Google+ House Revivals: Creating With Premade Card Bases

Thursday, May 10, 2018

Creating With Premade Card Bases

I'm lazy and I love card making, so I love, love using premade card bases (and embellishments) when it comes time to create.


I know  that a lot of card makers turn their noses up at premade printed bases, but I'm here to try to convince you to give them a chance.
They have a lot going for them, not the least of which is their price -- you can often find a pack of fifty cards with envelopes for around five bucks. They are pretty and convenient and cheap -- what more do you need?


Well, most of them are pretty. The off white, crumpled linen looking base, shown above isn't that pretty, but when matted, it looks an awful lot like a pretty birch bark pattern. Matting a premade base also makes it much more sturdy, which is a plus, since premade bases tend to be a little flimsy.

I like to start a card project by gathering a few materials that I think will look good together. In this case, I dug through my stash and found a tag, a piece of pretty paper, a piece of twine, a sentiment (premade) and a flower left over from a flower making scrap busting session. I like to make lots of flowers at once, and keep them in a plastic Tupperware type container.

I found a second piece of paper to line the ready-made envelope. It doesn't match, exactly, but it sure does work with the whole ensemble. A hint for card making with ready made envelopes: go easy on the dimensional embellishments or your card might not fit into your envelope when you're done. If you are concerned that your embellished card might not fit, you can always trim your card base down a tiny bit.


Next, I cut a mat from the pretty yellow paper, and played with the other elements until I found a layout I liked. It was really that simple.
I did take a few seconds to ink the edges of the mat and of the card face, but from start to finish, this card only took about twenty minutes. It only took that long because I had to gather the supplies.


If you like easy card making ideas, you might love this easel card tutorial.


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Thanks for stopping by!
Amanda