Lynn Leusch

One of the hottest current cardmaking trends these days is making slimline cards. They are called slimline cards because of their tall and slender, vertical or long size.

The standard size of a US A2 card is 5.5 x 4.25 whereas a slimline card typically measures 3.5 x 8.5. I have seen slightly different measurements online, but the slimline card is made to fit in a #10 standard envelope.

Pros And Cons Of Making Slimline Cards

Pros
Wy are crafters loving this card trend? One of the great things about making slimline cards is that they offer the maker more creative space to fill. This allows for a larger creative canvas to work on like being able to create an entire scene on a card front. The use of a bigger sentiment space is also another benefit that card makers are enjoying with this trendy card size.

Unlike other non-traditional card sizes (6×6 or 5×7), slimline cards use a #10 standard envelope that doesn’t require extra postage. That’s a big plus for creating these unique cards.

I believe one of the biggest things that are helping to promote this specific trend is the many new products being created by retailers that are dedicated to using with slimline cards. The creation of slimline dies, dies, and stamps has provided a huge opening in the paper crafting market to offer all of us crafters SO MANY MORE fun products to purchase and play with.

Of course, any of our current cardmaking supplies work perfectly for slimline cards as well.

Cons

As we know a single piece of cardstock yields two A2 cards. I’d have to say that the only con I see for creating slimline cards is the fact that I am only able to get one card base out of an 8.5″ x 11″ cardstock. Of course, the piece of cardstock that is not used for the card base can be used for other crafting purposes.

Thankfully, pre-cut slimline card bases are readily available from the craft companies which might be a wise purchase if you can get them at a good price point.

Getting Started – Making Slimline Cards

An online search of slimline cards could bring hours of research materials to find out how to make these unique card projects. There is no shortage of inspiration available for making these cards, but as you can imagine you could easily get caught up in an endless rabbit hole that would suck up hours of time.

If time is not an issue for you, then I do encourage you to take some time to look at many of the amazing card samples and insights that you can find online. Just type in “slimline cards” in your favorite search engine or on Pinterest. Guess what? Yes, I have a Slimline Card Pinterest board as well (smile).

As you may know, I personally like scouting the internet and looking for inspiration on all kinds of creative projects. I did some research for any blogs that might offer good insights and tips for getting started in creating slimline cards.

I especially appreciated the work that Sandi from sandimaciver.com put together on her blog. She has put together a pretty comprehensive tutorial on how to make slimline cards that I recommend to you.

Sandi goes into detail about all the basics you need to know if you want to learn how to start making these fun cards. In her blog post she covers these basics:

• What are Slimline Cards?
• WHY is everyone making Slimline Cards?
• What size are slimline cards?
• Measurements for a Make a Slimline Card Base?
• How much postage is required for a Slimline Card?
• What size envelopes are needed for Slimline Cards?
• Where can I get dies, stamps and other cardmaking supplies to make slimline cards?
• Why are Slimline Cards so Popular?
• What supplies do I need for Slimline Cards?

Additionally, she has many card samples that will inspire your creativity.

Mini Slimline Cards

Wait…there’s more? Yes, mini slimline cards are a real thing. As Sandi puts it, Mini Slimline cards are the smaller cousin of the larger and longer slimline cards.

Thankfully, Sandi also provides a well-written tutorial on the mini’s as well.

I hope this scouting find is helpful and inspires you to create.

Enjoy and Happy Crafting!

Buttons are one of those little items that have oodles of uses. The multitude of uses is only limited to the imagination of the creative minds of those who envision something amazing they can make them.

The picture above reminds me of my grandmother’s tin of buttons I played with as a little. I am reminded back to when I would push my hand down into the big batch of buttons and swirl my little fingers around. What a fun feeling and sound that was as the buttons all clicked together.

Did you grow up with a button tin that you played with growing up? I’m actually smiling as this memory swirls around in my head.

As I was pulling my thoughts together to write this post, I did a bit of scouting around online and came across a post from The Mermaids Den about buttons, that I found really interesting.

Sometimes it’s just really cool to learn unexpected snippets of history that wasn’t intentionally set out to be learned. Beth, the writer of this post writes about the history of buttons and shares that in her research she discovered that history shows that there are a lot “grandma” button tins floating around in the memories of many. The tins below were often used to hold buttons and many sewing supplies.

