The bling factor of CD’s and DVD’s has inspired all sorts of artistic uses for them. From goofy to stunningly beautiful. Why not use them to embellish DIY cards and scrapbooks? After seeing the cool new colors of LightScribe CD’s, I was inspired to design a DIY holiday greeting card with an enclosed photo CD that is even more than a thoughtful way to enjoy shared memories and a digital photo archive. It is also a cool element of the card design.

Next, I designed another 8 ½” x 11” digital page for the inside of the card, selecting a background design and font style that I already used on the outside design. A nice detail was to match the text box background color to a dominant color in the card background (eyedropper tool) so it blends in.

I know, all too well, that feeling of shocked disbelief from finding that the inside of my otherwise nifty homemade card was printed upside down. Here’s how to feel great about your creations, instead.

(Option #1: patterned
paper CD pocket version)

I felt like a papercrafting wizard when I envisioned a simple, open pocket, with cut out window, made from paper, that I printed with a coordinating pattern, and then attached to the inside of my card. At least until a good friend opened the card and the CD rolled out onto the floor. That’s what friends are for. J   A better idea emerged. A more useful pocket, closed on the top by a small folded flap (Option #1).

I am also sharing 2 other ways to hold a CD in your card, scrapbook or other project. 3 options, 3 levels of ease to make, 3 different looks.

#1 Patterned paper CD pocket – inspired by scrapbooking

#2 Foam hub CD mount - the entire shining CD’s surface greets the card recipient

#3 Store-bought CD envelope - very fast, very simple
 

I chose a red LightScribe CD because it coordinated so well with my overall card design. I repeated the card’s outside design theme on the CD. (Isn’t the re-usability of digital designs great?) I made one major change to the outside page design. I deleted just the red background, since the red CD would be the new background. (If my card design had had a white background, this step would be left out.)

Label printing on LightScribe discs is done by a laser inside a LightScribe CD/DVD disc drive. That’s why you need to flip the CD over; the laser is in the same place whether it is used to burn data into the recording side of the disc or to create a label on the label side. Color designs will be printed as if with black ink. White in the original design will be the color of the disc.

Using the LightScribe label printing software that came with my disc drive, I selected the background option to use my own background. I then browsed to my outside page design file and resized and centered it in the software template to completely fill the template. I made sure the center hole didn’t overlap with key design elements. I also added a simple title (Christmas 2007), previewed it and selected Print.

LightScribe labeling does take time, so don’t worry if the finished disc doesn’t pop out as fast as printed paper from an inkjet printer. My full-disc design, done in best contrast mode, took 29 minutes. During that time, I walked away and had lunch while the technology did the work. The result was very cool.

I selected my digital photos for the CD and used the CD writing software that came with the disc drive to copy them onto the recording side of the LightScribe CD.

Option #1: Patterned paper CD pocket

After a print preview, I printed a full 8 ½” x 11” page of a coordinating background pattern that I used already in the card design. Any printable and foldable paper will work. I used white HP brochure paper. Nice weight, bright white, very foldable. I selected the printer setting for paper type to HP Brochure Paper, Matte.

I made a simple pattern for cutting out the pocket, so you don’t have to.  Click here.    After a print preview, I printed the pattern image on an 8 1/2” x 11” sheet of plain paper, portrait orientation, with no scaling. I checked to be sure the 4 3/4” fold edge was 4 3/4”. (If it was not, I could have a printer setting selected that was scaling the image.)

I traced the pattern outline onto the BACK (unprinted) of the patterned page so no lines would show on the outside of the finished pocket. Sounds easy, eh? In my rush to get to the fun cutting & gluing part, my brain said BACK but my hand said FRONT and I traced right on top of my pattern. (Isn’t the re-usability of digital designs great?) So, once again I printed a page of a coordinating background… J

I cut out my CD pocket. Before making the 4” circle opening, I pre-folded the pocket along the 3 flap FOLD lines, so the patterned flaps were visible over the unprinted side of the brochure paper. I used a straight edge as a fold guide to get crisp folded edges. The bottom pre-fold was then made such that the paper pattern was on the outside.

I spread the pocket flat again under the pattern and poked the pointed tip of a compass into the center of the “+” on the pattern, through both the pattern and the pocket underneath. On the unprinted BACK of the pocket, I drew a 4” diameter circle with the pointed compass tip back in the center hole I made. I cut out the circle after starting with an X in the center, made with a rotary cutter, like I did for the windows in the stuffed fabric card technique.

I applied a line of glue on the patterned sides of each of the 2 folded side glue flaps (the glue flaps are wider than the top flap), and folded and pressed the pocket BACK over the glue. The side flaps are inside the pocket so the front of the pocket has a clean look. I put a bit of glue on each of the 4 corners on the back of the pocket and pressed it in place on the inside cover of the greeting card. I dropped in the CD and folded down the top flap. It was ready to sign.

Option # 1 Short-Cut

Here is a short-cut alternative for making a CD pocket from a paper of your choice.

I carefully pulled apart the 2 side tab seams of a store-bought tyvek CD envelope. Tyvek is made from polyethylene and glued seams tend to come apart fairly easily. I used it as a pattern to trace the outline of the pocket. I even traced the 4” diameter circle opening. I shortened the top flap so the pattern fit on my 11” long sheet of paper and so the closed flap didn’t cover part of the window opening.

Option #2: Foam hub CD mount

I really like this option because the whole surface of the inserted color photo CD shows. It is also one of those simple, elegant solutions that make engineers weep.

I cut 3, 5/8” lengths of double-stick foam mounting tape from the roll. I lined up the 2 sticky surfaces of 2 pieces and pressed them together. I then removed the backing paper from one side of the 2-high stack. I lined up the sticky surfaces of the stack and the 3^rd foam piece and pressed them together. I replaced one of the remaining pieces of backing paper with a plastic sticker, a clear address label. With the final piece of backing paper still attached, I used scissors to trim the label to the hub size and to round the corners of the stack. I tested the hub by placing the stack, backing paper side down, on a flat surface and carefully pressed a CD over it. I made a good hub because the outer plastic label gave a bit when the CD was pushed down over it. There was also some resistance to pulling the CD back off the hub. It was ready to use to hold the CD in place when opening the greeting card.

I removed the final piece of backing paper from my good hub stack and pressed the hub into place on the inside cover of the greeting card. The CD was then gently pressed over it. The CD is easily removed again by pressing on the foam hub with your thumb as you lift the CD edge with your fingers. Just like removing a CD from its case.

Option #3: Store-bought CD envelope

When fast really matters, a store-bought tyvek CD envelope works, too.

I just applied glue to each of the 4 back corners and pressed it into place on the card.

To keep the CD from rolling out, the top flap folds back toward the card and down over, and behind, the CD edge. So, a nice touch was to shorten the top flap, to make it easier to open the envelope after it is glued down and a CD is inside.

Another nice touch is to make it even easier for the recipient to pull open the flap by gluing a ribbon loop to the inside of the flap.

The envelope itself could also be embellished.

Here is the color palette of current LightScribe CD’s. A color for all occasions. I wish you much fun in designing them into your next photo CD projects.

These photo CD insert ideas were intended for greeting cards given in person. Stiff cardboard mailer envelopes are the best choice for mailing.

I hope you give photo CD greeting cards a try and make new designs in your own personal style!