Pepi Valderrama, self-publisher of her own Indie Lenormand decks, shared about her FREE Lenormand deck (click here to check it out & download). You can print out the Vintage Poster Lenormand images & then the necessary pages of card backs required in order to create this as your own free Lenormand deck.
NOTE: Pepi is in Spain & is probably using size A4 paper popular in Europe. If you are using 8 1/2 X 11″ paper, as I am here in the States, the card images and back will print out a bit truncated because you will have to choose the “fit to page” option when you print. Never fear. It will still work out, it just takes a bit more itme as I explain below.
Anyone else thinking of doing this, this is what I did in a few simple steps:
MATERIALS NEEDED:
110 lb paper – this is a very light & flexible card stock, basically feels like it’s 3 sheets of paper glued back to back. — you need enough sheets to print out the card images & several pages of the card backs .
Glue – what I used is K&Company Quick Dry Craft Bond. This is a white glue that dries clear. What I like is it will stick to ANYTHING, so it’s great for scrapbooking, plus it won’t buckle the paper.
Cheap paint brush
Paper plate
Paper trimmer
Corner Rounder (optional)
Silver or Gold Paint Pen or Archival Ink Pad in desired color (optional)
OK, print everything out, and if necessary trim the card images first so you have each of them finely trimmed on all 4 sides. (If using A4 size paper I do not believe you have to trim the card fronts & you can glue the entire page to the page back).
Take the pages with the card back printed on them to a sunny window. Turn so the printed matter faces outside. With a pencil & ruler carefully mark the edges of the printed matter. This now serves as your border telling you where you can place the card images.
On the paper plate squirt out a bit of glue. Apply glue using the paint brush. Begin at the CENTER of the card image and work the glue all the way out to each edge, BEING SURE TO REACH THE VERY EDGE. This is VERY important – this way your cards won’t peel.
Be sure to leave a THIN layer of glue. You don’t need a lot & a little goes a long way. Also, work fast because this brand is tacky glue so it starts to get tacky quickly.
Carefully place the card front onto the BACK of the paper that has the card backs printed on it. Align the first card carefully with the very top left corner of the penciled-in border.
When placing subsequent cards: leave a fine line of white between them. This will make it a lot easier when you use a trimmer to trim the cards.
After gluing, allow the sheet to dry for 2 hours before attempting to trim the cards or the cards may separate & peel.
Once trimmed you can then decide if you want square corners, & if so then you’re good to go, or if you desire rounded corners. If you do, you will need a Corner Rounder punch. These can be found in any craft supply store.
You can also add to your deck by using a gold or silver paint marker to gild the edges. This works best if the edges have been trimmed by a trimmer rather than scissors. The marker gets caught up on the paper if you’ve used scissors & this then will lead to errors. Gild the cards with the BACKS FACING YOU to avoid getting marker ink on the front of the cards.
Gild the cards ONE AT A TIME! There is no way to rush this & you CANNOT cheat and mark the entire side of the stacked deck. If you try that ink will seep in between the cards & you will end up with blobs of ink on the front of the cards.
Another idea for the edges: you can carefully drag the edge of each card across an ink pad. I recommend anything that says the ink is ARCHIVAL. This means it will never come off, plus when you shuffle your cards the ink will not come off on your hands. Depending on the brand, some require several hours of drying time.
Mine did not come out totally perfect, but I don’t care. For me it was a fun project and now I have a new Len deck with whom I can play & have hours of fun!
That’s it & most importantly, always remember to have FUN with Lenormand!
For Lenormand Readings, please visit my site: http://www.magickal-musings.com/lenormand.html.
The Magickal-Musings of Nefer Khepri, PhD 