Merry Christmas
Well, here we are, the 18th of December and Christmas is right around the corner. For some of us, it's been a fun time of cardmaking, gift buying, wrapping and all the preparation that goes into the holiday.
Let's Talk Paper
Parchment....Paper...the very basic, literally of paper crafting or card making. Paper can be confusing, which one is best? Who has the whitest white? Wht is paper weight? Just weight, ha ha, I'll share what I think.
Welcome to P3, and this is me.
Hi, Hello, How are ya?
White isn't a color, and why you need it.
Hello my crafty companions. I hope that the holidays were wonderful and that the New Year is shaping up to be all you hoped and expected. It has been a little bit since I posted and I’m excited to be back.
This post is about color. Anyone who knows me will tell you I love color. I’ve been known to wear all the colors at one time (think LulaRoe). I like bright and cheery so to be writing a post about white might seem a little unlike me. Just let me say, white is a necessity in your creative process.
First, let’s talk Physics: According to Britannica, if color is solely the way physics describes it, the visible spectrum of light waves, then black and white are outcasts and don’t count as true, physical colors.
Now let’s talk creatively: If you include in the definition of color, however, all the ways in which human eyes process light and the lack of it, then black and white, as well as pink, earn their places in the crayon box.
In the creative space you can use white to show light. Like on a ballon or on a curve. White is elegant and sophisticated. Monochromatic cards are great for weddings and anniversaries.
So, let’s look at some examples of playing with white.
First, I took a piece of gray cardstock and selected a stencil I really liked. It doesn’t matter if it’s detailed or abstract. Tape your stencil down over your cardstock and using a finger dauber or a blending brush fill in the stencil. See how pretty white is against a dark cardstock. Depending on the design it might be all you need. If you use an abstract stencil rather than a detailed design, it can be a fun and interesting background.
Second, I made a card that is entirely white. I used Bear Hugs from Waffle Flower, aren’t these two bears cute. Using color for the hearts and the bow makes this card so fun.
We can’t forget about the splatter. Or is that spatter? Which ever you prefer, this is easy and gives a great result. I used white acrylic paint that I thinned out with a little water. I use a fan brush to dip into my thinned paint and then gently hit my brush against my finger over the cardstock. I have a cardboard box I use to try and control the spray, so I don’t have white paint everywhere.
Finally, is the white gel pen. Use your gel pen last as ink can dissolve the gel ink. You can use the gel pen for pupils in eyes, or on a curve like the top of ballon to show light reflection. White gel pens are great for accentuating curves.
I hope I’ve given you a few reasons to rethink using white ink on your next project. If you don’t have white ink in your stash here are a few recommendations for you.
- Stampin Up Whisper White uninked Stampin pad & ink refill
- Simon Says Stanp Ink and Re-inker white pigment set
- Pinkfresh Studio Premium pigment ink
- Concord & 9th white ink pad
- Close to my Heart White Daisy pigment pad
While color is lots of fun and makes your cards really pop, I suggest you try some of your ideas in white. You may be surprised at how wonderful the color white really is.
Well creators that's all I have for this post. Thanks so much for stopping by.
TAGS! They are it.
Hi ya! How is everyone doing? I’m sorry I haven’t posted in a minute but I’m back and so excited to talk today about Tags.
Tags, they are wonderful things. When I was first starting to craft, a tag was that little paper thing you put on gifts that was the “To/From” bit. Today, however, tags are very different and so so exciting.
Tags can come in several forms. You can buy a die that makes tags in various sizes, you can buy a sheet of tags that coordinates with your scrapbook paper, or you can buy them in a package at the store and decorate them as you please.
And those little holes at the top, we have to talk about those little holes. They are generally used for attaching the tag to whatever you need to attach it to, a gift, a box that is being shipped, a card, a scrapbook page, well you get the idea. But what you can do with that little hole can make your tag exciting. Ribbon, baker’s twine, linen thread, embroidery floss, yarn the list goes on and on.
Let’s take a look first at the tags that are made from dies. I love the layered or graduated size dies of tags. I also like the odd shape ones or the ones with stitching embossed around the edges. But as you can see, dies for tags come in all shapes and sizes. Plain colored cardstock gives you a great background to customize your tag for your project. But don’t stop there, glitter paper, vellum and mirror cardstock are also great options.
Second, let’s look at the sheet of tags you can buy that coordinates with scrapbook paper.
Look at those tags. Cut them out, layer them on top of a solid cardstock, or ink the edges, add stickers, or ribbon. They are exciting little beauties aren’t they?
Here are a few ideas of what you can do with your tags. Hope you enjoy these examples.
I cut out a tag from the full sheet of printed tags, inked the edges and used a hole punch or Cropadile to put an eyelet in the hole.
This tag is made by just cutting a rectangle and using the tag toppers from Photoplay to create a tag. Using a handheld hole punch and punched a hole.
Here are all three layered together for my card front.
I hope I have shown you a few ways to make and use tags. The options for what you can do with these little layers are endless. You can heat emboss on them, dry emboss, ink blend, stencil, use paste, mica spays, splatter (or do you say spatter)? Layer then up, tie them together, or simply stamp the to/from and adhere to your lovely wrapped gift.
However you do your tags, make them your own, because in Art, there are no rules.
Go forth and shine, and by the way Tags, they are it!
Today, a survey!
Well hello fellow crafters. How the heck are ya? It's been a little while since I posted last, but with good reason.
Here is the exciting news, we are moving. Yep, we put the house on the market, found what we were looking for and closings are coming up!
With that, of course, comes the wonderful job of packing. Dishes, books, tools, pictures, and of course the beloved craft studio.
I can hear you all sighing for my pain. It's been quite a while since I have been able to make a card. Everything was packed so the house showed well, and has been sitting in storage waiting for the day when a new craft studio will be designed and built, thank you Ikea!
So just for fun since I can't talk paper crafting, here is my question.
If you had to pack up your craft space and move, how many boxes would it take and how many days would it take?
I'll go first:
38 boxes
3 days
Stay tune for new exciting paper crafting in a new home!
Merry Christmas to each of you and thanks for participating.
Val
Create Your Own Website With Webador