Free tropical printables and cardmaking tutorials!

Add a touch of the tropics to your handmade cards and papercraft projects, with our fantastic free tropical printables, designed by illustrator, Esther Curtis.

With lots of exotic flowers and leaves, these eye-catching designs are perfect for layering up to create découpage cards. Add a bird, chameleon or hula girl among the foliage, and complete the scene with a sunset in the background, for that relaxed holiday vibe.

From flamingos and parrots to pineapples and cocktails, these free toppers are colourful, vibrant and ideal for card making.

You could create a fabulous shaker, spinner, stepper, or rocker cards using the toppers, images and patterns in the collection.

Watch our YouTube video!

To find out how to make a fabulous hula girl rocker card, check out the YouTube video below:

If you’re in a crafty mood, why not check out the best glue gun and best die-cutting machine. Thinking about buying a craft printer? Check out our review of the best printer for card making.

We love seeing what you make, so don’t forget to share your craft projects with us on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter, too!

Try these tropical cards:

Tropical rocking card

Watch the hula girl dance and sway on this moveable make!

Step 1

Cut a 15cm-wide circle in kraft card, score through the centre and fold in half. Find the centre point along the fold then make a 0.7cm-long slit using a sharp craft knife.

Step 2

Glue the end of an 11x0.5cm strip of kraft card onto a coin. Push 5cm of the strip through the slit then sandwich it between two blue die-cut circles, so it won’t fall back through the slit.

Step 3

Fussy cut a hula girl and glue to the kraft strip. Cut circles and scalloped circles in patterned papers, cut in half and use to cover the card base. Add a length of jute across the front.

Step 4

Fussy cut a parrot and attach to a thin strip of acetate. Sandwich this between a 9.5cm scalloped circle and an 8cm kraft circle, then add a 7.5cm circular sunset scene on top.

Step 5

Turn over the layered circles from step 4 and score a line 1.5cm up from the bottom. Attach the area under the scoreline to the back of the card then fold the circles backwards slightly.

Step 6

Fussy cut large and small yellow flowers. Cut away part of one of the smaller flowers and attach on top of another, using sticky foam pads. Attach all the flowers across the card front.

Step 7

Add gems to the flowers and scalloped circle. Cut out a tag sentiment and punch a hole through the top. Thread jute through the hole, tie it in a bow and attach with sticky foam pads.

Tropical spinner card

By using a couple of circle dies, you can inject extra fun to your makes with this pineapple spinner card.

Cut some patterned paper to 16.5 x 11.5cm then layer onto green paper and attach onto the front of a kraft card blank. Cut wood-effect paper to 16.5 x 11.5cm and cut a 9.5cm circle near the top.
Add foam tape or pads to the back of the paper, leaving a 1cm gap around the circle, then attach to the card front. Cut an 8cm-wide circular sunset scene, attach foam tape or pads to the back, leaving a 1cm gap around the edge, then affix as shown.
Tuck a penny in the gap between the two edges of the circles. Use a circular foam dot to attach another penny on top of the first, sitting in front of the circles. Fussy cut a pineapple and attach it onto the front penny.
Cut out a circular sentiment then layer it onto a die-cut scalloped circle. Embellish the card with fussy-cut tropical elements, gems and a length of jute ribbon, as shown.

Tropical shaker card

Add a touch of sparkle with a simple shaker card. Use pink glitter to match the flamingo. Adding layered, fussy-cut pink blooms complements the design.

Warmest wishes card

Add lots of lovely fussy-cut foliage and flowers to a stepper card, for a 3D effect. Create extra depth by placing a sunset scene behind an aperture.

Download your tropical printables:

To download your free tropical printables, click on the link and it will open in a new window. You can then save/download the entire collection – or, if you prefer, download each page individually below. Scroll the gallery to see what freebies you’ll be getting!