More Note Cards, How to & Papercrafting Tips

As you can see, I’m still on a note card kick after my photo scrap note cards and my note card giveaway (it’s still open, you know!).  And now I’m having a perpetual “problem”—all these paper scraps left over from note cards are inspiring me to make even more cards!

My latest set is a baby/child set:

I think these cards are great for a few reasons (and not just because I made them!).  First, they’re customizable, so the giver can add his or her (or just her, who are we kidding, men don’t send note cards) own photographs.

And secondly, they have fun little details on both the inside front cover and the back.

See these little details?  It’s the thought that goes into handcrafted items that make them so special.

When I’m inspired to make a note card, I lay out my matching paper scraps and make all of my cuts at once.  You can’t exactly work assembly line style when you’re doing creative work, but I do try to make all my cuts at once and then do all my gluing at once.  I think it makes for a more fluid process, plus I can keep moving onto the next idea as it comes hurtling at me at 100 miles an hour.  I feel like I have to do them all… now!

I thought I’d share these papercrafting tips and tricks, since they’re so fresh in my mind:

1. Measuring is for weenies.  Why measure and mark your piece only to erase the pencil marks after you make your cuts?  Also, I find that I make more mistakes when I measure.  Instead of measuring, I place the piece I want to cut alongside something else for guidance.  So, for example, when deciding how to trim my card so it fits into the envelope nicely, I hold up my paper to the envelope, eyeball it (it’s a technical term) and cut away.  I do a lot of eyeballing.

2. Glue first, cut later.  When I’m layering two pieces of paper, I prefer to glue them together (smaller, trimmed piece on top) and then trim the bottom piece last.  That way I have a better chance at getting a perfect trim.  Of course, this also opens the door for a fatal error here and there, but we’re creative people, so obviously we can come up with creative solutions if this should ever happen to us.

Should you want a set of note cards similar to these, you can still enter my giveaway, which is open until 8 p.m. EDT on Monday, August 1, 2011, to win a set of five handmade note cards with envelopes.  If you still want the cards but don’t win the giveaway, you can buy the set you see here in my Etsy shop.

Learn more and enter the giveaway.