3 Slimline Cards (including Feb Swap Card!)

Previously I showed what happened when I did some Blind Cuts to make six A2 cards from a 12 x 12 piece of patterned paper from Heartfelt Creations' Woodsy Wonderland collection.  Today I took what I learned from that experience (i.e. it's OKAY to chop off part of something - even animals!), to use an 8 x 12 piece I had left over from the same papers (long ago I had taken the top four inches to use for "sky" on some cards that needed sky).  

I cut that 8 x 12 sheet into pieces that were 3 3/4" x 8" (leaving a little leftover for borders & such).  As usual, I wanted my cards to be 4" x 9" because they then fit into a standard business sized envelope (also called #10).  Obviously, it looks best if my panels are 3 3/4" x 8 3/4" so mine were 3/4" short.  You'll see in the descriptions below, what I did about that.  Here are the three cards I made - the last is the one I sent to my February swap partner.  (A reminder, CCC = Crafter's Companion Compendium of stamps)

Card #1:

This first card, is split where you see the green ribbon.  I inserted a plain white piece of card stock that was 3/4" x 3 3/4" into the panel - taping together on the back side with standard scotch tape.  Then, I added a piece of green 3/4" grosgrain ribbon over that plain card stock, wrapping the ends around to the back and securing them well, before adding the entire panel to the card front.  I die cut the greeting (Thinking of You word dies from Card Making Magic) from white and green as you can see - and added it with foam tape.

Inside:

I had a border strip that had images of the deer on it, so I used that top & bottom before stamping my sentiment (CCC - Thinking of You) in brown ink.

Card #2:

This time, instead of cutting the panel and spreading it apart, I added a border strip top and bottom (from the same set).  As I like to do, I taped the borders to the panel on the back side, so I could ink the edges of the whole thing before I adhering it to the card front.  A die cut sentiment (A2 card & box set from Card Making Magic) in brown and cream completed the card front.

Inside:

Inside I simply added a bit more of that border, a cut out tag from the set, and a die cut greeting (Stacked Happy Birthday from Creative Expressions).

Card #3:

This is the card I sent to my swap partner.  This time, to increase the length of the panel, I sort of did a combo of the techniques used on the previous two cards.  I added a border to the bottom, AND I cut and split the panel (not as much as before) - covering it with a die cut sentiment (Thanks Drop In die from The Stamps of Life) backed with a scrap so it looks similar to what it would be if the piece wasn't split.  It still looked a bit too stark, so I stamped the words "So Much" (part of a stamp from CCC -  Thank You) in blue ink below the die cut sentiment.  I also added a little stamp/color/die cut piece I made some time ago using stamps and dies designed to go with these papers (called Woodsy Landscape/Woodsy Treescape) - colored with Inktense pencils & a bit of water on a brush.

Inside:

Scraps from the front made the borders inside - a piece of the border pattern for the bottom, and a piece of the blue card stock (used for die cut greeting on front) for the top.  I stamped a message using two of the stamps from CCC's Thank You sheet - stamping them in a dark blue ink.  I added another of those little birds to the inside.