As I shared a few weeks ago, until I got my Cricut Joy, I hadn’t made homemade cards in…ages. Suddenly, since they are so easy and fun to make, I ended up with a whole collection of greeting cards, as well as a bunch of blank cards and inserts to make even more down the road. Instead of just putting the cards in a shoebox and calling it a day, I did what any other respectable organizing blogger would do and whipped up a fancy-dancy DIY Card Organizer! I was able to make this organizer using all supplies I already had on-hand with the help of both my Cricut Joy and Cricut Maker. Not only is this project a really great way to keep your cards (and supplies) organized, but also demonstrates the capabilities of these two different Cricut machines. Let me show you what I mean!

DIY Card Organizer

I store a vast majority of my craft supplies in these lidded plastic boxes. I don’t have an exact link for you because I bought mine ages ago in Japan. But really, any plastic box, shoe box or decorative box will work for a card organizer…as long as it’s wide and deep enough to hold the types of cards you usually keep on hand. My Cricut Joy cards measure 4.25″x5.5,” but if you buy “standard” sized cards you’ll want a box at least 5″ wide and 7″ deep.

DIY Card Organizer

To keep the cards organized and easy to access, I considered the main card categories I have and need regularly. I then sorted the cards into those groups and made tabbed dividers for each category. You can certainly make as many or as few categories as you need, but don’t go too overboard of you’ll end up with more dividers than cards! My categories include:

  • Birthday
  • Thank You
  • Congrats – Grad, New Baby, Wedding and generic “Congratulations!”
  • Love – Anniversary and Valentine’s cards
  • Holiday – Christmas, Easter, St. Patrick’s Day, Mothers/Fathers Day, etc
  • Other – “Saying Hi,” “Just a Note,” “I’m Sorry,” etc

I also included dividers for blank Cards | Inserts | Envelopes so I could get rid of all the plastic packaging that my Cricut Joy Card Inserts came in. Now…all my cards…and the supplies and envelopes as well…are consolidated into one easy-to-grab box!

DIY Card Organizer

Supplies Needed

To make your own DIY Card Organizer, you don’t really need a bunch of super fancy supplies. I pulled the cardboard backings off my scrapbook paper stacks, and then used some Adhesive-Backed Deluxe Paper for the labels. For similar supplies, look around your house! You can make the dividers out of posterboard, cereal boxes, Kraft board, matte board, (thin) chipboard, or even really heavy cardstock. And the labels can be made from sticker paper or even colored scrapbook paper/cardstock (you’ll just need to use glue/adhesive to attach the labels to the dividers.) Here’s what else you need:

DIY Card Organizer

Kraft Board | Adhesive-Backed Paper | Cricut Machine(s) – Joy & Maker used here | Cricut Pens (Maker/Explore | Joy) | Shoebox (Ideas: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 )

Designing The Tabbed Dividers

If you’d like to use my exact same divider design, I have the Cricut Design Space file ready for you HERE. This file includes both the divider shape, as well as the labeled tops.

Although this file is ready for you, you may need to adjust it for your use as follows:

  • To adjust the size of the dividers for your specific box:
    • Click the Lock icon (bottom left handle on the image)
    • Adjust the height and width of the divider to fit inside your box (it’s easiest to type dimensions into the upper toolbar)
  • To re-name the labels for your own card categories:
    • “Detach” each label so the text is editable
    • Click on the text and re-type your own label
    • Select both the label and the text and re-center them using the “Alignment” options along the top menu bar
    • With the label and name still selected, re-attach them back together by clicking “Attach”

If you are not a Cricut user and/or want to make your own divider shape, I have a full tutorial on how to make various-sized tabbed dividers HERE.

Cutting the Dividers

It’s important to note here that if you are using a heavier weight material for your dividers such as chipboard, matte board, etc (which I DO recommend so they stand up straight and not warp), you will need to cut them on a Cricut Maker/Explore or similar strength e-cutter machine. The Cricut Joy is not strong enough to cut through this stiff material. 

If using a Cricut machine, refer to this guide to determine how best to cut the material you’re using. For my lightweight chipboard, I used the 1.0mm Chipboard setting on a Strong Grip mat. In just a few minutes, I had dividers all ready to be labeled!

Making the Divider Labels

If you’re using my Cricut Design Space file, the labels for the tops of each divider are all ready for you. The Adhesive-Backed Deluxe Paper (or sticker paper) can be used to make labels on any Cricut machine using compatible pens. Since my Maker was busy cutting out the dividers, I went ahead and used my Cricut Joy. For specific directions on how to make these labels with Cricut Joy, click here.

Once the labels are both written and cut, just peel and stick them to the tops of the dividers (both front and back to give them a nice clean appearance!)

I alternated 3 different colors to make my organizer a little more fun. You can also consider using patterned papers, all one color, or color-code by occasion!

DIY Card Organizer

With the dividers done, all you need to do is load them and your card collection into your box and find it a safe home on a shelf or in a cabinet! Anytime you need a card (or want to make a card!), you’ll know where to go and will be able to find exactly what you’re looking for!

DIY Card Organizer

If you’ve been using your Cricut Joy to make up a ton of cards (or if you like to keep lots of greeting cards on hand in general), this is a great follow-on project to keep them all sorted and organized. You can easily knock this DIY Card Organizer project out in just an hour or so. And while you’re at it, make a few more tabbed dividers and use them to sort your DVD collection just like I did HERE!

Have a wonderful weekend, friends! See you back here on Tuesday for our full laundry room reveal, which includes a lot of fun organization ideas!

 

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See You Soon!
Megan