Monday Mornings

This is a single fold vertical side open card, making two on one sheet of card stock. You can adapt it to any card program. Could be a ”small/ quarter fold / side open / vertical “ in Print Artist. I haven’t found a card program that helps print two cards on one sheet, but here’s how.

Your finished cards will be 5 ½ x 4 ¼, half of an 8 ½ x 11 sheet. Each card will have one fold.

SAVE AS. You can save your work before you do even one lick of work. After that you can hit Control S every few minutes, whenever you get something the way you like it. You can always change it but you can’t always get it back if you lose it.

To make two cards at once, choose page or sign or whatever starts with a blank full poge, vertical. Use 8 ½ x 11 light colored card stock. You need two files. File 1 makes the front and the back. For this particular card there is no printing on the front but you can print your back logo. Use the wonderful non-printing ruler lines in PA., or your eye , to center the logo horzontally in its quarter of the page. Duplicate the logo or copy /paste it near the bottom of the page for the second card. The two logos should be nicely lined up, both centered horizontally.

SAVE AS Ship Card File 1 or back or logo or Two ship cards. If you say “ 2” ship cards, instead of “Two,” the computer will put the file near the beginning of the listing. ( Use Edit/copy Edit/ paste or hold Control and press C and then Control/V . The new copy will show up on top of the first one or somewhere else you don’t want it. Move it to its proper place. Be careful to click on a portion of the new copy that is not also on the original. If you move the wrong one try Edit Undo move.)

When you want to center something. remember that the space outside the printing area line is part of the card. You want the logo centered between the crease of the finished card and the actual edge of the paper, not the printing area line.

IMPORTANT warning: The card on the upper half of page has no printing area line to show a margin. Remember that you are going to cut the two cards apart, so place the logo about an inch above the imaginary center line of the page, which will be the cutting line. For the lower card, if the logo is placed at the printing area line you will have a good margin or white border below the logo.

That takes care of printing file # 1. File # 2 prints your message. You can print it on the back of the logo and blank front, or you can print it on other paper and glue it in. You need to learn your own printer as to whether it wants you to turn the paper side over side, or end over end, to print the second side where you want it. Learn with scrap paper and make notes. You can print such notes right on your project, but then you must remember to delete them each time you print.
If you are printing on the actual card, center the text horizontally between the crease and the paper edge, and vertically between the top of the paper and the cutting line. You are going to cut the page the short way, the 8 ½ inch way, AFTER all the printing is done.

DO NOT CUT UNTIL YOU HAVE FINISHED ALL THE INSTRUCTIONS.

I use this card for birthdays, so the message is about a year’s voyage around the sun and have a good trip. Or you can wish somebody a fair wind, calm seas, adventure, don’t fall overboard, get well and come sailing into port under full sail ………..If you need an exact text you can email and ask for it, but your own thoughts and words are what make any home made card better than store bought.

Control S

To finish the front of the card, cut a piece of white card stock with a non-glossy finish, 3”x 4 “ .
Use chalks to make a sunset or cloud and ocean background for the ship. With little cakes of blending chalk use your finger or a q –tip or a makeup applicator or a duaber. Fingers are good because they are easy to wipe between colors. DO NOT put a blue finger on the orange chalk. Crayola has new chalks out now the shape and size of crayons. A set came for Christmas. They are hard and intended for writing. The colors are stronger. The darker colored illustration was made with these, using the side of the chalk stick. The softer colored one was made with the Blending Chalks. This is art for non- artists. I can’t paint anything but with fingers and chalk I often get results I like. Try it. Good for scrapbook backgrounds too.
Your background piece is still loose so you can make another if you really hate the first. If you are a fearless craftsperson you can of course chalk on the basic card.
When you have finished chalking, lay a paper towel over the whole picture and rub firmly for a minute or so.

Print two ships on card stock as firm as your printer likes, and cut them out carefully with the CutterBee scissors or other very sharp very small blade shears. Of course, since we are all liberated, you can put anything you want on the front of your cards. My ship is a Dover free sample.

It’s best to fold the cards before launching the ships. To make a nice fold, score first, then crease, then burnish ( rub) with the plastic bone folder or the smooth area of a scissors handle.

Glue the chalk backgrounds to the card fronts, or adhere them with a few dots. Attach the ships with a few 3 D dots or foam tape or carpet tape . If you have a sheet of 3 D dots, the material between the dots is the same as the dots so you can snip off pieces of the in- between and save money enough to buy more dots.

The sample card is printed on Neenah heather green classic laid 65 pound cover stock. Elegant writing paper is 20 or 24 lb. Some printers will wrinkle 18 pound. Some will not feed heavy 80 pound card stock.