A: I am so glad I purchased the Spellbinders A2 Matting Basics sets - these are rectangle die sets that are sized for perfect matting on A2 cards. I make a lot of full-panel backgrounds, and these dies produce a perfectly cut panel with a finished edge and just the slightest border. For full-panel techniques like Herringbone or the Starburst Background, the dies create a perfect panel and trim off all the excess in one pass through the die cut machine - that's difficult to do with a trimmer, and scissors never get the edges quite perfect enough. These are simple and practical dies, but they save my trimmer blades from a lot of wear.

A: You can! However, you'll have to take note of a few things. The weave of the fabric will make a difference - look for a tighter weave that will better hold the ink in place (like canvas or muslin). Copic ink will tend to bleed on a lighter weight or looser woven fabric. If you have enough fabric to do a test swatch first, that will be helpful. For stamping, use a craft or hybrid ink that will be permanent on fabric but also resist reaction with the alcohol ink, and heat set well. When you color, use a light touch and start from the middle of each color area to avoid bleeding. Gradually move toward the outline, or leave a small space and allow the fabric to wick the color out to fill each area.

A: Hi Marlena! Any cards that are thicker than 1/4" now have to be sent at package rate... the best product I've seen for sending highly dimensional cards through the mail are the Card Guard boxes from My Sweet Petunia - - they're very sturdy and a perfect fit for an A2 size card. Another alternative are thin plastic boxes tucked into a padded envelope - I order that type of product from Clearbags.

A: A belly band is a strip of paper that's wrapped around a card or box to keep it closed, with adhesive that holds the strip into a ring. They're usually about an inch wide. Usually the seam or overlapped ends are covered by an embellishment or other small stamped panel that accents the design of the project.

A: I did cut down a lot of my patterned paper to 6" squares, and I'm more likely to cut into a 6" piece than a 12" piece. For solid colored cardstock, I would probably cut some to 6" and some down to card size (you could get 6 layering pieces for A2 cards from one sheet at 4" x 5 1/4"), but I'd also leave some uncut. Many of our special fold cards and box projects require larger paper, or you may need a piece for a belly band or larger card.