Best card making kits: Make memorable papercraft projects for every occasion

When was the last time you received a postcard in your mailbox, made someone a birthday card, or wrote your bestie an unexpected note thanking them for their awesomeness?

Getting and making handmade gifts is always pleasurable, but nothing beats receiving a personalized handcrafted card. If this resonates with you, I highly recommend looking into card making kits!

Besides being super fun, card making kits are pretty affordable and offer a variety of themes and mediums to play with — and lots of room for customizing too.

Add card making to your creative hobby “to-do” list and peruse our suggestions of the best card making kits below to get started!

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Best card making kits

We’re sure you’ll love our picks for the best card making kits listed below— let us know which are your favorites!

Best overall: Cricut Joy™ + Insert Card Bundle

Cricut is a cutting-edge brand that makes crafting essentials and innovative cutting machines for home crafters.

The Cricut Joy bundle offers one of the most sublime crafting experiences out there. It includes an impressive, compact-sized cutting machine, along with top-quality card inserts, pens, and a specialized mat to place inserts for cutting.

The beauty of this kit is that it combines handmade crafting with technology, providing convenience and lots of room for creativity. All it takes is setting up the Cricut app on your device (Android and iOS), activating Bluetooth, and selecting designs for cutting.

Perfect for all skill levels, this amazing kit is valued at a little over $100 and includes a selection of Cricut insert cards of different colors, textures, and styles for variety. However, keep in mind that the device is only compatible with Cricut materials.

To continue crafting once materials run out, you can search your favorite insert cards here to purchase more!

Best for beginners: Starter Iris Folding Card Making Kit

Beginners looking for fun starter card making kits will definitely get a kick out of this iris folding card making set!

Including up to 140 pieces for crafting, this comprehensive set contains everything from pastel paper, different iris folding patterns, peel-off stickers for customizing, sticky tape, an instructional booklet, and more.

Iris folding is a technique that involves layering multiple strips of paper across a cutout to create a swirl-like effect, much like what you’d envision the iris of a camera to look like.

I especially love this kit because it offers a little more flair and technique-building compared to your typical DIY card-making set, along with a wealth of fun materials to experiment with for only ~$30.

Items like scissors, a cutting mat, and a glue stick are not included and will need to be purchased separately. This set is shipped from the UK and sold worldwide.

Best for children: Card Crafting Explosion Arts and Crafts Box

Next up is one of the most comprehensive card making kits on our list, this time for children!

This is an excellent option if you’ve been wanting to introduce crafty projects to your children or come up with entertaining weekend activities you can enjoy as a family.

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Filled with a world of items, this $25 set is ideal for ages 6+ and contains a full-on stationery studio with everything from stickers, gems, and ribbons to paper punch-out sheets, colored cards, and matching envelopes.

The kit also includes some surprise items for extra fun, making this a really unique gift for enthusiastic young crafters.

Easy to transport and perfect to enjoy as a group, all materials in this all-inclusive set are enough to make up to 30 handmade cards and are child-proof.

Best for watercolors: Faber-Castell Creative Studio Card Making Kit

If you’ve just gotten into watercolor pencils or are already experienced with the craft, there’s no doubt you’ll love this Faber-Castell card making kit.

This creative set provides 25 high-quality art supplies, including transfers, stencils, five watercolor pencils, an artist pen, a design guide, and more. You’ll also receive five blank cards and envelopes to embellish however you see fit — let your imagination lead the way!

Read also: Watercolor pencils buyer’s guide

While you won’t get an extensive amount of cards in this kit, this is the perfect little set to enjoy the luxury of crafting with Faber-Castell materials for only ~$15. And if you need more items at some point, I recommend these watercolor cards and envelopes to keep up the crafting.

And don’t forget; once you’ve handed out your beautiful watercolor cards, remind your friends and family that they can frame your artwork for display!

Best for silk painting: Silkcraft® Beginners Card Making Kit

Silk painting may not be as popular as other crafts, but it’s a really great art form to explore through card making.

For under $30, this is a great starter kit to expand your card-making horizons if you’re already experienced with papercrafts and looking for new ways to switch things up. However, this kit is only available in the UK.

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This set includes five cards/envelopes, five paint colors, and a brush. The main highlight of this kit is its delicate, gutta outlines, featuring an array of floral, stained glass, animal motifs, and more — you can select your favorite at purchase!

While this set is designated for ages 5+, I would recommend it for teenagers and up as silk painting does require applying some technique and precision.

On the other hand, the gutta outlines make it so that paint doesn’t spread easily into different sections, making it an accessible project to do with just a little practice.

Best for quilling: Beginner Floral Card Quilling Kit

Quilling may seem pretty old school, but it’s making a huge comeback and is a great technique to incorporate into card making!

Great as a gift or to add to your craft station, this card making kit provides A6 printed template cards, envelopes, a large pack of quilling strips, and access to an online instructional video.

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When purchasing, you can choose between a complete set or standard set. The complete set includes a slotted quilling tool, tweezers, a board, and a glue pot. If you already have these items, going with a standard set will work fine and cost you less, too — ideal if you’re looking for the best bargain.

This particular kit is for adults and not appropriate for children, so keep this in mind if you’re looking for quilling card making projects for young crafters.

The set is shipped from the UK and delivered worldwide.

Best themed: Just Because Card Making Kit

Who said there needs to be a special occasion to get into some card-making fun?

As one of the most original card making kits to make it on our list, this minimal, retro-inspired set can be bought as a four-card bundle or individually by theme.

Images of rainbows, balloons, a cute front door, and flowers are available to create sweet, square-shaped cards to customize with any message you desire. Envelopes, blank cards, sticky foam pads, and cute details to embellish your cards will all be included.

