18 Cards in 30 Minutes & Time Saving Tips For Simple Cards

I love to find time-saving tips for making handmade cards, because…let’s admit…many of us can’t make cards all day every day. In addition, sometimes you need a card in a pinch, or a lot of cards in a pinch. Today I’ll show you how to create 18 cards in just 30 minutes and every card is one-of-a-kind! Aren’t they cute?

18 Cards in 30 Minutes Video

To see exactly how I created 18 cards in 30 minutes, watch along here.

Abstract Beauty Designer Paper

To make these cards, I pulled out my new pack of Abstract Beauty designer paper. These papers are unique because they measure 4″ x 6″. If you’re using 12″ x 12″ paper in place of the Abstract Beauty set, it’s easy to cut your large sheets down into 4″ x 6″ pieces and use the same techniques I share below.

This pack includes really cute and fun prints with beautiful gold accents.

Get time-saving tips for making handmade cards and watch as I create 18 cards in 30 minutes!

Preparing to Make Your Cards

There were a few things I did prior to making my video to get ready to make these cards. I prepared card bases in colors that coordinated with the paper pack. I also got my trimmer, adhesives, and other basic supplies ready.

Cutting The Designer Paper

I began with 4″ x 6″ pieces and cut them into the following dimensions:

Cut on the long side at the 3″ mark to get two 3″ x 4″ pieces
Cut on the long side at 5 1/4″ to get a 4″ x 5 1/4″ piece and one 4″ x 3/4″ piece
Cut on the long side at 1/2″, then cut the large piece in half diagonally
Cut on the long side at 1/2″, then cut the large piece on the short side at 1 1/4″, then cut the remaining piece in half to achieve two squares measuring 2 3/4″ x 2 3/4″

Having Tags Ready To Go

In the video I mention how I had hundreds of tags ready to go, which I used on these cards. The tackle box shown below, filled with tags organized by occasion, has been a life-save.

Learn about how you can create hundreds of tags in minutes using the Many Messages Bundle, how to create hundreds more tags in minutes with Many Happenings, and how to make personalized tags quickly with the Messages die.

Once you have a collection of geometric pieces that will fit on your cards, as well as some tags, you’re ready to create!

18 Different Card Designs

Let’s take a better look at the card designs that I created. I made 18 different designs using the pre-cut pieces I mentioned above, but keep in mind there are hundreds or thousands more designs you can create with these exact same pieces.