Throwback Thursday: Prima Autumn Sunset Stack of Cards Tutorial

Hello, Friends!  What would you say if I told you that you could make this Prima Autumn Sunset Stack of Cards in under an hour?  Would you believe that it’s totally do-able?  Because it is!  For today’s installment of Throwback Thursday, we’re going to learn how to make lovely little fall notecards using my “go to” assembly line method.  I make little greeting cards to tuck into my Etsy shop orders as a thank you gift for my customers.  These  have to be made about once a month. Since time is money, I had to learn how to put together a quick greeting card that I could be proud of.  After some trial and error, I came up with the process that I’m going to share with you today.

Prepare for Success

The French have a food preparation technique called “mise en place.”  This means they take the time at the front end of a cooking process to measure and prepare all the ingredients for a recipe.  Everything is laid out neatly and only then do they begin to cook.  So I guess you could call this “mise en place” for cardmakers.  It generally takes me 20-30 minutes to do this step.  But then I can fly through the process of putting the cards together, as you will see in the video tutorial below.

First Things First

Once you’ve chosen the collection you wish to work with, follow these simple steps for success:

• First, cut 6 sheets of 8 1/2″ x 11″ cardstock in half at 4 1/4″.  Score and fold each 4 1/4″ x 11″ panel in half to make a 4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″ (A2) card base.  You can use each base as a top fold card, or turn it to make a side fold card.
• Next, choose 3 patterns of 12×12 designer paper that go well together.  Cut (12) 4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″ background panels from these papers.  I usually make my first cut horizontally at 5 1/2, then again at 11″.  Then I cut each strip into (2) 4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″ panels.  Double sided paper allows you to mix and match with ease.
• Now, from your scraps, cut 4 1/4″ wide belly bands.  These vary in height from 1 1/2″ to 2″, depending on the scrap.
• Then pick a dozen 3×4 focal images to go on the front of the card.
• Finally, Ink all the edges of all your paper layers for quick and easy assembly.

Sort it Out

The next step is to sort and organize any ephemera you might want to use.  I broke my ephemera down into piles of pumpkins, flowers, butterflies and bugs, animals, background ephemera and words.

Choose embellishments

Tie bows in advance, and use the same bow on each card.   Muscle memory is an amazing gift. When a task is repeated, your body does it a little faster each time.   I can tie over a dozen bows in about 8 minutes.  Pick out a packet of small flowers or buttons that will look good on each card.  For instance, if I had chosen to use buttons instead of flowers, I probably would have used wooden buttons to go with the rustic feel of this collection.

Bundle Up and Glue it Down

As you will see in the video tutorial, I quickly go through my “mise en place” stacks and build little card bundles.  I pick a background paper, a belly band, a focal image and ephemera for each card then set it aside.  This way, I do all my glue work at the same time, and it goes really fast.  Once all my papers are glued down, I come back and add bows and flowers.

This is a great way to make a big stack of Christmas cards or birthday cards, too.  Sometimes I make a big stack of these cards to give as a gift to a friend or family member.

Throwback Thursday Tutorial on YouTube

 

I hope you enjoyed this edition of Throwback Thursday.  To see past Throwback Thursday projects, please click HERE.  to see more Prima Autumn Sunset projects and tutorials, please click HERE.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheerio,

kathy

SUPPLY LIST

**Please note: Throwback Thursday projects use older, often retired, products.  Sometimes I can find these items online and sometimes I cannot.  I will link whenever possible.  You can always substitute something lovely from your own stash.  Thanks for understanding!

• Prima Marketing Autumn Sunset Collection
  • 12×12 Gold Foil Paper Pad
  • 6×6 paper pad
  • Ephemera 
  • Ephemera #2
• Retired Petaloo Flowers (you can substitute these)
• Burlap String