Article Of The Month
April 2007 - Quick And Easy Cards
I love creating handmade cards for my family and friends. It’s such a treat seeing their reaction when they open a card they know was made just for them! And if I can’t be there in person, sending a handmade card is like sending a little piece of myself—the next best thing to being there.
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If you’re a busy mom like me, card making is a great way to be creative with a smaller, less time-consuming project. While a scrapbook can take weeks or months to finish, you can make a handmade card in as little as three minutes.
Cards can be as simple or as complex as you want (or have time for). I made this card in about three minutes using Icy Rainbow Instant Card Art, some foam tape and a bit of left-over ribbon. I love Instant Card Art! These are great, perfectly matched punch-outs from Hot Off The Press that make creating quick cards unbelievably easy. For this card I just had to punchout the letters of ‘thank,’ the coordinating tag and ‘you’. Then I attached them with a gluestick and foam tape. It really was an ‘instant’ card!
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If you add a few extra steps to the first card, you can create something that looks truly amazing. I made this card in about 10 minutes. First I just covered my card with paper (this is easier than you may think—see below for instructions.) Then I added brads and ribbon to the Instant Card Art and attached the Instant Card Art to the front of the card. I like to attach my letters so they’re tilted. This way I don’t have to worry about making sure they’re perfectly straight, plus I can fit more letters on the card.
I didn’t have to worry about matching the embellishments and art to the paper (thank goodness!) because they’re all a part of Hot off The Press’ Cardmakers line. The paper came from the Icy Rainbow Creative Pack, the brads are a part of the Icy Rainbow Creative Kit and the ribbons came from Icy Rainbow Ribbons. These products are all designed to match perfectly so instead of worrying whether the colors I’m using will work together I can spend more time making cards!
If you’re a scrapbooker looking into taking up cardmaking, the only investment you’ll need is a blank card. I like the Cardmaker’s™ Blank White Cards & Envelopes (LINK to 9333) because they’re a nice size (5”x 6 1/2”), they’re sturdy and they come with envelopes. Don’t have blank cards? Don’t worry—you can fold a piece of cardstock in half to make a blank card.
Cardmaking Basics
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| Use a glue stick to cover the outside front of the card around the edges |
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| Press your paper onto the front of the card aligning the edges of the paper with the fold and top of the card |
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| Turn the card over and trim the excess paper even with the edges of the card. I like to save the scraps to use as a border on the inside of the card. |
Using Brads:
Personally, I don’t like seeing the prongs of a brad when I open a card. To prevent this I tend to add brads to the art (a tag, for example), open the prongs and then glue the art to the front of a card. If I’m adding brads to the paper I’m using to cover my card, I cut my paper down to slightly smaller than the card front and insert my brads before I attach the paper to my card. This leaves a little white border around the edges of a 5” x 6 _” card, making it easy for me to center my paper on the card.
Using Punch-Outs:
It’s best to punch out your punch-outs from the bottom up. This prevents any tearing or snagging around the edges of the punch-out. If you have little white perforation tabs around the edge of your punch-out you can simply cut them off or rub them off with fine grade sandpaper.
Using Foam Tape:
I like to use foam tape under a few elements of a card to add dimension, but I’m careful not to use this too often. If all of the letters on a card are raised, the overall effect is diminished.
My number one tip for new cardmakers is to make more than one card at a time. To keep myself from always making cards at the last minute (and because once you’ve given someone a handmade card they won’t settle for anything else), I try to make cards in batches. I’ll create 10 cards in an afternoon, then file them away until I need a Thank You or Birthday card. Then I just whip out the card I want, personalize it, and I’m all set.
Cardmaking is one of my favorite paper crafting hobbies. Giving a handmade card really shows how much I care about someone (plus they’re a ton of fun to make!). Try it, once you see how much your friends and family love the cards you make for them I’m betting you’ll be stuck on this hobby too!