A quick video on how to assemble this project.https://youtu.be/KNk9Xr7DuO0

Before I get into the details on how to make this modern house greeting card, let me share with you a funny story about me and card-making.

It is one of my favorite things to do.  I could easily find myself spending hours on it if I had all the time. It all started when I was 13 at my school fair where students had to come up with something hand-made to sell.  My classmates were busy with their great ideas and with the help of their families, theirs looked very promising. Meanwhile, I found myself sitting on the hallway outside of class one afternoon since I forgot my textbook.

I grew up in an all girl, catholic school almost all of my school life, and that unfortunately, includes college. It wasn’t really bad except for days when you don’t have your textbook or your skirt is an inch shorter than Sister Clarice’s ruler. 

As I stared at the blank wall in front of me, anxiously waiting for the bell, next to it was a bulletin board.  All it had was one sad looking card. Just a piece of white paper folded lengthwise with the words “Go for it!”.  So I got up, quietly reached for a pen and started sketching my little designs.  Using dried leaves, twigs, wrappers, cardboards and old newspapers, I was able to come up with some nifty looking cards that sold out within minutes of them being on display at the event. 

And that my friends, was one of my little boost of confidence experiences to start creating.

How To Make This

My Cricut Basswood Modern House Greeting Card

These days, I try to keep it clean and simple.  With my new cutting tool, the Cricut Maker, I decided to experiment on a different material. This time, wood. Equally exciting about this design is an additional feature where your card recipient can use the house-shaped wood as an ornament for next year’s tree!  You may also add personalized embellishments. For example, their last name or house numbers. So, here are the steps, and certainly looking forward to seeing your own better version of this!

THE MATERIALS

  • cardstock (2 colors)
  • basswood (1/16 in thickness)
  • glue
  • acrylic or wood paint
  • tape (I used paint tape)
  • ribbon to turn it into an ornament (optional)

TIPS

I highly recommend that you to use heavy weight card stock so it can hold the weight of the basswood. In addition, when using the Cricut knife blade, apply the manufacturer’s recommendations.  If you aren’t as familiar with this tool, here are some helpful information on Cricut’s site. Check out this link for their informative video. 

THE TOOLS

  • Cricut Maker (or any cutting tool)
  • scissor
  • paintbrush
  • Cricut knife blade (basswood)
  • Cricut fine point blade (heavy weight card stock)
  • Scoring wheel (optional)
  • X-acto knife
  • Cricut Cutting mats (Strong grip for the above-materials used)

THE STEPS

O N E :  DOWNLOAD FILE. To make the cuts for the house shape and the card with window, access my new library here to download copies of the SVG files for free.  In order to obtain access, please sign-up to my blog found in the HOME section.

Image of Design Space Canvas with the house-shaped image position opposite of the direction of the wood grain.

T W O : PREP FOR CUTTING. With your SVG files downloaded, log-in to your Design Space and upload each file. You will need cut in two sections, one for the wood piece, and the other, for the card stock. Proceed with adjusting the size of the card but an important note – both windows (house shape and card) align by reviewing their sizes.

TIPS

Check the direction of the wood grain.  Your images should cut opposite to that direction.  Utilize design space to correctly position them.

T H R E E : CUT. Using the strong grip mat, start with the more complex cut of the two – the basswood. The reason being, wood takes much longer, and the material is more costly, should you make an error on sizing. It took about an hour and half for my machine to do 14 passes to cut 8 pieces. On the other hand, card stock only took a minute or less for each piece.

TIPS

Certainly secure the wood on the strong grip mat in place by applying tape around it. In addition, make sure the position of the tape doesn’t touch the blade to avoid jam alerts causing unnecessary interruptions. Lastly, you may use an X-acto knife should you need to detach some areas.

F O U R : ASSEMBLY. Layer the pieces and combine them together using glue. See video above for quick snapshots. Embelish! Embelish! Or, keep it simple. Add a touch of personalization with your favorite photo to go along with it! Ta-da!

Enjoy,

R i c h e l l e C.