It’s much easier to rearrange a card design if you don’t have any double-sided tape or paper-safe glue on it yet. You can easily move the pieces around without worrying about tearing the cardstock, creasing an edge or getting adhesive marks everywhere. So plan out your layout before doing anything else.
Open up your cardbase and lay out just what you think you’re going to put on the front of it. For example, you might have a large piece of patterned paper, a smaller piece of cardstock, a sentiment, and one embellishment. Don’t worry about all those other little extras you’ll be adding yet. Just focus on the big picture. Having fewer pieces means it’s easier to see if your layout is working before you get caught up in the details.
Start by placing down the largest piece of paper. Don’t worry about how perfectly centered it is yet, though. Then add your focal point and sentiment. See how those three pieces look together. Is your focal point too close to your greeting? Or does it overpower it? Are there too many gaps between the pieces? Look at your margins and see if they’re balanced. If one side is too crowded and another is too bare, you might want to adjust the whole thing rather than tweaking every single piece.
Here’s a little trick that I like to use to experiment with different layouts: make three different versions of the same cardfront. You don’t need to cut anything new; just move things around. Put your focal point in the center for the first version, then try slightly higher or off-center for the second, and move your sentiment for the third. Take a photo of each one or step away from your craft table for a minute and see how they look. It’s much easier to spot differences when you’re not looking at your layout constantly.
Colors and patterns also play a role. A heavily patterned piece of paper is heavier visually than a solid-colored piece of cardstock, even if they’re the same size. Dark text can take up more space than a tiny decorative flourish. If you’re finding yourself drawn to several pieces at once, see if removing one simplifies the design. A clearer focal point can help you decide where to put your sentiment and what your overall visual hierarchy is.
Finally, look at some practical things. Make sure nothing is sticking out over the edge of your cardbase. Can you still read your text underneath everything you’ve added? Will it close flat with any added dimensionality? Will it fit in an envelope? Planning ahead isn’t just about aesthetics; it’s about avoiding potential problems during construction.
Once you’ve figured out a design you like, start taping things down, beginning with the biggest pieces and working your way down to the smallest ones. Double-check your placement before you tape down each piece, because the rest of your design might not end up where you expect. Next time you make a card, take a few extra minutes to move things around before you glue anything down. It will save you a lot of frustration compared to trying to fix a cluttered design after the fact!
