Trimmed off borders of decks: Worthwhile? Tips & Pictures.

The height and width of my cards look pretty uniform to me - but I don't know if it could stand the test of the eagles' eyes of someone who wants it all to be completely exact. And the corners are not exactly the same; I see this when the cards are on a stack but not when they are next to each other.

I come from a long tradition of handcrafts and adapting or repairing things from the shop you are not completely happy with; so I am used to the small irregularities of handmade. It is also the charm of it

Trimming some of the decks is probably the best thing that has happened to them. I was wanting to trim my deck, but how careful i could be was the only inhibiting factor. I experimented on the two extra cards from the Thoth deck, and before i knew it, the whole deck was minimized!! What really finished it off though, was the corner cutter from Staples-thats when they looked professional. If you even remotely feel that your cards would look better or you would feel more comfortable-DO IT! CUT OFF THOSE BORDERS! It is only holding the pictures in...quite literally actually.

after trimming Thoth (the deck)

Rainwolf I totally agree about holding in the pictures...I was using my cards (after the trim) and my 4 yr old immediately noticed and asked about my deck, for a moment she didn't realize it was the same deck. Then, without any prompting from me, she said the "pictures are prettier without those sides on them". Out of the mouths of babes...

My new favorite painting from my trimmed Thoth is the 8 of disks, it is just so happy, those pink flowers appeal to the hippy in me.
Astrid

BTW after the trim, I have been bombarded (in a good way) by the High Magick card (black&red unicursal hexagram) in readings and feel it is directly linked to the act of trimming, the act of making the cards *mine*, it has created the most magickal pulse for me and my deck. Like it's "alive" now... I know this sounds weird, but I can't explain it in any other way. I am sure happy about it though!!

I finished trimming my Osho Zen the other night. It's wonderful!

For those who are sitting on the fence about trimming, may I suggest taking a separate sheet of heavy paper and cutting a "window" in it? Lay the window over the cards to see how they would look. Seeing my pretty little jewels without the keywords for the first time was what convinced me to break out the scissors.

Two decks, yes, immensely.

Has trimming the borders off improved your deck? If yes, which deck and why?

1. My Via Tarot. I decorated with stickers and snipped and made it my 'own' because I liked the deck as a whole, but I felt better after resizing and interacting with the designs. I trimmed the borders and keywords off the second copy I had, but did not decorate the images; I put them in a pocket photo album for study.

2. My Jane Lyle Lovers Tarot, 78 Anniversary edition. After a year or two of using it, the white border on either side has faded to more worn yellowing. I cut off the white borders and even the pip cards are less boring and the size fits my fingers better...the cards about the same size as a mass market Lo Scarabeo deck, which is a good size for me.

Thanks for the question.

Cerulean

I must say I too was almost horrified at the thought someone would cut the cards. But then... I realized that if I had a deck with big keywords blaring out at me, I might do it to. I have noticed that I am not even drawn to decks with the keyword borders usually...Rohrig being the exception.
The LS multi language border doesn't really bother me that much. I do like how they did the Gothic Tarot of Vampires, with symbols instead. Maybe they could do that more?
Personally I'd be afraid to cut on any myself...I don't think I'd even get them close to pefect.
SJ

I just received and trimmed the Jane Lyle Secret Tarot. This was a deck I bought knowing I would trim it. It has a directness that makes any labeling unnecessary, and the rest is about color. I'm very happy with it, and have already done a few 4-card readings, and find it very easy to read with, and delightful to look at.

I hadn't heard anything about this deck, until Imagemaker showed me hers, and I have to say, it is a lovely deck, with some unusual cards. The Devil is truly a Green Man, Death is a Phoenix, and the stylization is unusual, and almost as pared down as the International Icon deck, except it's still beautiful to look at. (Sorry I just don't find traffic signs beautiful, no matter how easy to read. )

Here are a couple of scans:

RedMaple, holy smokes!! You should trim cards for a living. Those look perfect.

Nice work, that deck is amazing. I'm going to go check out the review for it.
Astrid

Astrid O said:

RedMaple, holy smokes!! You should trim cards for a living. Those look perfect.

Nice work, that deck is amazing. I'm going to go check out the review for it.
Astrid

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Ah, now that would be a wonderful job! I find it easy and meditative -- who knows what hidden talents we all have. LOL

Cerulean said:

Has trimming the borders off improved your deck? If yes, which deck and why?

My Via Tarot. I decorated with stickers and snipped and made it my 'own' because I liked the deck as a whole, but I felt better after resizing and interacting with the designs. I trimmed the borders and keywords off the second copy I had, but did not decorate the images; I put them in a pocket photo album for study.

Click to expand...

Cerulean, I have to know more about the stickers! Details, please!

Do the stickers peel off? Do they interfere with shuffling? I am intrigued.

Blessings,
RedMaple