Laminated Kindness ID Badge

I wanted to create a memento to friends and co-workers I am leaving behind as I continue my journey in my profession. I've worked in my current hospital unit, 8400-MICU,  for 15+ years. It is the first and only job I have held since I migrated to this country. Imagine the friendships and memories gained over those years. I will truly miss them because who I am today as a nurse, a big part of it is because of the MICU.

The biggest component of the memento I want to give is the sentiment from the Hero Arts Acts of Kindness Clear stamp set. I was going to create badges that my friends can add to their numerous badges. We tend to have many, from our ID to important numbers card to medication dosage cards, you name it. What's one more, right? Anyway, the orientation of the sentiment stamp is horizontal. I wanted it to be vertical so you can read the sentiment without turning the card clockwise, and the with it fitting a 2" x 3 1/4" mini card.  To achieve this, guess what I did? Yeah, I cut the sentiment stamp and separated each word from the other. Don't worry. The words maybe separated but it can still be lined up to create a one whole sentiment. I used the EK Success Cutter Bee scissors to do this job to precisely cut the words apart. I stamped the sentiments on a scrap paper. So far, no letters has been harmed. This is the best way I can mass produce the cards without having to go through masking words to achieve the look I wanted.

I used the Misti Stamping tool to line up the sentiments and stamp a lot of mini cards at one time. At first, I lined them one word on top of the other to stamp the whole sentiment all at once. The spaces between the words were too wide and I didn't like the look of it. I divided the whole sentiment into three stamping groups to be able to stamp the sentiments closer. I still used the Misti tool with the groups next to each other but with enough space in between so as not to re-stamp one group on the the mini card.

The grid lines of the Misti tool paper is very helpful in lining up the mini card with the sentiments. I used a Close To My Heart black dye ink to stamp the sentiment. I die cut a heart using a Costmo Cricket glitter sheet. The die is from Paper Smooches Hearts Wise die. I adhered this to the top of the mini card.

For the back, I stamped the Hero Arts Star Galaxy Background using a CTMH grey dye ink. The background stamp is bigger than the mini card but it is okay. I just stamped a corner to each card creating different impressions on each card.

I wanted the card personalized just like an ID badge. I used the Lawn Fawn Milo's ABC to stamp the names of the person I am going to give the cards to. This is the most tedious among all the processes involved with this project. I could have done more if I can line up the letters better. I stamped the names on a 2" blue strip of cardstock using Mama Elephant Stargazer pigment ink. I embossed the names with Hero Arts clear embossing powder. I adhered this to the back of the card using a glue stick since I will be laminating the cards.

I am not quite successful in foiling with the Minc Machine but laminating these cards was fun, just don't set the heat too high. I kind of went overboard setting it at 4. Setting 3 is just enough to laminate the Scotch Laminator pouches. I was able to laminate 2 cards at a time. I trimmed off the cards leaving at least 1/18" border around the card to keep it sealed.

I hand punch a slot on the top using a Fiskars 1/4" Rectangle Hand punch. It wasn't long enough to fit the ID clip so I had to punch twice. I didn't line it perfectly on a few occasions, and it wouldn't punch through the laminated card. Too thick, I guess. I used a craft knife to complete the cut. It wasn't smooth but it will be covered by the badge clip, so it is probably okay.

Then, it is time to give it away. Thanks for visiting my blog. Have a blessed and brilliant day!

Maria Giselle B.

I sm sharing this creation to the following:

http://craftycardmakers.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/168-bling-it-up.html