Bring on the light

AKA: Happy birthday to me!

Have I mentioned that Moose is the best husband ever? If you need proof, I give you exhibit A:

He built me a light box!!! What a totally amazing birthday gift! Plus, it’s one that just keeps on giving… just think of all the wonderful embossed cards I’ll be able to make with it. Plus, it’ll be exceptionally useful whenever I need to trace something!

Moose built the light box mostly out of things we had on hand: scrap wood; electrical wiring; an electrical switch; some 13W CFL lightbulbs and a piece cut out of a broken fluorescent light diffuser. He only had to purchase the piece of glass and the light fixtures. He has promised me that he’ll write up a tutorial on how to make a light box of your very own for me to post on here soon.

Here’s a couple shots of the box turned on (it’s SUPER bright, so the pictures didn’t turn out very well):

And, finally, here’s a picture of the very first project I did with the light box (a Mother’s Day card I made for my amazing Mom):

Be sure to show your Mom just how much she means to you this Sunday! Have a fantastic week, everyone!

A little brightness goes a long way...

After battling it out with Moose Flu for the past few days, I decided a little pick-me-up to get back on the Card Tricks track was in order. Enter this bright and cheery little thank you card, complete with polka dots on a pretty pink background.

This card was hand cut with a stocking stuffer Moose (the husband - see this post for the reason why) gave me this year, a Slice Precision Paper Cutter with ceramic blade. It took me some time to get used to using this knife, but I can already tell that it is going to have a prominent place in my toolbox from now on.

Supplies:

·      Sheet of 8 1/2” x 11” pink card stock

·      Sheet of 8 1/2” x 11” white text paper

·      Piece of polka dot patterned card stock (big enough to cover the words “Thank You” on the front of your card – I used a 4” x 3” piece)

Equipment:

·      Computer

·      Printer

·      Paper trimmer

·      Bone folder

·      Pencil

·      Cutting mat

·      Utility/craft knife

·      Glue runner

·      Glue stick

Directions:

1.     Open a new document in Word or a design layout program. Create a text box in the upper left hand corner, no bigger than 4 1/2” x 3 1/4”. Type in the words “Thank You” in a blocky, simple font (I used Verdana, but any sans serif font will do). Centre the text and resize it to fit the box. Print the document on to the white text paper.

2.     Trim the white paper to create a box around the text, with about 1/2” to 1” white space around the text. Trim the rest of the paper to create a card liner, measuring 4 1/2” x 7 1/2”.

3.     Cut the pink card stock in half with the paper trimmer to get two pieces, measuring 5 1/2 x 8 1/2”. Put one away with your other scraps to be used in future projects.

4.     Use the bone folder to fold the other piece of pink card stock into a 4 1/4” x 5 1/2” card. Fold the card liner in half as well.

5.     Open the pink card stock and place on a cutting mat. Centre the “Thank You” text on the front panel of the card. Use a pencil to trace around the letters so that you end up with impressions of the letters on the pink card stock.

6.     Use the knife to carefully cut out the letters, using the impressions as guides. Remember to cut out the centres of the letters “a” and “o”. Set them aside in a safe place so that you can easily find them later.

7.     Position the patterned card stock on the inside of the front panel with the pattern showing through the cut out letters. Move the card stock around until you are happy with the way the pattern is showing through. Use the glue runner to attach the patterned card stock in place (be careful to not put glue where the cut out letters are – the glue may be transparent, but it will remain tacky).

8.     Glue the centres of the “a” and the “o” in their positions on the front of the card.

9.     Attach the card liner to the inside of the card with the glue runner (technique here).

As you can see, I didn’t worry about tracing or cutting out the letters perfectly. I thought it looked better with a little bit of freehand. You can be as precise or carefree as you like, depending on what look you like best.

That’s all for today, folks! Hope you all are having a wonderful year so far. See you on Friday!

Keeping it punchy

Care and maintenance for your paper punches

With the plethora of cards that I’ve been making lately, I’ve begun to notice that my paper punches are starting to, well, lose their punch. This, of course, caused some concern – punches aren’t cheap, after all. So, I got my research on, chose a punch to be my tester/sacrificial victim if things went wrong, and discovered a few ways to keep paper punches in perfect working order.

1.     Store punches in a dry place. Protect them from dust and moisture, which can cause rusting and other issues.

2.     If paper gets jammed in the punch, use tweezers to remove it. If the paper is too jammed to remove with the tweezers, put the punch in the freezer for 20 seconds. This will cause the metal to contract, making paper removal easier. Do not freeze the punches, however, or leave them in for too long. Freezing temperatures can cause the plastic casing to become brittle and crack.

