CZ Design

A must-have tool for cardmakers: cropping panels

A must-have tool for cardmakers: cropping panels

Today I’m sharing a fun make-at-home tool to help you visual different panel sizes with your stamped and ink blended images.

I’m calling them Cropping Panels and this video will explain what they are and how to create yours at home:

All you need are a few sheets of neutral colored cardstock and some nesting rectangle dies. To get my PDF printable, click on the image below:

The file will open in a new window and you can download the file, or print right from the web browser.

Here are a few pics of the sample cards from the video.

I hope these Cropping Panels are useful when you sit down to design your next handmade card!

SUPPLIES:


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Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Judy V says

    Cathy, thanks for the PDF A2 Crop tools you created and sharing them! I can see how this tool is going to help my cards.

  4. Patti Gates says

    Thank you for the perfect printable. They will be so helpful. Great Idea.

    They will be used a lot.

  5. Linda Wetterlin says

    Thanks for this free printable, Cathy – fabulous tool for designing!! And thanks for a wonderful class yesterday – so fun!! Now you’ve got me singing The Love Boat theme 🙂

  6. Judith Bailes says

    Cathy, thank you for this wonderful tool for my cardmaking. These will also work great for helping to visualize sizes of printed material for collages. I love the videos you are doing on mastering card techniques for better cards.

  9. Pauline says

    Thank you so much for the download, Cathy! This will be so much better than just using the die to figure out the crop!

  10. Leslie says

    Thank you Cathy!!! I love this. I so appreciate you creating this for us. And I love your design videos. Keep them coming. 😊💗

  14. Irene Smith says

    Thanks so much, Cathy, for taking the time to share your knowledge and for making such a useful tool!!

  15. Regina says

    Hi Cathy!
    Such a great idea…and thank you for providing the templates!🙏🏻
    I have a question regarding your use of the Anna Griffin Empress machine. I just purchased one and I noticed you cut into the magnetic mat. That feels most natural to me to make the best use of the magnetic capability to hold die and cardstock in place, but the manual shows a different sandwich. How do you find the magnetic mat is holding up?🤩

  17. Faye Schreiber says

    Thank you so much for your Viewing Cards PDF I’m sure it’ll be very handy… 👍🏻🇦🇺

  21. Terri Mansfield says

    Thank you!! I watched your video yesterday while working and am here to get the pdf to make these. It’s amazing how helpful these can be and I really appreciate the kind gift. Hope you have a wonderful day.

  24. Carrianne Banul says

    OMG! This is absolutely amazing! I’m so excited to try making this tomorrow—I’ll have to wait until then because dinner’s calling me tonight! Thank you SO much for sharing this tool and the step-by-step instructions. Your card is stunning, and I’m in love with the colors you used. I can’t wait to give this a try!

  30. Dorothy Ayotte says

    Your craft frame is dramatic and cool. The flowers are gorgeous! Looks so true to the real beautiful flowers.

  32. Roxanne Tellini says

    I remember buying these panels for framing photos in the 90’s. Gotta love finding a non-cardmaking/memory keeping use for our crafting supplies.

  41. Liz O says

    Love your CAS designs Cathy! The cropping panel idea is very clever, and for sure a tool to keep handy thanks for sharing the PDF!

  43. EmmaLouLoves says

    Downloaded ready to print and cut once I can get back into the craft room.
    Thank you Cathy.

    p.s. I’ll try and print them onto some ‘Sturdy-doodie’ cardstock. :oD

  48. Patti Sollitto says

    Thank you so much for these cropping panels! I am anxious to try them. It looks like a game changer!

  50. Ms. Tamp says

    Thanks for the cropping panels! I like the idea to block out the section to better see the design.

  52. Kris P. says

    Thank you for sharing such a helpful tool with us. Love your ideas and your fun presence in the card making community.

  53. Robin in TN says

    Thank you for your lesson on design and the crop tools. Very helpful! Love how your designs turned out.

  58. Anna K. says

    Thank you so much for creating this and sharing them with us. I printed and laminated them so that they will be sturdy. I have used them a lot since I printed them. They are so helpful and makes creating easier. You are a genius!