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Greeting Card Class

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Tutorial #5

Paper Appliqué Cards

What we will be making:

In this tutorial you'll learn how to make paper appliqué cards. Basically these are cards made from cut paper arranged on the card to mimic the look of cloth appliqué: cut cloth and embroidery often used as embellishments on clothing and quilts. There's no end to what can be done with this technique. Follow the simple steps in this tutorial to make delightful cards with shapes cut from paper.

For Valentine's Day make cards with appliqued hearts. See card ideas in the sidebar.

This greeting card tutorial builds on the previous tutorials, especially #1: Four Patch Cards and #2: Matted Clip-art and Photo Cards. If you are new to card making, review these tutorials before starting this one.

Refer to Tutorial #1: Four Patch Cards for how to make card blanks and envelopes.

Here's what you need:

White card blank - 4¼″ by 5½″
Colored paper or cardstock for mats
Decorative paper for appliqués
Fine-tip black marker
Glue
Scissors

Ruler or paper trimmer
Pencil and eraser
Colored pencils or markers
White computer paper for envelopes
Optional: Paper punches, appliqué templates.

This tutorial is the fifth of twelve card making tutorials and is rated EASY to do.

Making Paper Appliqué Greeting Cards

Read through the tutorial before starting.

Step 1: Getting started

Enlarge Sun Appliqué card

This tutorial shows step-by-step how to make this sun appliqué card. The same technique can be used to create cards with other shape appliqués.

Print the sun appliqué templates on cardstock and cut them out. Or use any other appliqué shape that you'd like. Quilting books are a terrific source for appliqué shapes. Just resize them to greeting card size.

Step 2: Select papers

Select papers for the appliqué pieces, the background and the card mat. To get the look of a fabric appliqué, choose both solid color and patterned papers. The example card uses two colors of yellow cardstock and two patterned papers featuring yellows. The darker yellow cardstock is used for the sun face, while a lighter, mottled yellow cardstock is used for the card mat.

Pick any colors and patterns that go together. To keep the focus on the sun appliqué, use yellows, oranges or reds for the sun and a paper including cooler colors (blues, greens) for the background.

Step 3: Trace and cut appliqué pieces

Trace the appliqué templates on the back of the paper or cardstock. Cut out each piece.

Step 4: Make Stitch Marks

Using a fine-tip black marker, make a dashed line around each appliqué piece to resemble a running stitch. If you are an experienced sewer, making other types of stitch marks is also interesting—maybe, overcast or blank stitches.

Step 5: Glue and decorate appliqué

Glue the sun appliqué pieces together. Draw a face on the sun using dashed lines to mimic running stitches. If you like, fill in the pupil's of the eyes with horizontal lines to resemble a satin stich.

Step 6: Make background and mat

Cut the mat paper/cardstock slightly smaller than the card front, about 5 3/8 inches by 4 1/8 inches. Cut the background paper a bit smaller, about 5 inches by 3 3/4 inches. Cut a 3/8 inch from the mat paper/cardstock.

Glue the mat strip to the background paper, about 1/4 to 3/8 inch from the right side. Trim away any mat strip excess.

Glue the background to the mat, then glue the mat to the card front.

Add stitching marks around the background paper and along the edges of the mat strip.

Step 7: Glue appliqué

Glue the appliqué to the card. Give the sun a small twist to the left for a more jaunty look.

That's it. Follow these simple steps to make paper appliqué cards using other shapes and themes. One of the easiest ways to get started with your own designs is with simple cutouts and paper punches.

Refer to Tutorial #1: Four Patch Cards for how to make card blanks and envelopes.

Before you start a tutorial:

Make a place to work.
Read through the tutorial.
Think about what you plan to make. Imagine how you can add your own creative touch.
Gather the materials you will need.