3D Layered Teddy Bear Card - Perfect for Valentine's Day! (Free SVG & PDF)

Post may include affiliate links. We may earn a fee if you use them at no cost to you. Disclosure.

If you’re searching for Valentine card ideas, you’ve come to the right place!

Crafters! This blog post is for you.

In this step-by-step tutorial, you’re going to learn how to make a 3D teddy bear valentine’s day card with your Cricut machine. This project is simple, easy, and perfect for anyone who wants to show their loved ones some extra love this Valentine’s Day.

With just a few simple steps, and my FREE SVG and PDF templates, you can create a beautiful homemade valentine’s day card that will show your friends and family how much you care about them. Plus, it’ll be extra special because it was made with your own two hands.

I love making homemade cards because it allows me to show my loved ones how much I really care about them. Even if I make the same design for multiple people, each will be unique and specially made just for them. They are also super easy to customize – in fact, I include 3 different cover options with this template to make this extra easy!

All you’re going to need is some cardstock, glue, foam dots and a Cricut machine or crafting knife! If you’re new to making cards or using foam dots, don’t worry! By the end of this post and watching my video, you’ll have everything you need to make the perfect card on your first try!

Making these cards is super simple! Just pick your colors, cut out the pieces and then put it together using glue or foam dots! It’s as easy as it sounds!

Since some materials and tools work better than others, though, I’m going to show you which ones I used and why so you can have a blast making this cute card and avoid wasting materials.

I’ll be there with you every step of the way and if you have any questions, post them in the comments or our Facebook group!

Without further ado, let’s get crafting!

This step-by-step video tutorial shows you how to make the 3D teddy bear valentine’s day card.

Please note that you do NOT need to own a Cricut machine to make this project. Head to the FAQ section to learn how to adapt this tutorial if you don’t have a Cricut machine!

Quick Links to Information in this Post

Materials for this Homemade Valentine Card

Now let’s talk about the materials and tools you’ll need to make this project!

cricut machine, cardstock, cutting mat, foam dots and glue needed to make this DIY valentine card

Cutting Machine with a fine tip blade (I love this one or this one best!) or Craft Knife
Cutting Machine Mat (if using a Cricut machine)
Glue (this one is great!)
Foam Dots (This one has a great mix of sizes!)
Cardstock (I used colors like this: Dark Brown, Light Brown, Red, Pink, Black, White)
Scoring wheel or scoring stylus
Design #C.18 in my members-only library! (It’s free to get access here)

You might be wondering:

What size foam dots are best for this project?

What kind of glue is best for card making?

What kind of cardstock should I use?

So let’s get into that!

Cutting Machine

I like to use a cutting machine like a Cricut when I make projects like this. It helps me get more exact cuts faster – especially when trying to make really intricate cuts like I have in some of the Valentine’s Day card cover options!

If you don’t have one, or you love cutting by hand, you don’t have to use a Cricut machine. It’s just a lot easier with one.

If you’re want to learn more about Cricut machines, check out my post about the Cricut Explore Air (which also includes the Maker too!).

Cutting Mat

Since we are working with cardstock, you are going to want to work with either the standard or light grip mat. You don’t want to find the right balance between holding the cardstock well but not holding on to it so much that it’s hard to remove. A regular 12×12 cutting mat will work fine!

Tip: Since we are making a card, it’s especially important to keep your cardstock flat. After you are done cutting your cardstock, flip the entire mat over and peel the mat from the cardstock instead of the cardstock from the mat. This will help keep the cardstock from curling!

Glue

Picking the right glue for card making can be surprisingly hard! Many types of glue (like your standard Elmer’s glue) can make your cardstock warp! Ugh!

That’s why I like to use a white tacky glue when making cards because it doesn’t warp the cardstock and it dries clear! It’s also not too thick, so if I need to go over a part or get into an intricate spot, I can get that done without worrying about the glue bleeding through.

Pinterest pin for this diy valentine card

Another option that works great – maybe even better – is glue tape! There’s no mess, no chance of warping or bleeding, and it’s super easy to use!

Note: In the video you see me using a glue stick. I don’t recommend this unless you don’t have anything else to use because the bond may not last as long and your loved one is definitely going to want to hold on to this card forever! I only used it in the video because I was because I had nothing else on hand. We were packing for a big move and all my glue was packed! Whoops!

Foam Dots

Foam dots are key for this project. They help give the card a dimensional effect it would have otherwise be lacking.

I like to use foam dots that are 1/8″ in size because they are just the right mix of small enough to not be noticeable but large enough to pop out! The ones I link above are great for this project because it’s a multi pack. You’ll get three different sized dots that are all the same thickness and you’ll have enough dots to make many many projects!

