Make a Handmade Football Birthday Card with a Cool Slider Effect

Looking to make a moving birthday card? This handmade football card isn’t just another design—it’s interactive. Thanks to the fun slider effect, the football glides across the card, creating a surprise that’ll make the recipient smile and play with it again.

I’ll guide you through crafting this dynamic card using Polkadoodles digital stamps and patterned papers. This tutorial covers everything you’ll need from creating the slider to adding the final touches.

Let’s bring this football design to life.

Let’s go over the supplies you’ll need for this card. I used Polkadoodles digital stamps and papers to create this handmade football birthday card. This slider effect makes the card interactive, and it’s simpler than it looks.

These digital stamps and papers set the theme for the card:

• Soccer Football Gnome for Men Digital Stamp – A fun football-themed gnome illustration.
• Gnomen Men Greetings, Quotes & Sentiments – Perfect for adding football-inspired messages.
• Gnome Men Soccer Football Printable Pattern Paper – Background paper that ties the theme together.

Here is what you’ll need to add depth and shading:

• Distress Ink – I used Mowed Lawn, Pine Needles, and Salty Ocean for the grass and sky.
  • Alternative: Any water-based ink works, such as Memento, Catherine Pooler, or Altenew inks. You can also use watercolour paint for a similar effect.
• Alcohol markers – Any brand works for colouring your gnome and football elements.
  • Alternative: If you don’t have alcohol markers, try coloured pencils or watercolours for a different look.
• White gel pen – Adds highlights and extra details.
  • Alternative: A white acrylic paint pen or even diluted white paint with a fine brush can create similar highlights.

These tools will help you assemble the card:

• Blending brush – For smooth ink blending.
  • Alternative: If you don’t have a blending brush, a sponge, a makeup applicator, or a tissue will do the trick.
• Foam tape – Essential for the slider mechanism.
  • Alternative: Stack small pieces of cardstock with glue to create dimension if you don’t have foam tape.
• Craft knife – This is to cut the slider track if you don’t have a die.
  • Alternative: A precision cutting tool or scissors with a steady hand can also work.
• Cloud stencil – To create a soft, blended sky background.
  • Alternative: Make your own stencil by cutting cloud shapes from cardstock, or lightly blend ink freehand for a similar effect.
• Grass die – If you don’t have one, you can cut grass-like shapes by hand.
  • Alternative: Use scissors to snip the top of green cardstock into grass-like strips or tear the edges for a textured effect.

I used these colours, but feel free to mix and match:

• Blue cardstock – A solid base for the sky.
  • Alternative: Use white cardstock and blend blue ink for a custom sky.
• Green cardstock – Perfect for the football pitch.
  • Alternative: Colour white cardstock with green ink or markers to create the same effect.

Use what you have and make this design your own. Whether you opt for a different colour palette, replace the slider with another interactive element, or hand-cut the details, the fun part is making it your own. Now, let’s get started!

An interactive card is a fun way to add movement and surprise. This football-themed slider card is perfect for sports fans, allowing the football to move across the pitch. The best part? You don’t need special tools—just a few basic supplies and some creativity.

I’ll take you through each step, from inking the background to putting the slider together. I have tips to help you tweak the design and make it yours. Let’s get started!

A sturdy base keeps your card looking great, so let’s make the card base.

For this design, I used a green card base measuring 10 cm x 14.8 cm. If you have a pre-made card base in this size, that works perfectly. Want to make your own? It’s easy.

Cut a piece of green cardstock to 21 cm x 14.8 cm. Then, score a line down the middle at 10.5 cm along the 21 cm side. Fold the cardstock along the score line, then use a bone folder to press it down—this keeps the fold crisp.

No bone folder? Try the edge of a ruler or the back of a spoon instead. Now your base is ready, it’s a solid start for your football slider card.

Let’s build the football field. The background sets the scene and makes the card more engaging.

• White cardstock (9.5 cm x 13.8 cm)
• Grass die or stencil (No die or stencil? Just cut the grass shapes by hand.)
• Distress Inks: Mowed Lawn and Pine Needles (Alternatives: Any green ink pads or markers can be used to colour the grass)
• Blending brush (No brush? Try a sponge or cotton ball.)
• Cloud stencil (Alternatives: If you don’t have a cloud stencil, you can create a DIY stencil by cutting cloud shapes from paper)
• Distress Ink: Salty Ocean (Alternatives: Any blue ink can work for the sky effect)
• Blue cardstock (10 cm x 14.3 cm) (Alternatives: Any colour cardstock can be used for the border—go for a contrast that works with your design)

Cut a strip of white cardstock using a grass die. If you don’t have a die, a stencil will work just as well. To add colour, blend Mowed Lawn Distress Ink over the entire grass piece using a blending brush. Then, deepen the edges with Pine Needles Distress Ink to create extra depth and a more realistic effect.

