LET'S MAKE 3 CARDS

I stated on my Monday post that this week is all about Last Minute Christmas Cards.  If you are running behind, or even if you just counted your cards and found out you are a few cards short, then you are going to want to keep reading.

It takes about as long to make these three cards as it takes to make one card!  So, if you need some last-minute, quick cards, use this STACK & CUT TECHNIQUE.

All you need to do is select 3 coordinating designs from your favorite Christmas Designer Series Paper (DSP).  Cut them to size (see the tutorial for the dimensions I used) and then cut the stack into three pieces.  

The number of cards you can make at once depends on the capability of your paper trimmer, but I would recommend that you limit your stack to a maximum of 4 different designs of DSP.  When you cut the stack it is important to insure that the pieces do not slide while you cut because you need the smaller cut shapes to all be the same.  If they are not, then as you mix & match, they may not fit together correctly.  

My personal experimentation found that when I tried to cut more than 4 layers of DSP at the same time, they were more likely to slide as I cut them.

Once you have your stack cut into three pieces, mix and match to create three different combinations.

NOTE:  If you decide to use 4 different DSP designs, you need to cut the stack into 4 pieces and you will then make four cards.

If you cut your stack into rectangular or square pieces, you can use both sides of the DSP as you mix and match.  However, if you cut the stack into pieces that have shapes with non-90 degree corners (like I did), you will need to use the all designs that were face-up when cutting.

I used the Traditions of Christmas DSP for my stack.  I could have used all the same color mats, but I decided to use three different colors.  I chose three colors from my DSP -- Real Red, Old Olive & Secret Sea.  You can see all three colors in the first photo, but for the rest of the photos I am showing the Secret Sea card.  Everything other than the mats is basically the same on all three cards.

Oh, I did have to change the color my Traditional Sparkling Sequins because I ran out of red, but you can make all three cards exactly the same or change up cardstock colors and embellishments as you like.  

I coordinated the color of the mat on the inside of each card with the mat color on the front, but I used the same floral DSP on all cards as well as on the envelope flap.

The inside sentiment is also from the Traditional Labels stamp set.  The Merry & Christmas sentiments are separate stamps, but I mounted them on the same block so stamped them at the same time.  This speeds up the process even more.

Use this link to download a detailed tutorial.

A list of the products used is shown below.

Product List

Traditional Labels Bundle (English) [165865]	Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Thick Cardstock [159229]	Real Red 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [102482]	Old Olive 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [100702]
Secret Sea 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [165624]	Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock [166780]	Traditions Of Christmas 12" X 12" (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Specialty Designer Series Paper [165853]	Secret Sea Classic Stampin' Pad [165285]
Real Red 1/2" (1.3 Cm) Shiny Ribbon [165876]	Traditional Sparkling Sequins [165875]	Stampin' Cut & Emboss Machine [149653]

Add All to Cart