Try this colorful rainbow layered heart-shaped easel card the next time you need a love card.
Glamour doesn’t have to take all day
Are you looking for a beautiful, yet striking, love card idea? Do you need something that blurts out “I love you” in all caps, but you don’t want to devote half the day to making it? Or maybe you need a last-minute declaration of love? Check out this tutorial on how to make an easy heart-shaped easel card in rainbow colors. It looks extravagant, but it’s a simple card to make. All you need is card stock, one embellishment (embossing powder), and an hour. You’ll have a beautiful, elegant card and plenty of time left to glam yourself up for the occasion.
Oh, and your fella will Get. The. HINT.
Not your run-of-the-mill heart card
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We all love to receive love cards.(Come on, you know you do.) Hearts and loving sentiments go hand in hand when we profess our love and affection for a special someone. But do heart cards always have to be red or pink? Not that I’m complaining, they happen to be two of my favoritest colors. But still – do they? Especially for guys – what other colors make good DIY love cards?
How about ALL of them?
Rainbow heart cards stand out from the crowd
Yeah, I know. Heart cards. They seem so easy. Just throw some red or pink hearts on some white, red, or pink card stock, and boom, you’re done. Right?
Not so fast.
Guys love getting cards from their lovelies. And they probably like those red or pink cards well enough. But how about stepping outside your personal box and making something a bit brighter, with more pizzazz? Maybe add a little wow factor in there and show him that he’s all the colors to you?
That’s where this card comes in. It’s an easel card, which is serious fun to begin with. But a heart-shaped easel card’s even better. And a rainbow heart-shaped easel card is the bomb diggety. So let’s get started…
Supplies:
- Cardstock in 8 colors – one base color, and the 7 colors of the rainbow: violet, indigo (though I used magenta, but hey, tomato, to-mah-to), blue, green yellow, orange and true red (this is a great way to use your scraps)
- Paper trimmer
- Bone folder
- Die cut tool (I use a Sissix Big Shot)
- Heart-shaped metal dies in 7 sizes (this set also has square, star and flower shapes – think of the layered-card opportunities!) For this card the widest point of the large heart is 5 ½”.
- Optional: a digital die-cutting tool (I use a Silhouette Cameo)
- Craft glue (any white glue is fine – this gives more flexibility when positioning the foundation heart than snail glue would)
- Embossing ink
- Gold embossing powder
- Heat tool (for embossing edges)
- Gelly Roll pen (optional)
- Pop dots
How to make a heart-easel card in 10 easy steps:
Step 1:
Cut your foundation cardstock first. I used black cardstock for this card, which made the perfect accent to the rainbow of colors. But white would work too. Cut as follows:
- 1 piece: 8 ½” long x 4 ¼” wide.
- 1 piece 4” x 4”. This will be called the “base plate.”
- Cut the largest size heart from this same color (black). It will be the “foundation” heart and won’t be seen from the front.
Step 2:
Cut 7 hearts in graduating sizes in this order:
- Violet (largest heart, same size as black heart)
- Indigo or magenta (2nd largest heart, etc.)
- Blue
- Green
- Yellow
- Orange
- Red (smallest heart) – cut two of these
The second red (small) heart will be used as the “stop” piece which will keep the front of the card propped up.
Another option is to use a die cutting machine. Instead of cutting these hearts as separate units, you’d be able to cut them all in about 60 seconds. Check out 11 Reasons to Own a Digital Die Cutting Machine to find out how to make projects like this in a fraction of the time.
Step 3:
Score the long piece of cardstock at 4 ¼” and 6 ⅜” (see image above). Fold the piece in half (4 ¼” line) and then fold the second score line in the opposite direction. Press these folds with the bone folder.
Step 4:
Glue foundation (black) heart to top of folded cardstock. From the back side, align the heart with the cardstock so that the fold is as far down on the back of the heart as possible without the folded corners showing to the font.
White glue makes positioning the heart much easier
Step 5:
A little of the base cardstock might peek through the top of the heart. If that happens, cut it away with a craft knife on a craft mat or with small scissors.
Step 6:
Emboss the edges of all of the colored hearts (eight total) plus the 4” square base plate with gold embossing powder.
Step 7:
Glue the largest (violet) heart to the black heart on the base card.
Step 8:
Attach pop dots to the backs of the remaining colored hearts, including the tiny red “stop” heart.
Step 9:
Remove papers from pop dots and center each heart on its next larger neighbor, pressing firmly.
Step 10:
Position front of card to desired angle and attach “stop” heart to base platform. Center it appropriately.
Note: I placed the “stop” heart slightly below center of the base plate for a more “laid back” appearance. If you prefer the layered hearts to stand more upright, place the “stop” heart further towards the center fold.
BOOM – you’re done. A beautiful, rainbow layered easel heart-shaped card is ready for your sweetie, and no additional decorations are needed.
A few notes about easel cards…
Because of all the action going on up front, there is little to no space for a personalized message in most easel cards, and this heart-shaped card is no exception. Even with the 4” base plate, because writing a message there would detract from the stack of hearts.
Not to mention you might want to keep your message, er, private. *ahem*
There are a couple of ways around this:
- Write a message on a separate piece of paper and enclose it with the card, or
- Write on the back of the card, preferably before adding all of the front layers.
- I go one step further for Mr. Right and write the private message using my beloved Gelly Roll pens. I used gold for this card and he had to turn it towards the light to read it. Kind of like a super secret romantic message.
Other 7-layer card color combinations
Rainbow colors aren’t the only way to make one of these heart easel cards, the color combinations are nearly limitless. Here are a few suggestions, and I bet you can come up with more.
- Pastels (think Easter egg colors)
- Whites
- Black/grays
- Muted
- Earth tones
- Colors of the sea (blues, turquoise, white)
- Reds, pinks and whites (I couldn’t completely exclude them – HA)
- Shell colors (peach, pink, coral, cream, etc.)
- Monotone (all the same color, contrast color base)
- Team colors
Heart shaped cards are fun to make and as appropriate for gals as for guys
What colors are YOU going to use in your heart-shaped easel card ? Share it on the G&B Facebook page (with pictures, of course) and share the reaction it received. I have to confess, Mr. Right was a little confused when he opened mine. But with a little coaching on how to prop it up, he was thrilled. (He’s slowly getting used to receiving “interactive” cards from me as I try to outdo myself each time.)
Happy crafting!
More fun fold cards…
Center Step Card – Soft, Vintage and Very Floral
An Easel Card with Texture
How to Make a Z Fold Card – a Step by Step Tutorial
How to Make a Romantic Masculine Front-flap Card
How to Make a Side Step Card the Easy Way- (Engineering Degree Not Required)
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