Today I'm sharing a simple way to dress up your papercrafting ... custom die cut ribbon buckles! Just about any shape will work and I have tons of ideas for these that I hope to share in the future. I started out seasonally, with a pretty die cut leaf that can be used for any Fall occasion. I thought this card would work well for a thank-you OR a Thanksgiving card. Simply change the sentiment for a Fall birthday or sympathy card.
It's very simple ... just die cut a good heavy weight cardstock. Here, I used Memory Box Vanilla Bean cardstock and Spellbinders Leaf Assortment die set -- the Nested Maple Leaf die set would also work well. After die cutting, just punch two holes in the middle of your die cut:
and then thread your ribbon through the holes. Told you it was simple! But I think it adds a very elegant touch to this strip of Basic Grey Indian Summer paper on the Crimson Memory Box notecard.
Another simple detail to this card is the lattice punched top fold. But sometimes your punches may not be able to punch through thicker weight cardstock, especially when it is doubled, as in the case of my top fold card here.
The solution? I just punched a single layer of the notecard and then trimmed it, leaving about 1/8" of solid, un-punched cardstock below the decorative punched edge. Then I placed the punched strip of cardstsock at the top fold of my notecard, opened the notecard up flat and machine stitched the strip to the top edge of the cardfront!
Note: Adding the punched strip to the top of your card will, of course, make it too tall to fit into your standard envelope, so just trim the lower edge of your notecard to fit the envelope.
Kim Hughes' Scripty Words stamp set gives you a lot of great sentiments that work well for this layout and many different occasions. I stamped "thanks" with Memento Tuxedo Black ink. And thanks to YOU for joining us today ... I hope this gives you some ideas on how to use your die cuts differently!
Stamps: Kim Hughes Scripty Words
Paper: Basic Grey Indian Summer, Memory Box Crimson notecard & Vanilla Bean cardstock
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Spellbinders Leaf Assortment dies, Martha Stewart Arch Lattice edger punch, ribbon, sewing machine