This is my first attempt using the new SU graduation set called Great Grads! I can not even begin to count the number of graduation cards I have made in the last many years, and can you believe I have never had a graduation set, just odds and ends from here and there!!! So, I’m very pleased to have this set!!!
I made 2 cards — one is more masculine and is a check holder and the other is definitely feminine and is a gift card holder. I did them both in black and white, which I think is a classic and always works. Personally, I’m not real nuts about doing grad cards in school colors. School colors may look great in uniforms, but they typically just don’t do it for me when I’m making a card, and I want to enjoy the process as much as the end result, so I often use colors that I prefer — though I do sometimes cave and go with the school colors — LOL!!! So much for team spirit — huh! I also used the Cuttlebug with some new embossing folders on these cards. Here’s the 1st:
This is the check holder. The Grad flap is held secure with Velcro dots and inside is a pocket for a check. The tassel is a bookmark tassel. I used 2 new embossing folders — the Swiss Dots and Stripes. This card is 7.5″ wide, and at the end of this post, I’ll show you how to get a strip of dots or stripes that long. To make this card, cut your paper 7.5″ wide and 7″ high. Score at 2 1/4 and 5 1/2, making sure you are scoring along the 7.5″ width. This will leave you with a 2 1/4″ flap for the top and a 1 1/2″ flap which folds up for the pocket. Use red sticky strip on the ends to adhere the flap up for the pocket. For the embossed panels, cut 2 white strips 7.5″ x 4 (this gives you left overs for another card — once you are running it through, might as well get enough for extras). Refer to bottom of this post for the Cuttlebug photos.
This is the card that is definitely feminine. We don’t usually make graduation cards too frilly, but I think it is totally appropriate to make a card like this for a girly-girl type, don’t you? This one is done in a similar fashion, only this is a gift card holder. Start with a 1/2 sheet of paper. 8.5 x 5.5. Score at 2 and 6, which gives you flaps of 2″ (the pocket) and 2.5″ (the top flap). This card uses the Swiss Dots embossing folder. I also used the Rectangle Scallop Nestability by Spellbinders to frame the sentiment. However, none of the scallop dies was quite the right size, so I took the one that was the closest to what I needed — it was just 1 scallop too long — so I cut it in half right across the middle and then re-taped it together with a one scallop overlap. I have done this many times before, and it is just amazing at how nearly invisible this is. I used a Ticket Corner punch on the sentiment before mounting it to the scallop. I used a flower and brad from the SU Pretties Kit and retired SU black organdy ribbon. The sentiment is adhered to the card top and there is a Velcro dot underneath so it will stay closed.
Now, I’m going to try to do the following pictures in thumbnails, so just click on them to enlarge them if you’re interested. The first is a picture of how to insert the paper into the folder to get a long run of pattern. My sheets of paper are 7.5″ x 4″.
Insert the paper as shown in the photo above. Once it runs through, take it out and put it back into the folder as shown below:
Now, we run into a problem when using the Swiss Dots pattern, so I’ll try to explain it here. This does not happen with the Stripes — they work out just fine. When we take out the Swiss Dots sheet and put it back in the folder for the second run through, make sure you align up the dots so the pattern stays consistent. Now, I’ve done this many times, and I can’t figure another way to do this to avoid the problem — but what happens is when you align up the pattern, the last row of dots gets squished flat when you run it through. It’ll look like this:
Can you see that line in the center of squished dots? Well, there MUST be a way to run it through so that doesn’t happen, I just haven’t had the time to play any more to figure it out — so I just did a quick fix, as shown below:
I turned the pattern over so it is upside down, on a soft piercing mat, and VERY GENTLY (because it pokes through so easily) pressed on each squished dot with an old wooden stylus tip — with hardly any pressure at all, the squished dot was back up and good as new. In just a second you can do the entire row and it is impossible to tell what had happened — so that was my quick fix to the problem.
You’ll also notice I told you to cut the sheets going into the Cuttlebug 7.5″ wide, which is the same width as the card. But when we mount it onto the card we need it to be 7 1/4. Just cut it to the 7 1/4″ you need. I have found that if I put it in the Cuttlebug at exactly the right size, it often comes out smaller because of how the embossing can change the size a bit, so when size is crucial, I like to start a bit larger and then cut after embossing.
OK, now once I had this set out, I thought I’d show you how you can use the Key Tag Punch on the long sentiment with the rounded ends. I haven’t used it in a card, but here’s a sample of how to punch it . First stamp the image on a strip of paper, then cut the strip to 1″ wide. I just find it easier to stamp first, then cut to size. If I start with a 1″ strip and try to perfectly place and center a long stamp, I often mess up — course if you are one to use a Stamp-a-ma-jig always, that would solve that problem. Anyway, once your stamped strip is 1″ wide, then we need to run it through the Key Tag Punch. Now, since it is the right width, we are only clipping the ends in the punch. Put the strip in the punch, but then pull out (up and and through the hole) one end of the strip, then position and punch the other end that is still in the punch. Then repeat for the other side. This is what it looks like in the punch:
Hope that helps! Here’s my list of supplies, and this list covers both cards.
- Stamps: Great Grads
- Paper: Basic Black and Whisper White
- Ink: Black Stazon
- Accessories: Tassel, Pretties Kit, Spellbinders Rectangle Dies, Ticket Corner Punch, Cuttlebug and Embossing Folders (Swiss Dots and Stripes), Mini Glue Dots, Mounting Tape, Red Sticky Strip, Velcro
Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!!! Thanks much for stopping in. My next couple projects will be more SU samples.
