Card Toppers 4 Crafts
Our Card toppers are very versatile and there is a lot you can do in your card making projects to add embellishments an extra detail.
Here are some tips on embossing card toppers to add extra glamour to your card making.
- Make sure you do not over handle your paper crafting project as oils from your skin will transfer onto your paper or cardstock and embossing powered will grab onto the oil left by your fingers.
- Use a good quality pigment ink for embossing. One which contains oil allows the embossing powder to adhere to the ink for best results. As the powder requires time to adhere to the ink pigment, quick drying inks should be avoided.
- Use a tumble drying sheet to wipe over your card project to remove static and the odd finger print.
- Having a stock of cotton buds to hand to remove odd specks of stray powder is a good idea. A dry paintbrush is also good for this.
- Return excess powder to the container and tap you card gently when doing this to remove loose powder that has not adhered properly to your card project.
Tips for printing out card toppers
Printing out card toppers onto card stock
Always check your printer to see what is the maximum paper weight your printer can handle. Our card toppers look great printed on paper to card stock and we have found that a front feeding printer can handle 155 gsm paper weight. It is likely that back feeding machines can handle greater weights, but it is wise to check your printer instructions. If you don't have instructions to hand, look up your printer model on a search engine such as Google or Yahoo.
If you are stuck for card stock, cartridge paper that is suitable for light weight water colour wash is a great find in art stores. You can buy a whole pad and always have it to hand. It is great for printing out card toppers. For special card or scrapbooking projects, try using photo paper for ultra crisp images.
If you intend to make gift boxes from your card topper images then choosing a heavier weight of card stock from 160gsm to 200 gsm will give you the stiffness that you require for your project. If the cardstock you want to use is a little too heavy for your printer then just make your paper craft project and decorate with card toppers printed onto lighter weight paper, cut out and stick down with glue dots or tape and decorate your project. Also try experimenting with printing on vellum and layering this over your card stock.
Matting and Layering with card toppers - the easiest solution to make quick and elegant cards
The beauty of card toppers is that they add a feature focal images to you card making project quickly and easily. With the use of some simple matting and layering techniques, you can complete a stunning card project in next to no time, and then you can how fun adding embellishments to make you project unique.
Matting and layering cards, usually involves using several layers of cardstock, cut anything from 1/4 to 1/2 an inch smaller than each other. Commonly these are cut in rectangles and use to create a frame for your card topper. But for those who don't like lining up straight lines, circular and oval frames work just as well.
Here are some top tips for matting and layering using card toppers:
Use a cutting mat - there are usually gridlines on the mat and these will help guide you. If you want absolute precision then use a ruler. But do be aware that one of the beauties of handmade cards is the fact they have been made by you for someone and a slightly wonky angle is a sign that your card making project has been made by hand and not cut by a machine in a factory.
Use a repositionable spray like spray mount. This way if you angles are slightly off you can reposition your l ayers with out destroying your card.
