Quick & Easy Cards | By Laurie Schmidlin

Hi there!  I’m excited to be back here sharing some more Birch Press Design craft projects with you!

One of my favorite things to do, is to sit down and spend some quality time creating handmade cards!  It is absolutely therapeutic for me!  There are times, though, that time is very short and I am in need of several cards (birthdays, thank you cards etc).  The end of the school year is inevitably one of those times for me.  Today, I thought that I would share with you how I mass produce cards as well as share a few time saving tips!

First, I like to start with a die or stamp that has lots of detail.  When only adding one layer to a card, I have found that I really like to use Cover Plates.  You get a lot of coverage with minimal amount of time and or work.  So when I saw the new Fiori Cover Plates I literally clapped my hands with joy!  Each one of them (there are three) are amazingly detailed!  For my one layer cards, I chose to use the one with the most open spaces so as to create more contrast between the die cut and the card base.

I always start my quick card making sessions by gathering all of my supplies.  Above you can see a few of the essential tools I used for my card set.  Spray adhesive (this will save a lot of time when adhering your die cut panel to your card base), the Fiori Plate C, and a piercing tool.  I have found the assembly line technique to be the easiest for me, so I cut all of my card bases, scored and folded them, and then set them aside.

Next, I die cut all of my card front panels.  After that, I lightly tap it against my trash bin which dislodges some of the negative die cut parts.  I then take my piercing tool and quickly poke the remaining bits so all of the negative die cut parts have been removed.  This really doesn’t take that long to do and can be done almost anywhere (watching a movie, a car trip, etc).  For this particular crafting session, I die cut seven panels using different colors.

Working one at a time, I will then spray the back side of the die cut panels and adhere it to a card base.  Make sure that if you are using spray adhesive (which I do recommend for large pieces of cardstock like the above cover plate) that you are in a well ventilated area.

I will then repeat the above step with the remaining die cut panels.  I like to leave my cards blank so that I can add the appropriate sentiment when the need arises.

To save even more time, I will stamp and die cut many different sentiments ahead of time so that when I need a card I can just choose the sentiment and adhere it to the inside.  I like to store all of the sentiments in a small baggie with my finished cards.

This is how I like to quickly mass produce sentiments.  I start by creating a die cut “template” of all the sentiments.  Here I have used the new Make a Statement Die Set.  I did not cut these dies apart (they come wired together) but ran them through my die machine while they were still connected.  I then put it in my stamp positioner.  To keep it from moving, I cut apart a sticky mat (this one is a Cricut mat that I cut into fourths) and just inserted into my positioner.  I then add the die cut sentiment.

I then placed the coordinating stamp (from the Make a Statement Clear Stamp Set) on top of the die cut.

Next, I closed the top of the positioner, securing the stamp to the top.  I then opened the lid again, inked my stamp while it was still attached to the lid, and then closed it again.

I’m left with a perfectly aligned stamped image.  I will stamp several of each sentiment so I did not remove the stamp from the lid.  I inserted another die cut thank you sentiment and then re stamped it.  That way I don’t have to line up the stamp each time.  By inserting the die cut into the “template” I created with the negative die cut paper ensures that each additional die cut will be placed in the same spot each time.  It is possible to stamp  dozens of sentiments in just a matter of minutes this way!

I hope you have found some of these time saving tips helpful!  Remember, you don’t have to spend a lot of time to create a beautiful and thoughtful card!

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Fiori Plate Layer C Make a Statement clear stamp set Make a Statement die set