Paper and Fiber Arts



Welcome to my mixed media blog. Thanks for stopping by.

Friday, July 7, 2023

Zentangling on Cards

Amber Davis teaches a class for Altenew Academy titled, Zentangle for Cardmakers. It has many ideas about incorporating doodles or Zentangle designs onto card fronts. If you enjoy doodling or Zentangling, add this fun, personal touch to your next project. Here are the steps for Zentangling on the card pictured above.

 

First, choose an open stencil design and ink blend onto a 4.25" x 5.5" card front. These two colors mixed together in the middle of the card front netted an additional orangey-coral color. Next, add Zentangles or your own doodle designs onto as many white areas as you like. I used the 005 and 01 pens from the Fine Liner Pen Set for the designs. The picture, below, shows the designs prior to shading with graphite pencils.

After adding shading with pencils and a blending stump on the Zentangled areas, I ink-blended the hugs die-cut and the circle that surrounded it. These are the same ink colors as the stenciled card front and are then cut apart. The hugs die is designed as an inset into a card front. By using the Hero Arts circle die, it can be cut out with a frame. Auditioning the circle with the word attached, led me to decide to separate the word and cut the circle into pieces. The circle segments are glued to the front and the sentiment is popped up with foam tape.

I love the bold look of the stencil with the Zentangling, the bright colors, and the way the card came together. If you make any doodled or Zentangled projects, I'd love to hear about them.

THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS. BY CLICKING ON THEM AND PURCHASING PRODUCTS THROUGH MY LINKS, I RECEIVE A SMALL COMMISSION FOR THE REFERRAL. THE ITEM WILL NOT COST YOU ANY MORE BY GOING THROUGH THIS LINK.


Products Used:

Fine Liner Pen Set - Altenew Website

Mini Blending Brush Set - Altenew Website

Circled Greetings: Hugs Die - Altenew Website

Calligraphy Maze Stencil - Altenew Website

Coral Red Ink - Altenew Website

Mid Yellow Ink - Altenew Website

Nesting Circle Dies (used to cut out the Circled Greetings dies) - Hero Arts Website



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Tuesday, July 4, 2023

Stenciling With Markers

 

Here are two cards made with the same stencil and dies. The stenciling was done with two different types of markers. 

First, the card with the negative piece of the 'hugs' die cut was colored with Karin pigment brush markers. These are non-pumping, meaning you shake them and they are ready for painting onto the cardstock.
The Decobrush markers contain opaque acrylic, non-toxic organic pigment-based paint. I wanted to use them as line art, rather than fill in the shapes. This worked great for all except the purple, which leaked under the stencil. That is an operator error issue and had I dabbed off the paint onto scrap paper, it wouldn't have occurred. 

Hero Arts Stacked Circle Stencil With Karin Paint Pen Marker



Cute circle embellishments were used to cover up the ink blobs and to add interest.  Using small white circle off-cuts from my stash, clear dots, and colored sprinkles elevate the fun and color on this card.
The second card is made with the same stencil. This time the shapes are colored in with Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers. These are waterbased and provide a concentrated pop of color.
Initially, I was going to assemble the card as pictured above. To cut the Altenew 'hugs' out as a circular piece, one needs to use a circle die that is large enough to go around the perimeter of the word. You can make the circular frame as large as your largest circle. However, I like to make it about as narrow as the lettering. Having a set of nesting dies helps so you can audition the sizes before actually cutting. In the end, the black piece was cut using the nesting circle and the 'hugs' die, and a white piece with just the sentiment, as pictured below. I like the color peeking out from under the clean and simple top piece.


Thank you for stopping by. Have a colorful day!

THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS. BY CLICKING ON THEM AND PURCHASING PRODUCTS THROUGH MY LINKS, I RECEIVE A SMALL COMMISSION FOR THE REFERRAL. THE ITEM WILL NOT COST YOU ANY MORE BY GOING THROUGH THIS LINK.


Products Used:


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Monday, July 3, 2023

The Background Determines the Aesthetic

 When designing a card sometimes the background determines the aesthetic. Both of these cards use the same Hero Arts' Cobblestone Bold Prints stamp. The lighter-colored card was stamped with black ink onto white cardstock. The cobblestones were shaded with gray colored pencils. The card pictured below was stamped with Versamark onto watercolor paper without cleaning the stamp first. The residual black ink on the stamp mixed with the sticky watermark ink to create a light gray color. By using clear embossing powder, it maintained that color while sealing it in.

To give the background an antique look, I blended brown ink with a blending tool. It gave the background a nice patina which then informed my decisions about layering brown cardstock underneath and using kraft paper for the sentiment tag. 
The background also influenced the choice of Copic marker colors for the flowers. Here is a picture of the blossoms that I thought I would use. I didn't end up using the tall, thin floral spray or stem.
I wanted to keep the background light with the pencil shading on the card pictured below. It seemed somewhat somber and old-fashioned, so it was turned into a sympathy card. It could also be used as an encouragement card for someone who prefers muted tones.

Both cards have layered cardstock using Gina K. Designs Master Layouts dies and the wonderful stamped bee image from the Hero Arts Sweet as Honey set. The 'sending hugs' die is a retired CTMH product.
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Saturday, July 1, 2023

Christmas in July: Ornaments from Die-cuts

Many years ago I did a few posts about making ornaments from die-cuts. At the time, I made them using  Cricut cartridges. These are some of the most-read posts and most frequently pinned.  To read more about those ornaments and gift toppers please visit here,  here, here, and here. When I saw the Altenew Stained Glass Medallion Die set, I knew I wanted to try making ornaments and gift toppers using them. There are many, many photos!







The center of this ornament is a die cut made out of Sizzix black shrink plastic. There is one on each of the sides, glued onto the ornament with a glue gun.













To make the ornaments, you need several identical die cuts and then fold them in half. The more die-cuts, the fuller the ornament. 







Sizzix shrink plastic before heating

The medallions after shrinking with a heat gun




Making this type of project is one of my favorite crafting things to do. A video will be posted later this week with additional instructions. If you make any ornaments or gift package toppers, please let me know. Happy July!


THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS. BY CLICKING ON THEM AND PURCHASING PRODUCTS THROUGH MY LINKS, I RECEIVE A SMALL COMMISSION FOR THE REFERRAL. THE ITEM WILL NOT COST YOU ANY MORE BY GOING THROUGH THIS LINK.


Products Used:

Medallion Dies - Altenew Website


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