Here are a few basic notes about card-making that I found helpful when I was starting out. This page is a work in progress so check back to see more. Have a question you'd like answered or need a tip for something that's giving you trouble? Send me your question via e-mail and I'll be sure to address it here.
*Note: There are a few basic tools that can be quite handy in card-making. They are mentioned here, however, more detail is shared on the page called Basic Tools. 

Creating a Card "Base"

Before they are stamped on, pierced, colored or embellished in any way, a card must first have a card "base". There are a number of shapes that you can use, but what I call the "standard" and "tent fold" are probably the most commonly used shapes. And the good news is that you can make 2 out of just one sheet of 8-1/2" x 11" card stock!

Standard:

I use my Fiskars paper-trimmer to help with creating my card base. The cutting groove (where the blade will travel to cut your paper) can also be used to score your paper. Scoring the paper where the fold will be allows for a crisp fold.

• Place your paper into the paper trimmer so that the 8-1/2" side of the paper runs along the top.
• Align the left edge of your paper with the 4-1/4" mark on the ruler.
• Run a Bone Folder down the groove (where the blade would run if you were cutting the paper). 
• Now turn your paper 1/4" turn so that an 11" side of the paper is running along the top.
• Align the left edge with the 5-1/2" ruler mark. 
• Now cut your paper. You now have 2 card bases ready to go. *

Here's an example of a card that began with this base. As you can see, the fold is on the left, giving us a card that is 4-1/4" wide by 5-1/2" tall.

Here's another that is cut the same, but I've turned it so that fold is along the top, making the card face (front) 5-1/2 wide by 4-1/4" tall:

Tent Fold: 

With this type of card, you will begin with the long side of the card stock (11") along the top of the paper trimmer.

• Align the left edge of the card stock at 5-1/2" and score with a Bone Folder.
• Turn your paper 1/4" way so that the 8-1/2" side is along the top. 
• Align the left edge at 4-1/4" and cut.
• You now have 2 card bases of the tent fold variety.

With the fold (shown here by the score line) along the top, your card front will be 4-1/4" wide by 5-1/2" tall. Here's an example of a tent fold card:

*Tip: You are saving a step by scoring first, then cutting your card stock. If you cut first, you end up measuring and scoring 2 separate pieces. This can save you a lot of time when you are making a stack of cards!

Decorating your Card 

Ok, so now you have your card base; now what? Well, for me I usually like to start with either a stamped image or layout sketch. On my blog, I often share a number of different websites that share layouts each week. A google search of "card sketch" will pull up many choices for you, I'm sure.

Stamping:

If you are new to stamping, here are some notes about how to get the best image:

• Place your card (or piece of card stock) onto a stable, flat surface.
• Ink up the stamp by tapping the rubber lightly with a dye ink pad until the image is covered. Do not push the ink pad into the stamp with force; this will likely result in ink going into the surrounding rubber or puddling in recessed areas of the stamp and you'll get a messy stamped image.
• Press the inked rubber onto the card, apply firm and even pressure. Keep it steady - rocking or moving the stamp will leave you with stray ink marks. 
• Lift the stamp straight up and away from your card.

It's a good idea to go ahead and clean your stamp with a stamp cleaner. Cleaning it right away makes easy work of removing the ink. Two items that can help make this easy: Stampin' Mist (stamp cleaner) and Stampin' Scrub (scrubbing pads). The cleaner not only helps to clean the rubber, but it also keeps it from drying out, protecting your investment for long-time use. And the scrubber saves your hands - the tiny bristles really help to get the ink out of all the nooks and crannies of even the most detailed of stamps.