Card Creations: Focus on the Sentiment

Contributing Writer: Kelly Griglione

Flowers, owls, cute little bunnies, these are all great focal points of a handmade card. But why not make the sentiment the focus of your next card? This idea can work with any type of card, like birthdays, thank you’s, graduations, etc.

For this “Wish on a Star” card all you need is a sentiment stamp and a die cut (like a star).

Make markings with pencil along the edge of the card every 1/2″, or an appropriate length for your size stamp. Line up your sentiment with the markings and stamp. It helps if you have grid lines on your stamping block. If you don’t have grid lines you can use something on the stamp itself. For example, line it up with the end swish of the letter “h”.

Stamp one sentiment a bolder color for it to stand out either one-third or two-thirds of the way down the card.

If there is white space remaining on the right margin of the card after your sentiments are stamped, adhere an embossed piece of paper to fill the space. I ran a white ink pad across the embossed areas to highlight the design.

Stamp a portion of the sentiment on your die cut.

Line up the die cut over your card until the sentiment is aligned. Adhere. Erase any remaining pencil marks and you’re done!

How about another card using the same idea of repeated sentiments? Here’s a “Birthday Wishes 2 U” card.

This card uses a mask to make space for an embellishment within the repeated sentiment.

To create a mask, stamp your image on a piece of thin scrap paper. Hand cut around the image leaving about a 1/8″ margin. This is your mask. Temporarily attach the mask to your card with a small piece of tape. Stamp the sentiment going down the card and over the mask.

Lift the mask and you’ll see an empty spot for you to stamp your image in. Stamp the image in this space. Add a bird die cut, and stamp “2 U” to finish the outside of the card.

The nice thing about this type of card is that you don’t need the latest, fanciest or trendiest stamps to make an impressive card. All you really need is a sentiment stamp. The technique of repeating your sentiment makes a bold statement all on its own.

Thanks for looking!

P.S. Don’t forget about the inside of your card! It’s half the “real estate” of your greeting after-all. I like to have a few birthday stamps on hand just for this purpose. Stamp the year if it’s a milestone birthday to make it even more special.