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Make Easy Polka Dot Greeting Cards

18 July 2011 2,850 views 39 Comments

by rhonda

After the craft supply store and the dollar store, the most dangerous place for me to set foot is the office supply store. I could spend a small fortune on piles and piles of paper, folders, stickers, envelopes, paper clips... Not to mention the incredible things you can do with the self-serve copy machines, but that's a whole 'nother blog post! I was digging around in the office supply portion of my stash and I found a couple of packages of stickers. Just plain ol' dot stickers: a set of color coding labels and a stack of hole reinforcements. I'm still in the process of restocking my selection of handmade greeting cards, so I used them to make up a few super-easy cards.

Project estimate:

Paper, on hand or $1
Color coding label stickers, on hand or $1
Hole reinforcement stickers, on hand or $1
Additional stickers (optional), on hand or $1 and up

Total: Free and up

For this project, all you need are a couple of different kinds of dot stickers and some heavy paper. That's it! I used some Avery color coding labels in primary colors and plain white hole reinforcements because I happened to have them on hand. I also have a huge excess of black card stock left over from another project, which I like for card making because it gives me an excuse to break out the gel pen collection!

To make the cards, fold a piece of paper in the desired size (I used an 8 1/2 by 11 inch piece of paper cut in half, then folded), then place the stickers in a design on the front of the card. For these two cards, I used all one kind of dot sticker. Experiment with different placements (in straight lines, completely random, or somewhere in between) to get completely different looks.

I really like the look of combining the hole reinforcements over the top of the colored dots. Keep playing around with different combinations and placements to get dozens of looks out of the same few materials!

If you like, you can also add other stickers or embellishments as well. I used an adorable little owl sticker to give the front of this card, which was rather busy with just dots, a clear focal point. There are so, so many possible designs, and these cards are so quick and easy that they're great for making in large numbers or at the last minute!

Disclosure: this article may contain affiliate links or other forms of sponsored content. Opinions are 100% the author's. Full disclosure policy.

39 Comments »

Michelle L. said:

Way cute! I like the blue & white, the offset circles are cool!

# 18 July 2011 at 9:57 am

Alecia said:

I have TONS of these little circle stickers, but I had never thought of using them in the scrapping world! Great tip!!

# 18 July 2011 at 10:01 am

Lynne G said:

What a great idea!!! I am a grade one teacher, so I frequent the dollar stores often! My DH says it’s not a dollar store, it’s the fifty dollar store because I hardly ever come out without spending at least $50. :) Thanks for the great idea. I know I have some of those stickers laying around!!! Great idea for the classroom too!!!!
Thanks for sharing!!

# 18 July 2011 at 10:10 am

Debbie said:

I have Dollar store close to my house and go there often. I never thought to use these stickers and circles to make cards. How creative you are. I love these kind of blogs because there are so many inventive and creative minds out there. Sharing our talents with others is truly a blessing. Thank you

# 18 July 2011 at 10:19 am

Tiffany said:

Love this project. Super cute and inexpensive. This would be fun for my kids to do for their friends’ birthdays.

# 18 July 2011 at 10:30 am

Karen said:

Such cute ideas! Love it. I added a couple to my pinterest to link back. :)

# 18 July 2011 at 10:31 am

NANCY said:

Love your site…and can’t wait for the new web craft shows.

# 18 July 2011 at 10:33 am

Natalie said:

I love the yellow dots with the owl. Too cute!!!

# 18 July 2011 at 10:34 am

Emily C said:

I love this idea. I work at the dollar tree and at Michaels so I nevre have money!

# 18 July 2011 at 10:36 am

Kathi Garner said:

Fabulous idea and very creative. Found this blog on a post on Cricut’s blog and had to bookmark it. I love the dollar store and am stoked about finding ideas that save money on my crafting…my husband will love that too.

# 18 July 2011 at 10:53 am

maria said:

This is such a great idea. Thank you for sharing them! Love the Dollar Store crafts!

# 18 July 2011 at 11:00 am

Jackie said:

Love $-store crafts (quick and inexpensive)!

