Mile a Minute Card idea

Mile a Minute cards!

I love a quick and easy card ideas.

The one I'm sharing today is something I call a Mile a Minute card.

I call it Mile a Minute because you'll get alot accomplished very quickly and there won't be any waste in your paper.

In one of my other favorite hobbies, crochet, there is a stitch pattern also called Mile A Minute.

In that pattern you crochet using double or triple stitches which covers more ground than the smaller single stitch.

I decided I would develop ways to bring short cuts to card making too!

Today I'm going to share some of those secrets to fast cards!

MileaMinute Quick and Easy card idea

Pick your favorite pretty paper!

For my cards I used a free paper I got from this year's Saleabration.

It's called Flower and Field paper.

It is a Level One Saleabration freebie.

It has beautiful flowers on one side and fun patterns on the other side.

This paper is perfect for my Mile a Minute pattern since you will want to use the opposite side of the same sheet of paper.

 

Let's get started with our pattern!

 

Mile a Minute Tip One

Choose your cardstock and accent piece cardstock based on the colors in the paper pack.

If you're using Stampin' Up! patterned paper (also called Designer Series Paper) the colors used on the paper are listed on the back of the package or in the catalog.

This makes coordinating papers and inks easy and it will get you the BEST results!

There are 14 coordinating colors used on this beautiful paper.

Choose 8 coordinating cardbases to match your paper.

I could have used 8 different colors since there were so many coordinating colors, but I used these colors for my cardbases:

I used these colors for accent pieces:

Mile a Minute Tip Two

 

Main paper:

Choose your favorite sheet of 12"x12" double sided paper.

Choose a sheet that you like both sides of the paper.

Determine if there is a distinct pattern as these instructions are for side opening cards. Make sure the pattern is going to run up and down before cutting the paper. Rotate paper is needed.

You will make 8 cards from one sheet of paper.

 

Cut the paper into three columns of 4" wide.

Cut the first two columns into 3" high pieces (total of 8)

Cut the last column into 1 1/2" high pieces (total of 8)

 

Accent:

You will need 8 pieces of accent cardstock strips that are 4" wide x 3/4" to 1" high.

I also used Petal Pink cardstock as a little accent to the Basic White strip.

This was cut using a retired die.

 

Mile a Minute Tip Three

 

Use one ink color to make quick work of your stamping.

For this project I choose Just Jade ink to stamp all my greetings.

You could use Memento Tuxedo black to coordinate easily with any paper you have!

 

Mile a Minute Tip Four

 

Choose greetings for similar occasions.

I choose to make Birthday, Thank You, and Thinking of You cards in one sitting.

I used the pattern to make 8 birthday cards, 8 thank you cards, and 8 thinking of you cards.

I'm showing samples of each style.

My greetings come from retired stamp sets, but you could find greetings in these current stamp sets:

Happy Thoughts

Treasured Medallion (part of the Treasured Medallion Bundle)

Oval Occasions (part of Oval Occasions Bundle)

Ride the Range (part of the Ride the Range bundle)

 

Mile a Minute Tip Five

Stamp your greetings onto scrap pieces of cardstock and make fast work of accenting the cards by using punches.

I choose greetings that would fit into two of my favorite punches:

Everyday Label Punch and

Rectangle Postage Stamp Punch (part of the Posted for You bundle)

 

Mile a Minute Tip Six

To make quick work of assembling the cards, cut layering pieces of cardstock.

For my cards I used Basic White pieces to adhere the patterned paper to before attaching to the front.

Layer pieces of cardstock were cut to be 4" wide x 5 1/4" high.

This layer piece allows me to line up the 4" x 3" patterned paper to the top and the 4" x 1 1/2" piece to the bottom. Then cover the middle with the piece of accent cardstock. 3/4" high will fit between the papers and 1" high will cover the papers slightly.

After the papers are adhered to this layering piece you can trim the pieces if needed (sometimes my cuts aren't exactly straight).

 

Bonus tip:

 

I will use one of these same layering pieces inside a card that has a dark color cardbase like Basic Black or Cherry Cobbler so I have a light colored surface to stamp a greeting or write a message.

 

The Mile a Minute pattern should help you make many, many cards for multiple occasions quickly. 

 

I hope you'll give it a try!