A Little Card Trick for You

I make a lot of greeting cards which I sell at the Hirdie Girdie Gallery, Sanibel. In fact sometimes my stock is low because they take some time to do. Finally I have a shortcut which you may find useful.

First, I create a little scene on as I usually do Buckram or Crinolin for the stabilizer. Both are stiff but thin, great for stitching yet not being thick on the card. Then I trim the edges to 4x6" to fit within a border area on my 5x7" card. The scene needs to be 'square' but cropped to its best advantage. I've tried using a ruler on a grid cutting board, and placing a 4x6" sheet of translucent plastic over the image for edges to follow with my rotary cutter. As you can guess, the ruler wiggled and the plastic sheet wasn't thick enough to keep the cutter going straight.

SO-drum roll please-I found a clear acrylic slab, half an inch thick by 4x6" which is used for accurately placing rubber stamps when stamping (what else?) Anyway, the thickness is enough to keep my cutter going straight and just low enough for the knob on the side of the cutter to clear it!! I can easily see through it for placement too.

The acrylic did slip on the scene a bit, though. So, I used those adhesive strips on the bottom (which keep your ruler from slipping) Not only did they keep it from slipping, I used one in the middle to help line up the straight horizontal center of the scene. Yippee! Making cards is a little quicker with this 'card trick.'

Finally, I adhere the scene to the card with double stick tape, then stitch it right onto the 110 lb. card stock. A little clear plastic easel is included with the card (and envelope) so it can be displayed.

Enjoy the gallery which shows more details. Click to enlarge pictures.