Creating cards with your Silhouette

 I started my Silhouette journey as a paper crafter and that still has a big part of my heart. I love to play with paper and creating all kinds of projects with it. There is so much that can be done with the Silhouette but I feel that’s it’s just hard to do it all. And just like anyone else, I get a bug and have to go back to my roots.

I am also a Close to My Heart consultant and have been since right before we moved to Virginia 4 years ago. Gosh, I can’t believe it’s been that long. But I love to be able to combine the two. Close to My Heart has a great quality card stock and I love stamping as well.

So this year, I saw a card kit in the catalog and I just “had to have it”. Why? Who knows? But, it spoke to me and all the supplies to create it jumped in my cart.
That doesn’t happen to anyone else, right?

So this card kit has no Silhouette cuts in it. I didn’t use the software. I actually used the metal die Thin Cuts that come with the card kit and ran them through my Cuttlebug (although an svg file would be much easier if it were available).
So why am I writing about it?

Well, even though I did nothing with my Silhouette for these cards, it gave me some creative inspiration. To be honest, I had hit a little bit of a slump.
I was testing & things weren’t going peachy, which can be frustrating.
So, I got busy doing, got busy creating, just followed the directions, and went with the flow. My kit arrived 2 days earlier than I expected and I dropped everything (including household chores) and started cutting, stamping, and assembling.

It took me longer than I thought to assemble the kit, but that was also because I thought it would be a great idea to make doubles. If I could make 15 cards, I might as well do 30 to send out. It always sounds like a good idea at the the beginning.

But one thing I do know, while I was working I was getting ideas of how to use these papers with my Silhouette and create a fold card design in the software. This was a design I had cut by hand a few years back when I was making card kits for my CTMH customers. I wasn’t focused on trying to come up with the ideas from scratch, they were just coming to me. All of a sudden it was “What about if I use these papers with my Z fold card design & stamp the images for the card?” or “What if I use a print and cut image on the front of the card?” and then “What if I created the file to give away?”
And it was back… that creative spark!

And then one thing leads to another, the creative spark lights a fire. I remembered I had this little guy I had been saving to do Christmas Cards with for a long time.

I used the Print & Cut feature to cut out several Moose in Sleigh Christmas designs that would fit right on the front of the card.

This is Moose In Sleigh Christmas Print and Cut by Stinkin Cute Paper Piecings – Design #50960. And I have to admit, I have found him “stinkin’ cute”.

My new Cameo 4 registered and cut this design out beautifully.

Adding it on to the front of this Z-fold card worked great!

But maybe you don’t have time to create Christmas cards this year. That’s ok grab this FREE cut file below and create cards for all occasions throughout the year.

I used Happy Birthday Layered by Deborah Stine – Design #57087 and turned the cut lines off, changed the color to match my patterned paper, set it up as a print & cut with the center front rectangle around it.

For more information on setting up a Print & Cut project check out Print & Cut – Part 1, Part 2 – Text, and Part 3 – Images.

Now, if you are still with me. Let’s get down to it – the FREE cut file. I hope this gets you excited to create your own cards.

Grab the FREE Z-fold cut file for this card HERE.

When you open the card file all of the pieces are stacked on top of each other so you can see where the pieces will be adhered after cutting. Move the pieces off and position them on the design cutting mat to cut each piece out. When I am cutting cards or layered designs, I like to cut several at a time and then I can sit and assemble them later while watching tv or when I just need a break.

Once all your pieces are cut, check out this video with tips to assemble the card.

This free z-fold card file was created by me completely in the Silhouette Studio software. I measured, drew rectangles, added score lines, and drew more rectangles to create the design. This is available to you for your own personal use and I hope that you enjoy creating with it.

I think we all hit a “creative block” sometimes and it is just good to stop and just create. Do something you love. Make something you’ve had on your list for awhile. Especially as we all go into this busy time of year, we can feel overwhelmed. Whether it’s because you just came out of an event, have continuous events going on, are filling orders, or just creating gifts for friends and family – stop and take a few moments for you today too! Whether that involves using your Silhouette or starting a project without it.
You never know when a creative idea will hit!

Now, off to get these addressed and mailed out for this year.

I would love to see what you create with this Z-fold cut file or any of your Silhouette projects that are bringing you joy today!

Feel free to post on my Facebook group at Silhouette Secrets with EllyMae.

Enjoy!

**This post may contain affiliate links. What that means is that I may receive compensation if you purchase through the links I have provided. The price you pay for the product or service is not higher but I may get compensated for sharing.