Have you downloaded our free greeting card templates to make your own greeting cards but not sure how to use them? In that case read on and we’ll explain how to use these free greeting card templates in Procreate and other applications to make your own custom greeting cards.
What are Greeting Card Templates?
Greeting card templates are simply templates which are exactly the right size to make greeting cards and which show the lines you should cut around after printing the file and also the line you should fold along to compile the card.
Templates are useful as it saves calculating the size you need, particularly when working on smaller devices where this sort of thing can be a little fiddly.
The template forms the guides for you to create your design in. If you are using an application which supports layers (ie Procreate, Affinity Designer/Photo – in fact most graphics packages support layers), you can use our files and create your design under our template and then reduce the opacity of the template when printing so you don’t get dark lines around your card.
How to Use Our Free Greeting Card Templates
First, download the templates you want to use. You will find our templates HERE.
Unzip the folder and you will find four different formats:
Multiple Layers
For your convenience, I have created the files in each format (except PNG) with multiple layers you can switch on and off as required.
This will depend, of course on your project, however if you create a design which fits exactly within the template, you may choose to switch off the cutting line as you don’t need it and just keep the folding line (however I recomend reducing the opacity).
If you are creating a minimalist card, try turning down the opacity of the cutting outline as far as it will go so you don’t need to worry about dark lines around your card. ALSO, switch off the folding line as you will see there is a further layer with two tiny marks which you can use to fold which don’t go across the entire card.
You will see that each layer is clearly marked in the layer panel.
Tips for Using Templates to Make Greeting Cards
When you print your finished card, print it on as good quality paper or cardstock as possible. Normal office print paper is too thin and will give poor results.
Consider the cost of printing if you are printing a lot of fully colored cards. You can create great looking cards with simple black and white designs with just tiny pops of color.
Don’t be afraid to add a scrapbook embellishment or two to your finished card. A couple of stick on jewels or a sticker can add a pleasing finish to the card.
Remember to check which way up to put your design! If in doubt, mock it up first on a piece of scrap paper.
If you don’t know where to start, try using one of our coloring pages to make your cards. Our digital coloring pages can be colored directly in your graphics package making this a super-quick way to get started!
