How to make tarot cards with your own hands. Playing cards. With your own hands How to make a map with your own hands from paper

Cards are always better than purchased ones. And it's not just about style. Handmade cards have a special energy. It is believed that you can even tell fortunes using such a deck. Of course, we won’t tempt fate! Everything is very simple: select paper, find a template and print the finished deck.

How to make playing cards from paper: step 1

In order to make a good quality deck you need to choose the best paper. High-quality paper should be:

  • Double sided;
  • Dense;
  • Especially for inkjet printing;
  • Preferably waterproof (from an expensive price category).

How to make playing cards from paper: step 2

Select a printer for printing. It would seem, how can you choose a printer? In fact, the quality of the deck largely depends on the printer. It is clear that it is better to choose color printing. + the printer should not be from the budget category. Of course, if you want to get a deck of cards of excellent quality. By the way, a good printer can be found in any photo studio. True, you will have to overpay a little, but the result is worth it.

How to make playing cards from paper: step 3

Download the template. I offer the simplest option: classic playing cards. Format – specifically for editing in Photoshop. That is, you can “adjust” the cards to your taste. The quality is excellent, the format is pdf.

Download and print a paper playing cards template (422 kb.):

Let's sum it up

So, for a good homemade deck of cards you need high-quality paper, an excellent color printer and a ready-made template. + you can do lamination. Lamination will protect your cards from water and any dirt.

You can do it yourself. The most common things that are found in almost every home will come in handy. Tired of monotonous decks of cards and want something unusual?

I offer 2 simple and interesting options. To achieve excellent results, you need to start work in a great mood. And, of course, you need to use a little imagination! So, how to make playing cards with your own hands?

Method one: make cards from cardboard

The simplest and cheapest option. For cardboard playing cards you will need: thick cardboard, colored paper, scissors, glue, ruler, printer and Photoshop program. First, decide on the deck design.

Step 1. It is best to “draw” a picture in Photoshop. In principle, if you don’t have the time or desire, you can use a ready-made template. There are plenty of options on the Internet. You need to choose the best one. Next step: print the templates onto colored paper. Carefully cut out the cards. A ruler will help you. It is best to use special stationery scissors.

Step 2. Prepare your own cards. Let us clarify once again: the cardboard should be thick and preferably white. Although, of course, you can also use cardboard from boxes. Glue color printouts onto the finished cards. You can use regular glue, like a pencil.
Step 3. Send the cards to dry. That is, the finished deck should be left to dry for about an hour. During this time the glue will dry well. Yes, and you can make a box for cards. For this you will also need cardboard and glue. If desired, you can use colored paper or regular markers.

Method two: scratch cards

This option is much better and more interesting. Firstly, the cards are wear-resistant. Secondly, such a deck looks much more impressive. Before work, prepare: scratch cards, office paper, double-sided tape, adhesive leaves (stickers), a marker of one or more colors, glue “pencil” and a laminator.

Step 1. Glue pre-cut white paper onto each scratch card. Set the pieces aside for about 20-30 minutes.

Step 2. While the cards are drying, draw the card suits on sticky notes.. It's great if you have 2 markers: black and red. If you are good at drawing, you can draw images of classic maps. For example, queen, king, ace. But the easiest way is to print them out and stick them on stickers.

Step 3. Attach the sticker to the card using double-sided tape. Just in case, leave the cards for another couple of hours. Don't fiddle with the deck trying to figure out what your result is!

Step 4. Pass the cards through the laminator. The end result will be excellent ones with a unique design.

When making cards, remember that the deck should not only be beautiful, but also of high quality. It’s good if the cards don’t let water through and slide across the table. Also, the cards should not be too fragile. To ensure that the result not only pleases, but also surprises, watch various training videos on the Internet. The video will help you decide on the size and type of cards.


For the New Year, I want to give my loved ones attention, make a pleasant, useful (and beautiful!) surprise that will delight friends or family for a very long time. As you know, the best gift is one made with your own hands. Yes, this time I can admit that my task of finding a suitable gift was greatly facilitated, since my godchildren have been interested in pirate themes for more than a year. The answer to the question “What to give for the New Year?” was found.

It's no secret that I run my own travel blog. In my work on preparing materials, I work a lot with maps and diagrams, I am guided by scale and can easily explain to others, or. Therefore, the idea of ​​creating a full-fledged treasure map, a “pirate map,” really appealed to me. At the same time, it was decided to capture the work process for people who are interested in handmade.

Several sheets of A3 and A4 were taken as a basis (I took 4 of each type). When creating a pirate treasure map, you always need to depend on the texture of the paper, since it is this that determines the map as a pirate or not a pirate. Tea and coffee were used to add color and texture.

I took a small bowl, 4 tablespoons of any instant coffee and 5 tea bags of black tea, filling it all with 250 ml of water (a large glass). Mixed thoroughly and waited until everything was infused. Then I took out the bags and put them on a separate plate (we will need them later). I poured the contents of the bowl into a baking tray to hold the paper there. The paper was crumpled as much as possible before impregnation.

You don’t need to wait long, just saturate the sheet on one side and the other with the solution, the color saturation does not depend on the amount of impregnation time - this was found out experimentally. Then everything was placed on spread newspapers to dry. As soon as the sheets began to dry out, I took the bags left during the previous operation and squeezed drops of a thick solution from them onto the sheets in a chaotic manner. This is necessary for the appearance of additional random “spots”, so that the texture becomes even more interesting.

