Assembly Line Cardmaking

The deadline to mail your handmade Christmas cards for delivery by the USPS in time for Christmas is December 21st. Don’t despair, if the holiday madness has gotten in the way of your crafting, there is still time. However you are going to have to think less like Martha Stuart and more like Henry Ford. In 1913 he reduced the time to manufacture an automobile from 12 hours to 2 hours and 30 minutes with the invention of the assembly line.

So Crafters put down that glass of wine and clear some space for your card making assembly line. If you want to try this idea to speed up your card making, first think about the steps your card takes to assemble and make a space for each one. For my assembly line the card parts are added as it moves from the die cutting station through to ribbon placement . Here is what I did.

Photo 1: Brightly Gleaming and Mossy Meadows

Since I don’t like to move my paper trimmer or Cuttlebug die cutting machine , I start in the craft room. At the first station I cut all the pieces of the Cardstock and Decorative Paper needed plus two in case of mistakes. This greeting uses Stampin up Brightly Gleaming decorative paper , Mossy Meadows cardstock and Very Vanilla for the base.

Photo 2: Copper Ornaments and Sentiment

Next at my Cuttlebug, I press copper ornaments and very vanilla circle backs laying the pieces on the dining room table (see above). As a hint to save paper, die cut embellishments from the center of the bottom card layer that will be covered (see photo 1 where the sentiment “joy” is cut out). As you can see (photo 2) it doesn’t show once the first layer is assembled. I’m going to use my dining room table for the assembly line though I need one more thing to help me push through the construction:

Photo 3: Martinis or Old Fashioneds

Just kidding, what I needed was my Anna Griffin Organizer, which keeps my scissors, adhesives, and tools at hand so I don’t have to run back and forth. For this design there is three adhesive stations, a tape runner to adhere the green strips to the very vanila card, liquid glue to hold both the copper ornament to it’s backing and the sentiment to the card, and Stampin up dimensionals to add the copper ornament. I like the added depth the dimensional gives to the card.

Photo 4: Anna Griffin Organizer

I prefer to stand for some reason while I position the elements on the card. It seems easier and allows me to move station to station accurately placing the cardstock, copper ornament, “Joy” sentiment, and bow. This stage went quickly and these cards were finished in one night, hooray. Though, I have sent many cards after the occasion and they are just as appreciated, so if your cards take longer don’t stress!

Photo 5: Ribbons

This group of cards is for my husband’s work and they were packed up before I could get the last picture of 13 Christmas Cards. But I’m glad he was able to share our best wishes for a “joyful” holiday, which is the most important thing. Merry Christmas.

Photo 6: My Christmas Card to You, Merry Christmas