Some Card Making Tips:

I found these on Cricut.com...Gotta love that site!! :O)

1. Use any color cardstock for the base. Leave plain or cover with patterned paper. (Example uses heavy white cardstock from office supply store covered with patterned paper.)

2.Adhesives – I don’t use glue sticks because I like my card to last and at least for me, eventually the glue dries and the pieces fall off. I prefer herma (dotto) dot runner for thinner paper, xyron for ribbon, glue dots for embellishments, the new transparent glue dots sheets for vellum and double stick tape for heavier paper and textured cardstock although I often interchange said adhesives. I’ve recently discovered Tombo Mono Multi glue and really like it too, especially for getting into small places – it has a pen tip side and a broad tip side. People tend to have different favorites, so experiment and see which adhesives work best for you. Keep in mind it usually isn’t necessary to completely cover the back of your paper.

3. Score for a crisp, clean fold. I lay the paper over the trough of my paper cutter and run the small end of an embossing tool down it then fold and smooth with the edge of a bone folder (one comes in the Cricut tool kit). You can use the tip of a bone folder and a straight edge (also comes in the tool kit) to score as well. When I’ve been without a bone folder, the plastic handle of scissors (gee, there’s a pair in the tool kit too, lol!) did okay to smooth the fold. In a pinch I once used a lacquered chopstick to score and fold. (sorry, no chopsticks in the tool kit.) Some paper cutters have a scoring blade.

4. Print or stamp sentiment directly inside or on separate vellum or paper for a different look. If using vellum or paper on just one side, adhere as usual. If doing a double page as shown in example, adhere only on far left ( about ½ inch strip straight down left side only) so the card will close flat. (Example shows a separate cardstock insert for sentiment. BTW, since I got the sentiment off the internet (credited to ‘unknown’) and personalized it, I faded it out but it was actually typed in black ink.)

5. It’s fun to add finishing touches to the inside and back of a card. In the example, the plaid paper was folded to the back and a heart and a rhinestone bring elements from the front to the inside.(btw - the heart is adhered only to the pink cardstock so the page is free from the back and will fold flat.) A fun or personalized stamp makes a great finishing touch on the back of the card. The one in the example says “Handmade” a la Hallmark.

5. Common card & envelope sizes:
4 ¼ x 5 ½” – half sheet of 8 ½ x 11” cardstock folded in half.
envelope = A2 4 3/8 x 5 ¾
5 ½ x 8 ½ - full sheet of cardstock folded in half
envelope = A9 5 ¾ x 8 ¾
5 x 7 - envelope = A7 5 ¼ x 7 ¼
4 x 6 – envelope = A6 4 ¾ x 6 ½