Shout Outs

I make those funky little cards that I call "Shout Outs". they are 3.25 by 4.25 inches, just the size to cut 3 from a standard sheet of cardstock. I make them specifically for one purpose - to mail a single ATC. I don't like to put just an ATC in an envelope, I like something to surround and protect it, and a shout out is just the thing. I have a few rules for my shout outs:

1. They have to be flat. no ribbons or brads or other lumpy things are allowed. They are supposed to make my little ATCs easier to mail, not harder.
2. It can't take longer than 10 minutes to make all three of them. These are not "real" cards, they are just protective coverings.
3. They have to be ugly - I don't want the recipient to feel like they have to treasure it, and I especially don't want them to feel bad if they sent me an ATC without anything else.

I usually build them from scraps laying on my crafting desk, and often they will consist of gluing a failed ATC glued to a base. Not today, however - I had a small branch of silk leaves lying on my desk, so I used them instead.



It is easy to get silk flowers and leaves to lie flat if you take off the plastic bits. You can see the glue where it smeared around the edges, and the white speckles are glitter that came on the leaves. The orange paper was a scrap lying on my cutting tray, and the faux stitching is very fast if you use the Drywall stitching technique.

No one should have any difficulty tossing this out.