Have you seen “ Inchies” yet? “ Inchies” are the new ATC’s-Artist Trading Cards. Inchies are small – 1inch by 1 inch – pieces of art. This is the only rule. They are perfect to be traded, they are inexpensive to mail, they can be very budget friendly, and they can be made quickly- the list goes on and on. If you’re a papercrafter, chances are you have tons of scraps that were just too pretty to throw away. So start making inchies! Inchies are finished when you say they are finished. You can make several in one sitting, or just one for a special someone. Trade them, give them away, collect them, and use them to embellish almost anything.
I decided to make a few last night. Soon I had the entire table covered with these little wonders. Here are some I made using card stock and rub-ons.
I made these with cardstock and punch-outs from various McGill punches.
A pretty piece of paper may be enough for an Inchie.
Several stamp companies are making stamps perfect for making inchies. Here is a selection of stamps from Designs by Dreamer. (These are so new they aren’t on her website yet but they are available if you contact them)
I made a card using one of these stamps for my image. Here is the card.
You will need these supplies:
Dark Green Cardstock
Ivory Cardstock
Sunflower Rub-Ons
Black Identi-pen
Adhesive (I used a glue stick)
Black stamp pad
“Inchies” rubber stamp
Paper trimmer or ruler, pencil and scissors
1. Cut an ivory inchie and stamp it “ Just for you”
2. Cut a 4 ½” square from the ivory cardstock. Apply the sunflower rub-on to it. Use the Identi-pen to make black faux stitching all around the perimeter.
3. Make 2 inchies with rooster rub-ons.
4. Follow the photo to adhere the elements to a 4 ¾” by 6 3/4” rectangle of dark green cardstock
5. Adhere this to a 5” by 7” ivory card that opens at the top.
6. Use the Identi-pen to make faux stitching lines across the green cardstock as shown in photo
Voila! a great card to send to a special person. You can use this same layout and any other colors, sentiments and rub-ons or stamps to make additional cards. Simple changes will give you a whole new look.
Hint: many times those “free” return address labels that come in the mail have stickers included. Save these and use them to make beautiful inchies! Remember-it’s OK to not use the entire image, or to have it bleed off the edges of the inchie.
