Ever look at your cardstock stash and think, “What if I made an out of this world handmade card today?” No? Just me? Well, this playful, cosmic-themed card was exactly that—an unexpected escape from the ordinary. With a few cheerful aliens, a friendly astronaut, and a meteor flying by, this card practically made itself… or at least it felt that way once the purple planetscape came together.
Let me show you how I made this quirky scene that’s part sci-fi, part Saturday morning cartoon, and 100% fun.
Materials Used
- Adhesive
- Liquid Adhesive
- Foam tape or scrap paper
- Cardstock
- White
- Black
- Light grey and dark grey
- Dark purple
- Light yellow and dark yellow
- Red
- Ink
- Foil
- Matte gold foil
- Stencil and die cuts
- Crater Layers stencil by Trinity Stamps
- Tiny Astronaut die by Trinity Stamps
- Tiny Alien die by Trinity Stamps
- Starfield letterpress die by Trinity Stamps
- Tools
How to Make This Out of This World Handmade Card
- Build the background:
Turn on your hot foiling machine so it can warm up. While it’s heating, cut a deep purple piece of cardstock to 5.25″ x 4″. We’re using a dark purple so the foiling really pops. (If you didn’t know, you can use letterpress plates for hot foiling!) I used the Starfield letterpress die with matte gold foil to give this card its dreamy outer space vibe.
- Create your planetary surface and meteor:
Grab a piece of white cardstock—mine was 5.5″ x 4.25″ to give myself room to work. The Crater Layers stencil has three layers, so take three shades of purple ink. Start with the lightest and the first stencil, then work your way up through the layers. There are guides on the stencil, so aligning each one is easy. When you’re done, you’ll have a gorgeous planetary surface.
The meteor is from the same stencil and uses four layers. Clean your blending brush between colours, start again at the lightest purple, and blend upward. Cut out your surface and meteor using the coordinating dies or fussy-cut them by hand. - Assemble the astronaut and aliens:
Using your black, greys, white, and red cardstock, cut out all the pieces from the Tiny Astronaut die set and assemble your waving astronaut. - Create the aliens:
These little guys are the heart of the card! I used light and dark yellow cardstock for their bodies, switching up the yellow tones for their eyes to create contrast. Add a black cardstock smile to give them a cheeky grin—they are meeting a space visitor, after all.
- Bring it all together:
Cut your card base to 8.5″ x 5.5″ and score it at 4.25″ along the long edge. Glue the foiled background to the white A2 card base. Add foam tape or scrap cardstock behind the surface layer, the meteor, and the top halves of the aliens and astronaut for dimension.
Glue the planetary surface near the bottom of the card, lining it up with the bottom edge of the purple background. It will hang slightly over the sides—that’s fine! Place the astronaut near the right side of the card, higher up on the surface, and tuck the aliens toward the bottom left. This creates the scene of an astronaut waving hello to new friends. To finish it off, place the meteor flying in from the top corner to add a bit of motion and whimsy.
Tip
If you’re making an out of this world handmade card and don’t have foiling supplies, no problem. Try ink blending dark purples, navy, and black for your sky, then splatter on a bit of white acrylic paint for stars. It’s messy—but deeply satisfying.
Conclusion
This out of this world handmade card turned out to be such a joyful little project. It’s one of those designs that’s perfect for a “just because” moment—maybe for a friend who needs a reminder that they’re out of this world.
Plus, how often do you get to say you made friends with aliens this week?