3.     When the punch becomes dull, sharpen it by punching through some heavy-duty aluminum foil.

4.     Punch several times through wax paper to lubricate the punch when it starts to stick.

I hope these tips help your punches live a long and productive life! Come back on Wednesday, when we’ll return to the crafting for a cute and coordinated way to package up gifts. See you then!

The perfect finish

Want your cards to have a professional looking finish? Lining your card will do the trick. As an added bonus, card liners are often easier to write on and allow the inside text to be more legible, especially when working with dark or metallic card stock.

After a bit of trial and error, I’ve come up with a way to line cards evenly and easily. I have used a few different types of adhesive and have determined that glue runners (like this one) or double-sided tape work the best. If using double-sided tape, cut it with scissors instead of with the cutting edge of the dispenser – the jagged edges left by the cutting edge can sometimes show through the lining.

Materials:

·      Folded card, measuring 4 1/4” x 5 1/2” after folding (8 1/2” x 5 1/2” open)

·      Folded sheet of good quality text weight paper, measuring 4” x 5” after folding (8” x 5” open)

Supplies:

·      Double-sided tape, glue runner or another type of adhesive suitable for paper use (do not use liquid glue, the paper will bubble)

Directions:

1.     Lay the folded text weight paper on your work surface. Tape/glue around the edges of the paper (do not do the folded edge).

2.     Open the card and lay the folded paper inside, adhesive side up. Line the paper up evenly inside the card.

3.     Carefully close the card (to avoid moving the liner out of place) and smooth along the outside of the card with your fingers to press the adhesive into place.

4.     Open the card so that the unattached side of the paper is on top. Tape/glue around the edges (again avoiding the folded edge).

5.     Repeat step three.

6.     If using adhesive that requires drying time (like a glue stick), press the cards under some books until dry. Placing a piece of wax paper between the card and the books can help protect the surface of the card (pressing is not recommended for cards that have 3-D elements that will crush easily).

That’s it for today, folks! Friday will feature a card appropriate to the weather we’ve been having lately up here in the “Frozen North". See you then!

Welcome!

I have a confession to make. I’m passionate about paper. I love the feel of a well-made piece of card stock, the texture of the surface, the crisp edges and the perfect corners – I get a little thrill each time I step into a paper store or receive a new shipment from an online order.

Luckily, I have a very supportive husband who not only puts up with this obsession (and the related credit card bills), but has urged me to go public with it to share my triumphs and, of course, my mistakes, in the world of paper-crafting, hopefully to the benefit of all of you out there.

And so, without further ado, welcome to Card Tricks, a blog dedicated to all things paper. Here you will find unique designs, as well as tips and techniques for creating cards and other paper-crafted objects. I will also review related products and equipment to help you choose which ones to equip yourself with when you create your own designs.

Today, I’ll start out with a technique used in pretty much all card designs, card stock folding. The star of this procedure is the bone folder, a narrow piece of bone (or, as is the case for many newer versions, plastic) used to score, crease and smooth paper.

Typical bone folders

There are two techniques that I use for folding. The first is a simple fold on the outside of the card, while the second involves scoring the card from the inside and creating the fold from there. I find the first technique to be the easiest, although the second is better for creating crisp folds without creases when using heavy or metallic card stock.

Supplies and materials needed:

• bone folder
• sheet of card stock
• metal-edged ruler (for technique 2)
• cutting mat (optional)

Technique 1: Simple fold

1.     Fold over card stock until the edges are lined up. Do not crease the paper yet, but leave it rounded, so that it resembles a sideways teardrop when looking straight across from the bottom or top.

 

 2.    Hold the edges in place using your non-dominant hand. With your dominant hand, grip the bone folder and press down on the cardstock in the middle of where you want the fold to be. In a smooth motion, push down on the bone folder while moving upwards to the top of the card, making sure to keep the outside edges lined up.

3.     Repeat step two, this time moving from the middle down to the bottom.

 

 

Technique 2: Scored fold (best for heavy or metallic card stock)

1.     Line up a ruler on the inside middle (or wherever you want your fold to be) of your cardstock.

 

2.     Using the scoring (sharpish) edge/point of your bone folder, score the paper by pressing down in a smooth motion along the edge of the ruler. This can also be done with the dull side of a utility knife blade.

3.     Bring the edges of your cardstock together with the exterior side out, running your fingers from top to bottom of the scored paper to create the fold.

 

That’s it for today, Internets. Come back on Friday for the first in a series of holiday cards, perfect for giving to your loved ones this holiday season.