While you might want to cut down on costs and consider buying cards individually, I’d recommend purchasing these as a bundle for better value. A pack of four will cost you a little under $25, while a single card project is available for almost $8.

This kit is a creative gift for your passionate note-writing-card-making friend (we all have one!) who enjoys showering their loved ones with unexpected gestures to show appreciation!

Best for cross stitchers: Start a Craft Cross Stitch Card Kit

Next is another mixed-medium project that proves just how versatile card-making kits can be.

This easy-to-do cross-stitch card making set is super original and fun and will undoubtedly show you’ve put in the effort to make something special!

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With enough materials to complete three projects, the kit contains cream Aida fabric (16 count), 12 assorted colors of stranded cotton, a tapestry needle, cards/envelopes, and instructions.

Designs include a cartoon-like teddy bear, cat, and love birds, making these lovely options for a soon-to-be parent, a child on their birthday, or a couple of newlyweds.

Because tools are more complex than what you’d get in a standard kit, this set is best suited for adults, whether or not you’re trying out cross stitch for the first time! This kit costs under $20, is shipped from the UK, and delivered worldwide.

Best for origami crafters: DIY Origami Card Making Kit

If you’re a fan of origami and paper folding techniques, you’ll love this card making kit.

Although this project may appear challenging, especially if you’re card-making with origami for the first time, rest assured as this set is for beginners and includes detailed instructions. You’ll be folding cute origami hearts in no time!

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Your kit will include an assortment of colorful origami paper, four blank cards, envelopes, a folding tool, a measuring guide, a pencil, and glue dots. You’ll also find a completed origami in your kit to reference while you craft.

In addition to this project, your seller will also include a mini origami heart bookmark kit to get you practicing your folding skills with larger sheets of paper. This is a great way to perfect this technique before getting into more intricate, smaller origamis.

This complete set is priced at ~$30 and is a Star Seller on Etsy! This kit is shipped from the UK and sold worldwide.

Best for diamond painters: Diamond Painting Greeting Cards Kit

Attention diamond painters; next up is the shiniest of card making kits on our guide!

This diamond painting card making kit is an excellent way to enjoy two crafts in one sitting — not to mention a creative way to bring a little flair to your card making game.

One of the pricier packs listed, this set includes materials to bedazzle a total of 12 cards (all included in the kit) with messages and designs for every occasion. And yes, you’ll get all the diamond painting tools you need!

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I love this kit because it’s a really creative way to get into diamond making with a small-scale project at first. On the other hand, if you’re already experienced with diamond painting kits, this is a great way to apply your skills to something new.

This set is shipped from Hong Kong but does not deliver to all countries, so checking with the seller before purchase is advised. Scarlet Ribbons GB on Etsy is a fantastic alternative worth checking out, too, and delivers worldwide.

Best for lino crafters: Lino Cut & Print Kit – Christmas Cards

Linocut and print card making kits aren’t easy to come across, but this set by Creative Clever Hands is a great option if this is something you’d love to try out.

Perfect for beginners, your pack will include four quality ink bottles, a soft, easy-to-cut 10x15cm lino block, cutting tools, shape blades, a brayer, a plastic rolling sheet, 10 blank cards, and envelopes.

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Because this particular kit is Christmas-themed, it may not appeal to everyone. However, if this is a season you celebrate or know someone who does, this is a really creative way to share some card-making art with unique lino cut outs.

I really appreciate the quality of the lino that comes in this kit; while it’s soft and easy to cut through, it’s also thick enough to be carved on both sides. And the designs are so cute — I especially like the dog wearing the beanie!

If you’re crafting with lino or card making for the first time, this seller also provides tutorial videos to ensure you have some guidance from start to finish.

Best for customizing: Sun Printing Paper Kit 

To end our list, we’ve added something a little different from the card making kits suggested so far — you’ll love it!

While not specifically designed for card making, this sun printing paper kit is a really cool idea if you like to think outside the box and experiment with new aesthetics.

With the option to choose between packs of 5-20 sheets, this kit includes easy-to-follow instructions to make neon-color designs with just a little sunlight and whatever object you want— talk about simplicity!

Whether you use botanical elements or an item you have around the house, you’ll be able to make a customized, postcard-sized card to surprise friends and family. The outcomes are stunning and frame-worthy too!

You’ll also be getting cardboard which will provide the sturdiness you need to support your solar-exposed sheets and allow for writing. For example, I love the idea of overlapping these designs with calligraphy or digital art techniques for contrast!

How to choose the best card making kit for you

Besides being really entertaining, I think card making is especially satisfying because it’s a craft that tends to come from a place of thoughtfulness.

If you’re looking to ditch pre-fabricated greeting cards to start making your own, these are some aspects to remember as you peruse card making kits online:

• What seller provides the best delivery conditions/prices? Are deliveries available in your hometown?
• Are you considering card making kits as an ongoing creative hobby or for a one-time special occasion? 
• Will you benefit from purchasing card making kits with a wide range of materials, or does something more simple work?
• Is your goal to find card making kits for gifts? If so, consider ages, material safety, and skill level. 
• Can you easily access materials that aren’t included in some card making kits? 
• Do you want to stick to more classic card making kits or try sets that incorporate other crafts such as watercolors, diamond painting, etc.? 
• Is incorporating technology something that interests you, or do you want to keep the process completely handmade? 
• Challenge yourself to try out different materials and mediums for extra fun! 

Ultimately, card making is an excellent, relaxing pastime to enjoy with family and friends regardless of skill set, experience, or age.

That said, have fun finding your favorite card making kits for your next project!

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That’s it for our guide of the best card making kits you can buy! Any advice for other intrepid crafters? Let everyone know in the comments below!