Add Sparkle and Glam to Birthday Cards With Embellishments

Birthday cards are a great way to show someone you care and make their special day even more special. If you're looking for ideas to spruce up your birthday card designs, then we have an answer for you - embellishments!

Sequins - Satin White

Whether you're a beginner or an experienced paper crafter, with the right embellishments for paper crafting, you can add more glam to birthday cards that will surely wow your recipient. From sparkly sequins and shiny enamel dots to colorful die-cuts and epoxy buttons, there are so many fun options that can help take your cardmaking projects up a notch – no matter what your skill level is. In this blog post, we'll go over birthday card ideas enhanced with embellishments - making it easy for you to craft beautiful cards personalized for each of your loved ones!

Using Embellishments to Spruce up Your Birthday Cards

Sending birthday cards might seem outdated in today's digital-first world, but the truth is cards show you care more than an email or text message ever could. Nothing is more heartfelt than a handmade card since it's a process that requires your time, effort, energy, and creativity. Using paper crafting supplies, such as stamps, dies, embossing folders, and embellishments make this process easier, as you can produce alluring birthday cards that will surely wow the birthday celebrant. With these supplies in hand, you can get creative with festive images, colors, die-cuts, washi tape, and stickers - the possibilities are endless! 

Here are a few birthday card ideas you can dress up with embellishments that will undoubtedly bring the "party" to your projects:  

Metallic Watercolor Backgrounds With Sequins

Sequins - Satin Gold

If you're looking for birthday card ideas with a special flair, try making one with metallic watercolors! You can use sequins and die-cuts to add texture and fill in the scenes with vibrant colors - all the while choosing from a range of metallic watercolor shades for the background. Making stunning birthday cards in minutes has never been easier!

1. Pick the metallic watercolors you want to use, and use them with dark liquid watercolors. The metallic shimmers will accent your solid liquid watercolors, so they’ll be seen even on white cardstock.
2.  Next, make watercolor paint splatters with both the metallic and solid colors on your watercolor paper. You can use a wet brush to control the pigment flow or put water on the paper first and then add paint. 
3. Once satisfied with the paint, cut and attach the watercolor paper to your card base. 
4. Die-cut a birthday sentiment on plain colored cardstock, choosing the color that would contrast your colorful background. For example, if you have darker background colors, use white cardstock. 
5. Add a sentiment strip and position it under the die-cut letters. 
6. Adhere shiny sequins to give the background additional interest, and you're good to go!

Glittery Two-Toned Cards With Enamel Dots

Making your cards with glitter cardstock and enamel dots will take your birthday cards to the next level - guaranteed! Not only do these materials provide endless style and color possibilities, but they also come together in a snap, eliminating hours of frustrating decorating. 

Glacier Caves Enamel Dots

All you need is some gradient glitter cardstock, plain colored cardstock for cutting dies on, your favorite birthday dies, and some enamel dots. When choosing your cardstock and enamel dots, make sure that they belong to one color family but are in different hues for the ultimate two-toned look.

Floral Wreath Cards With Sequins

Happy Birthday Stamp Set by The Stamping Village

Birthdays are a time for celebration, and what better way to add an extra special touch than with a birthday card featuring a stunning wreath of floral die-cuts emblazoned with sequins and gems? For an eye-catching option, try making a wreath of popular flowers like roses, dahlias, and poppies. You can customize the card further by using dies in the shape of your recipient's favorite flower and arranging them as a wreath on your card front. 

After making the wreath, stamp a birthday sentiment on a die-cut tag to be placed in the middle. As a finishing touch, adhere and prop up the die-cut tag with foam tape and add some sequins, enamel dots, or glitter as beautiful accents - then voila. Before long, you'll be making floral birthday cards like a pro with embellishments!

A Circular Birthday Card Featuring Floral Die-Cuts

Who says birthday cards have to be predictable? Surprise your loved ones with something different by giving them a stylish circular birthday card adorned with floral die-cuts. Not only are these floral cards a wow-worthy alternative to traditional birthday cards, but they will also flex your creative muscles by making you think outside the box.

Arch of Flowers Stamp & Die Bundle

Level up your card further by using shiny enamel dots or sequins on the center of your floral die-cuts. If you want to replicate Annemarie's design above, having an arch-shaped flower die will significantly help, but even if you don't have one, you can do it manually. Just cut the bottom of your flower die-cuts to adhere to the circle's edges. 

An Ombre Music-Themed Birthday Card

For another one-of-a-kind birthday card idea, a card featuring a musical sheet design of the "Happy Birthday To You" song will please your musically-inclined friends! Whether they're an avid musician or not, they'll love the personalized touch that the birthday music sheet adds to the card. 

Make a Statement Sequins Bundle

Every time they look at the card, they will feel like you are singing to them! Plus, you can make the card even more stunning by using the musical notations as an ombre background surrounded by sparkly sequins. It will surely make for a memorable birthday card idea. 

Birthday Cards With Washi Tape Backgrounds and Die-Cuts

Calming Bouquet Wide Washi Tape

It is no secret that washi tapes can be versatile embellishments. When you need to immediately make a last-minute birthday card, simply grab a wide washi tape and create a beautiful floral background in minutes! On the other hand, for a more elaborate design, you can add washi tape on some cardstock first and use the beautiful patterns for your die-cutting. If you want to achieve the same design as Svitlana's card above, follow these steps: 

• Stick the Calming Bouquet Wide Washi Tape on some thin cardstock. Then, fussy cut several floral images from the cardstock. You can cut more if you'd like!
• Afterward, get started on your background. For her background, Svitlana used the Sunburst Stencil and applied embossing paste on Jet Black Cardstock.  
• Once the background dries, adhere it to your card base and start layering the fussy cut washi tape florals on top of each other for dimension. As you layer the flowers, use foam tape for some beautiful dimension.  
• Lastly, white-emboss a birthday sentiment on a scrap of black cardstock and adhere it on top of your layered flowers, and there you have it!

More Tips and Tricks for Using Embellishments

• Make a birthday card front featuring a gift, and use metallic threads to serve as the bow on top of the present. 
• Color wood veneers with paint or metallic ink sprays and use them as exquisite focal points. Use the favorite colors of your recipients for a more personalized touch!
• Print out a photo of the birthday celebrant and use it as your card front, decorating the borders with enamel dots and epoxy buttons.
• When you need help finding inspiration for a birthday design, try using washi tape to jumpstart your card's color palette and theme!  
• Mix and match different embellishments to create unique textures on your card.
• Stickers are perfect for filling up empty and negative spaces on your cards (or covering up tiny mistakes! LOL)

With a few simple embellishments for paper crafting, you can turn any birthday card into a work of art. So next time you need a birthday card, remember these tips and try them! To put the icing on top of the cake, personalize your card with a touching birthday message inside. If you need inspiration on what to say, we got you with our Birthday Card Messages and Ideas!

If you're looking for more inspiration, check out our Card Blog, where you'll find even more wow-worthy and jaw-dropping projects. See you there!