If you don’t have foam dots and don’t want to get them, you CAN just glue all the parts together but the effect won’t be as 3-dimensional. This photo shows what it would look like with and without the foam dots.

This DIY valentine card on a table open showing the 3D layered teddy bear holding a valentine inside and a closed valentine card with one of the cover options closed next to it

Cardstock

When picking out cardstock for card making, there’s a few things to keep in mind. For the parts inside or on top of the card, you want something with some decent weight but it doesn’t need to be too thick.

For the backbone of the card though, the piece the folds in half and then gets decorated, you likely want something a bit thicker so that it can hold the weight of everything.

For the envelope, you could use either.

For most of the card, your typical 65lb cardstock should work just fine! For the “backbone” of it though, I like to use cardstock in the range of 80-100lb weight. It’s not too flimsy but it’s not too heavy either.

Tip: Cardstock is sometimes called something different depending on where you are shopping! If you see very thick “paper”, it’s likely cardstock!

You can use whatever colors you want for this card, but if you ant to make one that looks like mine, here’s what you’ll need:

Scoring Tool

This tool is key because it helps you fold your parts in the right place easily. If you don’t have a scoring tool or scoring stylus, no problem! Just put a pen in the spot of your Cricut machine and it will draw the line for you as a guide.

My Free 3D Valentine’s Day Card SVG and PDFs

You’re also going to need my design! You can have it for free but I keep it locked away in my member’s only resource library for safe keeping! To get access (if you don’t already), just fill out the form below. Once you get the file, just unzip it and you’ll be ready to go! The design you need for this project is C18.

If you’re a fan of DIY card making, you will want to check out my pop-up flower card and my necktie card!

How To Make This Homemade Valentine’s Day Card

Handmade Valentine’s Day Card

Materials

Tools

Instructions

Step 1: Get my FREE Valentine's Day Card SVG

First, download my free homemade valentine's day card SVG/PDF from my free resource library. Then unzip or extract the file so you can get to the individual files.

Then...

1. Open design space

2. Click “New Project”

3. Click “Upload”

4. Click “Upload Image”

5. Select the SVG file

6. Click “Upload”

7. Select the file you just uploaded from the library

8. Click “Insert Images”

This is what the Valentine's day card SVG cut file looks like uploaded in Design Space. Chances are you won't see the whole design on the screen but you can easily zoom out to see the whole design. Just click minus (-) sign on the lower left or click CTRL and (-) at the same time.

All the pieces will be grouped together. Right click on the image and choose "ungroup".

Step 2: Prepare and Customize this DIY Valentine's Day Card

Now there's a few things we need to do before we can cut.

We need to change some lines to score lines, resize the design, decide if we want to draw some words on the heart, and remove the covers we don't want to use! Let's get started.

Making our score lines

On the right hand size you'll see an object panel. Find the 2 straight lines and the blue square. Select them all by holding down the "shift" key while clicking on them. Then go to the "Operations" drop down at the top and change it from "Basic Cut" to "Score".

Now you need to attach those score lines to where they belong. In the objects panel again, select the two straight lines and the big white rectangle (the card) by clicking on all three while holding down "shift". Then right click and select "Attach".

Then select the blue rectangle and the envelope (the weirdest looking shape), right click and attach. These steps are key otherwise your score lines will be floating!

Resize Your Valentine's Day Card

Now you're going to want to resize your card. Make sure everything is selected when you do this step so that all the parts resize in the same way. Otherwise, this design won't work.

To select everything click CTRL+A and then click and drag the resize tool on the bottom right.

Tip: The final size of your card will be as high as the big white rectangle and half as wide as it. You can use the rulers in Design Space to gauge this as you drag.

Tip: The biggest you can cut something is 11.5"x11.5". The biggest piece in this design is the envelope. If when you go to cut you get a message saying that the design isn't compatible, it's because you need to shrink the design. If you are trying to make this as big as possible, gauge the size of the envelope as you adjust the size to make sure that you are under 11.5"x11.5".

Add or Remove the Text

I included two pieces of text that you can easily add to the hear! If you want to use one of them, here's how:

Delete the one you don't want to use.
Select the one you do want to use and change the operation at the top from cut to "draw" so you can draw the letters.
Drag the text to the heart (the one with the smooth edges not the ruffles).
Select both the text and the heart and then right click and "attach". That's it! You'll need to insert a pen or marker into your Cricut machine when this part cuts to draw the text.

If you don't want to add the text this way, just delete both options.

Select Your DIY Valentine's Day Card Cover

I've included three options for you to choose from! They look a bit different in design space then they will once cut, so here's how they'd look assembled. Delete the ones you DON'T want to use.

Step 3: Cut the parts of this Valentine's Day Card

Now you're going to go ahead and begin cutting! This is the exciting part!

