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Jumping in
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Jessica writes:
"I've been reading your newsletter for a while now. I think I finally have the courage to jump into card making. I think I'd like to make Christmas cards this year. I was wondering what supplies you should have when you start out. I know that I'll accumulate more as I go along, but in every craft there's a starting point. A list of essentials would be wonderful."
That's great news, Jessica! I have a feeling you'll soon become just as enamored with card making as the rest of us! It took a bit of time for me to narrow this down to absolute must-haves, because for many of us, when it comes to craft supplies, once we see it, we must have it. But I know that hobbies are one of the first things to get cut from the budget during difficult economic times, so I've tried to keep this to a reasonable minimum.
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Sue's essential card-making tools
| 1. |
A way to measure and cut paper and card stock. Many paper crafters like to use a personal paper trimmer, like those available from Fiskars or Purple Cows, because you can measure and make straight cuts (and even score the fold lines) with one tool. You'll also want small, sharp scissors for detail work. I prefer a craft knife and clear acrylic ruler on a self-healing cutting mat (left over from my quilting days) for all my cutting work. |
| 2. |
A hole punch. I like the Crop-A-Dile tool from We R Memory Keepers and spring-loaded hole punches from Fiskars, but even a darning needle works if you're on a tight budget. All you need is a way to make a small hole into which a brad can be inserted. |
| 3. |
Adhesive. I use plain old Scotch double-stick tape by 3M for adhering paper to paper (make sure it's the archival kind of tape). Glue Dots are my favorite for adhering just about everything else. |
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Sue's essential card-making supplies
| 1. |
Card stock or a pre-folded card blank. |
| 2. |
A contrasting bit of card stock or paper. |
| 3. |
The main design element -- stamp, sticker, rub-on, etc. |
| 4. |
A dimensional embellishment -- brad, eyelet, etc. |
| 5. |
A fiber -- lace, ribbon, yarn, string, etc. |
I'm usually fairly happy with my cards if they include a little bit of everything on this list.
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Christmas in August
Our free pattern, called "Pat's Sled," is by Chris Niemeier. It has some advanced stamping techniques, but it's really a very simple design. As you'll see, it doesn't even use dimensional embellishments or fibers, which fall under my "essential supplies" category. Beginners like Jessica can stamp a large design with a single color of ink, or use a sticker or rub-on for the main element, which can then be matted with a contrasting color card stock and adhered to the card front. It's that easy!
 Pat's Sled
Design By Chris Niemeier
Materials
- Card stock: dark green, white and metallic gold
- Rubber stamps: young girl in winter coat, small fir tree, bare trees, sled and snowflake
- Colored pencils
- Bluish-gray chalk
- Clear glitter glue
- Ink pads: gray, black, olive green and watermark
- Black fine-tip marker
- Glue stick
Score and fold a 6 x 11-inch piece of dark green card stock in half, forming a 6 x 5 1/2-inch card. Cut a 5 x 4-inch rectangle of white card stock; apply bluish-gray chalk to top portion of rectangle. Referring to photo, use gray ink to stamp bare trees along chalked area. Continue stamping trees several times as ink fades to create the appearance of trees in the distance.
Referring to photo for placement, use black ink to stamp the young girl and sled images onto the white rectangle. Use olive green ink to stamp a small fir tree on top of sled horizontally as if the young girl is pulling the tree with her sled.
Color stamped images; add snow prints and sled tracks with light blue pencil. Use black marker to draw lines from the girl's hand to the sled to form a handle. Apply clear glitter glue to girl's coat and hat trim; add tiny dots of clear glitter glue randomly across entire rectangle.
Layer image onto metallic gold card stock; trim a small border. Center and adhere to card.
Sources: Rubber stamps from Inkadinkado and Coronado Island Designs & Stamps; watermark ink pad from Tsukineko Inc.
Copyright © June 2005 CardMaker magazine. All rights reserved. Back to top.
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Reader Letters
One of the very best things about writing this newsletter is getting messages from CardMaker readers all over the world. was especially tickled by two letters regarding the very American Fourth of July holiday, one of which included a touching request from South Africa (see below). Another letter from Australia reassured me that crafters are pretty much the same, no matter where they live!
Marion from Weston-super-Mare, UK, writes:
"Sunny greetings from a seaside town in the West of England. Just have to write and thank you for the great Fourth of July cards included in the newsletter which arrived this morning. I have a very dear friend in Arkansas and needed just the inspiration you sent to make her an Independence Day card. I can't wait for your Thanksgiving ideas now!"
Carin from Randburg, South Africa, writes:
"I enjoy the newsletter immensely, especially since it arrives in time for my mid-morning tea break at work. I store craft supplies in tool or tackle boxes -- I'm sure the manufacturers never thought the 'Big Jim toolbox' would be filled with girlie paper and ribbon! I also have a closet that's strictly for crafts, and after forcing myself to throw away every dryish pen, scrap of paper too small or wrinkled or ugly to ever be of any use and dry ink pads and paint, I have made a dent in the closet that needs to be filled with more crafting supplies!
"Your Independence Day cards were beautiful and even had me feeling patriotic all the way down here in South Africa! With a few colour changes, the Eagle card will be perfect for a poem I want to decorate and frame. Unfortunately, the current crisis in Zim has dampened everybody's spirit, and I hope that in light of Independence Day, everyone will send up a prayer for the people suffering in Zimbabwe and around the world."
Doreen from Australia writes:
"I love your newsletters and the free patterns for cards. I have been making cards for some time now and know how hard it is to keep everything in one place, so we had a big clear-out in our garage. Now I have all my stuff in drawers and shelves; plus, a lovely big table that I can just get up and leave as it is until next time."
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