# 18 July 2011 at 11:04 am

Denice Hijab said:

Congrats on the new show and the Cricut give away! ?

# 18 July 2011 at 11:10 am

kathy b said:

I cant wait for the Craft Channel to start!Bookmarked your site
Thanks for the ideas.

# 18 July 2011 at 11:12 am

Kris said:

I love this idea! What a cool way to save money AND create cute, original designs. Thanks for sharing your idea!

# 18 July 2011 at 11:40 am

Dacia said:

What great ideas! Those are super cute :) Visiting from My Craft Channel.

# 18 July 2011 at 11:45 am

Sherri said:

What a great idea! Love your blog!

SherriU

# 18 July 2011 at 11:49 am

Jenny McGee said:

How creative and cute. Love all the dots and ideas with dots. Love your site, I will bookmark it in my favorites. Can;t wait to see you on My Craft Channel. Thanks.

# 18 July 2011 at 12:24 pm

Nana Donna said:

Wow I love your blog, I am a follower. I am so glad I found you through the “Mt Craft Channel” blog. Great ideas
Thx

# 18 July 2011 at 12:24 pm

Jackie said:

This is a cute idea. Would be great for scrapbooking too if they’re acid free!

# 18 July 2011 at 12:28 pm

Liz said:

Such a cute idea with the reinforcements. I always have them on hand could use them as an accent

# 18 July 2011 at 12:46 pm

JoAnn Burnham said:

Great ideas and cute cards.

# 18 July 2011 at 12:47 pm

Erin Glee said:

Clever use of office supplies!

# 18 July 2011 at 12:55 pm

silly eagle books said:

Heather, you are already a rock star and now a TV star? :) That’s so awesome! I can’t wait to see your show!

vanessa

# 18 July 2011 at 1:06 pm

lorraine said:

this is a fab idea i just adore it xx

# 18 July 2011 at 1:20 pm

Debbie said:

Thanks for the inspiration we have a dollar store about 2 1/2 hours away i do get there every once in awhile

# 18 July 2011 at 1:41 pm

Elaine McDonald said:

what great ideas..never would have thought about some of them..good way to use up supplies hanging around.
Elaine

# 18 July 2011 at 1:48 pm

Carol B said:

Cute idea and so inexpensive!

Carol B
ciaoitalia2007(at)gmail(dot)com

# 18 July 2011 at 2:04 pm

Katie said:

This is exactly the solution to the 3 boxes of reinforcers from my past schooldays! Thanks for the great idea!

# 18 July 2011 at 2:43 pm

Carriep said:

What a very cute idea and so easy!

# 18 July 2011 at 2:48 pm

Sidetracked Artist said:

Very cute idea!

# 18 July 2011 at 3:20 pm

Nichole C said:

Great ideas! I never thought about using leftover stickers as the main background. Great way to use up some leftovers. Thanks.

# 18 July 2011 at 4:05 pm

Kraftychic said:

These are really cute cards! Think I’ll adapt this for my kids scrappy days classes! TFS!

# 18 July 2011 at 4:13 pm

Lizzy said:

Love the black and white card, and also the one with the row of “targets” on the bottom (white and red circles). Soooo cute! And I, too, love the office supply store – always have, always will. There are all sorts of great finds in there, and I am always happy to find another reason to go there!

Lizzy

# 18 July 2011 at 4:18 pm

Liz Marie said:

Love this!!!

xx Liz Marie
Lizmarieblog.com

# 18 July 2011 at 4:43 pm

gaby said:

Have fun at doing the show!

# 18 July 2011 at 4:44 pm

Craft Project: Easy Polka Dot Greeting Cards | Mrs. Greene - writing, crafting, life in general said:

[...] Yep, more card making! This time I dug into my office supplies for some color coding labels and hole reinforcements. They were sooo easy to make, and by playing around with the sticker combinations and placement you can come up with dozens of different deigns that are quick and cost pennies each to make. And they’re kid-friendly and mess-free! Head over to Dollar Store Crafts to see how I made them. [how to make easy polka dot greeting cards] [...]

# 18 July 2011 at 5:18 pm