Poinsettia Card

Adding Dimension

Poinsettia Card

One of the easiest methods of adding dimension to a project is to "pop" some of the elements to make them stand up and away from the page or surface of the project you're working on. You can use a number of products to do this including silicone, which is used extensively in those wonderful 3D paper tolle pictures, and good old double-sided foam tape, which is what we are going to use in this project.

1. Start with two images that are exactly the same. You will want an image that has some areas that can be cut and reattached with foam tape, such as this poinsettia flower. The top petals are perfect for cutting away from the rest of the image.

2. Use your preferred method to colour the images. As you can see in the photo above, you will only need to colour and shade the petals that you are cutting out from the first image. The base image however (the lower flower) needs to be coloured completely. Make sure you add some nice deep shadows and use a darker tone on the background petals since these will recede once you add your cut outs.

3. Cut out your individual top petals as well as the entire bottom image. (Alternatively, you could simply trim around the bottom image leaving it on a background of white card.)

4. Using a ball tool (or a rounded pen lid) and a foam square, rub the back of each of the individual petals. This will give them a rounded shape and help them to stand up from the base image.

5. Apply a piece of double-sided foam tape in the centre back of each petal. This will support the cardstock and help it to retain the shape you added with the ball tool. Add a little dot of strong glue to either end of the petal to "anchor" it into the picture.

6. Adhere each petal in it's correct position and press firmly on the foam tape and the glued ends. At this point you might like to add some beads or brads to the centre of the flower instead of simply colouring the image.

7. The finished dimensional image is now ready to be added to your project! You can use it as a card topper like I did, or perhaps decorate an altered notebook, Christmas recipe tin or little album.

Have fun!