflect, such as the blossom's center and along the petals. It's just a small amount of glitter, but it's enough to make the card sparkle here and there.

Then for the interior of the card, I used my computer and printer to make an insert for the card. I used my computer's document program to craft a meaningful birthday message, then printed it out on standard printer paper and trimmed it to just slightly smaller than the blank card.

To attach the insert, I used yellow embroidery floss and a needle, sewing it into the fold of the blank card.

I left a 6 to 7-inch length of floss at each end of the exterior of the card's fold after sewing the insert in place. I brought these ends together along the "spine" of the card and tied a nice little bow. After tying the bow, I trimmed the ends of the floss to my desired length.

The entire process required minimal artistic skill and about 20 minutes of time, from start to finish. The end result is a blank card transformed into a birthday card, just what I was needing.