Sunday, September 1, 2013

Easel cards

It has been a while since my last post. I have been busy making 200 wedding programs and over 300 table seating cards for a couple getting married on Sunday, September 1st. Congratulations to the happy couple!
 
I have returned to my craft room and excited to create more layouts, cards and any other craft that tickles my fancy.
 
I created these two cards primarily for friends of mine but also for PJ Challenge's September Motivator.
 
The focus for the September Motivator is to get us to try something new and provide the steps or links to the steps so others can try it too.
 
Making these cards not only motivated me to try a new technique - easel cards but also to do something I haven't done in a very long time - colour!

 
 
Easel cards are a fantastic way to display your greetings and well wishes. They will lie flat when closed and then you prop them open for display.
 
 
 
Last fall I got my first glance at the mechanics behind an easel card at a Make & Take. What is a Make & Take? It is where someone teaches you how to make something and then you get to take it home, sometimes with written instructions. The easel cards are quite easy to make.

 
To create a 5 x 5 1/2 inch top fold card:
 
  • Cut a piece of paper to 5 x 11 (this will become the base of your card).
  • Cut a piece of paper to 5 x 5 1/2 (this will become the decorated top panel of your card).
  • Place the larger piece of paper, long side horizontally on your score board.
  • Score the paper at the 2 3/4 inch mark and then again at the 5 1/2 mark.
  • Fold the card in half at the 5 1/2 score line.
  • Decorate the top panel piece, the 5 x 5 1/2 piece of paper, as desired.
  • Adhere the decorated panel to the 2 3/4 inch portion of the base card, the one closest to the short edge.
  • Adhere a message or decorative element, using foam dots to give it some height, centered in the middle to lower portion of the inside of the card. This becomes the stopper when the card is propped open.

 
The Comfort Food card makes me giggle. The card was created following the same instructions as above. However, given  enough time, I usually go above and beyond. On this card I applied a second new technique; colouring with Odorless Mineral Spirits (OMS). Colouring with OMS is not difficult but it is a little time consuming. Essentially you are colouring the same image twice, once with the colouring pencils and then again with a blending stub and the mineral spirits. I love the way the technique blends the pencil lines and gives the drawing a much smoother, softer look. I am going to use this technique in my other drawings.

 
 
 
I learned this technique from Trudy Sjolander a guest blogger on CardMaker blog and you can find her instructions here.
 
Hope you enjoyed these new techniques as much as I did. I can't wait to try the double twisted easel card.
 
Until next time, happy crafting!
 
 
From my supplies inventory:
 
   For the Welcome Home card
  • Stampin'up - Baja Breeze classic ink pad
  • Tombow
  • Fiskar personal paper trimmer
  • Scotch Advance tape glider
  • Martha Stewart scoring board
  • Martha Stewart punch around the page - French Scroll
  • Cricut cartridge - Straight from the Nest (fence, tree 1), Pooh and Friends (Tigger 3 icon)
  • Distress ink - pine needles, gathered twigs
  • Pearl pen - Viva Decor - black
  • Copic W5
  • Zapdots - foam dots
  • Big Shot
  • Cricut Expression
  • Lil'inkers stitched mats die
  • Scrap paper
  • Recollections cardstock
  • Cardstock from Costco
  • DCWV's The Great Vacation Stack

 
For the Comfort Food card
 
  • Various cardstock
  • Whimsy stamps - Big Comfy Cake
  • StazOn jet black ink
  • Prisma colouring pencils #345, 368, 329, 328, 370, 313, 305, 342, 336
  • Copic markers W1
  • Quick Quotes paper - Julie je t'aime
  • Fiskar personal paper trimmer
  • Martha Stewart scoring board
  • Scotch Advance tape glider
  • Distress ink - seedless preserves
  • Crop-a-dile corner chomper
  • Stampin'up - Sincere Salutations stamps
  • Zapdots - foam dots
  •  
Supplies purchased:
 
For the Welcome Home card
  • Nothing
 
For the Comfort Food card
  • Blending stub
  • Gamsol orderless mineral spirits



 

1 comment:

  1. I love both cards! The welcome mat is too cute. Thank you for teaching me something new.

    ReplyDelete

I would love to hear from you, please leave a comment. However, any comments that attack, slander or defame another person, company, or product will be removed from this site.

Total Visits