If you are new to card making then you will need to start by learning some basic skills.  Firstly, choosing your materials and equipment is very important.

If you are buying card in sheets, then you will need to cut it down to the size you need. I have purchased a paper guillotine for this, as they are not very expensive and do a good neat cut. Most also have size guides on them to make it easier to cut a standard size.

Alternatively you can use a craft knife or scalpel on a cutting mat. This is the cheaper option but can be less effective and you have to be quite skilled to get a straight cut, even with a metal ruler. Remember when cutting your own cards that you will need to have an evelope to fit and these genrally come in standard sizes.  There are ways of making your own envelopes but this can be tricky and time consumming.

You will need various other tools for the different materials you use. For example: Sharp scissors are good for paper, card, cloth and vellum, but they do not cut foam sheets or pipe cleaners very well at all and you are likely to blunt them quicker if you do use them. Use either a craft knife or wire cutters for thicker or harder materials.

To get a different effect why not try tearing. Vellum can be very effective if you tear your shape out and then use an ink pad dabbed down the edges to add a bit of contrasting or complementing colour. The photo below shows this effect with an embossed image mounted on it. This can then be used as a card topper.