How to customize your greeting cards

Greeting cards are already beautifully designed, but you may want to incorporate extra details to add a unique touch to this thoughtful gift. You can do this by adding crafty embellishments, customizing the message or enriching the style with the help of CardsDirect. Whether you want to send a personalized Christmas card or bedazzled birthday cards, here are a few ideas to make your greeting card truly one of a kind:

Customize with CardsDirect
From family photos to personalized messages, you have a lot of options when it comes to customizing greeting cards online. Choose the size and format, type of paper, envelope design and even the seal type. Don't know the right words to say in your message? CardsDirect has you covered there, too. With over 6,000 customizable products, we can meet virtually any customer's needs.

Embellish with pressed flowers
Flowers add an elegant flair to greeting cards, and if you have a blooming garden, you can make floral embellishments without any cost to you. You'll want to press the flowers flat before adding them as embellishments, especially if you're mailing the greeting card. Otherwise, it may not fit into the envelope. This process can take up to four weeks to complete, so make sure you start well before you need to send the card.

First, prep the flower by cutting the stem short enough so it won't show behind the petals after the flower is pressed. Additionally, remove any prominent stamen before you begin to prevent them from staining the petals with their color.

Place papers towels or blotting paper both on top of and underneath the flower to absorb the moisture. Then, insert the plant between the pages of a thick book. Add additional weight to the top of the book with a heavy object like a brick. After a week has passed, replace the old papers with fresh ones. Better Homes and Gardens suggests leaving the flower in the book for an additional two to three weeks. After the flower has completely dried out, you can glue it to your greeting card or simply slip it inside as a beautiful embellishment. Though this project takes some time to complete, it's a great way to show friends and family you're thinking of them.

Tie it up with ribbon
Ribbon is a simple and fun way to add creative flair to greeting cards. Select a color that matches the design of the card or the theme of the season. You can use ribbon to tie up little bows and glue them to the cover, or choose a thicker strip and create a border by lining it along the edge of the card.

You can even turn your greeting cards into decorations themselves. With the card closed, punch a hole in the top corner of the folded side. Draw a ribbon through the hole and tie it into a loop. Then, you can hang the card off of a package or tie it to a gift bag. This is also a great way to display holiday greeting cards. Tie a ribbon loop on each card you get during the winter, and hang them on your Christmas tree like ornaments!

With some extra thought and a creativity, you can send a greeting card that your friends and family will cherish.