Making a card using acetate as the card base is a challenge on many levels, for me anyway...it can be difficult to cut precisely...even heavy duty paper trimmers can sometimes leave you with a tiny "slippage" while cutting, leaving you with a less than perfect outcome.
It can be a nightmare to keep free from smudges and stray adhesive, although I have found a little spray of isopropal alcohol applied to a soft dense makeup sponge works a treat to remove dried adhesive if you do find that things have become a tad mucky.
The surfaces can become very static and pick up tiny paper trimmings which can also be hard to persuade to move on. The alcohol mentioned as an adhesive spot remover seems to remove a little of the static, for a time anyway, if things get bad.
Then there is the need to keep everything perfectly lined up as even tiny discrepancies in placement of masks on the different layers is clearly obvious...
You will see all of these imperfections and more in the photographs below...still they seem to be popular and when one is asked to make something, often the challenge to find solutions to the problems you come across is the most rewarding thing about it.
This is another eightieth birthday card (they seem to be popular just now), made for a friend...
It can be a nightmare to keep free from smudges and stray adhesive, although I have found a little spray of isopropal alcohol applied to a soft dense makeup sponge works a treat to remove dried adhesive if you do find that things have become a tad mucky.
The surfaces can become very static and pick up tiny paper trimmings which can also be hard to persuade to move on. The alcohol mentioned as an adhesive spot remover seems to remove a little of the static, for a time anyway, if things get bad.
Then there is the need to keep everything perfectly lined up as even tiny discrepancies in placement of masks on the different layers is clearly obvious...
You will see all of these imperfections and more in the photographs below...still they seem to be popular and when one is asked to make something, often the challenge to find solutions to the problems you come across is the most rewarding thing about it.
This is another eightieth birthday card (they seem to be popular just now), made for a friend...
Fine gold coloured elastic cord finishes the top fold of the card...
The back of the card can be used as the sentiment panel or simply left blank...
The card stands well without spreading...
Detail of the embellishments...I did decide to add one of the crystal beads, just when I was wrapping the card to place in the envie...I don't like bling much myself but I decided that an eighty year old probably deserves some...
The flowers are a collection of small to tiny plain vellum spiral flowers, a couple of light cream paper and one made from a scrap of old glassine. I added plain pearls to the centres of some of these, pushing the pearl down into a dab of adhesive at the base of the spiral...they look lovely and subtle.
The three larger flowers are made from foamiran, a thin foam sheet of 0.8mm thickness. The shapes are best die-cut as the process thins it even more. They can be coloured, moulded and heated into shapes, adhered together and stamens added for a pretty effect. Now making flowers is definitely not one of my skills but I enjoyed playing with this interesting medium to make a few for this card. The foam flowers are much quicker to make than paper flowers I have made in the past which required drying time.
The YT videos I have been watching to get some techniques are mainly those recorded by Emilia Sieradzan, if you are interested to see. She has a quick and easy process and keeps things simple which is how I like it...if I want realistic flowers, I'd rather pick fresh ones...but there are many more talented folk out there making these flowers both simple and complex...just do a YouTube search.
The three larger flowers are made from foamiran, a thin foam sheet of 0.8mm thickness. The shapes are best die-cut as the process thins it even more. They can be coloured, moulded and heated into shapes, adhered together and stamens added for a pretty effect. Now making flowers is definitely not one of my skills but I enjoyed playing with this interesting medium to make a few for this card. The foam flowers are much quicker to make than paper flowers I have made in the past which required drying time.
The YT videos I have been watching to get some techniques are mainly those recorded by Emilia Sieradzan, if you are interested to see. She has a quick and easy process and keeps things simple which is how I like it...if I want realistic flowers, I'd rather pick fresh ones...but there are many more talented folk out there making these flowers both simple and complex...just do a YouTube search.
The decorated envelope...
The envie was a bit of a challenge as I had cut the acetate to save wasting any, rather than considering the size of the finished card...in order to make to make a standard box envelope I needed card larger than the 12 x 12 I usually use...I ended up cobbling this plain one together from two sheets of Neenah Solar White 250gsm...saved me a trip to town to buy larger card.
The sides and ends are doubled which reinforces the strength enormously. I made the little embellishment panel, after a lot of thought as I much prefer things uber plain, just using up a few more of the spiral flowers, a precut flourish and some additional white and vellum leaves cut using the SU Bird punch...I make far more leaves than birds! The top flap is an addition, simply cut from a scrap of the same card...this reinforces the top as well as allowing a much longer flap than the constraints of the card used allowed.
The envie is held closed with the tiny Velcro dot fasteners. This will ensure the envie can be opened and closed without damage.
The sides and ends are doubled which reinforces the strength enormously. I made the little embellishment panel, after a lot of thought as I much prefer things uber plain, just using up a few more of the spiral flowers, a precut flourish and some additional white and vellum leaves cut using the SU Bird punch...I make far more leaves than birds! The top flap is an addition, simply cut from a scrap of the same card...this reinforces the top as well as allowing a much longer flap than the constraints of the card used allowed.
The envie is held closed with the tiny Velcro dot fasteners. This will ensure the envie can be opened and closed without damage.
Here they are, finished and ready to pack...
My best friend when making these cards...the sponge is a cheap soft and dense make up sponge from The Reject Shop...the card had been cleaned and is ready for packing...quickly before any more specks land!
I like to wrap these cards in tissue to prevent them shifting about in the box during transit...
Good to go...
Of course, as soon as the card is cleaned, double checked, wrapped in tissue and safely ensconced inside the envelope I can start getting a tad paranoid about maintaining the pristine nature of the envelope! Crafting shouldn't be so stressful...I thing I am going to take up acrylic pouring just to be able to wallow in a lovely mess and stop worrying about minutiae...
Anyhow, adding the whole caboodle to a resealable cellophane bag solves these problems...I know it is safe...until it is unwrapped anyhow...but that is NOT my problem, thank goodness.
This post is a bit long winded I know, but I like to keep a record of these projects...who knows, the dread day may come when someone wants another one made, or another crafter may like some reference points.
That's it for now,
Di
Anyhow, adding the whole caboodle to a resealable cellophane bag solves these problems...I know it is safe...until it is unwrapped anyhow...but that is NOT my problem, thank goodness.
This post is a bit long winded I know, but I like to keep a record of these projects...who knows, the dread day may come when someone wants another one made, or another crafter may like some reference points.
That's it for now,
Di
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