Repurposing Buttons

Buttons can be repurposed for a variety of craft projects. History has proven the importance of buttons for holding our shirts, skirts, pants, and other garment pieces together. Even with the invention of zippers and velcro, we still rely on those buttons.

If you have read through my posts you may see that my craft of choice at this time is mostly papercrafts. However, I dabble in all kinds of creative art projects.

So what can be done with a button or two (or more)? According to Pinterest…LOTS!

In perfect Pinterest fashion, I created a Pinterest board just for button creations. The kid in me enjoys looking at all the projects that come out of the imagination of others.

I have often used buttons in my creative projects, but unfortunately don’t have any pictures of those projects to share, so hope you are inspired by the images and resources provided.

Button Resources

If you are inspired by what you have read or a project you have seen, here are a few resources that I enjoy using.

Button, Button, who’s got the button? – Origin of a fun childhood game I played with many friends and one button on Wikipedia

Button shank remover – Buttons come in a variety of styles, sizes, and shapes. Some have 2 or more holes to attach them to projects and some have a shank on the backside that protrudes outward. If using a button with a shank and you want to add it to a flat project then you will want to have access to a button shank remover

24 fun things to make with buttons – Tip Junkie

23 easy to make and extremely creative button crafts tutorials

Buttons for sale on Amazon.com

Buttons Galore – buttons for sale

Joann’s Fabric – buttons for sale

Today is going to be short and sweet and I hope helpful.

When I first started making cards, I would get so confused about the different card measurements and would have to ask over and over again what the measurements for certain cards were.

Knowing that this was frustrating for me, I thought it might be helpful to create a basic card measurement chart for your reference (see below).

To help in your card making, just follow the guide below and decide what sized card you want to make.

Card Size: This is the final size of the card (card base).

Paper Size: This is the size of the paper prior to it being scored and folded in half.

Score and Fold: Halfway score mark for the card. After scoring, fold the card in half.

Gatefold Score and Fold: Score the cut paper at both measurements then fold in half, thus creating a gatefold card.

Fits Envelope: This is the traditional name for envelope size.

Envelope Size: This can come in handy if you are making your own envelopes

A2 Card and Mat Sizes

An A2 card is the standard size for traditional cards. Often it is nice to create a card mat also referred to as layer or panel. These layers can give additional dimension to cards.

Simply decide how many layers you want on your card and cut the card layers/panels you want. If you want more than one layer decide the size you want for the next size (up or down) layer you want.

I have provided a simple visual below to show you the measurements needed for 1/4″ layers increments.

Card layers can also be at 1/8″ or 1/16″ layers as well. You can certainly cut the measurements needed for those layer sizes, using a paper cutter, but sometimes I find it frustrating when needing to cut measurements in 1/8″ and 1/16″ increments. Doable, but these days my eyes are having a bit of difficulty seeing those smaller marks.

I discovered a great product that I love having on hand to cut all my card layers, and especially the smaller increments.

I simply use the dies to cut the card layer and increments that I want. This saves so much time and is actually super easy to do.

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What’s additionally cool is that the A2 Card Layer dies also have matching stitched layer dies as well for both of the sets. This just enhances your card layering options.

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That’s all for now. Happy card making.

As I was going through an old trunk that was filled to the brim with some wonderful growing-up memories from my younger years, I came across a really fun find.

I can’t actually say I have a specific memory of playing with it when I was a youngster, but I do remember as an adult, telling someone about this specific paper doll book because it was so unique.

It was such a surprise, that out of ALL the many childhood play items that I could have saved there it was in my old childhood memories trunk. Actually, there were two of them. One with my name and one with my sister Sheryl’s name. Sadly, Sheryl passed on many years ago, so it was especially heartwarming to reconnect with this little treasure.

So what was it? A paper doll book.

1960s Fashion Designer Paper Doll Book Winnies Wardrobe

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You might be thinking…wow a paper doll book, what’s special about that? For me, the fact that I was holding something that my sister and I both played with when we were only 8 and 10 years old is pretty special. What’s extra cool is that it reminds me a lot of what I currently do as a crafter today.

This specific paper doll book provided a variety of printed papers and stencils to create cute little outfits for our paper doll. It allowed for our young growing minds to use our growing creativity by simply picking and choosing which outfit piece you wanted to trace onto which patterned papers. Thus making a beautiful designer outfit. Only we were the amazing designers.

