Perfecting Techniques: Choosing paper for cards

I liked this card as soon as I saw it online. It is cut from Sizzix die #659690. This die cuts the entire card, not just the face the that you see here. A crease is made for folding as the card is cut.

I have quite a few Christmas prints, but the paper is lightweight. This was not a good choice. The card had no body and the word jingle did not release well. I tried gluing the thin paper over a ready made blank card. That didn't go well either. The print paper tore along the crease as I trying to align things.

I ran this die again but cut the print paper in half after the card was cut. If I am going to use up the thin paper that I have on hand, I think I will try shimming under the work jingle before I run it through the Big Shot and see how that goes. It took quite a bit of time to get the word out and salvage the letters that came out in four pieces: the j-i are one piece, the n-g-l-e remain connected and then there are the two dots for the first two letters.

The phrase "all the way" as shown in the first photo does not come with the die. I will probably use the phrase on the interior of the card, either printed on the computer or free-handing the greeting. The two views in the above photo are not finished cards. They need to be glued to a card and I'm not certain of the use of the bell for the dot over the "i". If I use them, these cards will be hand delivered.

Next experiment will be cutting this out of solid core card stock in Christmasy colors (I hate have white show in the fold when the card is creased) and using a Christmas print on the interior of the card that will be visible through the jingle cut out. The front of that card might be too fragile though. Hmm, see why experimentation is necessary?

***Update***

Using a heavier weight card stock made removing and saving the letters much easier.

I decided the card needs a backing and shouldn't be used as a window to the interior of the card. 

What was the first thing I did today? Cut the card out of the lightweight paper...again. 

The bell here is white with glitter on it. I outlined the letters with a Sakura pen called Star glaze. Another bit of advice: If you decide to add a bell, make sure it has a clapper inside. This one is a dud and I didn't notice it until I had it on the card. Maybe I wasn't really awake this morning.