Hybrid Greeting Card Basics

Have you ever wondered what to do with those paper scrapping products that you’ve stuffed into the hall closet? Use them along with your digital scrapbooking supplies to create unique hybrid greeting cards!

If you haven’t tried one, a hybrid project uses a combination of digital and traditional crafting techniques. In this tutorial, I will show you the basic techniques so you can create your own hybrid greeting cards.

Start by creating your greeting card or opening the PSD file of a card you’ve already made. I used the 4.25×5.5-inch size (5.5×8.5 inches before it is folded) so it will fit on a half sheet of letter-sized paper. I like to create the entire card digitally first to get the text position and embellishment sizes right. You could simply print and fold this card for a quick greeting, but we’re going to add some dimension and a bit of glitter.

After you have your card created, open a blank 8.5×11-inch page in Photoshop or the photo editing software you use. Select all the layers of your completed card, copy them, and then paste them into your blank page. My printer is capable of printing to the edges of the paper, so I positioned the card on the bottom half of the page, allowing me to trim it with one cut. Consider the capability of your printer when you position the card on your page.

Next, decide which layers you would like to replace with traditional supplies, and turn off the visibility of those layers. For example, I turned off the ribbon layer and used a piece of grosgrain ribbon in its place on my card.

Add dimension to your card by printing some embellishments separately. It helps to select items that are easy to cut out. Using the Move Tool, drag the embellishments you’ve chosen to the blank area of your page, making sure they don’t have drop shadows. Allow enough space between them for easy cutting. I moved the flower and duplicated the layer so I have three flowers. If you like to experiment with different techniques, fill in the extra space with more copies of your embellishments. Below you can see the page I printed.

When your page is printed, use either a craft knife or sharp scissors with a fine point to cut out your embellishments. Enhance them with your traditional scrapbooking or card-making supplies.

To create flowers like mine, sponge colored ink on the petal edges then adhere super-fine glitter. When the flowers are dry, shape the petals by lifting them at the base and curling the petals down. I layered the three flowers and held them together with a rhinestone brad.

Finish assembling your card using your printed and traditional embellishments. I finished mine by wrapping a ribbon around the card and gluing the layered flower over it. My family thinks it looks a lot prettier than my original card.

When you want your printed greeting cards to have a special handmade feel, try using these hybrid techniques with your digital scrapbook supplies, a bit of glue, and your imagination!