These are strange times with so many of us staying at home while others, like first responders and healthcare workers, are on the front lines doing everything they can to help those affected. With the hope of adding a little cheer to a tough situation, I used the new Cricut Joy to make encouragement cards that I’ll be mailing out this week.
Every day, nurses, doctors, and other healthcare workers walk into hospitals and clinics to care for those affected by this pandemic. Police, firefighters, and paramedics enter homes, having no idea what to expect. Elderly men and women are isolated in nursing homes, unable to have visits from family and loved ones.
It’s a difficult time and I wanted to tell the staff at our local hospital that they’re valued and appreciated, and send a little happy mail to a resident or two at a local nursing home.
Supplies for Encouragement Cards
To make these encouragement cards, I used Cricut Joy, card insert sets made for the machine, and a card mat.
If you haven’t yet seen how the card mat works, keep reading! This is such a clever design.
There are a number of different insert card sets available and, when they’re in the package, I don’t think you realize how neat they are.
Each set includes regular cards, envelopes, and inserts in a large variety of patterns and colors, including translucent patterns, holographic and glitter paper, and regular colored cardstock.
How to Make a Card Using Cricut Joy Ready-To-Make Designs
There are lots of card designs included with a Cricut Access subscription and those ready-to-make designs in Cricut Design Space make card making so quick and easy.
You Are The Best Encouragement Card
Find the card design you want to use then click make it.
For card designs, you’ll use a card mat.
Peel the protective cover off the card mat …
… slide the bottom of the card under the plastic layer until the fold is right up against the edge …
… then fold the front of the card over the sticky mat.
The plastic layer in between the front and back of the card protects the inside of the card from being cut while the front is being cut.
Cricut Joy uses bluetooth so once it’s plugged in, it’s ready to go. If you haven’t used this new machine before, I covered a lot of the basics in the home organization post I recently wrote.
When selecting the material being used, there’s an insert card – cardstock setting that you’ll use.
That setting automatically tells the machine that a card mat is being used and sets the accurate pressure for the blade.
Cricut Joy will do the rest!
Once the card is cut, you simply remove it from the mat.
The card mat is basically self-weeding because as you pull the front of the card up, much of the negative space will stay behind. The more intricate the design, the more careful you’ll have to be though because you don’t want to rip any of the fine lines.
I recommend using a spatula tool to carefully lift the design up.
Once the front is lifted from the sticky mat, slide the back out.
Choose the inset piece you want, open the card, and slide the corners of the inset into the corner cuts on the front of the card, with the pattern or color facing forward.
The inset will show through the cuts in the card and the result is so pretty.
The card looks like you spent hours making it when you can actually whip it up in less than five minutes!
How to Design Your Own Card to Use with Cricut Insert Cards and a Card Mat
If you’re looking for something different and want to make your own card designs, that’s easy too. You can cut or draw a design, or use a combination of both.
Wishes for Brighter Days Encouragement Card
First, you’ll need to create the design in Cricut Design Space. I combined an image and text to create this simple card and you can use this brighter days file as well. Once you open the file, you can customize it, if needed.
When sending the design to the machine, select the material size. There are options based on the size of the card being used.
When you send the design to the machine, it will automatically place your design in the top left corner but did you know that you can move it around on the mat, just by dragging it with the mouse? I didn’t know that for so long {face palm}.
The machine will prompt you if other tools, like pens, are needed.
I love using pens with all my Cricut machines so I was really excited to find out you can use pens with Cricut Joy too.
The design will be drawn right onto the front of the card and it’s ready for sending.
If you want, before you send the design to the machine, you can add a message to the inside as well.
Card making and paper crafts have never been so easy and I can’t wait to use this same technique to make inserts and journal cards for scrapbooking.
Heroes Encouragement Card
If you want to create a card using inserts, that’s easy too!
In the images in Cricut Design Space, you’ll find lots of different corner cut designs that you can use. The designs vary from simple to more elaborate and you can choose whatever works for the card you’re making.
Add a design, using text and images, be sure the lines are all set to cut, then send it to Cricut Joy to create.
To make this heroes card, click the link to modify as needed, then send it to the Cricut Joy. Make sure the 4.25×5.5 card size is selected.
Before cutting, flip the entire design to face the other way or else the design will be upside down on the card. Be sure it’s centered on the mat.
Once cut, weed as instructed above, and slide the insert in.
If you don’t have a color you want to use for the insert, you can cut your own inserts from cardstock and can even layer them to get a different look.
Take a peek at both sides of the clear inserts, too. One side is colorful but the back side is silver and it’s probably not meant to be used but I like to use the back for a simple metallic look. For the heroes card, I layered a clear insert, back side up, over a plain teal insert that I cut myself.
Making cards with Cricut Joy couldn’t be easier with the card inserts and card mat!
I’ll be mailing off these encouragement cards and hopefully sending a little hope to those that need it.
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