Wednesday, May 03, 2017

Cards with a variety of greetings for a gift


 I created these cards as part of a gift for a young Mom who, in the last couple of week, had her second baby.
I have been wanting to develop a system for using #8 envelopes as they are more universally available and means that the cards can more easily be reused.  They are also less expensive which reduces the overall cost of the cards.  I worked out a plan that uses one letter sized piece of cardstock to create two reusable cards.  I cut two cards - 3 3/8" x 11" and score them at 6.25".  I am using the leftover scrap to add 1.5" to the back sides to complete the cards and applying a label with the instructions on how to reuse the cards which also provides stability for the added piece.  I have printed the instructions on a white label and am adding a coordinating colourwash to it before applying it to the back of the card.  I am using a single panel insert lightly glued to the back inside of the card which can easily be replaced when reusing the card.  The instruction follow the card and therefore makes reusing it more than once possible.

I created this very simple sketch and used a variety of papers that would be appropriate for baby thank yous as well as other occasions.  I provided two greetings for each card to make them flexible - a thank you and another for other occasions like birthdays, get well, etc.
So once I had created my card bases by cutting the cardstock in two, adding the 1.5" piece on the backs along with the labels I added a full piece of decorative paper on the fronts.  I added a strip of coordinating cardstock across the top portion and then added a coordinating scalloped circle (Nestibilities) over that using 3D foam tape.  I included but did not glue on the 1.75" round punched greetings so that she can use which ever one is most useful for her.  I did add double sided tape to the backs of all of the greetings so that applying the greetings would not require any tools or supplies.  I am hoping that these will provide some convenience for this young mom of two small children over the next few months.
I am happy with my design so far and will continue to experiment with sketches to see how well I can design for this format.  So far, so good!
Therese