If you’re looking to make something other than a standard A2 (4-1/4” x 5-1/2”) card why not try a slimline? I’ve seen a number of different sizes of slimline cards with different names such as ‘mini slimline’, ‘short slimline’ etc. But the one I prefer starts with a piece of card 7” x 8-1/2”, scored on the short side at 3-1/2”. I like this because it makes great use of 8-1/2” x 11” sheets of card for the base and layers. Plus it fits the Slimline Envelopes from Stampin’ Up!

SLIMLINE SIMPLICITY

For today’s project I chose Soft Succulent Card for the slimline card base. Then for some contrast I cut two pieces of Basic White Card, each one 3-1/4″ x 8-1/4″.

I wanted this card to have a special look and so picked up the new Texture Chic 12″ x12″ Designer Series Paper (DSP) pack. This new paper has a mixture of great designs with one side of each sheet featuring gold foil detailing. I chose one with a mottled Soft Succulent and gold pattern and cut a piece 3-1/8″ x 8-1/8″. Then I mounted the DSP onto one of the Basic White layers using Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow).

For some extra shine I wrapped some Gold 3/8″ Shimmer Ribbon around the layers and secured it on the back with Tear & Tape Adhesive. Then I fixed the assembled piece to the card front with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

To coordinate the various parts of the project I decided to use pieces from the same DSP sheet. So next I cut a 1-3/8″ x 3-7/8″ strip and glued it to the flap of a Soft Succulent envelope from the Slimline Envelopes pack. Once attached, I trimmed off the excess paper with Paper Snips, using the edge of the flap as a guide.

Finally I cut two pieces of the DSP at 7/8″ x 3-1/4″ and glued these at each end of the remaining Basic White layer. With that done I fixed this layer inside the card base.

GO TO GREETINGS

All I needed now was a sentiment and I knew exactly where to find the perfect “happy birthday”; the new Go To Greetings Stamp Set. This stamp set is unusual in that it has a small “hello”, but the other 12 stamps feature just four sentiments. There’s “Happy birthday”, “Thinking of you”, “Thank you” and “Just a note” but each one is in three different sizes / fonts. This makes the set really useful to have as part of any stamp collection.

I chose the largest (and fanciest) of the “Happy Birthday” sentiments and stamped it onto some Basic White Card with VersaMark ink. Then I sprinkled the sticky ink with gold Stampin’ Emboss Powder from the Metallics pack. After tapping off the excess powder, I removed a few stray specks then melted the rest using my Heat Tool set on 2 (high).

Instead of mounting the sentiment onto a coloured mat layer I decided to keep it fairly simple. So I found the perfect sized die in the Stitched Rectangles Dies set and cut it out. Next, using the same die, I cut three more pieces of Basic White Card. Then I glued all four die-cut rectangles on top of each other to create a really sturdy sentiment piece.

Finally I added the sentiment to my card front with Stampin’ Dimensionals and my project was complete.

There’s so much I love about this card, from the decorative sentiment to the gold foiled background it just works. It’s a simple layout but has an elegance that would make the receiver feel very special indeed. What do you think?

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