Hello everyone! Nina here again with another post in our on-going series: The Missing Manual for Card Making. I am one of those people who reads every word in a user manual and hopes there is one for everything, haha! While I am still learning new things everyday, I want to go ahead and document what I’ve learned. I'm sharing simple bite-size tips in the hope that they will be useful to you too.
Today, I'm sharing some simple ways to go beyond on your normal clean and simple cards!
CAS (clean & simple) cards usually utilize a strong focal and a lot of white space.
It does not mean that the card should be plain & dull!
1. Go Beyond Paper
The reason I love card making is that it gives me the chance to incorporate many different materials into a project. The most commonly used for CAS cards are sewing notions (thread, ribbon, button...).
Instead of using the cloud stamps from our
Rain Check Stamp Set for the focal, I die cut some felt using our
Partly Cloudy Die to add texture and dimension to my card. I also used a piece of ribbon for a pop of color.
2. Go Beyond a Glue Stick
Another great way to add texture and visual interest to a card is to use a different way to attach your elements. Instead of your plain old glue sticks (or tape runners), try using foam dots, your sewing machine or even a stapler!
The contrast between the felt and the staple also makes the clouds looking extra soft and fluffy.
3. Go Beyond a Stamp
There is no limit to how you can use your stamps. Use stamps in unexpected ways will always help making your cards shine. For me, it usually happens when I made a mistake. On this card for example, I stamped the raindrops too close to the left edge and needed something on the left. I thought about a piece of washi tape but I wanted a more clean look. And then I saw the outlined clouds from our
Rain Check Stamp Set.
Isn't it a great way to add a scalloped border to a card? (Wink, Wink!)
Together with the sentiment stamped in black, we've created a visual "frame" to draw the recipient's eyes to the focal. I wish I had stamped the sentiment a little bit lower on this card though... Hmmm...
4. Go Beyond a Square Corner
There was a time when I couldn't make a card without rounding the corners. LOL Remember that you don't have to round all of the four corners? Rounding 1, 2, or 3 corners according to what's already on your card is a great way to fix any small positioning errors.
Rounding the two corners on the right on a side-folding card is one of my favorite finishes. The rounded corners (as shown above) also help bringing your recipient's eyes back to the focal!
5. Go Beyond Cardmaking
This photo for our current
Photo Inspiration Challenge is a fun and creative DIY project. It inspired me to use clouds and raindrops on a baby shower card. I used felt because the clouds in the photo were made from felt. The metallic shine on those stars led me to use my stapler.
My card is a straight forward interpretation of this Home Decor project, isn't it? :) I hope that you can start looking for details on many other creative works to incorporate them into your cards. The possibility is endless.
Do you have a favorite trick to spice up a CAS card? Share with us in the comment! We will pick a random winner to receive this
Rain Check Stamp Set on Friday, April 3!
Most importantly, find time to create and make something today!
Hello everyone! 
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Find time to create and make something today!
Starting this month, we will have a video tutorial on every 2nd, 3rd and 4th Wednesdays! 
I made the card on the right for our new release. It was my favorite but I made a few small changes to it and made the card on the left. I shared why and how I made the changes in the video. I also shared some tips and tricks on how to stamp the "perfect" sun rays "effortlessly". LOL This is a confession of a "lazy" perfectionist.
Watch it below or in 
I had the idea for this set ever since our first release in April, 2014. I just can't have enough circle stamps! I need them by 1/16" increment from 1/8" to 12" with multiples at each size! Anyone the same out there? LOL Well, we have a few in this set to get us closer to the goal!
We need a die for the With Love sentiment, don't we?
Wait, where do the clouds come from?
Shower Stamp Set got me started on weather images and ended up with another set! Now we have more images to work with the beautiful sentiments in the Shower set. And it became my favorite in this release!
We made the die for the sun and clouds. The die coordinates with the stamp set but you can also use it on its own! Super versatile shapes!
Use them as clouds or... bushes! Pair them with a critter stamp and have fun!
Thank you for stopping by, everyone! We are going to have videos and tutorials throughout the month to share more ways on using these products. See you tomorrow for more new sets!
All products will be available in 
