This week I’m sharing a card for a guy – with some extra embellishment tips! I used Graphic 45’s wonderful A Proper Gentleman collection, which I still can’t get enough of 🙂
Enjoy the video!
Also check out my Man About Town sturdio album, which I made with the same paper collection!
Usually I’m quite structured and disciplined when it comes to designing and creating new papercraft projects. But sometimes I just like doodling around with some paper, and simply watch the magic happen in my hands while a project seems to create itself 🙂
This is how I created the cards, or perhaps more aptly card-letters, that I’m sharing with you this week. I was playing around with a piece of paper, randomly folding and turning it, until I decided to cut off some excess pieces and be done with it. I was surprised by the results!
So I decided to create a second one and do a process video tutorial for you all, to share my method – no measurements taken this time, for every such card will be unique. Hopefully you will enjoy creating your own just as much as I did creating mine.
Have fun watching the tutorial video and be aware that there is a second doodle-fold card I share at the end of it, so you’ll have two examples. Also, you can see both of them in the pictures below 🙂
I’ve heard some scrapbookers say that they immediately throw out their leftovers once a project is finished, no matter how much paper real estate they would still be able to get out of it. I’m not one of them! 🙂 On the contrary, I challenge myself to have as little leftovers as possible in the end, so I keep creating until there’s only some last feeble imitation of a heap of little scraps left.
This card is one of such projects, created with the last remnants of my Be-You-Tiful papers, of which I only had a few sheets to begin with.
Hoping to inspire you to craft until the last scrap, so have fun! 🙂
At first glance this may look like your average layered card, matted on the inside and outsides. It holds a surprise however, for if you untie its little bow on the front, a little tri-fold is revealed, with five cute panels you can use to stamp or add some sentiments or images, or even to hide a little picture.
I used Romantique papers for this card, a 2010 Prima Marketing collection. Its romantic vintage patterns were so lovely I didn’t really want to cut into them, so I made my card 6 1/8 x 6 1/8″ (15.5 x 15.5 cm) – which turned out to be a beautiful, luxurious size, but note that you will need a larger envelope as well.
So enjoy the video – which this time is with music only 😉 – and please click the Like button below! 🙂
So, for the final post of this year 🙂 I’ll leave you all with one last Christmas card tip – which you can of course use the whole year round: combining several paper collections for a paper craft project. This offers fun new challenges, for you’ll have to really think about colors and patterns: which ones coordinate well together, which combinations provide some elegant tensions and what color of cardstock will benefit the whole.
For these four Christmas cards, I mixed three paper collections and added embellishments from another four companies! I’ll list them all below. I also did some die-cutting of my own, which is always a great way to add to your projects.
Materials used:
I also used a Crealies Create-A-Card die for the step card.
Have a creative 2017, create what you wish existed 🙂
Merry Christmas everyone, and the happiest of New Years!
For a swap with a lovely lady in Canada (hi Diane! 🙂 ) I created this elaborate fold-out Christmas card. It counts six surface areas, offering great space for sentiments, stamps, pictures and other decorations.
I used the Season’s Greetings paper pad by Panduro, showcasing a lovely Christmas bear cutapart from the Sweet Winter Season collection by Studio Light.
It’s quite easy to make, and it’s basically part of a more elaborate wallet card I created for one of the Kaisercraft Exchange swap projects. If you’d like to learn step-by-step how to create this card, you can check out my tutorial.
Low-budget scrapbook papers are usually also fairly low quality; they’re thin, crack easily and they sometimes even lose their top layer – hence, their colors! Nevertheless, if you’re on a limited budget you can still create some lovely cards with the more affordable, brandless paper pads.
Just don’t fold them and glue them down really well…
Check out the video for two examples, in which I’m sharing some more low-budget tips – and have fun Christmas Card crafting! 🙂
Several people have told me they wish they could make their own cards (Christmas or otherwise), but that unfortunately “they have no experience”, “they wouldn’t know where to start”, or even the infamous “they are not creative” – which I do not believe is true for anyone.
So in this blog post I’m sharing two beginner’s level cards, to hopefully inspire you and to encourage you to “just do it”. This is an extra blog post, apart from the regular weekly ones, so no video but a blog exclusive 🙂
How to make these cards – in three easy steps
1. Buy a set of colored cards & envelopes. This way you won’t have to do any cutting and scoring of cardstock, and your card will automatically fit into its perfectly matching envelope.
2. Cut three pieces of decorative paper to fit the card; one of them will be the inside of your card so choose one solid pattern to enable you to write or print and/or stamp a message on it. If you’re not sure how to figure out the right measurements for matting, check out my free, easy to follow video tutorial on matting:
3. Glue these decorative mats onto the front, back and inside of your card, and you’re DONE! 🙂
Backsides
Three more optional steps, after step 3
4. Cut a journalling spot from a piece of colored cardstock and glue it onto the mat inside your card. This way you can use a patterned paper after all (instead of a solid). You could also add a ribbon or some strips of paper behind the journalling spot for some extra highlights.
Die-cut labels make perfect journalling spots; you can also cut a rectangle or square with a paper trimmer or craft knife
5. Add a small decoration to the front of your card. In my case I only added a gold-glittered bow to the top edge.
Done!
Papers used: Kris Kringle collection by S.E.I.
So I basically only matted three sides of my card, and my main concern only was which decorative papers to choose! 🙂
I hope this post was helpful to some of you to get started and go create your own Christmas cards!
Please click the like button before you leave 🙂 – and see you next blog post!
Christmas time is nearing and for all of you who’d like to create their own Christmas cards but are wondering how not to make them all mostly the same, I’ve compiled a stack of cards – and 33 variation tips to go with them!
Have fun watching the video, then please find all of the 33 tips listed below for your convenience!
The list with 33 (Christmas) card tips:
This week I’m sharing a tip for your Christmas cards. I know it’s early, but at least this tip will be on time for you! 🙂
Usually when creating a card you would create a cardstock base first, which you would then mat with design paper (and decorate). What I’m showing you in the video and pictures below is a fun and light-weight alternative: use double-sided design paper only and leave out the cardstock entirely! Your cards will be lighter and less bulky, making them easier (and more affordable) to send by mail, and you can decorate them just as you would any cardstock-based card.
As a bonus, the insides of these cards will be gorgeous without you having to put in any effort!
So have fun creating your Christmas cards, enjoying their new lightness 🙂 !
I tried out a new die set, called Modern Patchwork, which lets you create your own, well, patchwork of papers. 🙂
I really like the results, these cards were fun to create, give you a totally different look and as a bonus they are perfect to use up those beautiful scraps of paper you’ve got lying around everywhere because you can’t bring yourself to throw them away 🙂
So here’s the video! (and please don’t forget to click the like button 😉 )
The die-set’s product number is CLMP02 by the Dutch company Crealies. I used Coral Couture papers by DCWV.
A while ago I designed an interactive wallet card that perfectly fits your 6×6″ paper pads. It takes 9-10 sheets of paper for one card – which is perfect especially if you like projects that help you destash a bit (for all of you Paper Hoarders in denial out there 🙂 ).
For the first edition of this card I used a Kaisercraft paper collection, which I like because practically all of their collections come with die-cuts and sentiment ATC cards. That is why I chose Kaisercraft for this second wallet card as well. The Time Machine collection is a mostly masculine collection – stunning with its sophisticated darks and teals and beautiful specialty papers.
So go ahead and take a look; if you’d like to create it yourself, check out my tutorial on Etsy.
