Welcome back, cardmakers!
When I first began to create cards, I was more of a scrapbooker and hadn’t really dabbled in stamping all that much. This meant that I started to see my scrapbooking products in a whole new light…on cards! My style was very layered, and I loved to use embellishments! Embellishments were my absolute favorite thing. They added that touch of detail to my cards, a slight bit of dimension and extra interest that I didn’t feel a flat card could offer as well as an embellished card. My style is still very layered, and I love to use embellishments, but I like my cards to be clean looking as well, with a bit of white space.
Embellishments I love to use include, but aren’t limited to, chipboard elements, tags, rub-ons, sequins, ribbons, brads, rainstones, enamel dots, twine, etc.
For today’s card, I found a Heidi Swapp Washi Tape booklet in my stash that I hadn’t used, a Crate Paper tag and rub-ons, some Heidi Swapp chipboard pieces, enamel dots, and twine. I chose some of my favorite washi tapes from the booklet and attached them to a piece of white cardstock, then trimmed it down and rounded the corners. I added a “love you” rub on to the tag. I stamped “Friend” on the card in Stormy Seas ink by Papertrey Ink from the Bitty Bouquets stamp set and “just thinking of you” with the Mat Stack 2 Collection stamps. I used a little hole punch to punch little notches for the twine. This way the twine will stay put while wrapped around the front piece.
When mixing embellishments, here are some tips: look for colors that complement each other (mix at least three for more interest!) and different sizes of items – something small, something medium, and something larger in scale. Here the washi tapes add pattern and scale. The tag is the large item, the patterns are medium, and the enamel dots and text are small. It gives the eye so much detail to see! The black twine adds contrast to the lighter colors, which also keeps it interesting. Different shapes are good as well; see how the roundness of the enamel dots give the card softness from all of the hard edges?
Balancing the colors around the card in a triangle will also help you achieve success with embellishments. I have the aqua color spread around the card with the dots and washi tape. And I also have a triangle of black by using twine, tape, and sentiments in black.
If you are interested in learning more about my style of card making, I have an online class that I recently filmed here in Denver with Craftsy.com called Cards With Dimension: Lovely Layers, Textures and Embellishments. I have seven video chapters on adding dimension to cards, and working with embellishments is just one of the chapters, with three lessons in each chapter! Since March is National Craft Month, they are hosting a fun promotion for the next two weeks. Everyone who is new to purchasing a Craftsy class right now will be entered to win a $1,000 to donate to your favorite crafty charity. If you’ve been thinking of trying an online card class, now is a great time to give it a try! AND…as a special Scrapbook Expo blog reader, I get to offer you 50% off! Click the link above!
If you’d like to try one of the other paper craft classes at a discount, you can view them HERE.
Have a crafty, creative day!
Danielle
