Am I the only one who watches HSN Craft Day to get new ideas instead of to buy stuff? Don’t get me wrong, I don’t steal their designs but I really get inspired. HSN has a craft day about every 6 weeks and I always find new ideas. This time it was Card Bands.
According to Crafters Companion and Anna Griffin, card bands are THE hot new trend in card making. OK, they were trying to sell dies and they sold a lot of them. But who hasn’t made these beautiful folding cards and can’t keep them closed? We can now solve that problem. Here are a few examples:
These bands wrap around your cards and you can decorate them. They keep the cards closed and look elegant. Here are just a few examples of bands in use:
These cards are all examples of cards that are here on my blog. ( Card 1, Card 2, Card3, Card 4) In the first one I use a rolled flower to decorate the band. This creates a really 3D card and usually fits into the same envelope it did before. They are all made with things I had laying around the craft room. I do quite a bit of them now and when a card design needs one I will usually include it in the design.
Paper Selection
Select a color that goes with your card design. My cards were pink so I chose pink. Patterned paper only works when there aren’t a lot of intricate cuts. These bands wouldn’t work well with patterns but others might. Experiment and see.
The paper does have to be a little heavy. I would not use vellum. Glitter paper is a little heavy and can crack when folded so maybe avoid that too. But experiment. See what works for you.
Assembly
First of all, download my card band file here:
The files don’t have fold lines in them so that you can crease the card where it needs to be. You can cut of the extra after you fit it to the card.
Now fit the band around your card. Make sure the band is a little loose. It has to slip off for your loved one to get it off the card. You can glue the band together in front or in back. Try both and see which you like.
Lastly, decorate the band. It can be simple or complex. Use your imagination. Use embellishments you have around the craft room or make something specific to your project.
Now your card will stay closed and you have elevated it to an even higher level.