Hello everyone! Roree here, and today I have a tutorial for you about making shaped cards. Cards are my favorite things to make, and shaped cards are even more fun. With all the different options you have for making them, you really have no excuse not to try it. Today, I will show you a few of those options along with some examples using the new 5 & Dime collection.
First off, and probably the easiest option, is premade shapes. Manufacturers have jumped on the shapes bandwagon and are doing the work for you. And October Afternoon is no exception. They make some of the cutest, little shaped mini albums.
Your only problem will be deciding which shape you want to use. The great thing about October Afternoon’s mini albums is that they include pre-cut paper pages to go along with the chipboard versions. That makes it so super simple for you. There is no guess work on the size. All you have to do is make a card to fit the page shape.
Here is an example of a card I made using one of the pages from the 5&Dime tag-shaped album:
Another option is to use a die-cut machine to make your shaped card. With a die-cut machine, you are really opening up the amount of shapes available to you. I have a Cricut Expression, and there are a lot of cartridges that allow you to cut out the entire card. This option really does make it easy, because there is no cutting by hand involved.
Here is an example of a card I made using my Cricut Expression and Wild Card cartridge:
I cut out the card and the patterned paper shape to cover the card.
Just a few key punches and the work was done for me. All I had to do was add my embellishments, and voila!
My last option to share with you today (and this is where the tutorial comes in) will show you how to make a shaped card using your own computer and photo-editing software. (FYI, I am working with Photoshop Elements.)
Step 1: In your photo editing software, open up a new, blank file. A box will pop up where you can title your new file and adjust the size of your new blank page. Change width and height to inches, and insert the measurements of the card size you would like to make. This step is important, because it will cut out any guess work out later. Then, select OK. (For my project, I chose 5 ½ x 5”.)
Step 2: A blank white screen will appear at the size you specified in Step one. Choose the Custom Shape Tool (blue heart) along the left hand side. Then, under the file menu, click on Shape. A box will pop open, showing you all of the shapes your photo editing software has to choose from. Choose one that you like. (I chose a butterfly.) Then, back at the top under the file menu, choose a color other white to color in your shape with (the box under Layer). (I chose gray.)
Step 3: In the white box starting at the bottom left corner, press the left mouse button holding it down and dragging the cursor over to the top right corner, and let go of the mouse button. Your image should fill the entire box.
Step 4: From the file menu, select Print and print out your shape.
Step 5: Cut off the excess paper around the image you printed out, make any change to your printed image that you would like, and make a card slight larger than your image for cardstock or patterned paper. (My preference is cardstock for a sturdier base. Also, I didn’t need the detail of the butterfly’s body, so made an adjustment to the image to cut out all of the detailed cutting.)
Step 6: Adhere the printed image to the front of your card slightly above or to the side of the crease with a removable adhesive. (You do this to make sure you don’t cut below the fold, and up with two shapes and no card.)
Step 7: Cut out your card, remove the printed image, and decorate.
Here is an example of the card I made using these steps:
And that’s it. It doesn’t seem to difficult, does it? Next time you make a card, you can try making a shaped one. Hope you enjoyed today’s tutorial. Thanks so much for stopping by!