Birthday Card Tutorial and Pregnancy Update

 

Any card makers out there?  I was making cards and scrapbooking with my MIL today, and I thought... I should do a card-making tutorial for the blog!  So here it is.

I'll show you two birthday cards: both tri-fold and really similar to each other but just finished a little differently at the end.

Start with about 6 sheets of scrapbook paper and at least 2 sheets of card stock.



My MIL let me have these from her My Mind's Eye (I think) paper pad.



Cut the cardstock in half so you have two 12x6" pieces.  This card stock is actually only blue on one side and white on the other.



If you have a scoring board, use it to score the sheet at 2 and 1/8 inch and 7 and 7/8 inch.



I didn't have a scoring board for a long time, but now I LOVE it and use it all the time.



Now cover the inside of the card with 3 pieces of scrapbook paper:
The center piece should measure 5 and 7/8" x 5 and 5/8"



The left piece should measure 2"x 5 and 7/8", and the right piece should measure 4" x 5 and 7/8". 

 Adhere all three pieces to the inside of the card (the white part), and it should look like this:

 
Now cut the same dimensions for the pieces of paper that will cover the outside of the card.



And adhere them to the outside of the card, and it should look like this:



Now cut out an oval.



I like this scrap pad because it has adhesive on the back of each little piece of cardstock.  



And cut out a rectangle to go behind the oval:



This rectangle is also from that pack with the adhesive already on the back...



...So I just peeled off the sticky part and fixed the left part of the rectangle to the left part of the card:


 

And then just line the over-hanging sticky part with some more paper that matches the others you already used for the inside.



And trim off the excess.  So it looks like this:



We're using a thin ribbon to close this card.  Adhere it to the back of the card first.



Then adhere it over the rectangle.



Then affix the oval over the ribbon and rectangle.



And tie to close.  Important: don't trim the ends of the bow yet, because you will never get it tied closed again.  Trimming the ends of the bow should be the very last thing you do (after you've written on the inside of the card!)



Adorn with accessories - I love these little rhinestones.



Write your message with a glue pen.  I like this Martha Stewart one because it has a really fine tip.



And it goes on blue but then dries clear.  Except obviously we don't want it to dry clear... so put glitter all over it!



I like the Martha Stewart brand of little glitters that come in little containers like this.



Let it dry, and then shake off the excess glitter.



If the card looks like this at first, it's no big deal.





Just use a Q-tip to gently wipe off the excess glitter.



You barely have to touch it and the glitter falls off.



And done!  That was card 1.

Here is card 2:

Again, cut the cardstock in half so you have two 12x6" pieces.  This card stock is yellow on both sides - perfect.  Score the sheet at 2 and 1/8 inch and 7 and 7/8 inch. 



So you have a nice tri-fold... again.



Now cover the inside of the card with 3 pieces of scrapbook paper:




The center piece should measure 5 and 7/8" x 5 and 5/8"

 

The left piece should measure 2"x 5 and 7/8", and the right piece should measure 4" x 5 and 7/8". 

 

You don't have to do this step, but inking the edges of each piece of paper makes it look more finished.

 

This is what an "inker" looks like:


 Adhere all three pieces to the inside of the card (the white part), and it should look like this:

Now cut the same dimensions for the pieces of paper that will cover the outside of the card.

 

And adhere them to the outside of the card, and it should look like this:



We're using a wide, translucent ribbon to keep this card closed.  Tie it around the right part of the card.



Now cut out an oval. 

 

Peel off the adhesive on the back of the oval: 


 
And affix the left part of the oval to the left part of the card:



And then line the over-hanging sticky part with some more paper that matches the others you already used for the inside.



And trim off the excess.  Now it should look like this:



Adorn the oval with accessories - again with the rhinestones.




Write your message with a glue pen and cover with glitter.



This time we'll use this pretty light pink color.   



Let it dry, and then shake off the excess glitter.


Card #2: done! 

This fairly basic card is easy to personalize and change up.  If you ever want to come make one with me, let me know and we'll have a party :).

Pregnancy Update:
Nothing to report.
Lucy is 3 days late.
I'm still pregnant.
At this point I am sort of hoping she waits to come until Dinah (our midwife) gets back from Europe... 6 days from now.  Blood pressure is still up, but stable.  No plans for induction.  No plans for anything except waiting, at this point.  Thanks for your continued thoughts and prayers!