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Designing Was In My Future

Oh my! Those patterned papers are so “dated” for sure.

One thing for sure, I can tell I did not have a good eye for design back in the day. Yeah, so I was only 8 (I was the little sister), but based on the outfit pieces that were traced around and cut out, it was apparent I also did not have a good eye for color combos or pattern combos. LOL!

What I find most intriguing about this paper doll set which was designed so long ago is, unlike many paper doll books designed today that have the outfits pre-designed and styled, this set allowed youngsters to completely design their own outfits (tops, pants, peddle pushers, skirts, dresses and more). This allowed for pure creativity.

I mentioned there were two sets. Each of them was at different stages of use and completion. It didn’t surprise me that the paper doll book that had my name on it was pretty much in disarray and Sheryl’s was a lot more complete. Sounds about right.

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This post may be a bit self-indulgent for me sharing this memory, but I thought you might also enjoy seeing this little bit of history for it’s unique design.

Sharing Is Caring

When I first saw this share on Pinterest I immediately liked it because…well, I LOVE projects using a monochromatic theme. I was intrigued just from the initial picture that the die-cut flowers were the same color as the tag which appeared to be glued down onto the tag. Proof that pictures are powerful, because I was visually captivated right away.

I wanted to take a closer look to see if there was a full picture of the completed project and was pleasantly surprised when I discovered that there was a lot more to this tag project than I initially thought.

Lo’ and behold this tag was actually a mixed media project that combined a variety of art medium elements, including gesso, distress stains, and markers.

Paula Cheney from onelucklady.net has provided a very nice picture tutorial on how to create this beautiful mixed media tag.

Tho’ I still love monochromatic and I think this tag could also look beautiful with the single color combo, Paula did a beautiful job on this project and I encourage you to go take a look at the picture tutorial and quite possibly plan to make a similar one yourself.

Remember, sharing is caring, so I would love to see what you create.

Have you ever found yourself sitting at your craft table wanting to make a handmade card without a clue as to what you are going to create?

Well, you aren’t alone for sure.

I have spent many hours sitting with cardstock, printed paper, ink, stamps in hand ready to make a handmade card, and have found myself stuck without any inspiration flowing through my thoughts.

Card sketches can be a card maker’s friend when the need arises.

Sometimes all we need is a little bit of inspiration to get us going and sketches are that perfect source.

I’m in the process of learning how to use software programs to make online sketches, items for print, digital items and more. Below is one of the first attempts I did in creating a card sketch to share with you.

As you can see this is a very simple sketch with multiple layers, a ribbon and bow was added for added inspiration and of course a simple sentiment as well.

The card created below is similar to the above sketch but has some slight variations. For example my bow is at an angle and the “V” cut paper piece is a bit fatter than seen in the sketch.

It is A-OK for a finished card to not look exactly like the initial sketch. The sketch is provided as inspiration.

Card Sketch Tips

When using a card sketch to inspire you through your next project here are a few simple tips I’d encourage you to keep in mind.

Card sketches come in a variety of different formats.
Some come with exact measurements and some offer only a simple image. They both can offer you the inspiration you are looking for to make cards.

Sometimes if you have the measurements you still might get frustrated because you don’t have exactly what the layout calls for. But, on the flip side of that, frustration might come from not having the measurements. You know yourself well enough. Using card sketches is intended to help you not frustrate you more.

You don’t have to follow the sketch layout exactly.

The sketch image is intended to inspire you but not box you. Remember, it’s intended to provide inspiration and to get your creative juices flowing.

It’s also OK to follow the sketch exactly the way you see it in the image.

Using your scrap papers is a great way to knock down that paper stash that is piling up in your drawers. Yes, we all have one of those. LOL! So grab some sketch’s and widdle away that pile.

Don’t forget the embellishments and specialty tricks you’ve learned along the way in your craft journey. The sketch is typically only going to give you the bones of your card and you as the designer get to bring it to life using the many craft goodies you have on hand. This includes sequins, pearls, ephemera, glitter, embossing powders, and more.

Choosing Card Sketches

In one of my online scouting expeditions for Create Scout, I discovered Kristie Marcotte who did a well-made video that I feel can be helpful to answer questions you may have about using card sketches. It’s a good and informative watch.

Please feel free to use the card sketch I created for you above, but know that you are only a google search away from finding oodles more to select from. I plan on providing more as I begin to perfect my skills.