Ready material for work.

I sharpened it in Photoshop so that the pattern was visible.

In general, creating a pirate map brings great pleasure, since even if you accidentally drip glue or varnish onto the surface of the paper, this will not worsen its appearance, but will improve it - who knows how many troubles the old pirate had to go through with it?

I ironed the final sheets with an iron, then sanded them with sandpaper to remove shine from the iron and a rougher surface. I took the grain size small so as not to damage the paper.

After this, the question arose about what kind of drawing and what to apply it with. The choice fell on gel pens in three colors: black, gold and silver. We draw an outline with black, give gold and silver a beautiful shade that plays in the light.

The first tests showed that we are moving in the right direction. Cardinal directions on the map. How to draw: use a compass to draw 2 concentric circles of different diameters, then make crosses: cross to cross at an angle of 90 degrees, then cross to cross at 45 degrees, then in half again. We use the resulting markup to create this. We paint the “star” volumetrically with gold and silver.

In general, the Internet is simply replete with various images of treasure maps and pirate drawings of various types: it all depends on the purpose for which you are making the map and how much time and effort you are willing to spend on it.

My goal was to make props for a fun puzzle game for my nephew and niece for New Years. The essence of the game is as follows: Take a map where four sectors are marked. Each one should have its own piece of the map. To find the treasure, you need to find all 4 pieces by solving riddles and puzzles. This becomes clear from the following figure:

Next, we take a plan of the area where the game will take place. I drew from memory, guided by photographs. We draw in such a way that the child can understand (if something happens, mom and dad will help. Place the pieces on the map itself:

It turns out to be a kind of puzzle: children will not only need to find a piece of the map, but also find the place assigned to it. For this I made a stroke. More photos:


I bet even adults with topographical cretinism will be fascinated by this challenge. Very exciting.

The game can be used everywhere: on vacation, at corporate events. A treasure map is an intuitive thing and everyone knows what to do with it. A compass can be purchased at any fishing store. Mine will be guided by the weather vane on the roof.

After creating the base and the puzzle, I wanted more. How will the card be stored? How to wrap and fold it? Fold in quarters? This will kill her. I remembered the idea of ​​a scroll: you need a cylindrical object larger than an A4 sheet, and something that will fix it. After searching through the options, a broken photo roll from an A3 printer and a video from the same were chosen. The card will be rolled onto the photo roll; the roller gives a pleasant weight.


In movies, it is customary for the scroll to have a protective apron that limits the folding of the card and allows it to be rolled up and unrolled. After creative agonies, the starting material was chosen: polystyrene foam. After processing with a hot knife over the stove, it acquired the following shape:

My beauty! Now we need to make the second one the same.

To prevent the limiter discs from turning, it was decided to treat them with papier mache, which was soon done. It was not possible to take photographs of this process. After drying, the end surface of the tube and the disks were treated with black plasticine. At the same time, plasticine for “wax seal” was prepared.

Then everything was glued onto a tube and treated with varnish so that the plasticine would not stain.

Please note: the distance between the disks is selected in such a way that a roller can be inserted there. At the processing stage, grooves were made. After drying, close-up:

The design is such that the card rotates freely around the roller. It is possible (but not recommended) to open the card under the weight of the roller itself: it will unwind.

We glue the joints of the sheets with PVA glue.

We check the functionality.

Here's what it looks like expanded:

The compactness of the map design itself and the abundance of “white spots” are a bit of an eyesore. I agree, you can fill the entire surface with patterns and drawings. But for my task this is enough.

We make a wax seal: knead the plasticine of the desired color (80% red and 20% black), take the twine, wrap it in the required way, and mold the “wax sealing wax” itself onto a small piece of the same material as the card, so that when torn off the main object does not deteriorate. We make an impression using another piece of plasticine where the drawing was made, and then frozen in the freezer. We coat it with varnish for a wax shine. Ready!

My seal is made in the form of an “all-seeing eye.” Who said conspiracy theories? It's just a simple and beautiful drawing. Close-up again. Not ideal, but just right for something that will be torn off and thrown away.

Card with other attributes for the New Year competition.

Ready! This text is not a strict instruction, it gives a lot of scope for creativity and finding different ways, so - get creative, let your map become even more detailed and beautiful! Well, that’s all I have! Happy New Year 2015!


There are different cards for the mafia - humorous,. Therefore, first decide which format you like and download the template you like. Free, of course. All downloads on our website are free, especially for game fans.

What size?

How to make mafia cards from paper? The mafia role card that fell into your hands during the distribution should under no circumstances be seen by your neighbor. What am I talking about? It may be worth shrinking the template so that the card fits completely in the palm of your hand. However, it all depends on habit. Some people find it more convenient to hold “poker” cards in their hands, while others prefer “solitaire” cards.

Paper grade

In general, I would advise buying a mini-pack of photographic paper specifically for this task. The costs are small, but you will get dense, glossy cards straight from the printer. Almost like it came from a store. We separated the matrix with a clerical blade, and immediately received a deck ready for use.

How to make mafia cards from paper? You can also print cards on plain paper. Just to increase the strength and thickness, you will need to glue cardboard under the main sheets before cutting. And then put the cards under a press so that they don’t bend after drying, and wait about half an hour.

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