Happy Bouquet Digi Stamp Card with Products By TLC Designs Plus Tips For Mailing Handmade Greeting Cards

 Hello my crafty friends. This is Shannon and I’m so happy to be here with you today on the TLC Designs blog. I hope you’re enjoying the spring weather. I know I am.  

If you’ve read any of my recent posts, you know that I am a new fan of digi stamps.  They are so much fun! You can print them individually or create an entire one-layer scene with them. If you haven’t tried digital stamps, I highly recommend them.  The design possibilities are endless and their price point is unbeatable.

Today’s post is about digi stamps, but I also want to touch on the subject of mailing cards with lumpy embellishments on them.  If you’ve ever created a card with pearls, hearts or the like, and had that card returned in the mail asking for additional postage, this post is for you.

There are a few ways to get around paying extra postage on these types of cards.  According to the USPS website, for First-Class Mail “letter” rates, it must be at least 3-1/2 inches by 5 inches by 0.007 inches thick, and no more than 6-1/8 inches by 11–1/2 inches by 1/4 inches thick. If the mailpiece falls within these dimensions*, it is classified as a “letter”. If your “letter” is less than one ounce, it can be mailed, within the USA, with a regular first-class forever stamp.

Unusually shaped mail, like square or vertical envelopes*, “lumpy envelopes”, “rigid envelopes”, and mail with clasps, string, or buttons, must be “hand-canceled”. They are charged a nonmachinable surcharge even if they weigh less than one ounce.

* The length is the dimension parallel to the delivery address as read; the height is the dimension perpendicular to the length.

 

Tips For Mailing Thick Cards Or Cards With Embellishments

•  Keep your card under ¼ of an inch thick (including embellishments).
• Use layers of cardstock instead of foam tape when “popping up” elements on your card front.
• When using “bumpy” embellishments, keep them to the top half of your envelope (see my card as an example). The “top half” will be either the left or right half of the card, depending on which direction you put the card into the envelope. Doing this will prevent problems when going through the meter at the post office.
• Cover the “bumps” with packer’s tape on the outside of the envelope. This prevents the envelope from ripping when going through the meter. (The “bumps” can not be more than ¼” thick to qualify under the “regular letter postage” rules.
• Attach a sticker/label on the left side of the envelope, under the return address, stating “HAND CANCEL”. “Hand Cancel” means they will cancel the postage stamp on the envelope by hand instead of putting it through the meter. This costs a little more, but it’s worth the cost if you’ve ever experienced problems with your cards being returned or not making their destination.
• Hand deliver. Then you get to see the look on the recipient’s face when they open the card made just for them. You may have to endure the cost of airfare in order to do this one, but I thought I would include it as an option.

Now, on to the card. I started by inserting a rectangle shape onto an MS Word document.  I changed the size to 3.75” x 8.25”. Then I copied the Happy Bouquet png file from the Happy Bouquet digi stamp set and pasted it twice onto the rectangle shape in MS Word.  In addition, I copied and pasted the sentiment from the same digi stamp set.  This set includes super cute sentiments along with a beautiful floral arrangement.

After resizing the images, I printed the document onto Hammermill smooth white 100# Cardstock. Then I colored images with Ohuhu alcohol markers.  These are one of my new go-to coloring mediums. I’ve included all of the color combinations I used at the end of this post.

The finishing touches on that card include some aqua hearts by Lucy’s cards and some flat-back pearls I purchased on Amazon.com. Then I glued the panel to a 4” x 8.5” piece of light blue 100# cardstock and adhered the final product to a card base measuring the same size.

Products Used To Create This Card

Happy Bouquet Digi Stamp Set – TLC Designs

Ohuhu Alcohol Markers

E434, G240, E432, G220, G9, G440, G410, G4709, G270, G240, G220, Y7, Y250, Y230, Y121, B030

Droplets, Aqua Hearts – Lucy’s Cards

Mini Guillotine Timmer – We R MemoryKeepers 

Acrylic Matte Medium – Handy Art

Bone Folder 

Scotch ATG

Hammermill 100# Smooth White Cardstock  

Reverse Tweezers  

That’s it.  I hope this inspires you to create cards of your own with digi stamps by TLC Designs.  The “Happy Bouquet” digi set is currently on sale for $2.50.

Enjoy the rest of your crafty day.

Hugs!

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