Position a cloud stencil at the top of your white panel. Using a blending brush, apply Salty Ocean Distress Ink along the edges of the stencil. Move the stencil at different angles to create a natural, layered cloud effect.

Mount the background onto a blue cardstock panel (10 cm x 14.3 cm) to add contrast and bring the scene together.

The football field is ready. Now it’s time to add the slider for the ball—that’s where the fun begins.

With the background ready, let’s make the footballs for the slider. The patterned paper has a football design, but the balls are too small—so we’ll resize them to fit.

Here’s how to make them:

• Open Word and insert the patterned paper.
• Click on the patterned paper, then go to ‘Picture Format’ in the menu. Select ‘Crop’—black lines will appear around the image.
• Drag the black lines to frame two full footballs.
• Click ‘Crop’ again to confirm
• Drag the corners to resize the footballs.
• Print and cut them out.

Now that the footballs are ready, it’s time to build the slider. Prepping them first makes assembly easier.

This slider mechanism adds a fun interactive element, letting the ball move towards the goal. Let’s get started.

• Craft knife (Alternatives: A sharp pair of scissors can work if you’re careful)
• Foam tape
• Printed and cut-out football ball
• White cardstock (for the circle behind the ball)
• Green card base (10.5 cm x 14.8 cm)

Decide where you want the slider on your card, Place the football image on the background and lightly mark, using a pencil, where the slider will go. I prefer to go by eye without measuring too much, but if you want precision, feel free to use a ruler. I’m opting for a curved path, so I’ll draw a slight curve where I want the ball to move.

Now it’s time to cut out the slider path. Use a craft knife to carefully cut along the pencil marks. Make sure your blade is sharp, it needs to cut through two layers of cardstock. Take your time and be cautious while cutting.

Take your printed football and place it on a piece of white cardstock. Cut around it, leaving a circle that matches the size of the ball. This white circle will go behind the slider, with the ball sitting on top of it. Attach foam tape between the white circle and the football to allow the ball to slide smoothly along the path.

It’s time to add foam tape to the back of the panel. Be careful to position the tape so it does not interfere with the slider mechanism. Once complete, attach the panel to the green card base measuring 10.5 cm x 14.8 cm.

Before moving on, check that the slider works. Gently move the ball along the path to ensure it slides smoothly towards the goal. If it doesn’t move as desired, adjust the foam tape or the slider path as needed.

Let’s add some colour to the Polkadoodles Football Gnome. Download the digital stamp and resize it in Word. I like using 8 cm in width, but you can adjust it to fit your design. Print the image on DCP paper, it works well with alcohol markers.

Colouring is your chance to make the card your own, try different colours and see what works for you. These are the colours I used.

• Skin: Pale Cream, Salmon Pink, Peachy Blush, Tanned Skin
• Beard: Cool Grey 5, Cool Grey 4, Cool Grey 3, Cool Grey 1
• Hat & Shoes: Yellow Green, Grass Green, Forest Green, Dark Green
• Pants: Baby Boy, Midi Sky, Dark Sky, Dark Indigo
• Shoe Soles: Cool Grey 9, Cool Grey 8, Cool Grey 7, Cool Grey 5
• Ball Panels: Cool Grey 9

After colouring the gnome, use a white gel pen to add highlights, particularly on the hat and pants. This detail will give the image more depth and help the colours stand out.

Once you’ve finished colouring and adding highlights, cut out the image, and you’ll be ready for the next step.

Colouring is an excellent opportunity to personalize your card, so don’t hesitate to experiment with different colours. This is where you can get creative, and enjoy the process.

Now that the slider mechanism is set, let’s add the final details to finish the card. Now, we’ll attach the gnome, add the sentiment, and bring in some football-themed details.

Place the coloured gnome at the end of the slider. Make sure it lines up so the football moves toward the goal when pulled. Glue it down to the background.

Now, let’s add the sentiment. I’m using ‘Goalllll!’ from the Gnome Men Greetings set. I print the text, cut it out, and trim along the letters. Then, I stick it in the top right corner to give it a dynamic feel.

Now, it’s time to add a few more footballs for extra fun. I cut out two large footballs from the patterned paper—one will go in the top corner of the goal, and the other will be placed near the gnome. Cut out a small football and place it above the goal, it looks like it’s flying over the top, adding movement to the scene.

And that’s it—your card is done!

Now that everything’s in place, take a moment to enjoy your creation. You’ve made a fun football-themed slider card that’s sure to make someone smile. Want to make it your own? Try different colours and embellishments. Try out new ideas, crafting’s all about creativity and fun.

Are you ready to showcase your card-making skills? Join the Polkadoodles Challenge and share your creations with the community. Click the link below for all the details and to submit your design.

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