It's your friend's birthday. That means you have to go down to the store and buy a card, right? Wrong! If you have even an ounce of creativity in you, why go out any buy a birthday card at the store like you would buy a Toronto patio set? You can make one yourself instead, which would save you money and add a personal touch to the birthday card that your friend will appreciate. If you're thinking of hand making a birthday card, here are some ideas to get you started.

The simplest way to make your own card it is to take a piece of ordinary white computer paper or colored construction paper and fold it in half or in fourths. Then you can draw a picture of something that's special to your friend, perhaps her doing equestrian in London, Ontario, on the front and write your message on the inside. Folded in fourths, a card will easily fit into the envelopes you have left over from sending your Christmas or thank you cards.

If you're not much of an artist, that's no reason to give up on making your friend a really special hand made card. Computer programs have made it easier than ever before to create your own cards and print them off at home or while you're at work at Muskoka Catering. All you have to do is choose an image, perhaps of a birthday cake, or of something they like, such as a beach scene, and layer your words over top. One of the best and easiest to use programs of this kind is Printmaster.

If you've got some extra time to spare while you're watching the front desk at a Toronto bed & breakfast, you can get a bit more elaborate with your cards. You might try techniques like decoupage, which involves cutting small pieces of colored paper and arranging them artfully, or collage, where you cut out and recombine pictures from magazines. If you're very skilled with a pair of scissors, you can even make a pop-up card.

Scrapbooking is one of the hottest new pastimes in Canada, and many people are hiring workers to do basement finishing in Brampton just so they'll have somewhere to work. If you're into scrapbooking, you can put your card stock, brads, stamps, stickers, and other accoutrements to good use on a homemade card. The result looks gorgeous and is sure to be appreciated.