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Thursday, October 31
Tuesday, October 29
Friday, October 25
Trim The Tree
Trimming the tree is one of those wonderful holiday traditions that many households enjoy together, and as such, it's also a popular image for holiday cards. Today I want to show you one way of colouring and decorating a Christmas tree image for your cards, scrapbook pages, art journals and paper craft projects.
I've printed a digital image in light grey by using the "washout" feature in Microsoft Word. The lighter lines will allow me to add more colour, rather than solid black lines, and results in a finished piece that looks more like a painting or drawing rather than a stamped image. Since I'm planning to use alcohol markers, I've printed on a piece of blending card.
Start by colouring the trunk and branches of the tree. You want to use a few shades of brown to give a little bit of depth and interest, but there's no need to worry too much as the pine needles and decorations will cover most of it. As you can see, I've left a lot of white space in my colouring so I can layer the green over the brown. Alcohol markers are transparent and lower layers will show through whatever you apply over the top. To give the impression that some of the pine needles are actually in front of the trunk, you need to make sure the brown isn't showing through.
Add the pine needles with small strokes from the very tip of the marker.
Fill in as much or as little as you like.
Add a little bit of light green to the tips of the branches where new needles would grow.
Once the colouring is done, it's time to decorate!
I love using different mediums to add dimension, colour and texture over the top of the image. I've found some mediums are better than others at holding their shape, but it's good to mix it up with different brands. Don't forget you can also add rhinestones and self adhesive pearls. If your image is large enough, you can even think about die cuts and small stamped baubles. Have fun!
Stamps:
Wednesday, October 23
Christmas At Judy's Place
Judy has used a non-traditional colour scheme to create an amazingly beautiful Christmas card collection that is sure to delight whoever is lucky enough to receive one. Pinks, blues and purples coordinate perfectly with the cool green she has used for the tree. Some silver and purple glitter paper, sparkling rhinestones and fabulous layered snowflakes finish her collection perfectly.
The first card is a side step fold that allows for extra dimension to place embellishments, images and other little adornments. Judy's second card features lots of fussy cutting to help define the image against the background.
Judy has very kindly provided a colour chart of the pencils she used to colour both cards. Don't forget to stop by her blog to see what else she has been creating, you're sure to be inspired!
Monday, October 21
Saturday, October 19
Black Backgrounds
Coloured images really pop on black backgrounds, but it's difficult to get the same vibrancy from your markers or pencils when colouring on black card stock. Usually we colour an image on light coloured card, cut around it with scissors or a die and mount it onto black. But what if you're after a more seamless finish?
The answer lies in your marker box... that's right, a black marker! Obviously you don't want to be colouring a huge image, not only will it consume a considerable of ink, but it will also take a long time to complete. However, a card sized image doesn't take too long and gives a great result.
I think the Christmas tree looks a lot more vibrant against the black background, especially the red ribbon and pops of silver.
Stamps:
Thursday, October 17
Divine Cards - with Carla
Carla has used the new "Oh Night Divine" set to create some truly divine Christmas cards full of festive colours and patterns. She has further enhanced her cards with pretty ribbons, a variety of die cuts and seasonal embellishments for a traditional take on Christmas.
I don't know about anyone else, but seeing these cards has definitely put me in a festive mood! You can check out even more of Carla's work by visiting her blog, and while you're over there, don't forget to sign up as a follower so you don't miss any of her posts.
Tuesday, October 15
Everything Papercraft - Ornare
Originally
done using pieces of tin, ornare is a simple and effective technique that
involves piercing surfaces to create pictures and patterns with a series of
holes. Paper ornare generally uses metal templates that can be purchased in
various sizes and designs, from full focal images to borders and corner
adornments. Simply lay a piece of heavy
paper or card over a foam pad, place the ornare template on top then prick the
paper with a piercing tool or needle following the guide. In the paper craft
world, most of us know this technique as paper piercing, which is seen a lot in
Pergamano or parchment craft.
Sunday, October 13
Tutorial - Four Drawer Box Card
Although not impossibly difficult, this is definitely not the type of card you'd be making for every day kinds of events. Instead, it's a WOW! card that you create for those extra special moments or to hold some extra special gifts for a dear friend or loved one. This card, which is actually a box, contains four smaller boxes that can hold little trinkets, chocolates, prizes and gifts. It folds up into a single larger box with a lid that holds everything together. I've also included a ribbon closure in my instructions, just to make sure everything is extra secure, but that's totally optional.