First, decide what color cardstock you want to use for each part of this DIY valentine card and get your cardstock ready to go! You don't want to start cutting and then find that you're missing a key color!

I used:

1 Dark brown piece of cardstock (for the bear)

1 Light brown piece of cardstock (for the bear)

2 Pink pieces of cardstock (for the heart and envelope)

1 Red piece of cardstock (for the heart)

1 Black piece of cardstock (for the bear)

1 White piece of cardstock (for the card itself - the backbone)

To begin cutting, click "Make it".

If you are using a Maker 3 or Explore 3, you will be asked if you will be cutting your designs without a mat, with a mat, or multiple ways. Select "On Mat" and click "Continue."

Next scrolls down the virtual mats on the left hand side. You may see two mats that you could combine if you want to - but you don't have to. Watch my video to see what I mean and how I combine them. This is optional.

Next, click "Continue".

You will be prompted to pick your material settings and place your material for each layer on your machine mat. (If you're using an Explore Air series machine, you'll need to turn your dial to custom" first.)

For the material settings, I usually choose "Light Cardstock" and sometimes choose the "More" pressure option. Sometimes choosing "More" pressure can improve the cut but that does seem to differ from machine to machine.

If you're using lots of very different kinds of cardstock - let's say, some are glitter - you may need to change your material settings as you go.

Now check your tool list. You're going to need a scoring tool/stylus and the fine tip blade. Add both to your machine.

Now just load your first mat (make sure the color you load matches the color you want for the first item shown on the left side (it will be highlighted) and press the flashing "Go" button to start cutting!

After each mat is done cutting, unload the mat and remove the cardstock. Then load the next one and repeat until all are done!

Tip: When removing the cardstock, make sure not to curl or bend it. The easiest way to do this is to flip the whole mat over and then peel the mat away from the cardstock vs. the cardstock from the mat. While you do this, hold the cardstock flat against your table.

Step 4: Assemble the parts of your Valentine's Day Card

Now comes the really fun part! Putting it all together! Note that you can watch the video if seeing it in action is easier for you!

First grab the big rectangular piece which is the main part of the card and fold along both score lines.

Then find the really big piece for the envelop and fold along those score lines too and then glue the bottom three pieces together to form the envelope.

Now let's work on the cover. Find the two cover pieces and connect them using glue or foam dots. Then attach that to the front of the card.

Next I like to work on the head of our teddy bear. Find the right order for the pieces - in my case it was black on the bottom, light brown in the middle and then dark brown. Now connect them using foam dots in between each layer.

Do the same with the heart and then the feat to assemble them.

Now we need to connect all the parts together and attach them to the card.

Start by gluing the head to the card at the top.

Next add glue to the top of the heart and foam dots to the bottom and then attach it overlapping with the head as seen in my photos.

Now, do the same with the feet. Add glue to the top of the feet and foam dots to the bottom and attach them.

By doing it this way, we're attaching the pieces and adding supports using the foam dots to keep everything elevated!

Last, attach the hands to the heart using foam dots!

That's it!

Step 5: Gift this beautiful card to a loved one!

Now you just need to decide who will be lucky enough to receive it and give it to them!

Frequently Asked Questions About Making a Homemade Valentine Card

Can I make this without a Cricut Machine?

You sure can! It will definitely take more skill to cut all the pieces by hand and take more time, but you can 100% do it! When you download my design and extract it, you’ll see a folder called “PDF”. In that folder you’ll find individual files that you can print out. Feed your colored paper through your print and print those files out. Then cut along the lines and assembled using the same assembly instructions above!

What kind of paper should I use?

ard to make sure that I have enough support. See the material list above for links to the ones I used!

Do I have to use foam dots when assembling this card?

No! I love the dimension that the foam dots give this layered teddy bear card, but you can absolutely just glue it flat if you’d prefer! Here’s an example showing how it looks glued down (left) and using foam dots (right).

Can I cut make this with a Cricut Joy?

While you could in theory shrink this card small enough that you could cut it with a Cricut Joy, it might end up being too small to cut well.

The cardstock keeps ripping. What am I doing wrong?

It’s likely one of two things – either your mat isn’t sticky enough and the paper isn’t still while cutting, or you have debris on your blade and need to clean it.

That’s all there is to it! I hope you love this project as much as I do! Got any questions? Just comment below or ask in our FB Group!

I’d love to see YOUR homemade Valentine Cards and how you made yours extra special! Please share a photo in our Facebook group or tag me on social media with #analyticalmommycrafts or @analyticalmommy! I can’t wait to see how they turned out!

Cutest Homemade Valentine’s Day Card: 3D Teddy Bear Card with Free SVG and PDF

If you’re searching for Valentine card ideas, you’ve come to the right place!