Wednesday, July 17, 2019

Sentiments Four Ways - Quick and Easy Cards

Good morning, Crafters! It is my turn again on the Authentique Blog. We are going to play with the NEW Endless Collection today! I am always excited to bring you projects that can be completed with few supplies and little effort, but which pack a big punch!
Finding ideas for "easy to mail" cards is not....well, not always easy! I often make my cards so lumpy and full of embellishments that you need a box or padded mailer, and lots of extra postage, in order to mail them! Today, I have a set of four, easy-to-make and easy-to-mail cards, with FOUR different ideas for adding sentiments! 
To make this set of cards, you need a paper collection that has both ephemera cards and die cut shapes or stickers, some cardstock, a few enamel dots (or other fairly flat embellishment), some adhesive, and your paper trimmer. 

All the cards in this set are square cards. I made mine 6" x 6" because I have a nice stash of envelopes for this size card. It is pretty easy to find envelopes for 5" x 5" cards, too. You can use these ideas for standard-size note cards as well.
Keeping all the layers for the cards square and rectangle makes them easy to cut with your trimmer. You do not need fancy tools or shape dies. Just trim your papers with a trimmer, or even with a ruler and craft knife! 

For this first card, add embellishments from the Endless Elements Cardstock Die Cut sheet. I raised the hexagon images a bit with some foam tape. Our first sentiment idea is very simple! If you have a paper collection that contains die cut or sticker sentiments, simply attach the sentiment to your card!
The design of the second card is very similar to the first. It is made with square and rectangle shapes, overlapped. This technique is an excellent way to use up paper scraps!
If you are using a paper collection with cut-apart cards, they make excellent sentiments. I matted my sentiment card, then raised it up a bit by attaching it to a scrap of chipboard. The enamel dots add a bit of bling while still being flat.  
This next card is again, simple shapes of decorative paper, matted with cardstock. This time, our focal image is one of the cut-apart cards, double matted. To get perfect layers, I sometimes use a layers tool (from We Are Memory Keepers). The tools come in a set for a nice price, and work with  your standard craft knife. 
The next idea for sentiments is to use stamps. Stamped sentiments are easy to use for cards. You can stamp onto some scrap paper as I did here, or stamp directly onto your card! If you don't have stamps, you can create a digital stamp with your word processing program! Just type your sentiment, select a font style and size, and print! 

Here is a special tip: if you stamp directly onto your card, and make a mistake, just stamp again onto some scrap paper and glue it over the mistake! 
If you have a lot of paper to work with, this highly layered card is a fun way to create a huge impact without a lot of effort! Once again, our focal point is one of the cut-apart cards. Authentique makes it easy to create such fun projects! There is no need to color an image or mess around with looking for something when the perfect image is included with the paper pack!

Here is a tip: Keep a basket near your craft area. Fill it with various cut-apart images and sentiments from various paper collections. Then, if you need to make a quick card, you have some images and sentiments handy!
The last idea for adding sentiments is to use a die cut shape. You can use a metal die sentiment, or use an electronic cutting system such as the Silhouette Cameo to design and cut your own sentiments. You can also find pre-cut sentiments made from cardstock or chipboard at most craft retailers. 

I glued my sentiment so that it would appear to be part of the focal image mat. It gives the card a bit of special pizazz without dealing with a complicated technique.
Thank you so much for looking! Have fun making a few cards! 


Authentique Supplies Used:

Endless Collection: 12x12 Paper, Cardstock Die Cut Elements

Additional Supplies Used 
Cardstock: WorldWin Natural, Cocoa
Enamel dots: Carta Bella Practically Perfect, Doodlebug Design black and white mix
Stamp: Avery Elle Oh Happy Day
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa
Die cut: Cheery Lynn Design
Layer tool: We Are Memory Keepers
Adhesive: ATG tape, white glue, Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L 3D Foam Squares

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