What to Check Before You Start Your Next Card (A Card Maker's Pre-Project Checklist)
Hi, card makers. Andrea here from Crafts on the Move in Aquebogue, NY.
This week I made three cards in one sitting and barely had to stop and think, which is rare. When it does, it is because I set myself up correctly before I picked up a single die. I wanted to share what I did because I think you might benefit.
Here is what I did, and what I now want to do every time, fingers crossed on setting myself up for success each time.
Start with a color combo and a theme.
This one change made the biggest difference for me this week. I wanted red, white, and blue cards for summer. I had a die set I wanted to try. I made the first card, the colors worked beautifully, and from that point forward every other card in that session followed naturally. Four to five main colors plus neutrals like black, white, gold, silver, and gray. Once the palette is locked, decisions become easy.
I pulled an older card sample and remade it in the same palette. Then I copied the design right off the packaging of the NEW Spellbinders Stars & Stripes Clear Stamp & Die Set. Three cards. Minimal back and forth. The color decision made everything else simple.
Clear your table before you start.
My tables at the store pull double duty constantly. Overstock inventory, items that need to be added to the website, products I want to bundle, work in progress. It all lands on the same surface. The moment I sit down to make a card without clearing first, I am mixing project supplies with things that have nothing to do with what I am making. It is a time waster and it breaks focus. Start with a clear surface. Only what belongs to the current project stays in front of you. Everything else moves.
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Cluttered Crafting Space Clean Crafting Space
Set up one tool container and leave it there.
Every session I work from the same container.
- Bone Folder
- Die release tool
- Non-stick scissors
- Regular scissors
- Repositionable tape
- Pick-up tool
- Ruler
- Pencil
- Wipes (not in container)
Everything in one place. No hunting. No interrupting the creative flow to find something that should have been there already.
Know your ink before you need it.
This one used to slow me down more than anything else. Figuring out which ink color matched my cardstock mid-project is a workflow stopper. It is exactly what prompted me to build a color swatch reference coordinating Spellbinders ColorWheel cardstock to matching ink colors. I am really excited to announce that the resource is currently in progress and will be available to Card Maker's Corner members. Not a member? Visit here for the details.
Pro Tip: Before you start a multi-card session, make your first card as a test. If the colors work and the design flows, you have your template. Repeat it. Change the sentiment or one small detail, and you have a second card in half the time.
I hope you find this information helpful and that it allows you to spend more time making and not looking.
Download the free Card Making Pre-Project Checklist and keep it at your craft table, here.
Want some additional pro tips? Visit here for die cutting and here to learn about making your own swatch ring.
Let us know in the comments how you get ready before you start making cards.