Have a Geeky Valentine's Day: Han and Leia Silhouette Card Tutorial

Valentines Day is just a couple days away!  Have you found the perfect card for the special geek in your life yet?  If you are a procrastinator like me (hence why this tutorial did not come out earlier) there is still time to make a thoughtful card to profess your geeky love.  This is a pretty simple project, but I have broken it down for even the un-crafty of folks.

See the full tutorial after the jump!


I cannot take credit for the original Han and Leia image used for this tutorial.  A wonderful gal by the name of Natalie provided the png image on her blog Doodlecraft, and I made some minor adjustments and scaled the image down to fit a 4.5 in x 6.25 in card.  Please feel free to download the image here to print for a card, or vist Natalie's blog for the editable image if you have other plans for it!

You will note that my card is a mirror image of this, and you will see how that happened further down...

Materials:
   -Template printed on regular printer paper (the thinner the better)
   - Blank 4.5 in x 6.25 in card or one piece of 9 in x 6.25 in piece of cardstock folded in half in color of your choice
   - Second piece of cardstock in contrasting color cut to 8.5 in x 5.75 in for inside card lining.
   - Cutting Mat or piece of cardboard
   - Small craft blade (I used a heat tool with an attachable cutting blade)
   - Glue
   - Removable tape (I used craft tape)

Instructions:

Gather your materials.  Cut your two pieces of paper to size, and cut out the image along the black rectangle.  The red outer card is 9 in x 6.25 in folded in half, and the black and white inner card is 8.5 in x 5.75 in folded in half.

You should have one piece of paper that will be the outside of your card (red), and one smaller piece that will be the liner (black and white).  I just happened to have a card that was black on the outside and white on the inside, but you can just use a white piece of paper for the lining, you will just have a white silhouette instead of a black one.

Set the smaller lining card aside and tape the printed image to the bottom half of the flattened outer card.  This seems pretty self explanatory but the first time I did this I wasn't paying attention and cut it wrong, so I guess it never hurts to be reminded.  I just happened to have movie reel washi tape lying around, how appropriate.

Place the card on a cutting mat or piece of cardboard and start cutting out the black shapes.  You will be cutting through the template and the card, so make sure you have a sharp blade and press firmly.  Go slowly and make sure to rotate your cutting surface to get the best angle.

If you dont cut all the way through the first time, dont force it.  When you are done tracing everything with your knife, carefully remove the paper template and then go over any spots that didnt get cut with your knife again.  You will be left with fun Luke and Leia cutouts to use for another craft!

Now at this point you can glue in your lining.  I ended up tearing off some of the red paper when I went to remove my tape, so I just turned the card inside out before I glued in the lining (hence why the image is reverse of the template).  Problem solved.  Feel free to pick whichever side you like better.  Glue the solid side of the card down first.

Then glue the cutout side.  I liked having my edges secure so I glued around all the cut edges, if you want more of a shadow type effect you can just glue around the outside edges.

Write your message on the inside, and you are good to go!

Not a Star Wars fan?  Here is a Princess Bride inspired template (NOTE: you will be cutting out the white parts inside of the black rectangle frame only):

template (above) and finished product (below)

Or how about Dr. Who? (NOTE: you will be cutting out the white parts inside of the black frame only)

I just made this template and havent had a chance to try it myself, and my printer decided to run out of ink, so I cant do a trial run at the moment, but I included it in case you are the adventurous type.  I will try to get one done in the next day or two so you can see the finished product.  This one requires a lot more cutting than the other two, so try at your own risk.

Alternatives:
   -You can pretty much download any pumpkin carving template, scale it down to size, and use the same method as the luke and leia card.
   -Glitter?
   -You can use interesting magazine pages or pattered paper to fill in the cutout portions to add some visual interest.

Happy Valentine's Day!!

~Shauna