1. Start with two pieces of sturdy card stock measuring 12" x 12". Use the cutting templates below to trim your card stock to the correct sizes.
2. Place the 5" x 5" piece of card stock on your score board and score at 7/8". Turn the card stock 90 degrees and score again at 7/8". Continue turning and scoring the card stock until you have scored each side 7/8" from the edge.
3. Following the template below, use a sharp pair of scissors to cut along one of the score lines from the edge, to the intersecting score line (see template and photos below).
4. Cut out a slender triangle of card stock from the corner side of the score line. These corners will become tabs to hold the lid sides together.
5. Turn the card stock 180 degrees and trim the other side in the same way. Note that the top is a mirror image to the bottom.
6. Press the score lines firmly with a bone folder.
7. I like to decorate the lid while it is still flat. I used Christmas themed papers, gold card stock and a sentiment to decorate my lid. I cut the papers slightly smaller than each section so that some of the white card stock would still be seen around the border.
8. Use glue or very strong tape to glue the little tabs to the inside of the larger sections. Place the glue where I'm indicating in the photo below. Tuck the tabs behind the long section and set aside to dry.
9. Place the 7" x 12" piece of card stock horizontally on your score board and score at 3", 6" and 9". Press along each score line with your bone folder creating valley folds.
10. Time to decorate the outside of the card. Again, I've used gold card stock, patterned paper and an image. I also have two lengths of ribbon that will form a tie closure as mentioned in my introduction. A great alternative to patterned paper would be stamping all over the card stock - back and front!
11. Start by applying some strong tape and or glue to one side of the card for your ribbon. Make sure you don't take the adhesive too close to the edge or it will be visible beyond the patterned paper. Secure the ribbon over the adhesive with the loose end toward the opening.
12. Do the same on the other side of the card with the second piece of ribbon. Make sure they line up properly before securing them permanently.
13. Now add the decorative paper over the top. Complete all four panels.
14. Time to decorate the inside! I've added more patterned paper to the inside of my card, but this time without the gold card stock. Keep in mind that the little drawers or boxes are going to sit in this middle section, over the patterned paper.
15. Time to work on the four boxes that give our card it's name! Place one of the 53/4" squares of card stock on your score board and score at 11/2". Rotate 90 degrees and score again at 11/2". Continue scoring and rotating until all four sides are done.
16. The boxes are constructed in the same way as the lid. Remove the little triangular piece from each of the four corners taking particular care to ensure they look like a mirror image (see the photos below).
17. Use your sharp scissors to remove about 1/8" from the ends of each of the four tabs (see photo below). If you skip this step, the tabs will simply overlap each other, which is okay, but adds a little more bulk to the project.
18. Repeat with the other three squares of card stock.
19. If you wish to add a decorative element to your small boxes, now is the time! You only need to decorate three sides as the fourth one will be adhered to the inside of your card.
BE AWARE: you will need to decorate both long sections on each box (the sections with the tabs). Refer to the photo below. If in doubt, just decorate everything!
20. Using glue or very strong double sided tape, secure the tabs on one side of the box behind the decorated section (the tabs will be on the inside). Pay close attention to the end I'm working on... it is opposite to the end with no decoration.
21. The tabs on the other side of the box are secured on the outside. See below.
22. Complete construction in the same way for the remaining three boxes.
23. Stand your card open on your desk in front of you with the inside of the card facing you. Add very strong glue or double sided tape to your first drawer, the adhesive will go over the little tabs on the outside of the drawer. Centre the drawer in the middle of the first section, then press into place. The drawer should be flat on the desk top and level with the card.
24. Secure your second drawer on the next section of card using the first as a placement guide. You want to leave enough room so that the drawers don't actually touch each other, but they are still quite close - about 7/8".
25. Repeat for the third drawer, placing it on the third panel of your card.
26. Add the final drawer to the fourth section of your card. You should have about 1/2" clearance at the top of the last drawer.
27. Fold up your card and hold in place with the lid. If you find the lid is a little too big, which I did, you can add some strips of card stock inside to make it fit better.
28. Finish your card with whatever embellishments or sentiments you desire.
Stamps:
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